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DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS: THE CHALLENGE FOR GENDER EQUALITY–

PROJECT DESIGN ISSUES

July 7th, 2006

Laeticia MukurasiChief Gender Specialist, ORPC. 3

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Presentation Plan

Part A: Introduction : Definition and Key Considerations

Part B: Framework For Assessing Gender Equality Results

Part C: Designing Projects for Results

Part D: The Way Forward

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Part A. The Paris Declaration, Development Effectiveness and Gender Equality

Development Effectiveness defined as ‘’enhancement of the development impact and the achievement and demonstration of measurable results on the ground’’.

Operationally, it requires moving from activity and disbursement oriented project/portfolio management to development results management.

Gender Equality (GE) central to development effectiveness and a major development goal in CEDAW, MDGs and the Paris Declaration. RMCs have acceded to it.

Two of the principles of Paris Declaration have special implications for gender:

Ownership: men’s, women’s concerns central; and Managing for Results: gender equality results captured in design of

interventions.

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Key Consideration In Gender Equality Results1) What Have We Achieved So Far?

Have both genders benefited from economic and human development and poverty reduction?

• Gender Inequalities continue to exist in every development sector for which data is available 70% of the poor; 66% of the illiterate; Maternal mortality rates remain very high at 1100 per 100,000. (more than twice as

high in South Asia at 430 per 100 000) 58% of adults who are sero-positive Teenage girls are infected with HIV at a rate of 5 to 6 times greater than their male

counterparts Africa is the only region in danger of not achieving most of the MDGs 14% of the managerial jobs; 12% of the parliamentary seats; 10% of the cabinet positions.

Source: Beijing +10 Reports MDG reports

Some development interventions have formalized and reinforced gender bias in ways that are detrimental to development.

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Key Consideration In Gender Equality Results: 2) Is there Adequate Appreciation that Gender Equality Is a

Development Issue

Women in Africa are more active in the economic arena than on any other continent. In SSA, women: comprise 60% of informal sector operators contribute about 70% of total agricultural labour produce 90% of the continent’s foodbut under what economic conditions: receive less than 10 per cent of the credit to small farmers and 1% of the total credit to agriculture(2003) (www.mdgender.net)

Gender inequalities constitute a cost that can hinder economic growth.

How can women’s contributions be strengthened in order to reduce poverty and promote economic growth?

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Key Consideration In Gender Equality Results 3) Women For Development Or Development For Women

Efficiency: Focuses more on the development

process and less on women Purpose is to ensure development is

more efficient and effective through women’s economic contribution.

Takes women’s time and labour as a given - without compensation

Does not question costs in terms of womens’ triple role

Participation should not be equated with equity for women

Development can only be achieved at the cost of longer and harder working days for women

Empowerment: Focuses on increasing womens’

capacities and control over the choices in their lives

Purpose is to increase their self reliance and self confidence so that they can become more active players in society.

Recognizes women’s triple roles and integrates mitigation measures.

Promotes activities geared to promote women's collective mobilization

Promotes activities designed to overcome institutionalized gender discrimination.

Enlists the support of men

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Key Consideration In Gender Equality Result 4) Project Planning

Does the Bank have a planning culture that encompasses a comprehensive and coherent strategy to achieve gender equality results?

– “Bank projects have benefited women directly as well as indirectly though in many cases such benefits are incidental and not explicitly part of the project design” Gender Mainstreaming In Bank Projects - Evidence from Reviews of Evaluation Results

Attention to gender issues rated at 59% - gender not explicitly treated as a design issue during preparation- QEA REPORT - 2005

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Promotion Of Gender Equality At Bank Level

Gender mainstreaming enshrined in all framework policy documents; Vision Statement, Strategic Plan and Bank Plan

Gender Policy - Goal Is to Promote Gender Equality

Tools for Promoting Gender Equality Results GPOA - operationalising Gender Policy ESAP- assessment of potential negative environmental and social impacts Gender Profiles – pinpoints areas for follow up Gender guidelines and tools – participatory process Training and Capacity Building (needs to be intensified) The Gender Budget Initiative (quantification of financial contributions to

gender equality) Operations Manual- not gender sensitive (in existence since 1999)

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Part B. Framework for Assessing Gender Equality Results 1

Economic power or opportunities – Reduced inequalities between women and men in access to and control over the benefits of development.

Examples of the way in which a project could contribute to gender equality results:

– Livelihoods and productive assets. Increased incomes of women, Increased access to credit and business support services; More equitable access by women to productivity-

enhancing inputs and services and Support to female entrepreneurship;

Changes at programme/sector level. Health: e.g. reduced mortality rates. Education: increased proportion of girls/women at all

educational levels. Infrastructure: reduction in drudgery; increase in incomes. Economic policies: gender-equitable macro-economic policies

(e.g. fiscal policies, trade, budgets). Poverty reduction strategies: measures directing resources

to women or measures to address the gender-specific constraints faced by women.

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Framework for Assessing Gender Equality Results 2

Social power or capabilities –

More equal participation of women with men as decision makers in shaping the sustainable development of their societies.

Legal system. Removal of legal barriers to equality: e.g. land rights,

violence, discrimination in employment Actors in the legal system more knowledgeable of laws

and able to treat women equitably

Public awareness Awareness among men and women of laws and

mechanisms protecting women’s rights Increased participation by men in advocacy and

debate on gender equality

Response to gender-specific rights violations

Improved provision or functioning of social services (e.g. shelters) responding to rights violations

Strengthened policy commitments and programs to respond to gender-specific violations

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Framework for Assessing Gender Equality Results 3

Social power or capabilities – contMore equal participation of women with men as decision makers.

Political power or agency : Women and girls more able to realize their full human rights.

Institutional capacity Strengthened capacity to do gender analysis in a particular

sector or public organization, knowledge of gender equality issues.

Strengthened capacity and systems to collect and analyze data required for gender policies, planning, and programs.

Capacity for public participation Strengthened knowledge or skills (in e.g. advocacy). Strengthened women’s organizations or networks. More supportive environment for women’s participation in

public life and decision making in communities .

Household and individual decision-making Increase in shared decision making at the household level

on matters such as expenditure, activities, etc.

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Part C. Designing Projects for ResultsSample project (2004)

2004 – 36 Appraisal reports (out of 111)

Criteria used:Loan sizeSector/activity focusRegional representationFunding source

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FINDINGS – Encouraging Trends but Mixed Results

Great variation in quality of integration of gender issue between:

B ADB and ADF projects (more attention to gender issues in ADF) Social Sector Projects (illustrate best gender analysis and design)

Projects in the same sectors: Agriculture, Infrastructure (more use of generic categories: farmers,

households, incomes, the poor, etc) Poverty Reduction Projects (limited gendered analysis of targeted

populations, little focus on gender dimensions of poverty) Lines of Credit, Governance and Structural Adjustment Loans (little

gender analysis)13

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Emerging Best Practice

Willingness to innovate : OM not a hindrance: flexibility in its its use

Holding separate consultations with women

Sensitization of men to support women’s empowerment

Inclusion of women in governance structures

The use of conditionality Women’s ministries as part of

institutional arrangements Donor activities on gender Specification of costs for high

impact gender activities Training of women in non-

traditional skills

Some Best Practice Projects Benin: Rural Drinking Water Supply

and Sanitation Programme Tanzania: District Agriculture Sector

Investment Project: Namibia: Kamanjab-Omakange

Road Project Burkina Faso – Feeder Road

Project Uganda Farm Income

Enhancement Project DRC Education Sector Support

Project Mali HIV/AIDS Control project Multinational: The African Virtual

University

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GENDER PLAN OF ACTION GENDER SENSITIVE DESIGN CRITERIA

Log-frame : Gender equality in the statement of sector goal and objectives including the monitoring indicators

Application of gender analysis Gender disaggregated data Participation Gender actions/strategy Costing Gender expertise Loan conditions

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THE CHALLENGE TO GENDER EQUALITY RESULT-PROJECT DESIGN

Project Goal, Objectives and Indicators (the Log frame)

Project Goal, Objectives :Explicit reference to gender equality result in the goal increases the likelihood that the project will target both women and men by using gender sensitive community mobilization strategies

60% of Bank projects do not mention gender equality as a goal or as an objective;

Log frames carry very limited verifiable gender indicators

Some indicators are not well substantiated e.g. 33,000 beneficiaries or 30 % of beneficiaries;

Solution. The requirement for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) MUST be mandatory for Social issues including Gender.

Important for verification of results relative to what was planned.

Indicators: This area is weak but evolving -

Verifiable indicators in most health and education projects.

Increasingly in some agriculture and infrastructure projects

Most projects (60%) manage to capture inputs and activities but fail to capture benefits and impacts/results.

Solution: the Bank’s result based framework needs to be made more comprehensive

All gender guidelines will contain sector result indicators

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Application Of Gender Analysis (GA)

GA is the systematic assessment of the project impact on women and men respectively.

GA is increasingly undertaken in Bank Appraisal reports but:

40% contain adequate gender analysis

Impact reduced to generalized statements about improved conditions without a nuanced analysis of how lives or whose lives will be improved.

In some gender analysis is enclaved in one token (identical) paragraph

Normally descriptive of the conditions of women but do not analyze gender relations

Projects contain very limited baseline information; and

Emphasis on FHH, neglect of women in marital relationships (hazard).

Solution. The ESIA could greatly enhance gender analysis.

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Gender Disaggregated Data (GDD)

Required in order to provide the situation prior to a development intervention, against which progress can be assessed or comparisons made – THE RESULT

This is one of the weakest area in project design across all projects. Only limited GDD is provided in 40% of Appraisal reports In many cases, data given in gender neutral terms Reflects a larger problem at country level (household surveys, census

data)

Solution: The use of ESAP has to be strengthened. Longer Bank missions with a more robust team to collect data or Use of country institutions such as NGOs and research institutes to prepare

background research document on gender issues. Sector experts should tap the assistance of the Bank’s statistical department Use national statistical yearbooks

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Participatory Approach

Consultation with women: Important for ownership and crucial to the monitoring and sustainability of projects

A standard reference (in 90% of projects) mainly mention consultations with “stakeholders” but their genders remains unknown.

Evidence of the issues raised by women and women’s perspective of the project is generally not visible.

In several cases, it is mainly the issues raised by governments or urban-based NGOs and CSOs concerning gender issues that are integrated into the document.

Remedial measure would include longer missions that provide sufficient time in the field to conduct gendered consultations.

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Gender Strategy

Gender strategy: GPOA requires projects to identify actions to enable women to benefit from development interventions.

Increasingly, some projects are integrating gender related actions, however In some cases analysis does not lead to stipulating action 40% of documents contain gender related actions Is more visible in Human Development projects - education and health Although improvements are seen is less visible in some Agriculture,

Infrastructure and Structural Adjustment Loans. Greater focus on practical needs than strategic interests of women Many projects adopt a gender blind approach

Solution: specific reference to the gender identities of who will have access, ownership and control of development benefits must be made.

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Cost tables.

Paris Declaration expects donor contributions to be measured in terms of activities and resources

Report on the Gender Budget Initiative: how to quantify contributions to gender equality

20% of appraisal documents mention costs related to gender equality Bank has no system to capture the costs related to gender equality Generally difficult to quantify the amount of Bank’s resources that are

going to support increased gender equality.

This issue is quite complex and requires further interdepartmental consultation within the Bank.

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Gender Expertise and Loan Conditions

Having Gender Specialists on missions increases the potential for addressing gender issues systematically in the design

Gender Specialists (GS) have to struggle to get their inputs integrated in the documents

Gender equality actions proposed by GS evaporate in the course of preparing the project or fail to be resourced and with serious potential for implementation.

GS position need to be upgraded

Solution: Task Managers must respect the input of GS.

requires the existence of a sufficient number of Gender Specialists in the Bank.

GPOA: Ensure, where appropriate, that all actions that are binding describe actions for gender mainstreaming.

Some (30%) projects demand that certain conditions be met before the disbursement of loans e. g. requiring evidence from the borrower that women’s ministry of associations are part of steering and monitoring committees.

Solution: Use of loan condition must be used when appropriate

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Underlying Reasons: Ambiguity About Gender Equality

Resistance to change and fear of change

Reluctance to tamper with social norms, religion or cultural traditions

Denial: gender is not a concern Generalising on the basis of one or two

experiences

Tokenism: putting in a small add-on project or project component with negligible funding

Lip service: acknowledgement at the level of rhetoric but failing to take meaningful action

Commissioning a study: the need to address the issue will disappear

Development is about change and transformation – result means change

RMCs are signatory to the Declarations and Conventions on Gender including CEDAW and MDGs

There is empirical evidence on gender disparities and discriminatory practices

Gender is contextual. Promote the use of gender sensitive participatory methods

Shift attention to the results on women and men

Build the need for result in the monitoring framework

Propose some action on the basis of what is already known

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Part D: Way forward: Two critical steps

Environmental and Social Assessment Procedure - ESAP

A tool for Examining the projects for potential

beneficial and adverse impacts; Assessing the whole range of steps and

procedures that would be required to prevent, minimize, mitigate and compensate potential adverse social impacts

Recommending measures to improve environmental and social performance

Social including Gender categorisation will be MANDATORY similar to Environment (ESAP Procedures – annex 7)

Project planning has to contain a coherent strategy on GER

Infrastructure - undertake a network approach to service the economy -who has access?

Livestock – use gender analysis to promote the kinds of livestock over which women have control- who owns what?

Education – beyond enrolment to the impact of gender based violence (GBV) on education of girls - constraining factors

Health: Mortality rates ok, but facilities for gender based violence and pyschological and mental rehabilitation are also important – beyond biology

Irrigation: provide technologies that reduce women’s work for weeding, harvesting and food conservation-time poverty

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Way forward: Bank Level

Strengthen Accountability For Results Insist On High Quality Gender Analysis Provide Incentive To Staff: Awards

Enhance Capacities Through Training For Bank Staff including Senior Management – must

be mandatory For RMC Officials

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Way forward: RMC Level

• Build capacity to conceive gender sensitive policies and programs at country level

• Emphasize gender in country dialogue -RMCs look at the Bank to provide the lead

• Strengthen RMC statistical capability (what gets measured gets done) and

• Support countries efforts to establish gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems

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Thank You for Listening