Gender Analysis Tools
Gender Analysis Tools
Gender Analysis Tools
Project Co-Leads: Toby Goldberg Leong Catherine Lang Project Researcher: Marina Biasutti
Acknowledgements
The development of this toolkit involved a number of contributors.
First and foremost, the project sponsors and facilitators would like to thank Marina Biasutti, the Gender and Poverty Project researcher, for her hard work and dedication in completing the majority of research, assembly and writing of all sections of the toolkit. Toby Goldberg Leong and Cathy Lang, project co-leads and facilitators, provided direction and assistance in editing, and wrote the Gender and Poverty project case study (Case Study VIII). Participants in the local Gender and Poverty Working Groups and Advisory Committees and Caledon Institutes Policy Dialogue supplied excellent recommendations for resources for inclusion in the tools and resources sections. Finally, thanks to Eric Leviten-Reid and Anne Makhoul, Caledon Institute, and Mark Cabaj and Louise Kearney, Tamarack, for their ongoing contributions of editorial support.
Financial assistance for the Gender and Poverty Project was provided by the Womens Program, Status of Women Canada. The opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily represent the official policy of Status of Women Canada.
Table of Contents
Definitions GENDER ANALYSIS PRIMER Part I: GENDER ANALYSIS PRIMER Part II: The Basics 1 2
Gender: refers to socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men, and includes expectations held about characteristics, and likely behaviours of both men and women; the roles that we learn to fill from childhood onward.
Sex: refers to the genetic and physiological characteristics and traits that indicate whether one is male or female.
Gender Equity: refers to fairness and justice in the distribution of responsibilities and benefits between men and women (i.e., equal number of women and men on an organizations Board of Directors)
Gender Equality: refers to the absence of discrimination on the basis of a persons sex in opportunities, the allocation of resources or benefits, or in access to services (i.e., equal participation and decision-making power by men and women on a Board of Directors).
Gender Mainstreaming: defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as: the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality. (From www.ilo.org)
The main goals of Gender Analysis are: 1. To better understand our communities: Gender Analysis creates a gender lookingglass through which we examine our community. 2. To promote gender equality through our work: Gender Analysis helps us make decisions in our poverty reduction work that set the stage for gender equality.
How can Gender Analysis impact the work of Vibrant Communities? 1. By helping us understand relationships between men and women. Gender Analysis does this by answering the following questions: Q: What do men, women, adults, children and elders do, and where do they do it? Q: Who has access to and control over resources and services, and who makes decisions in the community? Q: What are the reasons behind these differences in gender? EXAMPLE from the community: A factory closes in town, leaving hundreds of people, mostly men, unemployed. In response, a local group initiates a re-training and income-generation program for the community. By analyzing the different and various ways in which the mens unemployment will impact both men and women, the group can plan more effectively for sustainable poverty-reduction. 2. By helping us understand the impact of our poverty-reduction work on men and women, boys and girls. EXAMPLE from the community: A skills training program for people living in poverty has been delivered primarily through night classes. By considering the roles and activities undertaken by men and women, especially those related to parenting, this program could be assessed for its accessibility to men and women. 3. By helping us increase the capacity of our institutions and organizations to program for and consider gender equality. EXAMPLE from the community: For several years, a community organization has announced its meetings and events through the use of local grocery store and day-care bulletin boards, and has held its meetings in the local Womens Institute Hall. Through an analysis of activities undertaken by local men and women, the organization re-considers its communication strategies for more equal access by men and women.
A GENDER ANALYSIS PRIMER: PART II Taking Steps to Do Gender Analysis in Our Communities
"Using a gender perspective gave a deeper understanding of the complex relations that create a community. It showed how men and women can sometimes act similarly and sometimes react wholly differently in similar circumstances A gendered analysis [] will enable [us] to tailor interventions to fit the needs of both groups [] and to build a programme around an understanding of these differences." -from Fifty Voices are Better than One: Combating Social Exclusion and Gender Stereotyping in Gellideg, South Wales Valley.
In this second part of the Gender Analysis Primer, we will examine the WHY, WHEN, WHO and HOW of Gender Analysis, using examples from a project in Gellideg, South Wales.1
The Gellideg Foundation Group in South Wales did a Gender Analysis in order to find out: How did men and women living in Gellideg experience poverty differently? How could they be involved in improving their situation? What was needed to bring about change?
The community-based Gellideg Foundation Group was formed with the help of Oxfam-Great Britain in response to issues of social exclusion, poverty and gender stereotyping in the estate of Gellideg, South Wales Valley. A gender needs assessment was the first step in this process, and is described here as an example of how gender analysis is undertaken and applied on the ground.
The Gellideg Foundation Group in South Wales did a Gender Analysis during the application process for a three-year project addressing social exclusion and poverty in the community. The Gender Analysis helped them design a well-informed and inclusive program of activities for the project.
The following three-step framework summarizes the most common form of Gender Analysis in use today.2 Each step outlines possible questions that can be asked of a community, organization, institution or program.
When doing Gender Analysis of a community, we might ask: What roles do men and women typically play in the community? Who works for pay? Who cares for children and covers other family work (reproductive work)? How many hours a day are spent on home and family care? What number of hours are spent doing unpaid, underpaid, or undervalued work? Is there a family member involved in a community organization or volunteer work? Who? For how many hours a week? When doing Gender Analysis of a poverty reduction program or a policy, we might ask: What roles do men and women typically play in the program? Does the program or policy change the activity patterns of men or women, and how? Does the program or policy increase or decrease women or mens workload (reproductive or productive)?
The Gender Analysis framework presented here is designed using common elements from the United Nations, the Canadian International Development Agency, Status of Women Canada, Health Canada and various international development institutions.
When doing Gender Analysis of a community, we might ask: How many households in the community are headed by women? Who owns property and homes? Are women paid different wages than men for their work? Who controls household income? Which decisions in the home do men and women typically make? Which decisions in the community do men and women typically make? What level of education and/or training do men and women have? When doing Gender Analysis of a poverty reduction program or a policy, we might ask: Who makes decisions and who does the groundwork in the program? What knowledge do women and men have about the particular sector or issue addressed by the program? Do women and men have equal access to program events, benefits or services? Who benefits the most from the program or policy?
This is where we look at all the cross-cutting issues that exist in our communities, and begin to think about how they relate to gender equality. In this step, we are specifically asking Why are the results of Steps One and Two the way they are? and What are the influencing factors? Sample Questions:
Influencing Factors can be:
Race Demographic Factors Economic Factors Political/Institutional Structures Health and Disability Education and Training Cultural and Religious Factors History
Focus Group Session: Ask group members to list as many essential activities that they undertake in their daily or weekly routines, either at home, or as members or staff of an organization. List these on a chalkboard or chart paper. Give each participant two pieces of paper, and ask them to vote for the top three activities in terms of the time required, and the top three activities in terms of income earned. Gather the votes, and rank each activity accordingly, circling the top three for time and the top three for income. Once this is complete, discuss as a group which activities are typically done by men and which are typically done by women.
Daycare Continuing education Parenting support Health clinic Public library Employment insurance Affordable housing Training programs Jobs
Jobs Jobs
By adding up the totals, list the resources from most valuable to least valuable. In a group discussion, determine who has access to, and who has control over, each resource either men, women or both. Knowledge Mapping: Ask small groups to map out a diagram of the community or the organization on a large piece of paper noting all the elements of each. Using self-stick notes marked with the letter K, have each group determine the levels of knowledge that exist in each element of the community or organization (i.e,. the school or the Board of Directors). Ask each group to then determine whether the element is dominated by men or by women. It is interesting to observe the perceptions that exist among the participants regarding the concept of knowledge and it is important to note the differences that might exist between the perceptions of men and women. This activity can also be done to map out power, wealth or any other resource.
Knowledge Mapping of an Organization:
Administrative Staff Management Staff
K
Programming Staff
KK
Board of Directors
KKKKK
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How have jobs and the social safety net been changing over the last 10 years? How have women from equality-seeking groups (e.g., single moms, new Canadians,
women of colour, disabled women, Aboriginal women) been affected by these changes?
Have women and men been affected differently by these changes? How?
This document was created using information from the following resources: Starting with Womens Lives: Changing Todays Economy. A facilitators guide to a visual workshop methodology. Suzanne Doerge and Beverley Burke, 2000. Canadian Labour Council and the Womens Inter-Church Council of Canada. Navigating Gender: A framework and a tool for participatory development. Arja Vainio-Mattila, 1999. Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Department for International Development Cooperation, Helsinki, Finland. http://global.finland.fi/julkaisut/taustat/nav_gender/text.htm Harvard Analytical Framework: Canadian International Development Agency, 1999. CIDAs Policy on Gender Equality. Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. www.acdicida.gc.ca/equality/course CANTERA - Popular Education and Communication Center http://www.oneworld.org/cantera/education/index.html
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Participatory Research for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Guide for Field Projects on Adaptive Strategies. International Institute for Sustainable Development http://iisd.iisd.ca/casl/CASLGuide/PairEx.htm Community-Based Research: A Workshop on Community-Based Participatory Research Administrators Caucus, National COOL Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, March 2001. Sally Parrot. Mapping Your Communitys Needs and Resources: A Participatory Research Orientation with Community Members and Students. Helen Lewis and Janice Morrissey, 2000. Based on workshops conducted in Rome, Georgia and Berry College.