Gender equality

in context:
challenges and
opportunities
Gender equality 2
in context: Challenges
and opportunities

This booklet sets the scene for addressing gender inequality in program-
ming by looking first at the main achievements so far and at discrimi-
nation remaining. The booklet then summarises five lessons learnt in
gender programming, lists key challenges to be addressed, and presents
current aid modalities as opportunities for future gender programming.
On the last pages of this booklet a number of supplementary gender
equality resources are listed for easy reference.

What has been achieved?

For several decades, governments, civil society and development
­institutions have worked to address inequalities between men and
women. Progress can be summarised in the six points below.

1. Increased public awareness of gender inequality.

2. Increased awareness of the multiplier effect of gender equality to
development efforts.
3. Girls’ enrolment in primary and secondary education has increased,
female illiteracy has declined, and women’s participation in higher
education is growing.
4. The number of women in public office has increased with a near
doubling of the average proportion of women in National Assemblies
between 1995 and 2004.
5. Most governments have established institutions, such as women’s
­affairs ministries, to address gender equality concerns.
6. Legal and policy reforms promoting gender equality are now being
undertaken in countries across the globe.

3
However, recent assessments of donor agencies, the UN and the World • Gender equality mainstreaming is a process, not an end in itself. It
Bank1 conclude that progress towards more equality between women and involves considering both men’s and women’s needs and experience
men is insufficient. in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies.
The aim of gender mainstreaming is equality between men and
women, the realisation of women’s rights and women’s empowerment.
Discrimination against women and girls remains pervasive and severe:
• Need for gender analyses. A prerequisite for mainstreaming gender
• Of the world’s one billion poorest people, three-fifths are women and
equality is to understand how and why gender inequalities are relevant
girls.
to the work at hand, and where to find culturally appropriate oppor-
• Of the 960 million illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women.
• 70 per cent of the 130 million children who are out of school are girls.
tunities that support greater equality between women and men.
• Women everywhere typically earn less than men, both because they • Sex-disaggregated data are critical. A necessity for the promotion of
are concentrated in low-paying jobs and because they earn less for gender equality is the availability of sex-disaggregated data for every
the same work. statistic, which involves counts of people. This is critical to detect and
• Although women spend about 70 per cent of their unpaid time caring quantify inequalities between men and women. Such data also give
for family members, that contribution to the global economy remains an understanding of the playing field to be levelled and the basis for
invisible. measuring outcome and impact of change processes.
• Almost half of all adult women have experienced violence at the • Need for conceptual clarity. Clear use of language is crucial for
hands of their intimate partners. effective programming. It is easy to lose one’s way in the swamp of
• Systematic sexual violence against women has characterised almost gender jargon. The Glossary of this toolbox along with the conceptual
all recent armed conflicts and is used as a tool of terror and “ethnic ­definitions offered in the booklets can serve as points of reference.
cleansing” • Benefits in using multi-track strategies. Promoting gender equal-
• In sub-Saharan Africa, 57 per cent of those living with HIV are women. ity will often require pursuing several efforts at once: developing an
Young women aged 15-24 are at least three times more likely to be
understanding of the nature of the inequalities, building alliances,
infected than men of the same age.
earning leadership support, piloting initiatives. In order to achieve
• Each year, half a million women die, and every minute 35 women
tangible results, efforts can focus on mainstreaming gender equality in
suffer chronic disability from preventable complications of pregnancy
specific policy areas or on special interventions for women or men.
and childbirth.

A lesson on men’s roles and identities

Understanding gender equality - lessons learnt There is growing recognition that understanding men’s roles and identi-
A lot of experience has been gained from efforts to mainstream gender ties is critical to gender equality. Understanding men’s roles and identities
equality and from special interventions directed at women and girls over can broaden the perspective and help make interventions more effective.
the past decades. Only few interventions have been directed specifically
at men. Past experience points to the importance of using clear defini- Relations between men and women and how a society sees men’s roles are
tions when referring to mainstreaming gender equality and women’s at the heart of core development challenges such as the AIDS pandemic.
­empowerment. But even more so, the lessons learnt emphasise that Likewise, efforts to promote peace in war-torn regions require knowledge
gender equality issues differ from one social context to the other. of how young boys and men become combatants, and incentives to make

4 5
 • Opposition and backlash. Promoting gender equality is not easy.
Men - the other half of gender
In development jargon, “gender” has been incorrectly used to There is opposition, backlash and numerous obstacles. Where progress
mean “women”. Promoting gender equality has for the most part has been made, it is often incremental. A long-term perspective is
consisted of efforts focusing on empowering women economically needed and small advances need to be documented and celebrated.
and/or politically. However, because gender concerns the relation- • Gender equality is seen as an externally imposed agenda. However,
ships between men and women more often than not, women’s most countries have international, regional and national commitments
well-being cannot improve without including men. to gender equality. To ensure that gender issues are prioritised on a
Failing to understand the social structures that govern the way country’s political agenda, it is crucial for development partners to
men and women behave and interact, can undermine ­actions link up with national allies, such as civil society organizations capable
directed at women or render them ineffective of promoting change. Collaboration with like-minded development
Source: The Other Half of Gender. Men’s issues in Development. Edited by Ban- partners, pooling of resources and dialogue with decision-makers are a
non, Ian and Correia, Maria C.. World Bank 2006.
way forward.
• Internal and external criticism. Bashing gender mainstreaming
them put their weapons down. Gender equality issues need to involve
men much more than has been the case so far. Consequently, gender
analysis needs to integrate both women’s and men’s perspectives. Men’s issues in human and social development
It is important to consider men’s issues in human and social
Challenges development as part of a gender and development agenda. The
Experience shows that obstacles to working with gender equality issues development community needs to adopt a broader view of gender
prevail and need to be continuously identified and addressed: issues. An approach is recommended that takes explicit account
of how men and women contribute to, participate in, and perpetu-
ate gender relations. The following suggested actions are essen-
tial:
1. Foster additional data collection and disaggregation.
2. Sponsor research and fund initiatives in areas potentially
relevant to male issues: These include masculinity, domestic
violence, health issues, family planning, parenting, substance
abuse and peace and security issues.
3. Continue to incorporate men into gender planning initiatives.
4. Modify existing programs to reduce negative and amplify posi-
tive effects for men.
5. Support “alliance politics” through joint interventions.
Source: Joyce P Jacobsen: Men’s Issues in Development in The Other Half of Gender.
Men’s issues in Development. Edited by Bannon, Ian and Correia,
Maria C.. World Bank 2006.

6 7
 s­ trategies is a popular pastime. Criticism comes from a host of
groups - international experts, academics, women’s organisations and
traditionalists. The challenge includes being aware of the different
viewpoints and agendas of the critics as well as forming alliances with
like-minded partners.
• Low priority and institutional support. Policy commitments to
gender equality are not always backed by serious efforts in practice.
Accountability systems to measure performance, resources to finance
changes in gender equality, capacity development and incentives to
work with gender issues are not always in place. At the institutional
level, there is a need for senior leadership to back up gender main-
streaming.

Opportunities
The new development assistance modalities provide many opportunities
to promote equality between men and women. Some opportunities
­concern context and policies, others analysis and tools, Booklet 3 on
Gender Equality in the Aid Effectiveness Framework goes into more
detail with a number of aspects, including:

• Millennium Development Goals: Seven ways to make progress,

­supported by the 2005 Millennium Summit Declaration are listed
in the box below. However, to realise the 8 MDGs, governments
and their partners must seriously and systematically address gender
­equality issues in relation to each of the goals.
• The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness endorsed by developed and
developing countries at the High-Level Forum (HLF) in March 2005,
represents joint commitments to make aid more effective to accelerate
the achievement of the MDGs.
• Growing focus on accountability: When monitoring and evaluation
does not take gender into consideration, even the most successful
gender equality components in a programme loose traction. There is
awareness in the development community that to mainstream gender
equality perspectives successfully, accountability systems need to be
put in place within organisations.

8 9
• Gender sensitive budgeting is a relatively new way to address gender 5
inequalities. In the past, national and local budgets were regarded
7 ways to make headway for women and improve gender equality
as “gender neutral”. It is now realised that the way a government The UN Millennium Project has identified seven strategic priorities
collects and spends money can often entrench inequalities. As budget that will significantly level the playing field for women and girls.
support becomes an increasingly important aid modality, prospects of 1. Strengthen opportunities for post-primary education for girls
­improving gender sensitive budgeting increase. while simultaneously meeting commitments to universal
• Abundance of programming resources – the following pages provide an ­primary education.
overview with examples of some of the numerous resources available 2. Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights.
to gender equality programmers today. More documentation and 3. Invest in infrastructure to reduce women’s and girls’ time
manuals can be found on the internet sites quoted in this booklet ­burdens.
and help development partners build future programming on the 4. Guarantee women’s and girls’ property and inheritance rights.
consolidated experience of the past. 5. Eliminate gender inequality in employment by decreasing
women’s reliance on informal employment, closing gender
gaps in earnings, and reducing occupational segregation.
6. Increase women’s share of seats in national parliaments and
local governmental bodies.
7. Combat violence against women.

Investments in these seven areas could be made as gender main-

streaming efforts or as special interventions focussing on women
and girls, depending on the specific context. At the same time,
progress in these areas is also vital for poverty reduction.
Source: Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN
Millennium Project 2005.

Nothing, arguably, is as important today in the political economy

of development as an adequate recognition of political, economic
and social participation and leadership of women.”
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom

10 11
What Denmark does to promote gender equality in development
A list of additional
cooperation is clearly stated in the strategy “Gender Equality in ­resources
Danish Development Cooperation”

Denmark is furthermore committed to:

• Promote gender equality and women’ s empowerment and
The additional resources listed below suggest how readers of the tool
rights as a goal and a means by which to achieve other box can access supplementary types of resources. The reader is briefly
­development goals such as the MDGs, introduced to each type of resource.
• To make the Paris Declaration Partnership Principles work
to promote gender equality and vice versa. Tipsheets
• Promote women’ s economic empowerment. Tipsheets show how and why gender equality issues (inequalities, stereo-
• Promote aspects of Security Council Resolution 1325 on types, gender division of labour, unpaid work, rights, etc.) are relevant
Women, Peace and Security whenever relevant internationally in a specific area. Many tipsheets are compiled in the OECD-DAC
and at country level. collection. For example, a tipsheet on gender equality issues in initiatives
• Strengthen the integration of interventions to promote designed to strengthen police forces looks at how the police (primarily
women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and a male occupation) interact with women and men (highlighting issues
HIV/AIDS interventions. relating to gender-based violence), provides information on international
• Strengthen the obligations on gender mainstreaming
best practices and notes issues on how to increase the number of women
and ­special interventions and policy dialogue in its Aid
in the police force. [www.oecd.org]
­Management Guidelines.
• Strengthen accountability for financial allocations for gender
Checklists
equality and women’ s empowerment
Checklists outline questions to ask or issues to cover in a specific
• Strengthen management and staff capacity to work with gender
issues by initiating an e-learning course on gender equality. ­situation (conducting an analysis, planning an intervention, designing
an evaluation, etc.).
For example, a checklist relating to “gender aware disarmament, demo-
bilization, and reintegration” may ask: Has the opportunity been used
to inform women of benefits available to them and how to obtain them?
Are women trained in their rights, for example the right to own land? Is
the threat of sexualized violence within the camp recognized and dealt
with? Are men and women offered equal (but if necessary, separate)
­access to education about HIV/AIDS? [www.networklearning.org]

Manuals and handbooks

Manuals and handbooks tend to be long documents, often combining
checklists, narrative text, good examples, where to go for additional

12 13
 s­ upport, etc. One example is the joint UNDP/Energia guide on
“Gender and Energy for Sustainable Development: A Toolkit and
­Resource Guide”. [http://www.undp.org]

Good practice documents

Good practice documents are made on the assumption that good practice
examples will inspire staff and partners to follow these examples.
For example, the UNDP’s Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously:
[http://www.undp.org]., the UNIFEM webpage: www.unifem.org, and
the World Bank’s webpage on “promising approaches to engendering
development”: [web.worldbank.org]

Gender analysis frameworks

Gender analysis frameworks are particularly useful in relation to projects.
The influential “A Guide to Gender-Analysis Frameworks”2 contains
‘generic’ gender analysis frameworks which try to establish:
• The gender division of labour (gender roles and responsibilities).
• Women’s and men’s access to and control over resources at all levels –
from household to state.
• Women’s and men’s gender related needs.

‘How to do’ tools

‘How to do’ tools provide specific guidance or instructions on how to
carry out specific tasks.
For example, “Documenting Women’s Rights Violations by Non-state
Actors” (by Rights and Democracy and Women Living under Muslim
Laws) provides advice to human rights advocates looking to document
violence against women by non-state actors. [www.dd-rd.ca ]

Staff guidelines
Staff guidelines are generally more technical in nature. In some areas
(such as health), specific advice can be technical guidelines aimed at
medical practitioners working in specific circumstances.
For example, the WHO’s Clinical management of survivors of rape.
­Developing protocols for use with refugees and internally displaced persons or

14 15
WHO (2003) Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence:
[www.who.int]

Statistical and informational databases

Databases are important resources to draw on. One starting point for
information is the World Bank’s gender equality statistics page:
[genderstats.worldbank.org] and the UNDP Human Development
­Report gender statistics:
[http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/indices/gdi_gem/]

Gender sensitive indicators

Gender sensitive indicators often have to be constructed for particular
programmes. Indicators may be quantitative (numeric) or qualitative
(perceptions and experience) relating to changes in gender relations.

To help its staff, Danida has produced a guide on “Gender-Sensitive

Monitoring and Indicators on Gender”3. The guide illustrates gender
sensitive impact indicators and breaks down outcome indicators accord-
ing to the three focus areas: Rights, Resources, and Influence. Selected
programme illustrations are for: Good Governance Sector Programme
Support (SPS), Agricultural SPS and Education SPS.

Scorecards and policy markers on gender equality

These scoring and rating tools concern accountability within an aid
­agency. If systematically used by the staff they help to keep track of
whether policies and agreed procedures to promote gender equality
are followed.

Notes
1. See for instance recent Gender Evaluations of DFID, Sida, Norad, EC, ILO, World Bank,
UNDP, and OECD/DAC.
2. March, Candida, Ines Smyth and Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay (1999):
A Guide to Gender-Analysis Frameworks. Oxfam.
3. Danida (2006). Gender-Sensitive Monitoring and Indicators. Technical Note.

16
18
Glossary of gender terms
This section offers a brief glossary budgetary process and restructu­ all couples and individuals freely
of some of the frequently used ring revenues in order to promote and responsibly to decide on the
gender terms in the booklets. gender equality. number, spacing, and timing of
­Definitions are primarily drawn their children. The right includes
from the World Health Organisation Gender equality the information and means to
and the European Commission. Gender equality means that all decide freely and access to the
human beings are free to develop highest standard of sexual and
Affirmative action their personal abilities and make reproductive health.
Measures targeted at a particular choices without the limitations set
group and intended to eliminate by strict gender roles. Different Sex-disaggregated statistics
and prevent discrimination, or to ­behaviour, aspirations, and needs The collection and separation of
ameliorate existing disadvantages. of women and men are considered, data and statistical information
valued and favoured equally. by sex to enable comparative
Focal points analysis; sometimes referred to as
Gender focal points are individuals Gender equity gender-disaggregated statistics.
given a particular responsibility for Gender equity means fairness
gender equality in an organisation. and justice in the distribution Special interventions
Given the right circumstances, of b
­ ene­fits and responsibilities Special interventions are efforts
networks of gender focal points between women and men. It aimed at creating fundamental
can be a useful method to promote often requires women-specific structural changes in institutions,
gender equality in a large-scale programmes and policies to end policies, legislation, and allocation
programme. existing inequalities. of resources to promote gender
equality between men and women,
Gender Gender mainstreaming based on the specific needs in the
Social (as opposed to biological) Incorporation of a gender equality individual country, policy area or
differences between women and perspective in all development organisation. Special interventions
men. These differences have been policies, strategies, and interven- can be stand-alone projects or pro-
acquired; they are changeable over tions at all levels and at all stages grammes identified to complement
time and have wide variations both by the actors normally involved mainstreamed sector programmes
within and between cultures. therein. Considering both men’s in a country programme.
and women’s wishes, needs, and
Gender analysis experience in design, implemen­ Women’s empowerment
The study of differences in condi- tation, monitoring and evaluation The empowerment of women
tions, needs, participation rates, of policies and efforts. concerns women gaining power
access to resources, control of as- and control over their own lives.
sets, decision-making powers, etc. Gender relations It constitutes an important part of
- between women and men in their The relationship and power distri- the efforts to bring about equal
assigned gender roles. Booklet 4 bution between women and men opportunities for men and women
gives an introduction to gender in a given socio-cultural context. and involves awareness raising,
analysis at country level, whereas building self-confidence, expan-
details on gender analysis can be Masculinity
The quality or condition of being sion of choices, increased access
found in Booklet 5 with examples to and control over resources and
of gender analysis in agriculture, male in a given social context.
Some cross-cultural elements, actions to transform the structures
education, health, private sector and institutions which reinforce
and good governance initiatives. such as aggression, strength, and
assertiveness have traditionally and perpetuate gender discrimina-
Gender audit been considered male characte­ tion and inequality.
The analysis and evaluation of ristics. However, the socially and Women’s rights
policies, programmes and insti­ historically constructed male The rights of women and the girl
tutions in terms of how well they characteristics need to be seen in child are an inalienable, integral,
apply gender-related criteria. their specific historical, cultural, and indivisible part of universal
and social context. human rights.
Gender budgeting
Gender-based assessment of Reproductive rights
budgets, incorporating a gender Reproductive rights rest on the
perspective at all levels of the recognition of the basic right of

Main sources: European Commission, World Health Organisation.

 Glossary
of gender
terms

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark – Danida 2008

Photo: Danida, Adam Rogers / UN Capital Development Fund, COWI A/S, Stig Stasig
2008

Udenrigsministeriet
Asiatisk Plads 2
DK-1448 København K
Denmark
Tel: + 4533 92 00 00
Fax: +45 32 54 05 33
E-mail: [email protected]
www.um.dk