SHARE:
This note concerns a learning group discussion on gender mainstreaming in DFID partner organisations led by Gender Links (GL), a Southern African PPA and GTF grantee (see list of grantees for both at Annex A). GL leads the gender subÀ“group within the inclusion learning group of the PPA. On 24 April 2012 the DFID GTF fund will be having a learning group meeting in Johannesburg on Civil Society in Fragile States at the GL Cottages (a GL meeting and training facility). Following a desire expressed by the PPA learning group a) to broaden the learning circle and b) to host some learning events outside London, GL proposed two cyber dialogues and one meeting on this topic on the evening of Tuesday 24 April, after the DFID GTF learning meeting. The cyber dialogues allow participation from all parts of the globe (see instructions for joining at Annex B), while the event in Southern Africa is a unique opportunity for DFID partner organisations present in Johannesburg at that time, as well as country offices of London-based organisations, to participate in a learning discussion. The Gender and Media Diversity Centre (GMDC), a GL partnership project that hosts regular dialogues on topical issues, is facilitating the discussion. GL will be inviting some of the organisations that we engage with on gender mainstreaming to join the discussion. We hope that all DFID partners will feel free to do the same!
Key dates
DATE |
TIME |
TOPIC |
VENUE |
Friday 13 April |
12 noon SA 10 am UK À“ 1 hour |
Approaches to gender mainstreaming |
Cyber dialogues http://gemcommunity.genderlinks.org.za/chat-service.php |
Friday 20 April |
12 noon SA 10 am UK À“ 1 hour |
Sharing tools and successes |
Cyber dialogues http://gemcommunity.genderlinks.org.za/chat-service.php |
Tuesday 24 April |
17.30 for 18.00 À“ to 19.30 |
Mainstreaming or malestreaming: Gender@work in organisations |
GL Cottages, 30 Gill Street, Johannesburg. |
(Please note that this is a dynamic and flexible process. We will assess what further engagements and inputs may be required after this initial process.)
Background
Gender is a cross cutting issue that concerns all development organisations and CSO’s. Within the DFID this concern is reflected in a number of ways. For example:
Approaches to gender
Since gender came onto the development with the First World Conference on Women in Mexico in 1975 several different approaches have evolved:
Women in development (WID)
Women and development (WAD)
Gender and Development (GAD)
Basic needs and the MDG’s
The Millennium Development Goals comprise a set of globally agreed minimal standards to be achieved by 2015. Although MDG 3 concerns gender equality, the indicators focus narrowly on women’s education and political participation, excluding many areas that perpetuate gender inequality such as legal and constitutional rights, sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence etc.
Women’s rights
In recent times,many women’s organisations have become critical of the gender mainstreaming approach that has resulted in funding cuts for their work on the grounds that gender is being mainstreamed: sometimes with questionable results. They argue that mainstreaming has diluted the focus on the violation of women’s rights, and have chosen to focus on this, as a key and necessary component to achieving gender mainstreaming.
Men and boys
This is also a relatively new area of work, but growing in strength, funding and momentum. This approach argues that gender equality cannot be achieved unless the attitudes of boys and men change, and they are enlisted as partners. While this approach has generally been welcomed, it has also been criticised as being “flavour of the month” among donors and eclipsing the concerns of the women’s rights lobby.
It is important to state that none of these approaches are mutually exclusive; many organisations employ or are experimenting with a combination of strategies.
DFID Approach:Strategic Vision for Girls and Women
The UK has put the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of international development. DFID’s Strategic Vision for Girls and Women, launched in March 2011, identifies four priority pillars for action to deliver real change for girls and women:
Pillar 1: Delay first pregnancy and support safe childbirth
Pillar 2: Get economic assets directly to girls and women
Pillar 3: Get girls through secondary school
Pillar 4: Prevent violence against girls and women
Achieving results across these 4 pillars also depends on improvements in the enabling environment À“ i.e. theattitudes, behaviours, social norms, statutory and customary laws and policies which constrain the lives of adolescent girls and women, and perpetuate their exclusion and poverty.
Key questions
Some key questions identified in preliminary discussions of this Learning Group include:
Outputs
Outcomes
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Saeanna Chingamuka on gmdcmanager@genderlinks.org.za or 27 82 229 2337.
ANNEX A: DFID AND PPA GRANTEES
PPA |
GTF |
|
1 |
ActionAid |
Anti-Slavery International |
2 |
ADD International |
Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) |
3 |
Article 19 |
Centre for Governance and Development (CGD) |
4 |
Asia Foundation |
Christian Aid |
5 |
Avocats Sans Frontiers |
Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) |
6 |
British Red Cross |
Conciliation Resources |
7 |
CAFOD |
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) |
8 |
Care International UK |
Gender Links (GL) |
9 |
CDAInc |
Global Development Network (GDN) |
10 |
Christian Aid |
Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) |
11 |
Conciliation Resources |
Global Witness |
12 |
Development Initiatives |
IDASA |
13 |
Ethical Trading Initative (ETI) |
International Budget Partnership |
14 |
Farm Africa, |
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPFWHR) |
15 |
GAIN |
IUCN – The World Conservation Union |
16 |
Gender links |
Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) |
17 |
HelpAge |
Living Earth Foundation |
18 |
International Alert |
Ma’an Network |
19 |
International HIV/AIDS Aliance |
National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) |
20 |
International Restless Development |
National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO) |
21 |
Islamic Relief |
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) |
22 |
Malaria Consortium |
Oxfam Great Britain |
23 |
MAPAction |
Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA) |
24 |
Marie Stopes International |
PRISMA |
25 |
Norwegian Refugee Council |
Relief International |
26 |
OXFAM |
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) |
27 |
Penal Reform International |
The BBC World Service Trust |
28 |
People in Aid |
The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) |
29 |
Plan |
The Resilience Centre – Cranfield University |
30 |
Practical action |
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) |
31 |
Progressio |
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum |
32 |
Saferworld |
Tiri – Making Integrity Work |
33 |
Save the Children |
Transparency International Secretariat |
34 |
Sightsavers |
UCL Centre for International Health and Development (CIHD) |
35 |
Transparency International |
WaterAid |
36 |
Water Aid |
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) |
37 |
Womankind Worldwide |
Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) |
38 |
World Vision UK |
|
39 |
WWF UK |
ANNEX B:
Joining the Gender Links Cyberdialogues!
To login and participate in the cyber dialogues, please go to http://gemcommunity.genderlinks.org.za/chat-service.php.
To log in
In the small box, type in your nickname, that is what you would like to be known as in the chat session. It could be your first name or your name and surname or a nickname that you prefer. Then type in your sex (m/f) in the same box.
Click on Join Chat to join in the discussion. ˬˬYou will be logged into the cyber dialogues chat service.
Joining a room
You will need to join a room to begin chatting. For these cyber dialogues we will use the English chat room.
Chatting
You will now see the chat screen. In the main box you will begin to see other people chatting. To add your comments type into the box at the bottom of the screen and click SEND. You will see your comment appear in the main box.
To exit from the cyber dialogues, click on the red icon on the right.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Saeanna on gmdcmanager@genderlinks.org.za. We look forward to meeting you in cyber space.
Comment on Mainstreaming or malestreaming? Gender@work in organisations