Information in this section come from CIDS's Policy on Gender Equality, Canadian International Development Agency, 1999 and Guide to Gender and Development, AusAID.

Sex and Gender

Sex

refers to a set of biological differences between women and men. Sex roles are limited to the ability of men to impregnate women and the ability of women to bear children and to breast-feed.

Gender

refers to the socially constructed roles and relationship between women and men. These are learned, changed over time, and vary within and between countries and cultures according to social, religious, historical and economic factors.

Gender Analysis

is the process of considering the impact that a development program or project may have on women and men and on the economic and social relationships between them. Key issues for analysis includes the gender division of labor; access to and control over resources; and decision-making capacity.

Gender and Development (GAD) Approach

is based on the premise that development cooperation programs cannot succeed or their impact be sustained if the people affected do not support them. It moves away from the practice of adding women only components to projects and programs.

Gender Mainstreaming (GM) Approach

acknowledges that all development operations have gender impact and do not automatically benefit women and men equally. It ensures that women and men equally participate in every aspect of the project, both as beneficiaries and decision-makers.

Women's Multiple Roles

Both women and men have multiple work roles. These include production, essential household and community services, and community management and political activities.

Productive role

Productive activities include all tasks that contribute to the income and economic welfare and advancement of the household and community. Women's productive roles include cash and subsistence farming, home-based industries and formal sector employment.

Reproductive role

Reproductive activities are those carried out to reproduce and care for the household. Women's reproductive roles include pregnancy, childbirth, breast-feeding and child rearing.

Household and Community Services

Essential household and community services are those which must be carried out daily to meet the family's and community's basic needs, such as fuel and water collection, education, health care and food preparation.

Community Management and Political Activities

This refers to the management and conservation of resources for collective community consumption as well as participation in cultural and religious ceremonies, formal and informal political activities and involvement in development organizations, such as non-government organizations or women's groups.

Gender Analysis Guidelines

Gender Analysis: What to ask

• Who is the target (both direct and indirect) of the proposed policy, program or project? Who will benefit? Who will lose?
• Have women been consulted on "the problem" the intervention is to solve? How have they been involved in the development of the "solution"?
• Does the intervention challenge the existing gender division of labor, tasks, responsibilities and opportunities?
• What is the best way to build on (and strengthen) the government's commitment to the advancement of women?
• What is the relationship between the intervention and other actions and organizations national, regional or international?
• Where do opportunities for change or entry points exist? And how can they best be used?
• What specific ways can be proposed for encouraging and enabling women to participate in the policy/program/project despite their traditionally more domestic location and subordinate position?
• What is the long term impact in regard to women's increased ability to take charge of their own lives and to take collective action to solve problems?

Gender Analysis: what to do?

• Gain an understanding of gender relations, the division of labor between men and women (who does what work), and who has access to and control over resources.
• Include domestic (reproductive) and community activities in the work profile. Recognize the ways women and men work and contribute to the economy, their family and society.
• Use participatory processes and include a wide range of female and male stakeholders at the governmental level and from civil society, including women's organizations and gender equality experts.
• Identify barriers to women's participation and productivity (social, economic, legal, political, cultural, etc.)
• Gain an understanding of women's practical needs and strategic interests, and identify opportunities to support both.
• Consider the differential impact of the initiative on men and women and identify consequences to be addressed.
• Establish baseline data, ensure sex-disaggregated data, set measurable targets, define indicators, and define expected results
• Outline the expected risks (including backlash) and develop strategies to minimize these risks.