Compendium of Good practices in training for gender equality

Compendium of Good Practices
in Training for Gender Equality 1
COMPENDIUM
OF GOOD PRACTICES
IN TRAINING FOR
GENDER EQUALITY
APRIL 2016
UN WOMEN TRAINING CENTRE

COMPENDIUM OF
GOOD PRACTICES
IN TRAINING FOR
GENDER EQUALITY
UN WOMEN TRAINING CENTRE
April 2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7
GENERAL REPORTS 8
INTRODUCTION 10
Background 10
Methodology and process 13
How training contributes to gender equality 14
Reflections on the politics of training
for gender equality 15
Reflections on the practice of training
for gender equality 19
Conclusions: reflecting on good practices
in training for gender equality 23
REPORTS OF GOOD PRACTICES 24
ASI: Gender, Rights, and Collective Action Training 26
Concern Universal: Gender and equality
mainstreaming in a Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene project 32
DIMA-COMIBOL:Training and Capacity Development
of Community Reporters with a Social
and Gender Focus 37
Mupan: Gender,Water and Environmental
Education Training 44
ESCWA:Training and Capacity Development
on Gender Equality 49
A Note on Promundo 54
Promundo: Portal for Gender Equality in Schools
(PEGE - Portal Equidade de Gênero nas Escolas) 56
Promundo and UNFPA: Gender Transformative
Programmes and Approaches in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia 61
Promundo and Worldfish: Capacity Development
to Integrate Gender Transformative Approaches
in Aquatic Agricultural Systems 68
UN Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO: Blended Course
Empowering UN system Gender Focal Points 75
Yellow Window: Gender in EU-funded Research
(Toolkit and Training Programme) 81
TABLE OF CONTENTS

6
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The UN Women Training Centre would like to acknowledge that this Compendium report was prepared by Lucy
Ferguson, Ruya Leghari, and Emma Wretblad. Ms. Wretblad and Ms. Leghari conducted the research exercise
and prepared detailed reports of good practices with overall technical support from Dr. Ferguson. Findings were
synthesized and the overarching report was drafted by Dr. Ferguson.
This Compendium could not have been possible without committed participation of individuals and organisations
that shared with the UN Women Training Centre their rich knowledge and experiences in the field of Training for
Gender Equality. We would like to thank Agribusiness Systems International and ACDI/VOCA (Jenn Williamson,
Lindsey Jones-Renaud,Shipra Deo),Concern Universal (Thokozani Chiwandira),DIMA-COMIBOL (Jaqueline Duran),
ESCWA (Mehrinaz El-Awady),Mupan (Aurea Garcia),Promundo PEGE (Danielle Lopes,Vanessa Fonseca),Promundo
(Jane Kato-Wallace), and Yellow Window (Lut Mergaert). Their work to promote gender equality and women’s
empowerment through training is truly inspiring and commendable. This compendium initiative was overseen
and coordinated by Khamsavath Chanthavysouk. The layout and design process was managed by Anell Abreu.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Compendium of Good Practices in Training for
Gender Equality brings together diverse practices from
several world regions. It offers in-depth information
on ten different good practices, including detailed
outlines of training courses; examples of dealing with
challenges that arise in training for gender equality;
and a collection of tools and activities for use in such
training initiatives. The objective is to make both an
empirical and analytical contribution to the field, with
the overall aim of maximising the transformative
potential of training for gender equality.
The Introduction provides an analytical review of the
research process and findings. It begins by setting out
feminist and participatory methodology adopted and
reflecting critically on this process. Next, the chapter
highlights the ways in which training has contributed
to gender equality in the ten featured experiences.
Examples are provided of how training has contributed
to change at the individual/personal and institutional/
societallevels.Theaimhereis toshowhow thepractices
included in the Compendium provide evidence of the
concrete ways in which training can contribute to
gender equality.
Following this, two sets of analytical reflections are
developed based on a synthesis of the material: on
the politics and on the practice of training for gender
equality. In terms of the politics of training for gender
equality, four key themes are highlighted: the diverse
nature of training for gender equality; the importance
of theory of gender/theory of change adopted;
training’s embeddedness in long term change projects;
and struggles over budgets. In terms of practice,
empirical evidence is provided on six main aspects of
training for gender equality: participatory planning
and learning; balancing theory and practice; contextual
sensitivity; facilitator characteristics; modes/modalities
of learning; and monitoring and evaluation.
The Introductory chapter closes by reflecting on the
lessons learned during the process of developing the
Compendium. It also sets out some key questions for
further developing work on good practices in training
for gender equality. These relate to the four main
sections of this introductory chapter: research process
and methodology; how training contributes to gender
equality; the politics of training for gender equality;and
the practice of training for gender equality.
On research processes and methodology:
What more can be done to support organisations from
the Global South and grassroots women’s organisations
to share their practices and reflect on their experiences
concerning training for gender equality?
How can this process be further developed along the
lines of participatory feminist research methodologies?
On the ways in which training contributes to gender
equality:
•• What tools and processes can be developed for
systematically documenting the contributions of
training?
•• How might these findings be systematised in
order to develop an evidence-based foundation for
the impact of training?
On the politics of training for gender equality:
•• How can theories of change for training for
gender equality be developed further, and how
can these can be embedded into all aspects of the
training cycle?
•• How do different kinds of feminist politics and
feminist theories contribute to the objectives,
process and outcomes of training?
•• In what ways does the transformative potential of
training for gender equality relate to the broader
change projects in which training is embedded?
On the practice of training for gender equality:
•• How can feminist pedagogical principles can be
applied in all stages of the training cycle?
•• How can training processes engage more
explicitly with intersectionality?
•• What is the relationship between online learning,
feminist pedagogies and transformative politics?
•• How can evaluation methodologies for training
that are compatible with participatory, feminist
methodologies be developed?

8
These questions represent a starting point for a
reflection on what might constitute a definition of
and/or criteria for good practice in training for gender
equality. It is hoped that this will be a collective process
involving stakeholders from all areas of the field –
practitioners, researchers and commissioners.
Following the Introduction to the Compendium, the
good practice case studies are outlined in detailed
reports. These are presented in alphabetical order and
are structured as follows:overview;political context and
change project; pedagogical approach; gender equality
results and outcomes; notable tools and methods; and
challenges. In addition, the reports offer an outline
of the curriculum of each training experience and
highlight particularly notable tools and methods used.
The overall aim of these reports is to offer a critical
reflection on each practice in terms of its contribution
to knowledge on training for gender equality.

1
General reports

10
INTRODUCTION
Background
This Compendium of Good Practices in Training for
Gender Equality brings together diverse practices from
several world regions. It offers in-depth information
on ten different good practices, including detailed
outlines of training courses; examples of dealing with
challenges that arise in training for gender equality;
and a collection of tools and activities for use in such
training initiatives. The objective is to make both an
empirical and analytical contribution to the field, with
the overall aim of maximising the transformative
potential of training for gender equality.
This Compendium builds on the Training Centre’s 2015
paper “Training for Gender Equality: Twenty Years On”1
,
which provides a preliminary review of how training
for gender equality has evolved from the 1995 Beijing
PlatformforAction to thepresent day.TheCompendium
complements this work by offering a detailed insight
into ten experiences of training for gender equality,
focussing on actors both within and outside of the
UN system. The practices were selected through an
open process beginning with a call for good practices
published by the UN Women Training Centre in early
2014, and are outlined in Table 1 and Figure 1.
1 http://gtcop.unwomen.org/images/Paper_TrainingFor
GenderEquality20-B.pdf
TABLE 1
Practices included in the Compendium
Name of
Organisation
Type of
Organisation
Name of
initiative
Training
Modality
Length Sector Region Context
Agribusiness
Systems
International
(ASI) (an affiliate
of ACDI/VOCA)
NGO
Gender, Rights,
and Collective
Action Training
Face-to-
face
6 days;
50 hours
Agriculture
South
Asia
Part of the Sunhara (“Pros-
perous”) India programme for
smallholder farmers in the
state of Uttar Pradesh - funded
by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.Training aimed to
mobilise women to be part of
Sunhara’s agricultural value
chain, and to help the female
participants to lead social
change in their communities.
Concern
Universal
NGO Gender and
equality
mainstreaming
in Water,
Sanitation and
Hygiene project
Face-to-
face
2 days Water,
Sanitation
and
Hygiene
Africa Aimed to develop a common
understanding of gender
and equality mainstreaming
between field facilitators of
Concern Universal’s Dowa
Kasungu Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene project.
DIMA-COMIBOL
(Environmental
Department of
the Bolivian Min-
ing Corporation)
Government
agency
Training and
Capacity
Development
of Community
Reporters with
a Social and
Gender Focus
Face-to-
face
21 days;
168 hours
Mining
/ Radio
Communi-
cations
Americas
DIMA-COMIBOL aim to
mainstream gender in all
activities, supported by
national legal framework and
Women Mineworkers Plan.
Funded by Danish International
Development Agency, one of
the main international donors
for gender equality and wom-
en’s empowerment in Bolivia.
Training was part of a larger
gender mainstreaming process
carried out by DIMA-COMIBOL.

TABLE 1
Name of
Organisation
Type of
Organisation
Name of
initiative
Training
Modality
ESCWA (Eco-
nomic and Social
Commission for
Western Asia)
UN
organisation
Training and Ca-
pacity Develop-
ment in Gender
Equality
Face-to-face 7 days; 17
hours
Research Middle
East/
Western
Asia
Roll-out of the United Nations
System Action Plan for Gender
Equality and Women’s Empower-
ment (UN-SWAP). Training aimed
to support ESCWA Gender Focal
Points to mainstream gender in
their work. Focussed on areas of
research and statistics.
Mupan (Mulheres
em Ação no
Pantanal)
NGO Gender, Water
and Environ-
mental Educa-
tion Training
Online
(followed
by brief
face-to-face
interaction)
6 months;
180 hours
Water man-
agement
Americas Mupan works to promote
the incorporation of a gender
perspective in environmental
issues, especially in connection
with water management in the
Pantanal area. Training aimed to
increase women’s participation
in decision-making spaces and
promote gender equality and
opportunities for women to par-
ticipate in water management.
Promundo NGO Portal for Gen-
der Equality in
Schools (PEGE)
Online 4-7
months;
90 hours
Education Americas Long-term initiative to enhance
gender equality in Brazilian public
school system, in line with na-
tional policy. Gender transforma-
tive approach adopted.
Promundo (in
partnership with
UNFPA EECA)
NGO Gender Trans-
formative Pro-
grammes and
Approaches in
Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
hours
Gender
Transfor-
mative Pro-
grammes
Eastern
Europe
and Cen-
tral Asia
Training for UNFPA Gender
Focal Points as part of a wider
partnership between Promundo
and UNFPA. The training aimed
to support regional capacity in
“gender transformative program-
ming”2
.
Promundo (in
partnership with
Worldfish)
NGO Capacity De-
velopment to In-
tegrate Gender
Transformative
Approaches in
Aquatic Agricul-
tural Systems
Face-to-face 4-5 days Aquatic
Agriculture
and Fish-
eries
Africa and
East Asia
Part of broader WorldFish project
to fully integrate gender-trans-
formative approaches in the
field of aquatic agriculture.
Training aimed to enhance
WorldFish staff’s understanding
of and commitment to gender
transformative approaches and
programming.
2 UNFPA (2013) Delivering for Women and Young People in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Istanbul: UNFPA EECARO.
Available: http://eeca.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/
Regional%20factsheet%20final.pdf

12
TABLE 1
Name of
Organisation
Type of
Organisation
Name of
initiative
Training
Modality
UN Women
Training Centre/
ITC-ILO
UN organisation Blended Course
“Empowering
UN system
Gender Focal
Points”
Blended
(online and
face-to-
face)
35 days;
90 hours
UN-SWAP
/ Gender
main-
streaming
Global Training aims to strengthen the
capacity of UN System Gender
Focal Points to support and pro-
mote the integration of gender
concerns in their work units and
organisations. This is in line with
the UN’s broader mandate on
gender mainstreaming, in the
context of the implementation of
the UN-SWAP.
Yellow Window Management
consultancy
Gender in
EU-funded Re-
search (Toolkit
and Training
Programme)
hours per
session
Research Europe Part of the European Commission
Seventh Framework Programme
for Research and Technological
Development (2007-2013)’s
commitment to gender equality
in research. The training sought
to raise researchers’ awareness,
build their capacity, and strength-
en their advocacy skills for
integrating a gender perspective
in research.
FIGURE 1
Characteristics of the ten good practices
Gender
Mainstreaming
(1)
Water
Management
(1)
Asia
(4)Communications
(1)
Blended(1)
Longer-term(6)
Online (2)
ShorterTerm
(4)
Gender
Transformative
Programmes
(1)
Consultancy
(1)
NGO
(6)
Government
(1)
UN
agency
(2)
Agriculture
(1)
Global
(1)
Water,
Sanitation and
Hygiene
(1)
Education
(1)
Mining
(1)
Research (2)
Face-to-Face (7)
Aquaculture/
Fisheries (1)
Europe
(2)
Africa
(2)
Americas
(3)
Length of
Training
Modality of
Training
Sector
Region
Type of
Organization

In this introductory chapter, we provide an analytical
review of the research process and findings. The first
section sets out the methodology adopted and reflects
critically on this process,as well as exploring definitions
of good practices.Next, the chapter highlights the ways
in which training has contributed to gender equality in
the ten featured experiences.Following this,two sets of
analytical reflections are developed: on the politics and
on the practice of training for gender equality. The aim
here is to critically review the good practice experiences
in terms of what they tell us about training for gender
equality. Finally, the chapter offers some points for
reflection based on the findings of this process, with a
view to generating further debate on good practices in
training for gender equality.
Following the Introduction to the Compendium, the
good practice case studies are outlined in detailed
reports. The reports are presented in alphabetical
order and are structured as follows: overview; political
context and change project; pedagogical approach;
gender equality results and outcomes;notable tools and
methods; and challenges. In addition, the reports offer
an outline of the curriculum of each training experience
and highlight particularly notable tools and methods
used.The overall aim of these reports is to offer a critical
reflection on each practice in terms of its contribution to
knowledge on training for gender equality.
Methodology and process
The Compendium was developed in three main stages:
selectionofpractices;researchonselectedpractices;and
synthesis and analysis. These are outlined briefly here
and followed by reflections on the overall process. The
practices were selected from among those submitted
during theopencallin2014.Submissionswerereviewed
by a panel selected by the Training Centre, based on
the criteria set out in the original call: significance;
measurable impact; potential for replication;
innovation, creativity and originality; sustainability;
integration into mainstream work/processes;
effectiveness and efficiency in the achievement of
results; social relevance; partnership; reinforcement of
local partners’capacity for empowerment and equality.
Only two practices were rejected, as it was agreed that
they were not relevant to the specific field of training
for gender equality.Having selected the ten practices to
be included in the Compendium, a research team was
appointed and a methodology developed. This drew on
participatory and feminist approaches to research.
Feminist research methodologies involve:
• A concern for which research questions get asked and why
• Research for and by women, that is useful to women (and
also to men) and is both less biased and more universal
than conventional research
• Attention to reflexivity and the subjectivity of the
researcher
• A commitment to knowledge as emancipation.3
Participatory research is“differentiated from conventional
research in the alignment of power within the research
process.”Here,“the most important distinctions centre on
how and by whom is the research question formulated and
by and for whom are research findings used.”4
In practice, this approach entailed involving the
representatives of the selected practices in the research
process,with the aim of promoting a sense of ownership
of the process and participation in a dialectic of mutual
learning. Research into the practices used qualitative
methods, combining desk research with questionnaires
and in-depth interviews. To ensure transparency and
dialogue, the representatives reviewed a draft of the
report on their practice and offered feedback. This was
integrated into the reports by the research team insofar
as possible, and in line with the overall approach of the
Compendium.Once the reports had been produced,they
were again revised by the research team to analyse their
contribution to debates on training for gender equality.
The first stage of the research process involved a review
of definitions of good practices in training for gender
equality. This found that there is currently no globally
agreed definition of good practices in this field, and
that literature on the topic is limited. However, two key
approaches can be identified:
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) identifies
the following criteria for good practices in training for gender
equality: ‘effectiveness; impact; coherence with the existing
gender policy framework; efficiency; sustainability; European
added value; institutionalisation; reaching a large audience;
evidence of positive results; and use of innovative methods’.5
3 Tickner (2005), p. 4
4 Cornwall and Jewkes (1995), p. 1668
5 EIGE (2013 b), Mapping gender training in the European Union
and Croatia, http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/docu-
ments/Mapping%20gender%20training%20in%20the%20
European%20Union%20and%20Croatia.pdf p.10

14
The QUING-OPERA and TARGET research projects identify
good practices as “practices offering greater potentiality
in terms of negotiation with commissioners, format-
setting, applied methodologies, contents, evaluation or
self-reflexivity.”6
Further definitions identified do not specifically relate to
training,but to good practices in gender mainstreaming
more broadly. For example:
The Andalusian Women’s Institute highlights experiences
that “achieve, through their processes and results, an
effective contribution to eliminating gender inequalities,
correcting mechanisms that make equality difficult to
achieve, and driving necessary changes in professional,
technical and/or political practices, and that can continue
generating positive results with regard to gender equality
in the medium and long term’.7
As part of the participatory research process, the
representatives were invited to reflect on their own
definitionsandunderstandingsofwhatconstitutesgood
practice in training for gender equality, as integrated
into the reports included in the Compendium. The
issues they highlighted (horizontal and participatory
learning processes; balancing theory and practice;
contextual sensitivity;facilitators’skills and adaptability,
etc.) are specifically analysed in the following sections
of this chapter on the politics and practice of training
for gender equality.
In the spirit of reflexivity which guides the practice
of training for gender equality and the work of the
UN Women Training Centre, it is useful to offer some
brief reflections on the research process. These could
be taken into account when planning further work
on identifying good practices. First, it is important to
assess how accessible the submission process was to
a range of organisations. How could this be widened
to support organisations from the Global South and
grassroots women´s organisations to share their
practices? Second, the current Compendium was
developed using the working languages of English and
Spanish, with the exception of one case in Portuguese.
Would a more linguistically and culturally diverse
research team support the analysis of practices
from countries not included in this phase? Third, it
is important to highlight that the whole research
process has been carried out virtually. This can be seen
as a challenge when applying a feminist, participatory
approach, in particular because grassroots women’s
organisations may not have rapid internet connections
and/or advanced IT knowledge.Finally,on reflection,the
original criteria for good practices may be more suited
to identifying ‘successful’ practices, and not necessarily
those that make a substantive contribute to gender
equality. Some issues for further reflection on good
practices in training for gender equality are developed
in the concluding section of this chapter.
How training contributes
to gender equality
A range of outcomes for gender equality can be
identified from the examples collected, at both the
individual and institutional level. Detailed information
on each point is included in the individual report, but
a number of examples are highlighted here in order to
illuminate the debate. First, training has led to notable
outcomes at the personal/individual level for the
participants involved. In many instances, it has resulted
in changes in attitudes and practices concerning gender
in/equality and related issues (Promundo PEGE, UNFPA,
WorldFish).Forexample,changesinUNFPAparticipants’
activities and thinking on challenging harmful gender
norms; PEGE participants reporting more confidence
to speak to their students about sexuality, including
sexual diversity; or staff at WorldFish being able to
design gender transformative development projects.
In some cases, these changes have spilled over to
affect traditional household dynamics, such as men
increasing their share of domestic and care work
(ASI, DIMA-COMIBOL, Mupan) or addressing issues of
masculinities (Promundo UNFPA).
Training has also increased the skills and confidence
of participants, which has facilitated the increased
participation and representation of women in the
public sphere and formal politics (DIMA-COMIBOL,
ASI, Mupan). In the case of ASI, for instance, women’s
engagement in community events and institutions
like self-help groups has helped to keep discussions on
gender equality on-going, and bolster moves towards
sustainable changes in inequitable gender norms in
local communities. In many cases, training advanced
the capacity of participants to integrate gender into
their work, as well as strengthening their advocacy
skills in gender equality (Promundo PEGE, UNFPA,
6 Ferguson and Forest (2011), p. 48.
7 Andalusian Women’s Institute (2005), p. 86

Yellow Window, UN Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO,
ESCWA, Concern Universal).
Changes can also be noted at the institutional level. In
some cases,training generated‘change agents’,causing
a multiplier effect which helped to institutionalise
knowledge from the training (Yellow Window, UN
Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO, ESCWA). In addition,
participation in training has increased the capacity
of partner organisations to conduct gender analysis,
facilitate training and provide technical assistance
in the area of gender equality (Promundo WorldFish).
Other cases demonstrate how training can contribute
to increased budgetary allocations for gender
mainstreaming and/or to meet women’s needs and
demands (DIMA-COMIBOL).
The tools developed during training sessions have often
raised awareness of gender issues in institutions and
increased the value accorded to gender mainstreaming
by senior management (Concern Universal, Mupan,
Yellow Window, ESCWA). By contributing to the
institutionalisation of knowledge on gender equality,
training has further helped to build more sustainable
foundations for advocacy and policy change (e.g.
Promundo UNFPA). Taken together, the ten good
practicesincludedin theCompendiumprovideevidence
of the concrete ways in which training can contribute
to gender equality.
Reflections on the politics of training
for gender equality
These ten practices highlight importance of politics for
understanding training for gender equality as located
within broader change projects. A critical review of the
material highlights four key themes for analysis and
further debate:
•• The diverse nature of training for gender equality;
•• The importance of theory of gender/theory of
change adopted;
•• Training’s embeddedness in long term change
projects; and
•• Struggles over budgets.
While these issues specifically stand out from the
analysis of the ten good practices featured in this
Compendium, they are by no means the only issues
which merit consideration in this sphere. A number of
further themes are outlined in the Conclusions.
First, the diverse nature of training for gender equality
means that its characteristics and impact vary widely.
There is no one “type” of training for gender equality;
trainings differ in their lengths (e.g. months vs. days),
the modalities they use (e.g. online, blended, face-
to-face), and the kinds of objectives they pursue
(e.g. awareness raising, skills development, etc.). This
ultimately affects training’s potential for long term
change. It also highlights the need for a typology of
training for gender equality, so as to better understand
what kinds of initiatives can be undertaken under
the label of “training”, and what these can reasonably
hope to achieve. For instance, it is difficult and perhaps
counter-productive to compare initiatives that last for
several months (e.g. Promundo PEGE, Mupan) with
interventions undertaken in the space of a few days (e.g.
Yellow Window, ESCWA, Concern Universal, Promundo
WorldFish, etc.).
The kinds of long-term changes in individual attitudes
and institutional practices that sustained training
can contribute to would be impossible to evoke in a
few days. Shorter trainings ultimately only “scratch
the surface” of gender equality debates. To enable
longer-term results, measures beyond training are
required. In the case of WorldFish, for example, internal
policies/strategies on gender mainstreaming and
women’s empowerment laid the groundwork for
their collaboration with Promundo, which assisted the
incorporation of a gender transformative approach in
project design, research, articles, and tools.
“A four to five-day training never provides enough time.
Gender transformation is a journey, and in five days you
only scratch the surface of content to be covered.”
-Jane Kato-Wallace
Senior Programme Officer, Promundo-US
The theory of gender/theory of change adopted,
whether explicitly or implicitly, profoundly shapes the
objectives and outcomes of training. In Promundo’s
experiences, a more transformative theory of change
is evident. Their cases focus on men’s and boy’s
engagement as allies in, and beneficiaries of, gender
equality, such as by increasing their share in the care
economy, including domestic work and care giving.

16
Throughout, their approach is guided by the Freirean
concept of “critical consciousness” and understandings
of gender as relational, i.e. produced through
continual interactions and negotiations. Among the
different areas in which they work towards gender
“transformation” is the sphere of education/learning
(Promundo PEGE). By discussing structures underlying
gender inequality, Promundo’s UNFPA training evoked
more sustainable change than interventions which
focus on the individual level in isolation, without
considering power relations in society. As envisioned
by the Beijing Platform for Action, male engagement
is essential for challenging the “structures, beliefs,
practices,and institutions that sustain men’s aggregate
privileges” as well as for addressing “inequalities
between women and men.”8
Addressing these issues
is important for training for promote gender equality,
which, after all, is about “transforming the ways
individuals experience and express power in their lives,
relationships, and communities.9
By contrast, many of the practices in the Compendium
were underpinned by more liberal theories of change.
These can run the risk of instrumentalising gender,
reinforcing gender stereotypes, or upholding narrow
views of equality. Where approaches akin to the
“business case” for gender equality are adopted, as in
the experience of ASI, there is a chance that they may
“instrumentalize[…] gender as a means of realizing
and improving development” or “de-politicize gender
mainstreaming”.10
Women tend to be cast as“heroines”,
such as “empowered capitalist agents” and “caretakers
of the community”,11
or as“victims”in need of rescue.As
argued by Cornwall et al.(2007),such characterisations
“have the power to move, but they are also […] very far
from the complexity of women’s and men’s lives.”12
Crucially, such a change project “empowers women
within the prevailing system, and does not challenge
the social structure in which marginalised women
have relatively less ability to pursue their interests.”13
If theories of change do not challenge the institutional
and social structures which perpetuate inequality,
training in this context can place a disproportionate
burden on participants to bring about their own
empowerment. This, in turn, can limit training’s
transformative potential.
A similar effect is observed when training reinforces
narrow understandings of gender equality or
perpetuates gender stereotypes. This can be a
risk, for example, where the standard definition of
“what exactly gender equality is”14
tends to focus on
“exhortations to non-discrimination on the basis of
sex and the inclusion of women in relevant decision-
making.”15
Such characterisations are apparent in both
the case of ESCWA’s initiatives and the UN Women
Training Centre/ITC-ILO’s course. A similarly liberal
approach is evident in Concern Universal’s focus on
gender-balanced staff composition as a means of
better understanding the experiences and aspirations
of women.16
This connects to arguments in favour of
“women representing women”, of “women providing
specific contributions that men cannot” (and vice
versa), and of women being “less corrupt than
men”.17
These claims recall Boserup’s (1970) work on
the differentiated impact that development has on
women and men, which authors like Goetz (2008)
argue may reinforce gender stereotypes.
8 MenEngage,UNWomen,and UNFPA (2015) Men,Masculinities,
and Changing Power: A Discussion Paper on Engaging Men
in Gender Equality From Beijing 1995 to 2015. New York: UN
Women. Available: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/
headquarters/attachments/sections/news/in%20focus/
engaging%20men/beijing-20-men-masculinities-and-chang-
ing-power-menengage-2014.pdf
9 Ibid. p. 16.
10 Fent, A. M. (2011) “Gendering the Development Subject: A
Critical Feminist Exploration of the Gates Foundation’s
Approach to Gender and Agricultural Development”, Praxis,
23(2). Available: https://ojs.geneseo.edu/index.php/praxis/
article/viewFile/1325/781
11 Cornwall,A.,E.Harrison and A.Whitehead (2007)“Gender Myths
and Feminist Fables: The Struggle for Interpretive Power in
Gender and Development”,Development and Change,38(1),p.9.
12 Cornwall et al. (2007), p. 3
13 Jakimow, T. and P. Kilby (2006) “Empowering Women: A
Critique of the Blueprint for Self-help Groups in India”, Indian
Journal of Gender Studies, 13(3), p. 393.
14 Caglar, G. (2013) “Gender Mainstreaming”, Politics & Gender,
9(3), p. 338
15 Charlesworth, H. (2013) “International human rights law: a
portmanteau for feminist norms?” in Feminist Strategies in
International Governance edited by Gülay Caglar, Elisabeth
Prügl, Susanne Zwingel, p. 25
16 https://blog.concern-universal.org/global-issues-this-is-what-
20-years-of-gender-equality-progress-looks-like/
17 Goetz,A.M.(2007)“Political Cleaners:Women as the New Anti-
Corruption Force?”, Development and Change, 38(1), p. 87

Other practices draw on approaches such as
ecofeminism and indigenous feminisms. In the Mupan
experience, for example, in addition to the aims of
increasing women’s participation in public decision-
making spheres for water management, women’s
“spiritual, creative, emotional and intuitive”19
nature
and “traditional” roles as care-givers are emphasised.
Similarly, DIMA-COMIBOL’s approach is underscored by
concepts like “Chacha-Warmi”20
– a Bolivian expression
on how women and men contribute different values
in different spheres – and indigenous perspectives
(“cosmovision”) on duality (sun-moon, day-night, men-
women). As such, it is useful to reflect on the ways
in which diverse feminist approaches influence the
training cycle in different contexts.
Training’s embeddedness in long-term change projects
is also key. Often, training is not structurally embedded
in such processes. Leadership and management
commitment, as well as a conducive political
institutional context, have proved key in each of the
experiences. This is essential for allocating resources
to training and sanctioning concrete follow-up and
policy change. Participants must feel that there is
space to implement what they are learning during a
training in their institutional settings. Otherwise, as
the Yellow Window representative pointed out, they
will experience frustration and resistance will ensue.
Government commitment has been vital in good
practices in the public sector, such as those involving
local communities, local governments, and/or public
servants (e.g. Concern Universal, DIMA-COMIBOL,
Promundo PEGE, Mupan, etc.).
“When there is political will, everything can be done – they
open up doors, insert budgets, and undertake actions.”
Jacqueline Duran,
Coordinator and Training Facilitator,
DIMA-COMIBOL initiative
For instance, management support proved essential
to the success of Promundo’s WorldFish experience in
Zambia,whilealesssupportlimitedresultsinthecaseof
Cambodia. The support of ESCWA’s Executive Secretary
was fundamental for the organisation’s initial training,
as well as for follow-up measures to mainstream
gender in its work and integrate a gender perspective
in research outputs (including through additional
training). The commitment of UNFPA’s management
to gender transformative programming has been the
bedrock of their partnership with Promundo, involving
further trainings and a platform to promote regional
exchange and advocacy. Nevertheless, it is worth
recalling that leadership support is not the only factor
needed for gender equality goals to be met.
We cannot say that one training is going to change the
world. But at least participants have seen a different edge
to gender equality. I think that over time, with replication, it
will make a real difference.”
Mehrinaz El Awady
ESCWA Senior UN-SWAP Coordinator
Follow-up initiatives to sustain the institutionalisation
of knowledge from training were noted in almost every
case analysed. These enabled participants, for instance,
to carry forth and apply their knowledge within their
institutions (e.g. Yellow Window), as well as through
community organisations and activities (e.g. ASI, DIMA-
COMIBOL), regional platforms (e.g. Promundo UNFPA)
and further training initiatives (e.g. ESCWA, UN Women
Training Centre/ITC-ILO). Training in isolation cannot
bringaboutchange.Itisoneofmanytoolswhichadvance
us towards greater gender equality. As highlighted by
Mukhopadhyay and Wong, “From the earliest period,
training has been understood as one of a number of key
gender strategies but insufficient by itself.”21
Therefore,
other measures are also necessary. For example, most of
the good practices focused on achieving and supporting
sustained results, such as DIMA-COMIBOL via the
establishment of radio programmes and channels for
women. Like as well as by supporting women to become
elected town councilors and advocate for local policies
and budget allocations for gender equality and women’s
empowerment.Both Concern Universal and ASI similarly
supported an increased number of women participating
in local decision-making spheres, with many going on to
become elected leaders. In the case of ASI, the Sunhara
India development project within which the training
was held created a network of self-help groups (named
Vamashakti, “the strength of women”) for female
project participants. After the training, they used the
skills they gained to take this network forward, securing
microfinance loans for their small businesses, exercising
19 Vandana Shiva
20 Chachi = men and Warmi = women in Quechua 21 Mukhopadhyay and Wong (2007), p. 13.

18
greater control over their income, and becoming more
involved in household and local decision making.
“Impact comes not in the short-term, but in the longer-
term. […] it’s not with a one-off initiative that you will
change a situation, there has to be a coherent approach [at
a higher level].Then the training will contribute something
that makes sense. Because if there is no strategy in place
and if the institutional preconditions are not fulfilled […]
then the training will not make a difference.”
Lut Mergaert
Yellow Window
Finally,strugglesoverbudgetshavebeenakeychallenge
for many of the experiences. Without adequate
financial resources, training is not possible. It should
be noted, of course, that financing for training reflects
broader structural problems in funding for gender
equality overall and the corresponding lack of political
will to move gender equality agendas forward. In some
cases, an in-house approach was adopted and internal
human resources were deployed to compensate for a
lack of separate budgets allocated to training activities.
For example, a number used their own personnel as
facilitators (ESCWA, Concern Universal). In such cases,
the appointment of full-time staff members dedicated
to gender mainstreaming does indicate that funds
allocated to gender issues can be used for training
initiatives. Nevertheless, the implementation of regular
or more wide-ranging trainings require additional,
specifically-directed funds. Other more on-going
and institutionalized trainings, are discussing the
establishment of participants’fees (Promundo PEGE) or
have already introduced fees for trainees (UN Women
Training Centre/ITC-ILO). However, paid courses are
likely to be avoided by organisations whose managers
are not especially supportive of gender equality, and
are therefore unlikely to allocate funds for training.
This could deny training to those who, arguably, are
most in need of it. This is related to broader debates
about obligatory vs voluntary training, in line with
Hafner-Burton and Pollack’s (2009) argument for “hard
incentives” (e.g. promotion or remuneration) over “soft
incentives”(e.g. voluntary training).
“When there is no funding for gender equality training
within the project budget, there is no obligation to carry
out training activities.”
Thokozani Chiwandira
Gender Specialist, Concern Universal, Malawi
Sometimes a donor leaves an area,and everything is lost.
We need to ensure financial support until the know-how [on
gender equality] is installed at different levels,particularly
within the local government,and [until] this know-how is
implemented,and budgets are allocated and spent.
Jacqueline Duran
Coordinator and Training Facilitator
Overall, limited funding highlights the challenge
of gender equality being treated as a secondary
consideration, rather than as a priority. Within the UN
system, for example, limited financial allocations –
such budgets to support the activities of Gender Focal
Points22
– demonstrate a challenge. Despite positive
trends, like rising demands for training for Gender
Focal Points, the 2014 Secretary-General’s Report
indicates that “only 6 entities provided their focal
points with budgets for their work”23
As the case of
DIMA-COMIBOL reflects, continued training depends
on the political climate, the authorities’ willingness
and openness to gender equality, as well as the
financial and human resources available. As long as
training is not an institutionalised process, explicitly
included in regulations and policies, changes in
political power/authorities and/or personnel (senior
management staff) can mean that the advances
made in training processes are diminished in the
longer term.
22 United Nations (2014), Improvement in the status of women
in the United Nations system:Report of the Secretary-General.
A/69/346. New York: United Nations General Assembly.
Available: http://www.un.org/ga/search/vieA/69/346w_doc.
asp?symbol=A/69/346&Lang=E p. 46
23 Ibid.

Reflections on the practice of
training for gender equality
A number of key themes can be highlighted from the
ten experiences presented in the Compendium. The
practices provide a range of detailed information,
contributing empirical evidence to the field, on the
following six aspects of training for gender equality:
•• Participatory planning and learning
•• Balancing theory and practice
•• Contextual sensitivity
•• Facilitator characteristics
•• Modes/modalities of learning
•• Monitoring and evaluation
Several of the experiences included in the Compendium
involved participatory planning and learning, with a
focus on horizontal learning processes and avoiding
the reproduction of unequal power relations. In a
number of cases, the training content was designed
through a participatory process involving the partner
organisations (e.g. UN Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO,
Promundo PEGE, Promundo UNFPA, etc.) In others, a
notably horizontal learning process was pursued. In the
case of the Promundo UNFPA training for Country Office
representatives in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,
the participants themselves were invited to present
examples of their gender transformative programmes,
which were then discussed and analysed by the group.
This enabled a mutual learning process between
trainees and trainers, as well as between the trainees
themselves, rather than a one directional or vertical
learning process from facilitators to participants.
Similarly, tools like the Gender Action Plan developed by
participants in Concern Universal’s experience sought to
ensure their ownership of the learning process. Even in
cases where knowledge hierarchies were more difficult
to overcome, as in the case of ASI gender experts and
grassroots trainees, care was taken to negotiate these
dynamics. For instance, trainers and participants sat
together in a circle during training sessions to avoid
reinforcing unequal power relations (e.g. trainer/
trainee, and hierarchies associated with marital status,
age, religion, etc.)..
“A good practice is something that helps participants relate
to their own gendered socialisations and realise how one
strand of patriarchy reinforces the other. At the same time,it
makes the participants realise that things can be changed”
Shipra Deo
Gender Advisor/Trainer, Sunhara India Programme, ASI
The practices varied in their use of theories of
gender inequalities. In several cases, emphasis was
placed on ‘practicality’, rather than engaging with
gender analysis or theories. Practical examples from
participants’ own experiences were used to encourage
trainees to connect what they learn during the training
with their professional and private lives, reflect on
this information, and actively exercise agency in the
learning process. For instance, in the ASI training for
women farmers in India, practical examples were
sought to explain more complex theories.They likened
patriarchy to a tree, and its roots to the hallmarks of
patriarchy (e.g. male domination, male control, etc.)
to explain how these roots influence everything that
grows out of them. Similarly, ESCWA’s analysis of
examples from the trainee’s own Divisions helped
them understand why and how their research could
integrateagenderperspective. EncouragingPromundo
UNFPA’s participants to present their own work on
gender transformation helped others appreciate what
kinds of initiatives are possible in the region,and reflect
on how they could undertake similar activities in their
own contexts. Promundo in particular places a focus
on “intersectionality”, encouraging participants to
reflect on gender in relation to cross-cutting identities
(e.g. race, class, ethnicity, etc.) and the ways in which
these interact with hierarchies and inequalities. The
importance of addressing these concerns is discussed
further in the Conclusions. Intersectionality is also
addressed to some extent in the trainings of Concern
Universal within its “poster exercise”; as well as by
Mupan and DIMA COMIBOL.
“All our Member States are Arab countries,and
predominantly they are Muslim countries,so they have
their own understanding of gender equality.You need to
influence that to achieve the UN mandate,while keeping in
consideration the specificity of the region.”
Mehrinaz El Awad

20
There is significant diversity across the experiences
over the extent to which it is considered that gender
theories and concepts should be brought into
training. For some, especially when dealing with
grassroots participants, a“bad practice”involves being
“too theoretical”, or placing too much emphasis on
terminology (e.g. ASI). By contrast, representatives
from the Promundo UNFPA andWorldFish experiences
suggested that ‘missing the opportunity to talk about
power and patriarchy as cornerstone concepts limits
training’s ability to challenge existing inequalities’. To
an extent, this relates to trainees’education levels and
priorknowledgeongender.In thecaseofASI,the target
group consisted of women farmers with low levels of
literacy and virtually no prior experience of gender,
while the UNFPA and WorldFish trainees had far
higher levels of education and experience of working
with gender. Nevertheless, the inclusion of theory
seems to go beyond tailoring concepts to audiences’
needs and their prior knowledge of gender (e.g. ASI,
Yellow Window, UN Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO).
As noted by the representative of the Promundo PEGE
practice, training needs to be connected to a ‘wider
diverse society’.For Promundo,a‘bad practice’would be
to discuss sexual health without considering gender
norms in society. This reinforces the above analysis
on the politics of training, namely the importance
of a theory of change which challenges institutional
and structural inequalities as a precursor to training’s
transformative potential.
“Our facilitators […] are not teachers, they’re not providing
information to empty vessels [….] That’s not how change
happens. Our approach is much more around creating safe
spaces for men and women to engage in critical reflections
around gender as it intersects with various themes and
topics […] and using those specific areas or moments of
critical reflection to promote change.”
Jane Kato-Wallace
All ten experiences highlighted the importance of
adapting training to the cultural, political, and sectoral
context in which it takes place. Questionnaires, focal
groups and interviews with participants before the
traininginseveralcasesenhancedunderstandingoftheir
contexts and needs.For example,in the PEGE experience,
the initial course was designed involving various actors.
These ranged from academia and public schools to
civil society and government entities (Departments of
Education), and involved specific consideration of the
contextual and cultural environment. Replications of
this good practice have been undertaken accordingly,
with adjustments made in light of public school
curricula in rural areas, as well as rural public school
teachers’ time and availability. Similarly, ESCWA’s
training emphasised sensitivity to the broader socio-
cultural, political and sectoral context of the Middle
East and North Africa. Accordingly, the practice tried
to balance consideration for cultural specificities with
international understandings of gender equality. In the
case of DIMA-COMIBOL, sensitisation of management
within the National Mining Corporation was required to
help gender equality be recognised as not only an issue
for women, but rather as one of overall sectoral and
regional/national importance.
“We learn from what we experience and we learn by doing”
- no one else knows gender relations and [in]equalities
and the social processes and contexts as well as the people
actually living within them. Knowledge and the potential
for change already exist within each participant. It is the
facilitator’s responsibility to draw out this knowledge
and help enhance it through engagement with further
information and reflections on gender equality and women’s
empowerment.
Thokozani Chiwandira
Gender Specialist, Concern Universal, Malawi
The Compendium also provides examples of the
importance of the characteristics of trainers. For
example, in the case of the indigenous women in
Bolivia it was crucial to have facilitators who were
knowledgeable about their local language, as it
emerged that several women had little knowledge of
Spanish. Both in the case of DIMA-COMIBOL and in
the experience of ASI’s practice in India, local female
facilitatorswerekey toputtinggrassroots-levelwomen
at their ease and creating a safe space in which they
could open up. Male trainers would have made these
participants uncomfortable in a cultural context in
which women were reticent to express themselves in
the presence of men,given the expectation for women
to be submissive and silent in such circumstances.
Resistance from participants’ family members,
already reluctant for their relatives to take part in a
residential training that would take them away from
home for six days, would also likely have been stronger
if the facilitators were men. Another important
consideration that emerged from the research was

the ways in which facilitators employed reflexivity to
mitigate against hierarchies of power and privilege
between trainers and trainees. As noted in the Yellow
Window experience, for instance, it is important to
“respond to power inequalities”. Whereas it may not
be possible to overcome these, they “can be thought
about and acted upon” by trainers addressing their
own biases, so that “trainer and trainee step out of an
oppositional relationship”.
“Gender trainings need to be personal. Facilitators need to
encourage participants to share their own life experiences
and to create a space where it is safe for them to do so.”
Jenn Williamson
Director of Gender Mainstreaming & Women’s
Empowerment, ACDI/VOCA
Choosing the “right” facilitator for a training also
requires that they be seen as legitimate by the target
group. Hence, a more expert facilitator is especially
preferred in groups with high levels of education and
withseniorstaff(e.g.YellowWindow,ESCWA,Promundo
UNFPA,UNWomenTraining Centre/ITC-ILO,etc.).Yellow
Window further stressed that the trainer’s legitimacy is
connected to their own expertise in, or understanding
of, the participants’ professional spheres, e.g. academic
research. It is also important to highlight here that
the representatives from Africa (Concern Universal),
Asia (ASI), the Middle East (ESCWA) and Latin America
(PEGE, Mupan and DIMA-COMIBOL), underscored the
importance of having a national or even local facilitator
for training in gender equality. Representatives from
Promundo based in the US, for instance, stressed the
need for local co-facilitators,both in the UNFPA practice
and the WorldFish experience. In both cases, Promundo
worked with local NGO partners to design and deliver
trainings, so as to ensure these were as contextually
relevant as possible. ASI were also adamant about
using local facilitators to contextualise the training and
connect with participants. Both a trainer’s legitimacy
and their contextual knowledge are considered
central to their capacity to respond to participants’
needs in real time, adapt the training accordingly, and
respond to resistance effectively (e.g. Yellow Window,
UN Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO). Moreover, the
fact that the use of local facilitators was especially
stressed by Latin American and African representatives
demonstrates how feminist approaches are interlinked
with post-colonial politics and race/ethnicity issues in
these regions. Especially in Latin America, civil society
or government institutions may sometimes perceive
foreign/international experts as imposing views and
concepts. In the examples highlighted here, resistance
to such “impositions” was diminished through the
presence of local/national trainers.
“The trainer is either the best or worst thing [… within a
training].The trainer is an artist able to readapt and respond
to what happens during the training.”
Alicia Ziffer
Training Programme Coordinator
UN Women Training Centre
The modes/modalities of learning employed by the
cases also contribute to debates surrounding virtual
vs. face-to-face training.The majority of the cases were
conducted entirely in face-to-face settings. The three
cases with online components (Mupan, Promundo
PEGE, and UN Women Training Centre/ILO-ITC) also
featured face-to-face elements, although the latter is
the only one that could be accurately termed“blended”
(i.e. both online and face-to-face). In this experience, a
blended modality was used to enable the strengths of
both forms of learning complement one another. For
example, the flexibility of online spaces encouraged
participants to learn at their own pace, while face-to-
face sessions enabled interaction that hinge on social
and spatial awareness, e.g. feedback through body
language in learning processes. Face-to-face sessions
were also considered key to building solidarity and
networking relationships between participants (e.g.UN
Women Training Centre/ITC-ILO, Promundo UNFPA, ASI,
DIMA-COMIBOL, etc.). Despite the usefulness of online
learning modalities in both the Promundo PEGE and
Mupan experiences, challenges were faced in terms
of limited IT knowledge and internet access, especially
among older participants or those in more remote/rural
areas. This raises questions of the efficacy of virtual
learning for participatory training methodologies, as
online spaces may ultimately exclude those who lack
internet access or IT proficiency, or who do not speak
the languages which dominant online platforms – e.g.
rural women’s groups in many world regions.

22
“The online section lends itself well to more conceptual
or abstract content and allows them to learn in their own
time,while the face-to-face is particularly good for attitude
change. […] Sitting down with someone really makes the
[issues discussed] less abstract.”
Nicola Popovic
Training Specialist, UN Women Training Centre
The cases included in the Compendium reveal that more
attention to monitoring and evaluation as components
of training’s sustainability is required overall. Evaluation
criteria were not explicitly defined in many practices.
This echoes EIGE’s 2011 findings on the absence of
evaluation evidence in many of the cases included in
theircompilationofgoodpracticesin trainingforgender
equality in the European Union. In part, this may relate
to the emphasis on practicality in the ten examples
featured in this Compendium,i.e. training was delivered,
participants’ satisfaction was gauged, a broad report
assessed whether the goals had been met, and then
other initiatives were undertaken.In the YellowWindow
case, for example, evaluation relied on questionnaires
submitted six months after the training to inquire how
trainees had applied their learning. Yet, there was no
in-depth mechanism for monitoring how the training
had affected their research output beyond this. More
rigorous follow-up was undertaken in cases like ESCWA,
where capacity assessment surveys before and after the
organisation’s training initiatives were used to evaluate
results. Nevertheless, overall, specific evaluation criteria
are not accorded special emphasis. This appears linked
to the very real difficulty of evaluating the “impact” of
training in any way. Since change is not generated by
training in isolation,it is difficult to discern what impact
training has had, or to attribute long-term results to
training. Some cases do refer to evaluation methods
which could be useful in this regard, for example,
Promundo’s Gender-Equitable Men Scale24
. This has
been used by the NGO in their trainings to measure
changes in participants’ attitudes and beliefs in terms
of gender norms, roles and relations. It has been used
both as an ex-ante and ex-post evaluation scale.
Evaluation is especially lagging behind in terms of
feminist and participatory methodologies. The lack
of participation throughout the evaluation processes
seems at odds with the participatory approaches
otherwise adopted by the ten good practices.
Evaluation in the context of training for gender
equality must consider power structures and relations,
i.e. what is being evaluated, by whom, why and
how? These are recurrent questions that constantly
need to be posed and reflected on in a participatory
manner, with the involvement of all stakeholders.
This level of subjectivity, however, may be felt to
be counterproductive. Most objective assessments,
after all, are conducted by external experts who are
generally felt to be better positioned to apply expertly
selected criteria to assess matters. However, this is
not entirely in line with a participatory approach, as
it implies a hierarchy of knowledge between gender
experts and training subjects. In the case of Mupan, for
instance, the participants’ knowledge was assessed by
trainers assigning them “grades” from A to D (A being
the highest and D the lowest). This is problematic
in the context of adult learning in general, and
specifically for the participatory aspirations of training
for gender equality. Such forms of assessment reflect
a hierarchical structure in which teachers (or in this
case facilitators/tutors) “have the knowledge, decide
what is important, and why it is important”. But does
this contradict training’s inclusivity and horizontal
learning process? Can the horizontal learning process
implied in training for gender equality actually be
‘measured’? Are low scores a productive way to
“change” attitudes and influence behaviours? Or
can they discourage participants from engaging in
training? In light of such concerns, it is evident that
evaluation methods still need to strike a balance
between evaluative rigour and inclusivity. Ultimately,
if they are to contribute to training’s transformative
potential, they must adhere to a methodological
approach based on feminist and participatory values
and the deconstruction of power relations.
24 http://promundoglobal.org/resources/measuring-gender-at-
titude-using-gender-equitable-men-scale-gems-in-vari-
ous-socio-cultural-settings/

Conclusions: reflecting on
good practices in training
for gender equality
Taken together, the experiences included in this
Compendium contribute substantively to knowledge
on the politics and practice of training for gender
equality. The findings of this process serve to highlight
some key questions for further developing work on
good practices in this field.These relate to the four main
sections of this introductory chapter: research process
and methodology; how training contributes to gender
equality; the politics of training for gender equality;and
the practice of training for gender equality.
On research processes and methodology:
•• What more can be done to support organisations
from the Global South and grassroots women’s
organisations to share their practices and reflect
on their experiences concerning training for
gender equality?
•• How can this process be further developed
along the lines of participatory feminist research
methodologies?
On the ways in which training contributes to gender
equality:
•• What tools and processes can be developed for
systematically documenting the contributions of
training for gender equality?
•• How might these findings be systematised in
order to develop an evidence-based foundation for
the impact of training for gender equality?
On the politics of training for gender equality:
•• How can theories of change for training for
gender equality be developed further, and how
can these can be embedded into all aspects of the
training cycle?
•• How do different kinds of feminist politics and
feminist theories contribute to the objectives,
process and outcomes of training?
•• In what ways does the transformative potential of
training for gender equality relate to the broader
change projects in which training is embedded?
On the practice of training for gender equality:
•• How can feminist pedagogical principles can be
applied in all stages of the training cycle?
•• How can training processes engage more
explicitly with intersectionality?
•• What is the relationship between online learning,
feminist pedagogies and transformative politics?
•• How can evaluation methodologies for training
that are compatible with participatory, feminist
methodologies be developed?
These questions form a starting point for a reflection
on what might constitute a definition of and/or criteria
for good practice in training for gender equality. It is
hoped that this will be a collective process involving
stakeholders from all areas of the field – practitioners,
researchers and commissioners. Following the
publication of this Compendium, the Training Centre
will open a series of spaces for such a discussion in the
Community of Practice, including a Virtual Dialogue, to
which all stakeholders are warmly invited to contribute.
While many issues have been addressed in this process,
there are additional substantive areas which merit
further investigation. These include, among others, the
politics of knowledge; the political economy of training
for gender equality; and the role of intersectionality. As
such, it is recommended that concrete steps are taken
to develop research on these themes, as well as those
identified throughout the Compendium.

“When there is political will,
everything can be done –
they open up doors, insert
budgets, and undertake actions.”
Jacqueline Duran,
Coordinator and Training Facilitator,

2
Summary of
Individual Practices

26
ASI: GENDER, RIGHTS, AND COLLECTIVE
ACTION TRAINING
Overview
Between 2010 and 2013, Agribusiness Services
International (ASI) implemented the Sunhara
(“Prosperous”) India programme in the state of Uttar
Pradesh, in partnership with several Indian NGOs and
private sector entities. Funded by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, it worked with 25,000 smallholder
farmers, 30% of whom were women, to enhance their
incomes through improved agriculture practices and
market linkages.
In February 2011, ASI delivered a six-day face-to-face
training on “Gender, Rights, and Collective Action”25
to
23 women at the grassroots level, all of whom were
participants in Sunhara India. They were community
leaders and/or staff of two ASI-partner organisations
25 Agribusiness Services International (2011) Training Report:
Gender, Rights and Collective Action: A training for select wom-
en leaders and women staff of partner organizations. Lucknow,
India: Agribusiness Systems International.
in the Prataphgarh and Shahjahanpur districts of Uttar
Pradesh. Only a third had a basic level of literacy. The
training was held at a residential training site some
150km from the trainees’ villages, requiring them to
spendsixfulldaysat thefacility.Itwasdeliveredbylocal/
national Indian expert trainers who advised on gender
issues for the wider Sunhara initiative.The training was
envisioned as a first step towards mobilising women
to be part of Sunhara’s agricultural value chain devel-
opment activities, and towards laying a foundation for
these activities. It also sought to help the participants
lead social change in their communities, the challenges
of which are discussed further below.
The experience contributes to our understanding of
training for gender equality, particularly in terms of
the merits of a pedagogical approach which is inclusive
of participants’ knowledge and contributions to the
mutual learning process. This approach is important
for fostering critical consciousness of gender equality
among trainees. Coupled with the implications of a
broader change project, like Sunhara India in which
Region(s): South Asia Country(ies): India
Organisation(s): Agribusiness Systems International (ASI), an
affiliate of ACDI/VOCA)
Type of Organisation: International Non-Governmental Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: 6 days; 50 hours of formal training and
several hours of informal discussions
Dates: 8th
- 13th
February, 2011
Participant profiles: 23 participants; women staff of two ASI partner organisations and community leaders (all participants in the
Sunhara programme); primary/middle school education
Facilitator profiles: 2 women facilitators; internal local/national trainers
Funding Source: International multilateral donor – Sunhara
India Programme, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
Budget: USD 3,500 (approx.)
Design and development of training package
Salaries of the trainers and guest facilitators
Meeting room and projectors
Accommodation at residential training site
Travel expenses for participants and trainers
Contact: Shipra Deo, former Gender and Livelihoods Manager for ASI Sunhara, shipradeo@gmail.com; Amit Kumar Singh, India
Country Representative, ASI, asingh@asintl.org; Jenn Williamson, Director of Gender Mainstreaming & Women’s Empowerment,
ACDI/VOCA, mailto:JWilliamson@acdivoca.org
Web page: http://www.asintl.org/index.html ; http://acdivoca.org/

gender equality was a central concern, and the devel-
opment of community institutions/initiatives, training
was instrumental in institutionalising knowledge on
gender. It further laid a foundation for activities which
helped to promote greater equality.
Political Context and Change Project
This training was influenced by the specific context of
the Sunhara initiative, as well as the broader backdrop
of development interventions. ASI is an affiliate of the
US-based private non-profit organisation ACDI/VOCA, a
globalagriculturaldevelopmentNGO.ASIsupportsACDI/
VOCA by facilitating skills development among farmers
and agribusinesses worldwide.The latter,in turn,provid-
ed oversight, strategic expertise, and guidance to ASI’s
implementation of the Sunhara programme, including
its gender mainstreaming aspects. Both organisations
are committed to ensuring that men and women benefit
equally from development opportunities. ACDI/VOCA’s
gender policy is based on their understanding that
women’s “unique and important roles in agriculture […]
coupled with their responsibilities as family, household,
and community members often provide the basis for
multiple economic and social gains.”26
The organisation’s
“GenderFirst™” approach, which encompasses tools like
gender analysis, is positioned as “part of doing ‘smart’
development”27
. This is in line with the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation’s theory of change: that “carefully
addressing gender will improve the impact of all agricul-
tural projects, and as such is integral to reducing hunger
and poverty.”28
Overall, the training worked well in terms of laying a
foundation for social change towards greater gender
equality among the communities in question. The
broader change project in which the training is situated,
Sunhara India, explicitly cited women’s socio-economic
26 ACDI/VOCA (n.d.) Gender Integration and Women’s
Empowerment. Available: http://acdivoca.org/our-approach/
cross-cutting-approaches/gender-integration-and-women-s-
empowerment#Approaches
27 ACDI/VOCA (2010) World Report: Gender Approaches
Strengthen Development. Washington DC, USA: ACDI/
VOCA. Available: http://acdivoca.org/sites/default/files/
attach/legacy/site/Lookup/WRspring2010_complete/$file/
WRspring2010_complete.pdf
28 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2008) Gender Impact
Strategy for Agricultural Development. Seattle, WA: Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation. Available: https://docs.gatesfoun-
dation.org/Documents/gender-impact-strategy.pdf
empowerment as one of its key objectives.It recognised
that cultural restrictions placed on women can limit
their ability to leave their homes and participate in ag-
ricultural training or activities. Women were targeted
with a methodology that recognised the importance
of addressing both social and economic constraints to
market participation and empowerment, including low
literacy,limited self-confidence,intra-household norms,
and scarce control over financial resources, including
landownership. The approach was underscored by an
understanding of Collective Action:
Sunhara India’s Theory of Change: Collective Action
The programme’s approach to women’s socio-economic
empowerment was based on a model of collective action,
which holds that women organised in collective groups are
better able to overcome the gender-based inequalities and
discrimination they face as individuals. Key to this is the
development of a cadre of women leaders with the skills to
lead others to take on new roles and overcome barriers.31
To integrate these concerns into the programme, the
training of communities was preceded by “gender
sensitisation trainings” for the Sunhara project man-
agement team, including senior staff and field staff. An
internal programme assessment of Sunhara’s overall
gender mainstreaming approach determined that its
theory of change focused too narrowly on women’s
individual empowerment through collective action,
rather than on group empowerment through the pro-
motion of opportunities at different levels of the value
chain.30
Nevertheless, it determined that initiatives like
the“Gender, Rights and Collective Action”training were
essential first steps in empowering women individually,
and therefore necessary precursors to broader group
empowerment and social change.
The training sought to convey that concepts like gender
are socially constructed, that their meanings are not
fixed, and that whatever is socially constructed can be
changed. Information from the training was integrated
by the Sunhara project team into some of its agricul-
tural trainings and agricultural extension booklets that
promoted positive alternatives to patriarchal notions
29 Agribusiness Services International and ACDI/VOCA (2012)
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture: Collective Action
through Group Structures. Available: http://www.asintl.org/
Impact-Learning-Sunhara-India.pdf
30 Caro, D., V. Pangare and C. Manfre (2013) Gender Impact
Assessment of the ASI Sunhara India project. Maryland, USA:
Agribusiness Services International. Available: http://www.
asintl.org/ASI-Gender-Impact-Assessment-of-Sunhara-India-
Project.pdf

28
of women’s roles in farming and leadership. Although
resource limitations prevented training for all 25,000
of the programme’s participants, further trainings on
gender equality were delivered to 20 women and to
24 men. These were family members of the original
trainees, many of whom acted as a support network
for their wives and daughters-in-law in their personal,
economic, and social lives.
Several other features of the Sunhara programme, in-
cluding follow-up measures after the training, further
contributed to the institutionalisation of participants’
knowledge on gender equality. While these were not
solely the result of the training, it helped to create
critical consciousness and lay a sustainable foundation
for these activities. Informal discussion sessions and
community events offered women and men spaces to
jointly discuss what they had learned. They also put
their learning into practice through the community
institutions established by Sunhara programme, in-
cluding self-help groups,literacy centres,and a women’s
resource centre (see Results and Outcomes).
Pedagogical Approach
The training’s pedagogical approach treated partici-
pants as active agents in the construction of knowledge.
It facilitated their analysis of very personal aspects of
their identities and experiences,and valued their reflec-
tions as integral to the learning process.While building
trainees’ critical consciousness of the structures under-
lying gender norms and power relations, the initiative
did not enforce its own specific understanding of gen-
der equality on participants. Instead, it asked them to
analyse situations or concepts and explain what they
thought, and what they learned from the experiences
that others shared with the group. In this way, the
approach encouraged them to analyse, reflect, ask
questions, disagree, challenge others, and question
themselves.There was an emphasis on the participants’
“ownership”of the training.They decided when to have
a break or watch a film, rather than passively accepting
a schedule imposed in a top-down manner.
The training sought to employ an inclusive and con-
text-sensitive approach in its design. This helped
tailor the initiative to the participants’ circumstances
and needs. Project staff, partners, and trainers jointly
selected content and activities for inclusion in the
training curriculum, informed by their knowledge of
the local context and culture. For instance, as their
cultural background prevents them from interacting
freely in the presence of men, the training was devel-
oped exclusively for female trainees and delivered by
female trainers. This was intended to create a space in
which participants felt safe and comfortable enough to
share their own experiences,and reflect on how gender
norms affect their lives.
Sunhara India’s field staff and NGO partners, who were
personally acquainted with the participants, helped to
pinpoint specific trainee needs.The trainers,Indian gen-
der experts who have worked extensively in rural areas,
were able to“act on their feet”by citing locally relevant
examples. Their experience helped them understand
the emotional and psychological change trainees un-
derwent during the training. As many were somewhat
overwhelmed after discussing certain issues for the first
time, it was important that the facilitators possessed
the skills to meet their needs. When interviewed, the
trainers stressed the importance of“empathy”with the
participants; facilitating rather than lecturing; open-
ness to learning from the trainees;approachability;and
being able to connect with the trainees. For instance,
they often participated in informal discussions with
participants after the formal training sessions.
Another key aspect of the approach was the use of a res-
idential training site. Despite the challenges this posed
in terms of community resistance (discussed below), it
was nevertheless felt necessary to enable participants
to analyse gender relations outside the context of their
communities’social restrictions. It was also expected to
facilitate bonding between trainees, a key element for
collective action.Following the formal training sessions,
the site’s large open areas were used by participants to
play games, such as Kabaddi – a popular game usually
played by men – sing, dance, and connect with one an-
other. Similar exposure has been argued to “introduce
women to alternative world-views” and help them
“critically examine their own”, while interacting with
other women is considered to boost their “confidence
to articulate and pursue interests.”31
Gender Equality Results and Outcomes
The training fostered critical consciousness of gender
equality among participants while laying a sustainable
31 Jakimow and Kilby (2006), p. 383.

foundation for Sunhara’s activities. Trainees became
more aware, more interested in exploring gender
equality issues, and more vocal and assertive in their
participation. With the project team’s support, they
organised events for International Women’s Day, the
One Billion Rising Campaign, and a Women Farmers’
Fair.32
They spoke before large audiences and performed
a stage play on gender-based violence. Such public
feats would have previously been inconceivable for
most participants. Following the training, women who
had rarely left their homes began regularly venturing
into public spaces. For many, greater mobility increased
their exposure to information on market prices and
farming techniques,helping to strengthen their roles in
markets and production-related activities traditionally
dominated by men.
The community institutions established by the pro-
gramme are also continuing to flourish. Clusters of
new and existing self-help groups were formed into
the federation, Vamashakti (the “strength of women”
in Hindi), comprising 2,500 members. The women
leaders who attended the training later led import-
ant initiatives through Vamashakti. They worked
with the programme to set up community-based
literacy centres, pushing for these after determining
that disproportionate female illiteracy contributes to
oppression. In 18 months, 20 literacy centres helped
300 women, often self-help group members, learn
how to read and write. A women’s resource centre
was created as a space for them to discuss and decide
needs-based strategies to address common concerns.
Such measures kept discussions on gender on-going
and sustained the training’s momentum by building
support networks among women.
In the wake of the training and follow-up initiatives,
including training for participants’ family members,
changes in gender roles and relations among Sunhara’s
participants were observed. Men reported increased
awareness of women’s rights and gender equality. The
project team saw evidence of more equitable relations,
e.g. men cooking or taking care of children.
•• One participant’s husband agreed to her atten-
dance after speaking to the project coordinator.
Yet, for fear of community censure, he insisted
32 Videos on the events are available: http://www.asintl.org/
resources-video-sunhara-voice-of-change.html and http://
www.asintl.org/resources-video-sunhara-Women-Farm-
er-Fair.html
that she did not carry a travel bag when leaving
the house. She walked through the village as if
she were not planning to travel and picked up her
luggage from her son on the outskirts of town.
After discussing the training with his wife and
attending a follow-up training for men, his atti-
tudes changed substantially. At the International
Women’s Day event, he spoke to an audience of
1,500 about how he had begun to understand
gender inequality and redress inequitable norms
in his own life.
Notable Tools and Methods
Given participants’low levels of literacy,mixed methods
of formal and informal learning were applied. Practical
examples were used to discuss complex issues like
gender inequality and power structures. For instance,
to explain how currents of patriarchy underlie society,
patriarchal structures were likened to the roots of a
tree. Participants could visualise and understand how
“roots”, like male domination, shape and influence ev-
erything that grows out of them.Group discussions and
exercises – including plays, songs, and mimes – were
combined with contextually relevant examples, film
screenings, presentations, handouts, talks by invited
guests, and informal discussions. Interactive exercises,
like “A Baby is Born”, helped trainees reflect critically on
their own lived experiences, while exercising agency by
directing the exercise themselves. It also proved useful
as it does not require literacy skills.

30
“A Baby is Born” Exercise
• The trainees are divided into two groups, each representing a family. One family welcomes a new-born boy (Kamal), the other
a new-born girl (Kamla).Together, they discuss the progression of the boy and girl at different stages of life based on their
experiences of women’s and men’s lives in the area:
• Birth; 6 days; 12 days; 1 month; 1 year; 6 yrs.; 12 yrs.; 18 yrs.; 24 yrs.; 40 yrs.; 60 yrs.; 80 yrs.
• Two participants assume the roles of Kamla and Kamal. Starting from the same point in the room, they take a step forward or
backwards depending on whether a stage affords them opportunities or impediments. After discussing each stage, the groups
decide what move“Kamla”/“Kamal“should make.
• Participants shared examples of how boys and girls are treated in their communities, e.g. in much of Uttar Pradesh, a boy’s birth
is celebrated while that of the girl is not.
• By the end, the physical distance between Kamla and Kamal was evident. This helped trainees visualise how social roles and
expectations are based on biological sex; how socialisation pushes boys and girls into defined roles; and how this provides or
limits opportunities.
The training site was selected to provide a safe space,
both physically and emotionally, for participants to
share and learn. The layout of the sessions sought to
mitigate hierarchies of knowledge and reinforce the va-
lidity of trainees’ understandings. Both facilitators and
participants sat in circles to enable everyone to learn
from one another. This seating arrangement ensured
thathierarchiesofcaste,class,maritalstatus,ortrainers/
trainees were not reproduced. The mutual learning
approach of the training meant that hierarchies of
knowledge, which may be unavoidable – particularly in
such asymmetric learning contexts – were negotiated
with care,rather than reinforced.This helped build trust
between participants and facilitators, encourage soli-
darity among trainees, and be as inclusive as possible
of their role in the learning process.
Day Objectives Training Exercises and Content
Day 1
Breaking the ice Trainees discuss qualities they like about themselves
Understanding one
another
Discussion of challenge trainees face due to gender norms, e.g. access to education, prop-
erty, financial resources; control over mobility, social interaction, dress, bodies, reproductive
rights, housework, care giving
Learning about gendered
socialisation
Discussing times when trainees were expected to“behave like a woman”
“A Baby is Born”exercise to visualise how socialisation unfolds
Discussion of how roles and behaviour patterns are assigned based on biological sex, and
how this disadvantages women
Reflecting on social
customs / norms
Screening of a film,“Band File”, on suicide linked to tensions over dowries
Reflection on how languages, spaces, resources, and objects are gendered
Day 2
Sharing impressions Discussing participants’impressions of Day 1
Understanding patriarchy
and patriarchal control
“Sculptor”exercise, i.e. trainees“mould”each other to look like“good”and“bad women”
and list characteristics assigned by communities to each
“Web chart”exercise on how problems and their roots are interconnected, e.g. violence,
restricted mobility, limited opportunities
Discussion of patriarchy, comparing it to a tree whose roots (male dominance, etc.)
influence the society growing out of them
Reflecting on gender
injustice
Screening of Mrityudand (“Death Sentence”) on the mob killing of two village women and
the struggle against oppression and male domination

Day Objectives Training Exercises and Content
Day 3
Reviewing lessons learned
Analysing the film’s depiction of parameters of morality for men/women
Looking at gender norms from a personal angle
Understanding the
difference between sex
and gender
Comparing biological sex and socially constructed gender
Discussion of power and social hierarchies based on gender, class, education, language,
caste, religion, race, abilities, sexual orientation
Understanding power
Exercises on hierarchies, e.g. trainees in a line and stepped forward if they were in a position
of power based on various characteristics, e.g. class
Discussing positive power (power“with”) vs. negative (power“over”)
Discussing gender-based
violence
Sharing of incidents of violence experienced personally or witnessed, highlighting the cycle
of violence and vulnerability
Reflecting on domestic
violence
Screening of the Bol (“Speak”) series of short films challenging myths around domestic
violence and giving voice to its survivors
Day 4
Sharing impressions Discussion of the film and past sessions; sharing of personal experiences
Understanding laws and
women’s rights
Talk by a female legal counsellor on laws for the protection of women, and evolving roles/
expectations for women in society
Discussion of whether participants’are better off than their mothers and of what legal
provisions they could use to protect themselves
Energising trainees Excursion to see the city of Lucknow, a first for many trainees
Day 5
Discussing the outing Discussion of the excursion and how it made trainees feel
Understanding power
dynamics and structures
Conceptualising and performing a short play on domestic violence
Discussion of power and how gender cuts across social groups
Group work on challenges faced by women from different backgrounds, and short-term vs.
long-term ways of overcoming these
Reflecting on how women
can work collectively
Screening of Taaza Khabar on female journalists in a small town
Screening of“When Women Unite”on a rural women’s uprising against the state supply of
liquor in Andhra Pradesh
Day 6
Discussing the film
Discussion of trainees feeling inspired by depictions of women coming together to achieve
goals, and of what they too could achieve collectively
Understanding collective
action
“Hand mirror”exercise on mutual understanding, trust, and support
“Follow the leader”exercise; participants mimic the actions of a“leader”
Trainees jumbled their arms together to create a knot and unravelled it as a group, an
exercise to build trust and collective problem solving
Discussing change Discussing what trainees would change in their lives/strategies to do so
Examining examples of
collective action
Presentation on advocacy for changes in the Gudiyapatka festivals, from boys beating a
doll/throwing it in a river to playing with it on a swing
Getting involved in
community events
Participants proposed messages for International Women’s Day (2011), composing a song,
play, and slogans on education and domestic violence
Challenges
Challenges Strategies to overcome these challenges
Communities may be resistant to residential trainings, especially in
contexts where there are cultural restrictions on women´s mobility.
Women may also be unable women to take part in residential training
if they cannot arrange alternative childcare, e.g. with relatives,
neighbours, etc., unlike the trainees in this case.
Field staff addressed resistance by speaking directly with
participants’families to explain the training’s purpose
and benefits for participants and the community.To this
end, they drew on the strong relationships built between
the Sunhara programme and community members.
By acknowledging potential resistance and proactively
addressing it, a successful residential training could be held
at the grassroots level.

32
CONCERN UNIVERSAL: GENDER AND
EQUALITY MAINSTREAMING IN A WATER,
SANITATION AND HYGIENE PROJECT
Overview
Concern Universal is an international NGO, established
in Wales, United Kingdom and working in nine countries
in the World.35
One of these countries is Malawi, where
Concern Universal has worked since 1988, when they
opened an office to support refugees from Mozambique,
as well as the host Malawian communities, during the
Mozambican civil war. They have since continued their
work in the country in areas such as community mobili-
sation, and capacity development. One of their on-going
projects is onWater Sanitation and Hygiene,implement-
ed in the Dowa Kasungu districts. About half of the
communities in these areas live without safe water, and
only one in five people have access to a toilet. Concern
Universal focuses on rehabilitating and improving ex-
isting infrastructure and local facilities, with the goal to:
“reduce morbidity and mortality of Malawians due to
poor access to water,sanitation and hygiene.”36
35 Bangladesh,Brazil,The Gambia,Ghana,Guinea,Kenya,Malawi,
Mozambique, and Niger.
36 http://concern-universal.org/where-we-work/malawi/
water-is-life/
Although this project did not include funding for
gender mainstreaming in its initial stage, the project’s
management and field facilitators were open to gen-
der mainstreaming. This provided an entry-point for a
“Gender and Equality Mainstreaming” training session
in the remote Dowa Kasungu districts, rural areas with
scarceresources.Thetrainingwasplannedbytheorgan-
isation’s Gender Specialist,based in Concern Universal’s
Main Office, coordinating closely with the senior man-
agement of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project.
The face-to-face training was also carried out by this
Gender Specialist. While the training focused on the
project’s field facilitators’ capacity, attitudes, and prac-
tices towards gender equality, senior management was
also included to increase sustainability and creditabili-
ty.The main objective of this training was to:
•• Develop a common understanding of gender and
equality mainstreaming for the Dowa Kasungu
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project.
Region(s): Sub-Saharan Africa Country(ies): Malawi
Organisation(s): Concern Universal Malawi Type of Organisation: International Non-Governmental Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: 2 days; training implemented
in an on-goingWater,Sanitation and Hygiene project
Dates: 16-17 June, 2014
Participant profiles: Male (10) and female (8) field-facilitators working in Concern Universal’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project;
University-level education
Facilitator profiles: In-house gender focal point (woman) from Malawi, in her late 20s, with expertise in training for gender equality
Funding Source: International multilateral donor
(UNICEF)
Budget: USD 625
Facilitators’salaries and travel
Design and delivery of training materials; and
Participants’hotel accommodation and board (1 night)
Contact: Thokozani Chiwandira (Gender Specialist) thokozanichiwandira@yahoo.com
Web page: www.concern-universal.org/where-we-work/malawi

Political context and change project
As an international NGO, Concern Universal depends
on donor funds for their work. In 2014, the majority
of their funds came from the World Food Programme
(United Nations), the United Kingdom’s Department
for International Development, and the European
Union. More than half of Concern Universal’s funds go
to Malawi, making this a priority country for the organ-
isation. In the country, work is carried out in 10 main
districts and the organisation has offices in 11 major cit-
ies. HIV/AIDS, gender equality, rights and environments
are cross-cutting issues in Concern Universal’s projects
in Malawi. Gender equality as a cross-cutting issue
is addressed through the appointment of a Gender
Specialist in a senior position. Part of her/his activities
involves securing a gender perspective in actions, im-
plementing training activities,and monitoring progress
and the achievements of results.
A small percentage of the NGO’s budget was provid-
ed by UNICEF in 2014 (2%), which according to the
organisation’s Gender Specialist, was used to finance
this training. It was developed with scarce economic
resources and was pushed for mainly by the Gender
Specialist acting on her own initiative. No budget for
training for gender equality was set aside within the
Water,Sanitation and Hygiene project.Thus,the Gender
Specialist became the training facilitator, implying no
extra costs associated with external trainers.While the
initiative was an in-house training, partnership was
still fundamental,corresponding to Concern Universal’s
theory of change (see below) which underscores the
fact that change can only happen in partnership
(“we-together”). The training engaged with the com-
munity committees, the District Councils, and other
local government staff both prior to and after the train-
ing. Before the training, these actors were involved in
identifying the main gaps in gender knowledge in the
districts. Following the intervention, these actors were
(and are) involved through the Gender Action Plans es-
tablished for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project
within the framework of this training. For example,
they collect sex-disaggregated data and have informed
the menstrual hygiene management training.
Although gender equality is seen as a cross-cutting
issue in all their projects, it receives no attention in
Concern Universal’s accounting report for 2014.37
37 http://concern-universal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
CU-FINAL-Full-accounts-2014.pdf
Gender [in]equality is also lacking in Concern Universal
own theory of change. This theory of change focuses
on individual change (“I change”); community change
(“we change”) and societal change (“together change”).
Changes at all these levels are then expected to lead to
reduced poverty and inequalities, as well as enhanced
justice; dignity and respect. In this context, gender can
be found only once, with regard to challenges at an
individual change level “individuals face ethnic/gender
discrimination.”38
Our Theory of Change helps us to check that we are not only
doing things right, but also whether we are doing the right
things as we work to challenge poverty and inequality.39
Although not explicitly included in impact reports,
strategies and theory of change, Concern Universal
argues that gender equality and parity is a main focus
of their work. The fundamental aspects of their work
on gender equality include a commitment to gender
balanced development, challenging stereotypes and
empowering women.40
They highlight that five out of
nine Country Directors, as well as their Chief Executive
officer, are women, making them a more gender-bal-
anced aid organisation than average.41
They hold that
a gender-balanced board and staff composition will
benefit aid work, providing a better understanding of
the experiences and aspirations of women.
Pedagogical approach
This training took a participatory approach, by trying to
deconstruct power relations related to knowledge and
putting the participants at the centre of the learning
process. It was important to include both women and
men to share life experiences and reflections about
gender norms and relations in their personal and pro-
fessional lives. This included their relationships with
other fe/male colleagues, as well as women and men
at the community level. The training also included re-
flections on other characteristics and their connections
to gender, such as age and ethnicity, and how these are
38 http://concern-universal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
Concern-Universal-Theory-of-Change-Diagram.pdf
39 https://concern-universal.org/what-we-do/strategy/
40 https://concern-universal.org/re-write/international-aid/
concern-universal-bucks-the-trend-with-the-majority-of-sen-
ior-positions-taken-by-women/
41 https://blog.concern-universal.org/global-issues-this-is-
what-20-years-of-gender-equality-progress-looks-like/

34
interconnected.Therefore,gender balance during group
activities, as well as other diversity considerations for
participants to share different knowledge, experiences,
and understandings, was promoted. In this spirit, the
facilitator herself reflected on her age, being a rather
young professional in the Malawian context.
Although power relations will always be present, the
facilitator aimed at not portraying herself as a gender
expert, or in this particular case, being intimidated by
older participants based on hierarchical age structures
in Malawian society. As such, the facilitator focused on
involving all participants in discussions and reflections.
She also recognized that women tend to speak less in
mixed groups in this national context, and therefore
gave ample time for the females’ participants to make
their voices heard.
Gender equality results and outcomes
The main result of this training was the creation of a
Gender Action Plan for the WASH project in the Dowa
Kasungu districts. The Plan was developed during the
last day of the training by the field-facilitators/partic-
ipants, and has since been incorporated as a working
tool in their daily activities.The Plan includes indicators
used to collect gender-aware information each month,
including data/information disaggregated by sex and
age. Other tangible results include:
•• Participants’increased knowledge and capacity
to reflect on gender inequalities and equality
more broadly.This encompasses their capacity to
analyse gender relations and norms, and unders-
tand the importance of gender mainstreaming in
social projects, such as their Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene project;
•• The documentation of success stories on gender
and equality by the participants in their district.
These stories were shared between field-facilita-
tors as examples to learn from; and;
•• Value accorded to gender mainstreaming by
management, which promotes the continued use
of the Gender Action Plan in the Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene’s project’s Monitoring and Evaluation
system. Discussions on how to incorporate mens-
trual hygiene management in schools have also
been undertaken within the project’s framework.
Another result relates to the fact that the number of
women participating in local community decision-mak-
ing spheres has increased since the training session.
So too has the number of women elected within
Community Committees. With respect to this result, it
is important to highlight the continued work by various
actors, who each support processes towards gender
equality using diverse strategies. The training and the
Gender Action Plan were one strategy that equipped
field-facilitators to better support such processes and
helped local authorities understand the importance of
gender parity in the public sphere. Concern Universal’s
continued partnership with these Committees, as
well as local government institutions, in terms of the
monitoring progress of the Action Plan and the Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene project, is another key strategy.
Initiatives undertaken by other organisations (such
as UNICEF) and governmental institutions working in
these districts, and their combined efforts, may have
also influenced the achievement of these results.
Notable tools and methods
The tools used during this training session included
energizers and ice-breakers, which aimed at putting
participants in the right mood, giving a break before a
more intensive activity and/or letting participants’ get
to know each other. Posters, reflection exercises, sto-
ry-telling, and group work were also used. Furthermore,
the participants developed a Gender Action Plan, as
well as a Gender and Equality Form that is currently
being used to collect monthly sex disaggregated data
within the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project in
Dowa Kasungu areas.
The training methods also comprised:
•• Discussions focused on participants’experiences
of being a woman or a man (both positive and
negative);
•• Reflections about stereotypes in the local
communities related to gender, as well as to other
characteristics, such as age, socio-economic status,
ethnicity, and religion; and
•• Real-life case studies from local interventions to
promote reflection and debate around gender
inequalities.

TABLE 1
Training content
Subject Objective Exercise
Inequalities (not
necessarily bound to
gender, but also to age,
ethnicity, socio-econo-
mic status, religion, etc.)
Explore inequalities existing within and
between participants, as well as the
community they work in
Explore characteristics of people belonging
to different social groups; and how social
status, rank, and power can influence the
way people relate to one another socially
and professionally
Brainstorming about inequalities in pairs
Card –“Rank and Power”sensitization game to help
participants discern power relations. Each participant is
given a card from a normal set of playing-cards.These are
assigned a social status, from chief to widow. Participants
are not allowed to see their own card, but should be
treated by others the way this person is treated in the
community as they walk around the room. Discussions
followed on their experience and feelings of being
assigned a specific card.
Gender mainstreaming Define gender and equality in the partici-
pants’own words
Reflect upon gender and equality based
on participants’personal and professional
experiences
Reflect on the way participants can promote
gender and equality in their daily work
Gender equality literature review and plenary discussion
Gender roles and norms
in society
Explore perceptions about women and men
Reflect on how gender stereotypes can
hinder equality and how this influences
participants’personal and professional lives
Gender“Bi-focal”(discussions preferably carried out
separately between women and men) about women
and men’s experiences are undertaken by posing specific
questions such as:What has been your experience with
wo/men? What are your perceptions towards wo/men?
Equality and its
possible barriers
Identify different obstacles that can hinder
gender equality
Brainstorming, in pairs, on gender equality barriers based
on participants’personal and professional experiences.
These are then written on card, discussed in the plenary
session and categorized into four main barriers with the
facilitator’s support

36
Subject Objective Exercise
Human rights and its
connection to equality
Reflections on gender and equality in
relation to:
• Public responsibility
• Rights Monitoring
• Disability
• Poverty and Rights
• Religion
• Ethnicity and Race
• Gender
• Stereotypes
• The Elderly
• Rights and Health
• Human Rights
• Discrimination
• Children
• Socio- economic status
• Duty Bearers
Poster process – along the room (as well as outside)
posters related to specific subjects were displayed. Each
poster included information and a question to prompt
participants’reflection. Participants worked individually
filling in a learning matrix related to the poster, which
they brought back to discuss in the plenary session with
the whole group
Furthermore, two specific exercises were included in
the training content:
•• A real case study/story from one of the villages
where the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project
is being implemented.This was selected in the
assessment/design stage of the training and the
participants were not aware that the story was
real and came from their own project, as names
were duly changed.The case was read out to the
participants and some key questions related to
gender inequalities and mainstreaming were po-
sed.The aim of this exercise was for participants’
to understand and reflect on how gender relations
are produced and can be reproduced within such
a project.
•• The development of Gender Action Plans for
participants to implement the knowledge gained
through a hands-on activity.
Challenges
How to encourage participants to continue using
the knowledge acquired in their daily work
A Gender Action Plan was created at the end of the training session, within
which the participants/field facilitators established their goals and indicators
for future work.
Scarce or no financial resources for training
for gender equality within Concern Universal’s
projects’budget framework.
Universal Concern assigned a Gender Specialist, who carries out in-house training
sessions as part of her responsibilities.
Liaisons and coordination with project senior management to get them on board
and help them understand the importance of gender equality and mainstream-
ing in their project.
Liaisons and coordination with governmental institutions where project
implementation is taking place in order to sensitise them.
The field-facilitators’previous knowledge and
understanding of gender differed, influencing
the discussion level
The facilitator adjusted to this scenario on-the-go, by changing group composi-
tion and questions.
The Gender Specialist believed that if more time had been given to preparing the
training sessions, pre-questionnaires to analyse knowledge levels could have been
undertaken and the session adjusted accordingly.

DIMA-COMIBOL: TRAINING AND
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF
COMMUNITY REPORTERS WITH A
SOCIAL AND GENDER FOCUS42
Overview4243
COMIBOL, the Bolivian Mining Corporation, was es-
tablished in 1952. According to Law 3720 (2007), it is
responsible for all of Bolivia’s mining activities, including
environmental and financial administrative matters. In
2002, DIMA – COMIBOL’s Environmental Department –
was created to affirm the organisation’s commitment
to the environment.44
Among DIMA-COMIBOL-’s aims
is the following objective on gender equality: Improving
the quality of life, thus helping to reduce poverty in
42 Please note that the research process, materials etc. for this
good practice in training were in Spanish. Translation from
Spanish to English was undertaken by the consultant.
43 Spanish abbreviation
44 http://www.dimacomibol.gob.bo/en/quienes_somos/la_co-
mibol and http://www.dimacomibol.gob.bo/en/quienes_
somos/dima
Region(s): Latin America and the Caribbean Country(ies): Bolivia
Organisation(s): DIMA-COMIBOL (Environmental Department of
the Bolivian Mining Corporation)43
Type of Organisation: Government agency
Timeframe / Duration: 21 days (three 8-hours workshop days per
module, with a total of six modules and 168 hours of training)
Dates: 2009/2010
Participant profiles: 90 women (30 women per community/workshop). Women living in mining areas in Bolivia; housewives and
women miner; primary/no education
Facilitator profiles: : 2 (one woman and one man) in-house trainers; Bolivian nationals with university degrees, expertise in gender and
communications, and knowledge of indigenous cultures and languages in Bolivia
Funding Source: Bilateral international donor, Danish Interna-
tional Development Agency (DANIDA)
Budget: USD 15,000, including
Trainers’salaries and travel expenses
Design and delivery of initiative
Training materials
Radio equipment
Contact: Jaqueline Duran (Coordinator and training designer) jacquiduco@yahoo.com.ar/ jduran@colquiri.gob.bo
Web page: www.dimacomibol.gob.bo
mining centres, with an emphasis on female and child
mineworkers. This objective is drawn from the Women
Mineworkers Plan, which states: “without women’s
participation in mining, it is impossible to achieve the
integrated development of mining centres.”45
The following training is grounded in this Plan and
forms part of a programme to mitigate environmental
degradation, supported by the Danish International
Development Agency. The training corresponds to the
needs and demands expressed by women in Atocha,
Colquechaca and Llallagua through events and inter-
views to identify potential problems they face. This
process revealed their interest in political issues and
participation, especially related to health, education,
and a life free from violence. It was also discovered that
45 http://dimacomibol.gob.bo/es/objetivos_actividades/
inmediatos/objetivo_4

38
many women fear the public sphere, have low self-es-
teem, and are scared of speaking in public and/or in
front of groups, especially when men are present. The
main objective of the training, therefore, was to:
“Strengthen and empower the women living in the min-
ing areas of Atocha, Colquechaca and Llallagua, so that
they could actively and efficiently participate in gender
equality development and decision-making processes.”
The course included six modules,each of which focused
on women’s empowerment through the use of com-
munications channels such as the radio, with a specific
emphasis on strengthening women’s self-esteem and
leadership capacities towards their inclusive and active
participation in local decision-making processes and
participatory budgeting.
Bolivia has undergone a political transformation since
the election of Evo Morales in 2005, with significant
changes in legal instruments and regulations. These
now include opportunities for public participation in
local management, public hearings, participatory plan-
ning and budgeting, and other formal mechanisms
for citizens to make their voices heard. At the local
level, work to advance gender equality has also been
undertaken, and government institutions have been
adjusting to the overall political context. However,
women are often not included in local decision-making
processes and are underrepresented in local govern-
ment institutions. Violence against politically active
women has been registered in Bolivia and cases of
political feminicido (femicide) are part of this scenario.
Changes in political authorities are common, both at
the national and local level, influencing planning and
budgeting processes, including planning and budget-
ing for gender equality and training activities.
Supported by the national legal framework, but also
financially by the Danish International Development
Agency (DANIDA), DIMA-COMIBOL aims to mainstream
gender in all their activities. DANIDA is one of the main
international donors for gender equality and women’s
empowerment in Bolivia, and gender mainstreaming
is one of their fundamental pillars and requirements
for financial support.46
However, the personnel as-
46 According to DANIDA’s Strategy to Promote Gender Equality
(2013), gender mainstreaming entails:“that women’s and men’s
signed with responsibility for gender mainstreaming
within DIMA-COMIBOL (and for undertaking of this
training), recognised that the understanding of gen-
der mainstreaming was not entirely clear within the
organization. Initially, senior management saw it as an
extra requirement, an added component to the project,
without paying any specific attention to this in activi-
ties and budgeting. Technical staff, on the other hand,
thought gender mainstreaming related to having an
equal number of women in different activities/proj-
ects or to highlighting and discussing violence in the
domestic sphere.They felt that these aspects had noth-
ing to do with mitigating environmental degradation.
Gradually, and with the technical advice and support
from DIMA-COMIBOL’s gender focal point, senior man-
agement and personnel became more aware of gender
mainstreaming’s true meaning, as well as the impor-
tance of making it part of all their programmes and
budgets.This, in turn, facilitated the implementation of
the training sessions during 2009-2010, as well as fol-
low-up and continued work on gender mainstreaming
within DIMA-COMIBOL’s activities.
A close partnership between DIMA-COMIBOL and the
local government authorities in Atocha, Colquechaca
and Llallagua was needed to undertake the training.
Here, it was important to consider the social and eco-
nomic settings of the mining areas. International prices
for different minerals define the amount of work avail-
able, the areas of work, and families’ incomes (a greater
proportion of men are mineworkers and earn more than
their female counterparts). Local governments in min-
ing areas are confronted with various issues related to
shifts in health and education needs due to increases or
decreases in population numbers.Their financial capaci-
ty is low, with limited annual budgets to meet all needs.
Male chauvinism (“machismo”) is also a prevalent issue
in these areas, where the ratio of men is often higher
than that of women due to stereotypes of mine work as
a male activity.Women in these areas are often domes-
tic workers, low paid mineworkers, and/or “palliris”47
.
unequal power relations, rights and resource situation, needs
and priorities should be taken into consideration in the design
and implementation of development policies,strategies and pro-
grammes. Based on the analyses, including gender assessments
prepared as part of the Country Policy Document,gender aspects
to be addressed will be identified within selected areas and in-
terventions where Denmark can add value to gender equality.”
47 Palliris are women who collect mineral stones outside the
mines, which still contain traces of minerals. This tiring and
difficult work is considered the lowest form of work in the

This masculine setting influenced the political environ-
ment against which the training was undertaken. At
first, local authorities viewed the initiative as “women
and their little problems”. After a process of sensitisa-
tion and liaisons with these actors about how gender
issues relate to the care-economy, health, and violence
against women, can (negatively or positively) influence
the productivity of male mineworkers, they opened
their doors to DIMA-COMIBOL. The activities undertak-
en throughout the training’s two-year implementation
period were included in the Annual Operative Plans of
the Human Development Departments in each mu-
nicipality. Furthermore, considering the local context,
a strategic and fundamental partner for this training
was the community radio. In Bolivia, community radio
is the voice of the people, and a common instrument
for communicating in/with remote and rural areas in
the country.
DIMA-COMIBOL’s view on gender equality is based on
the Bolivian government’s official view, as found in its
main legal instruments, notably the Constitution and
the Equal Opportunities Plan.
The Constitution is based on gender equality as a human right,
while the equal opportunity plan states: “Bolivia recognizes
women’s contribution to the country’s development. This rec-
ognition is expressed through equal opportunities in accessing
services, the full participation in decision-making spheres and
the equitable distribution of economic resources, technologies
and patrimony, thus creating the conditions to a life free of
gender based violence”.
Thetrainingwasgroundedinthreeideas/stepsofchange:
•• The first step in this process of change was to
work with women to increase their internal
capacities, for them to believe in and value them-
selves, and thereby to enhance their self-esteem.
The training was therefore directed only towards
women. However, in Llallagua and Atocha, local
education authorities requested that some young
men to also take part in the training to address
specific issues related to youth in these areas:
abortion, unwanted pregnancies and alcohol
consumption. Through this step, the women
participating should become empowered by
strengthening both their internal and external
capacities.The understanding behind this is
that women need to value themselves and have
sphere of mining, and these women often suffer discrimina-
tion and harassment from male mineworkers.
self-esteem before being able to embark into
other areas, such as political participation, and
changing their private lives and surroundings.
Although based on the importance of the group
and women’s collective voice, this approach can
be seen as an individual change approach putting
the burden of addressing gender [in]equality on
women’s shoulders.
•• The second step assumed that the participants
had increased their self-esteem. It entailed
interaction between communication tools and
social development processes to create change
towards a more equal society. The concept
underlying this approach is that the media
(radio) is a powerful instrument for influencing
governments and common citizens – where
women’s needs and demands can be expressed,
heard, and addressed.
•• The third and last step in this process included
involving the participants in public government
processes and strengthening their participation
in decision-making processes.The idea behind
this is that no society can be equal if there is no
formal and substantive gender parity in political
administration. As mentioned by Jacqueline
Duran, the Coordinator of this training,“There is
no comprehensive development without women’s
participation in decision-making processes”.
Together, these steps were expected to increase wom-
en’s empowerment and create more equal societies.
However,DIMA-COMIBOL also underscores that training
should be carried out as an integrated part of a variety
of strategies to advance towards a more equal society.
The training sessions were part of a larger gender main-
streaming process carried out by DIMA-COMIBOL,which
included productive economic activities and training
for female miners to generate their own income (such
51 CONEXION- Emancipation Found is an initiative financed
by the Government of the Netherlands and the Canadian
Embassy in Bolivia and is implemented in a collaboration with
HIVOS and OXFAM, with the vision to create a Bolivian society
that is more inclusive and were women and men with diverse
identifies can enjoy their social, political and economic rights
on equal grounds. For more information on CONEXION, please
see www.conexion.org.bo
52 Including the radio channels: “Mineworkers Voice”, “Radio
Reflection”, “Radio PIO XII”, “Radio Colquechaca”, and “Radio
Atocha”.

40
as the Awashani48
Pilot Project); the project “building re-
lationships without violence”, where domestic violence
is addressed as a public health issue, and the estab-
lishment of Children’s Centres to provide day-care for
mineworkers’children under the age of six49
.
This training was based on the notion that knowledge
and learning is connected to the human body and emo-
tions. It does not focus on the intellect or on capacity
to learn (i.e. good vs. bad learners; fast vs. slow learners
etc.), but tries to incorporate emotions in the learning
process, as a means of confronting how we see, do, and
ultimately value learning. Actions involve emotions,
bodies, corporal habits and internal capacities, as well
as the“value”of these actions.The learning process also
connects to “first being, then knowing/experiencing
based on our being and finally doing.”This learning pro-
cess can be associated with consciousness-raising, first
coined by Kathie Sarachild (1968). Her consciousness
raising approach also emphasizes an internal con-
sciousness raising process, followed by public actions,
included, but not limited to, the use of mass-media and
self-help groups, as in this training.
This approach values women’s personal stories and
lives in an initial process to empower and enhance
consciousness. Therefore, the training took place
behind “closed doors”, with only the facilitators and
the women present in order to increase women’s con-
fidence to speak in public and prepare for successive
modules where public speeches in the local com-
munity and public events became part of their field
exercises. The first two modules focused on exercises
to “heal women’s wounds”, which can also be found
at the heart of the feminist consciousness-raising
process’“healing ritual”50
.
Building on increased consciousness developed during
Modules 1 and 2, practical interaction with the com-
munity was initiated during Module 3. The participants
took part in reporting exercises in a public environment.
Public speaking exercises continued through Modules
4-6,and included participation in Public Hearings,as well
48 “We are weaving”, in Quechua
49 http://dimacomibol.gob.bo/es/objetivos_actividades/
inmediatos/objetivo_4
50 bell hooks (2000) p8 Feminism is for everybody: passionate
politics, South End Press, Cambridge.
as participatory budget events and audits, at the end of
the training process.This involved them both as commu-
nity reporters and as women citizens entitled to make
their voice heard. The intention was that women’s con-
tinued involvement in politics would lead to equitable
and sustained development and greater gender equality.
DIMA-COMIBOL used a variety of methods connected
to the logical framework matrix’s indicators, including
questionnaires,interviews,focus groups,and the review
of documentations and budgets, etc. It is important to
highlight that the results included here are not a direct
outcome only of the training sessions, but of the com-
bined strategies used by DIMA-COMIBOL.
•• Women participants were elected town councilwo-
men and local/community leaders. One became
chairwomen of the Neighborhood Council.
•• Local government budgets included a greater
allocation for women’s needs and demands; the
decisions of public hearings were converted into
local policies and City Ordinances with budget
allocations.
•• The number of accountability events and audits
related to women’s interests in the localities
increased, such as the Municipal Public Hearings
on Health, Intra-family Violence and Education,
with an increased number of women participa-
ting (with a voice and capacity to influence).
•• TheWomen Community Reporters’Associations in
Atocha signed a MoU with the Bolivian Association
for Community Radios (APRAC) to broadcast a radio
programme were they could speak about their
needs and demands.They now have their own
radio channel –“Voices from the South”,managed
completely by the community reporters.
•• A Women Community Reporters’Association was
established in each of the localities.These received
financial support from CONEXION – Emancipation
Found51
to strengthen their knowledge through an
additional training module on broadcasting and
radio communications.
•• Various radio programmes were developed by
the Women Community Reporters on issues
such as health, violence, education, and women’s

political participation.These were broadcast by
well-known radio stations in the mining areas52
.
•• Increased knowledge on gender equality
amongst both women and men in the localities
has been evident. This is reflected, for example,
in men’s increased domestic/care-work, and
women’s increased participation in activities in
the public sphere.
The training took on a participatory approach, trying to
engage participants in physical activities,such as paint-
ing and dancing. Real life exercises were also included,
such as visiting government entities,undertaking inter-
views and recording. The following table summarizes
the tools and exercises included in each module.
TABLE 2
Training content
Module Objectives Exercises
Pre-module:Working
with women’s internal
resources
Identify individual issues that hinder women
from participating and expressing themselves,
and promote changes in their lives.
Promote attitude change through exercises
that improve women’s self-esteem and internal
resources.
The women’s life map: participants painting their
childhood, adolescence, and adult life; sharing their
paintings with others and speaking about their
experiences and the construction of gender.
The mirror:Participants looking at themselves in a mir-
ror to identify every line on their face, their expression,
their eyes,in order to know themselves better.
I will go on the path of my dreams: participants
imagining their dream life.
Module 1: Introduction
of basic gender and
communication concepts;
overview of government
institutions in the local
district
Identify, in a participatory manner, gender
inequalities in the surroundings.
Convey basic concepts of gender and gender
equality by identifying social problems and
understanding how participants’can address
these as Community Reporters.
Identify institutions, responsible departments,
and local authorities; the roles and
responsibilities of each; and their channels
of interaction with the community, to access
information about gender inequalities and the
obligations of these institutions in this regard.
Participants creating maps and paintings that
express gender inequalities in different spheres and
institutions.
Visiting health centres, educational institutions, local
government/authorities, legal services etc. within
the community. Asking the staff responsible about
gender indicators, e.g.“How is women’s health in the
community? What is done to improve this?”
Breathing exercises and tongue twisters, e.g.“a tiny
tiger tied her tie tighter to tidy her tiny tail” to aid
pronunciation.
Spelling out exercises, where one word is chosen to be
spelled out loud, e.g. participation: PAR-TI-CI-PA-TI-ON,
to aid pronunciation.
Participants speaking with a pen between their lips
while reading and writing
Holding and speaking with a microphone to
understand how to use it and enabling participants to
appreciate the strength of their voices.
Practicing speaking to an audience.
Module 2:Inform
participants about basic
communication concepts
and tools
Introduce concepts and tools related to commu-
nication, including how to use the radio, news,
forums and interviews.
Presentations by facilitators: socio-drama theatre on
communication.
Communicating through radio exercises.
Identifying articles/news and their different composi-
tions in old local newspapers.

42
Module Objectives Exercises
Module 3: News
announcements related
to social issues (health,
education, violence,
alcohol, etc.)
Elaborate a news announcement (written and
oral) related to identified social issues for pre-
sentation via radio and newspapers.
Understand how to develop an announcement
and report with a gender perspective.
Perform a play/theatre piece to practice the interview
processes
Gathering local tales and legends.
Radio exercises to understand and use different tools
(tape recorder, microphone, etc.), such as “my first in-
terview”and“my first news announcement”.
Module 4: Radial for a
(foros radiales) and local
newspapers as tools to
address social problems
and gender inequality
Understand how to structure radio forums, why
this structure is important, and appreciating
their scope.
Participants structure their radio programmes
around women’s needs and demands.
Participants develop radio forums related to
their needs.
Exchange of knowledge with experts in radio forums.
Exercises related to developing a radio forum, where
the women chose a topic of concern (for example;
healthcare,family planning,GBV,government budgets,
employment opportunities),identify people involved in
the topic, invite them to participate in the radio forum,
develop guiding questions and lead the forum/discus-
sion on the established day.
Reporting in a public environment.
Module 5: Applying What
We Learned – undertak-
ing interviews, writing
articles, and participating
in public events (e.g.
Public Hearings)
Women community reports gain the skills to
enter and participate in public events (public
hearings, audits, participatory budget events,
etc.).
The Women Community Reporters are able to
communicate securely and directly with author-
ities and citizens in their localities.
Collecting and analysing statistical information and
data related to gender equality and women’s empow-
erment that can feed into a radio programme/forum
and/or interview.
Field activities for direct participation in local public
events.
Module 6: Advancing
in What We Learned –
deepening knowledge of
communication tools and
increasing participation
in public spheres and gov-
ernment decision-making
spaces
Improve participants’ skills for managing com-
munications tools and radio instruments.
Consolidate the Women Community Reporters’
integration and participation in local deci-
sion-making spheres.
Establish local Women Community Reporters’
organizations for future actions.
Real-life participation and reporting exercises. The
women exercised their role as Community Reporters
and participated in local decision-making processes,
such as Public Hearings related to Violence, Health and
Education.

Challenges
Persistent gender stereotypes and male-dom-
ination in mining areas, coupled with limited
support for gender equality and understand-
ing of gender issues within DIMA-COMIBOL
as well as within local governments.
In-house liaisons with senior management and technical staff at DIMA-COMIBOL by
the gender focal point increased awareness of gender equality. This also underscored
the importance of complying with national regulations, including the Constitution
and the Equal Opportunities Plan.
Discussions with local governments on women’s and men’s roles and responsibilities
and how these can negatively or positively influence the economic, social and political
context in the mining areas, sensitised and raised awareness on gender equality and
the importance of the training sessions. This resulted in local governments’ openness
and willingness to support implementation, including through financial resources
from their Annual Operative Plan.
The training was undertaken only with women, with the exception of a few young
men in two localities, as it was believed that women’s empowerment within a “wom-
en’s only group”is preferred to“mixed groups”in male-dominated settings.
Women’s double and sometimes triple work-
ing day could impede them from attending
the training and follow-up activities.
The training sessions were spread out over various months during 2009 and 2010.
The dates and times for the sessions were also adjusted to the participants’schedules
journal and aimed at not increasing their workloads.

44
Region(s): South America Country(ies): Brazil
Organisation(s): Mupan - Women from the Pantanal area in
Action70
(abbreviation in Portuguese)
Type of Organisation: Non-Governmental Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: 6 months (180 hours) Dates: 2013/2014
Participant profiles: 150 participants (women 76% and men 24%) in total,with 30 participants per online class (5 classes undertaken
simultaneously) from different localities in Brazil (mostly the Mato Grosso do Sul region); secondary/university-level education
Facilitator profiles: 1 female facilitator for the Training on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Research, internal and regional UN-
SWAP Coordinator (from Egypt); 3 female and 2 male internal trainers for the Training on Gender Statistics, all ESCWA officials with
expertise in gender equality and gender statistics
Funding Source: Bi-lateral and multilateral international do-
nor (IUCN Committee of Netherlands,Wetlands International,
Both ENDS)
Budget: USD 49,000
• Content design
• Tutors’salaries
• Face-to-face meeting between tutors and participants
• Assessments/evaluations
Contact: Aurea Garcia aureasgarcia@gmail.com and mupan.mupan@gmail.com
Web page: : www.mupan.webnode.com.br/forma%C3%A7%C3%A3o-de-multiplicadores ; www.mupan.webnode.com.br
MUPAN: GENDER, WATER AND
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TRAINING
Overview
In 2007, Mupan, a small NGO in the Mato Grosso do Sul
region of Brazil, undertook a study which highlighted
women’s low levels of participation in decision-making
spaces, especially with regard to water management.
In 2009, Mupan also implemented a project aimed at
increasing women’s participation in these spheres, fo-
cusing especially on housewives, local women leaders,
and women working within the local health and edu-
cation centers. Various workshops and meetings were
held with local community leaders, students, teachers,
and local government authorities. An online course fo-
cusing on gender, water, and environmental education
was agreed upon as a way to help increase women’s
participation in water management and decision-mak-
ing spheres.Carried out by Mupan in collaboration with
the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul Brazil, this
course included seven modules focusing on gender
relations and equality in water management. Its main
objectives were to:
•• Increase women’s participation in decision-ma-
king spaces concerning water management; and
70 Mulheres em Ação no Pantanal
•• Promote gender equality and opportunities for
women to participate in water management.
Mupan stands for “Women from Pantanal in Action”
(Portuguese abbreviation). It is a local women’s or-
ganisation based in Campo Grande, the capital of
Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul region, where most of the
“Pantanal” is located. This is the globe’s largest tropical
wetland, famous for its natural beauty, flora and fauna,
and for being one of the world’s “lungs”. While most of
the Pantanal is located in this region of Brazil, the area
extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. Mupan was formally
established as an NGO in 2000, with the aim to71
:
Strengthen women’s participation in environmental
spheres and decision-making spaces, focusing especial-
ly on water management within the Pantanal area.
71 http://mupan.webnode.com.br/sobre-a-mupan/

We are all part of a context and of our surroundings. We
dependontheenvironmentandnaturalresources.Anynatural
disaster will impact women first. For example, in relation
to water, in our region there is still a rather good quantity
of water, but the quality starts to become compromised. In
some areas,water and the biodiversity are now compromised
for the use of some people at the expense of others.
Áurea da Silva Garcia, Director, Mupan
Working in the specific context which the Pantanal pres-
ents, Mupan aims at promoting the incorporation of a
gender perspective in environmental issues,especially in
connection with water management.Academic research
on the area has shown that women’s participation and
decision-making capacity in water management, as well
as in the political sphere in Pantanal area,is low.Their in-
volvement in local citizens’ participation mechanisms is
also limited.These are an important part of the Brazilian
political context. In Latin America, the political environ-
ment is generally conducive to citizens’ participation in
planning and budgeting, as demonstrated in the case
of Brazil’s experience in participatory budgeting. This
political scenario fosters sustained results connected to
women’s increased participation in water management
decision-making spheres.Nonetheless,Mupan’s Director,
Áurea da Silva Garcia, notes that “sustained results from
training take time and often need to be combined with
other actions in the communities”.
Hence, for Mupan it is particularly important to con-
nect gender with environmental institutions at the
governmental level. They work in collaboration with
government actors, such as the regional Environmental
Education Unit, theWater Resources Management Unit
of the Environmental Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul,
and the local government of the municipality of Ponta
Porã. Involving these actors is fundamental for Mupan
since it provides a possibility to influence public policies
spaces, promote women’s participation in these, and
enhance citizens’ participation in the water manage-
ment cycle (from planning to the evaluation of public
policies).Mupanalsounderscores theimportanceof the
National Women’s Machinery in terms of coordinating
with government bodies responsible for environmental
sustainability, so as to recognise the crucial intercon-
nection between gender, water, and the environment.
Mupan’s main partner and co-implementer of the
course is the Federal University of Mato Grosso do
Sul, Brazil, which has been involved in all stages of the
course. They are also a fundamental collaborator as
the course is undertaken using their virtual learning
system, already established and operative prior to
the launch of course. The networks of Environmental
EducatorswithoutBorders72
andtheResearchGroupon
Education and Environmental Management (CNPQ)73
werealsocrucialsupportersof thecourse.Theysought
to strengthen local environmental management in
the region by providing expertise in the planning
and implementation stage of the course. Other NGOs
and networks were also important partners before,
during, and after the course. They provided specific
knowledge for several modules, arranged venues for
the face-to-face meeting at the end of the course, and
enabled the printing of materials, and the dissemi-
nation and evaluation of activities. These NGOs and
networks included:
•• The Brazilian Network of Water Resources
Capacity Building (Cap-Net Brazil)
•• Brazil’s Neotrópica Foundation
•• The NGO Ecoporã
•• Aguapé Environmental Education Network
for the Pantanal
Apartfromtheextensivehumanandfinancialresources
secured through such collaborations, the course gar-
nered support from international financial donors: the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources – The Netherlands; Wetlands; and
Both ENDS.These supported the implementation of the
course through financial resources, and resources for
re-defining and printing the materials/manuals used in
the course for future course launches. However, while
the course has had high-profile supporters and collab-
orated with a diverse audience, Mupan’s Director and
main official responsible for the course, underlines that
“financial resources are a necessity to expand the funds
already available […] with regard to gender [equality] in
communities, so this issue attains increased and better
acceptance [within these communities]”. For Mupan,
ensuring financial resources for continuing their work
remains a challenge.
Mupan underscores the promotion of “feminine
consciousness”. It defines this as aiming to acknowl-
edge and recognise women’s role in society; and the
72 Grupo de Educadores Ambientais Sem Fronteiras
73 Grupo de pesquisa Educação e Gestão Ambiental

46
incorporation of a gender perspective into environ-
mental issues by strengthening and fostering women’s
participation. They aspire to defend and protect the
environment in the interests of sustainable develop-
ment. They further work to promote the maintenance,
restoration, and protection of nature, eco-systems, and
associated surroundings. Mupan also seeks to dissem-
inate concepts, methods, and project implementation
management styles from a “gender and environment”
perspective74
.This implies,for example, the need to take
into consideration women and men’s different roles
and responsibilities with regard to water,and their rela-
tions with the environment and natural events.
Withafocusongenderinwatermanagement,thecourse’s
approach is termed “a political pedagogical project”.
This recalls the approach outlined by Brazilian ped-
agogue, Paulo Freire in his work Pedagogy of the
Oppressed (1968).Based on critical pedagogy,this argues
for continuous inclusion, participation, and equality in
all actions. As such, based on Freire (1993), the course
highlights that:75
•• Instead of teachers, the course needed
facilitators leading the discussion and debate.
Instead of monologues, the course needed a
constant dialogue between the subjects. Instead
of students as passive people, the course needed
participants engaged in a horizontal group
discussion.76
The Political Pedagogical Project GAEA is not designed as
an authoritative manual, but rather as a condensed piece
of work indicating educational principles and objectives,
characterized by a collective and egalitarian management
system, periodically reviewed and systematically (re)
constructed. It seeks to attain the utopia of an “identity
register?”,in which the individuals [trainees/participants] see,
monitor, and intervene in their own training process so that
they can act according to their needs and dreams.
From Mupan’s political pedagogical project
74 http://mupan.webnode.com.br/sobre-a-mupan/
75 PROJETO POLÍTICO PEDAGÓGICO MUPAN Primeira Revisão
Março de 2014
76 PROJETO POLÍTICO PEDAGÓGICO MUPAN Primeira Revisão
Março de 2014
To evaluate the results of this training, Mupan used a
pre- and post-questionnaire.Participants were also invit-
ed to systematise their learning in the last module of the
course. Evaluation revealed that participants were more
knowledgeable about gender equality and recognised
the importance of women’s participation in water
management. Many also continued their training in this
subject, including via post-graduate studies in environ-
mental management and gender. Other results include:
•• Increased discussion on gender relations in partici-
pants’families and extended families, resulting
in a greater sharing of domestic work between
women and men, boys and girls.
•• Enhanced participation by trainees in local
decision-making spheres. In these contexts, they
have argued for gender equality within water
management; formulated projects from a gender
perspective; and promoted gender equality within
their institutions, most of which deal with water
management issues.
•• Increased participation of women in local coun-
cils in terms of water management discussions.
However,it is necessary to mention that women’s
participation,voice and decision-making power
in these spheres continues to be a challenge.
Therefore,it is important to continue advocacy
work and to continue implementing courses such
as this training for gender equality and women’s
empowerment
•• Greater recognition by local governments/autho-
rities of the importance of women’s participation
and voice in water management.
•• Interest from the Ministry of Education in terms of
promoting and supporting the course.
The virtual learning platform (Moodle) of the Federal
University of of Mato Grosso do Sul was used for this
course. Methods employed included virtual sessions/
lectures, discussion forums, reading and audiovisual
materials, and a chat facility promoting exchange
and interaction between participants and tutors.
Additionally, “reflection-action-reflection” activities
and assignments were used, where participants

interacted with their community in order to connect
theory and practice. These implied that the partic-
ipants first reflect upon reading assignments and
contents, and then implement an action in their
local context related to this initial reflection. Finally,
they carry out an analysis of what they learnt from
the action and how this relates back to their initial
reflection.
Module Objective Exercises and material used
Module 1: Distance
Education (15 hours)
Enhancing participants’knowledge of
distance learning and the course’s platform
(Moodle)
Offering specific technical support
Introducing the coordinator, tutors, and
fellow participants
• Activities to get to know the platform, coordinator, tutors,
and fellow participants
Reading material:
• Pedagogical Political Project
• Distance Education: concepts and history in Brazil and the
world
Module 2:
Education as a
means of increasing
participation in
society (30 hours)
Understanding basic communications con-
cepts related to women’s participation, i.e.
to influence and generate positive impacts
in communities that work with gender and
water in the Mato Grosso do Sul region
• Review of social values connected to justice, ethics,
coexistence, democracy, etc.
• Readings, videos, discussions forums, reflection-action-re-
flection activities
Reading material:
• Edu-communication: autonomy, citizenship and happiness:
reflections
• Eco communicators Pantanal - Serra da Bodoquena
Module 3:
Legal framework
on water resources
and participation/
decision-making
(30 hours)
Enhancing participants’knowledge of
public policy on water management at the
national level and in the Mato Grosso do
Sul region
Seeking to apply mechanisms for citizens’
participation and control of water resources
• Readings, videos, reflection-action-reflection activities,
discussion forums, file uploads of homework
Reading material:
• The legal framework concerning water resources and
participation /decision-making, including decisions to care
for water
• Water resource management in Mato Grosso do Sul
Module 4: Environ-
mental Education,
Public Policy and
Participation (30
hours)
Understanding the interrelation between
environmental education, public policy, and
participation, with the aim of increasing
social control and participation in
public policy making processes in local
communities
• Reading, videos, reflection-action activities, discussion
forums, file uploads
Reading material:
• Environmental education, public policy and participation
• The making of state policies related to environmental
education
Module 5:
Environmental edu-
cation for collective
organizations (30
hours)
Presenting possibilities for organization
and participation in local collectives, so as
to influence water management from a
gender perspective
forums, file uploads, and a questionnaire
Reading material:
• Collective Educator: demystifying the way
• Brazilian and Paraguayan educators manage waters
supplies on the border of the River Apa
• Environmental education in Ecoparque Cacimba
Module 6: Gender
Mainstreaming,
focusing specifically
on the above men-
tioned areas (30
hours)
Introducing the issue of gender and its
relation with public policies and water
management
Highlighting the importance of women’s
participation and voice in all decision-mak-
ing processes
Understanding the importance of civic par-
ticipation/engagement and social control

forums, and file uploads
Reading material:
• Why water, gender and environmental education?
• Gender, feminism and the environment
• Teaching and research in the fields of sexuality and gender:
the desire to‘“unsee” the world
• Support material: Gender and Water 1, Gender and Water 2,
Gender and Water 3 and Gender and Water 4

48
Module Objective Exercises and material used
Module 7:
Systematization
of knowledge on
gender, water and
environmental
education (15 hours)
Systematising participants’experiences
from their interactions with the community
Understanding the importance of
systematisations as a means of managing
knowledge
• The participants report on a specific activity developed in
their community related to gender and water management.
This report was not as rigorous as most research at the uni-
versity level, instead it aimed more broadly at systematising
participants’experiences and results.
• Structural module to create short stories
Challenges
Women’s increased participation and decision-making capacity
in water management continues to be a challenge in what is
still a male dominated sphere.
The involvement of both women and men in the course helped to
establish men as allies for gender equality in water management.
Although this was an aim of course aim, however, only 24% of
participants were men.
The course also included a face-to-face meeting in Matto
Grosso do Sul’s capital city, Campo Grande, at the end of
the course.While all participants were invited to attend,
only thosewhohadcompleted75%of thecourseandhad
obtained a satisfactory grade obtained financial support
to enable their attendance. This meeting lasted for two
days and aimed at exchanging experiences and building
networks. During the meeting, participants presented
the systematisation of their experiences and reported on
their interactions with their communities.The gathering
sought to increase participants’feeling of belonging, the
development of a network between them, and provide
an opportunity to collectively evaluate the course ac-
cording to its guiding participatory principals.

ESCWA: TRAINING AND CAPACITY
DEVELOPMENT ON GENDER EQUALITY
Region(s): Western Asia, Middle East, North Africa Country(ies): Lebanon (ESCWA’s membership also includes Bah-
rain, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Libya,Morocco,Oman,Palestine,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Sudan,Syrian
Arab Republic,Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen)
Organisation(s): Economic and Social Commission for Western
Asia (ESCWA)
Type of Organisation: UN organisation
Timeframe / Duration: 4 days/8 hours (Training on Mainstream-
ing a Gender Perspective in Research); 3 days/9 hours (Training
on Gender Statistics)
Dates: 16th - 21st October, 2014 (Training on Mainstreaming a
Gender Perspective in Research); 24th - 26th June, 2015 (Training
on Gender Statistics)
Participant profiles: 12 participants, 60% women and 40% men (Training on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Research) and 14
participants,70% women and 30% men (Training on Gender Statistics);all ESCWA Gender Focal Points with university-level education
Facilitator profiles: 1 female facilitator for the Training on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Research, internal and regional
UN-SWAP Coordinator (from Egypt); 3 female and 2 male internal trainers for the Training on Gender Statistics, all ESCWA officials
with expertise in gender equality and gender statistics
Funding Source: ESCWA (internal funding) Budget: (All costs drawn from the facilitators’ salaries as ESCWA
officials/their department budgets)
Design and delivery of two training packages
Salary of trainers
Internal conference space
Training materials
Contact: Mehrinaz El-Awady, Senior UN-SWAP Coordinator, ESCWA elawady@un.org
Web page: http://www.escwa.un.org/
their Divisions in doing so within their research outputs. The sec-
ond training, on “Gender Statistics”, was undertaken in June 2015
to address a lack of knowledge identified in this sphere among
the organisation’s staff. Its purpose was to increase Gender Focal
Points’ understanding of gender statistics and familiarise them
with tools to support their Divisions’work.
The training contributes to debates surrounding training for
gender equality, particularly as a case where senior management
support was central to the design and delivery of successive train-
ing initiatives. It also raises interesting questions with respect to
training and cultural sensitivity.
The Economic and Social Commission forWestern Asia (ESCWA) is
a United Nations regional commission based in Beirut, Lebanon.
Its overall objectives are to foster development through “effective
economic and social policies and enhanced cooperation among
Overview
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
carried out two in-house training initiatives in 2014 and 2015 for
its Gender Focal Points,53
with a view to enhancing their knowl-
edge and capacities in the field of gender mainstreaming. Both
interventions were undertaken in response to internal capacity
assessment surveys, which helped to pinpoint areas in which
ESCWA staff required further support to “mainstream gender”
in their work. The first training, in October 2014, was on “Main-
streaming a Gender Perspective in Research”. It aimed to enhance
Gender Focal Points’understandings of how to integrate a gender
perspectiveinresearch,and tostrengthen theirabilities tosupport
53 Networks of Gender Focal Points exist in virtually every UN
organisation. In the context of ESCWA, they exist in each of
the organisation’s Divisions. They are conceived of as change
agents who advocate for increased attention to, and integra-
tion of, gender equality and women’s empowerment in their
agency’s policy and programming, and in the work of develop-
ment partners.

50
its member countries.”54
The research output of its Divisions is
geared towards influencing policymaking in the region, with the
goal of “facilitating a transformative path towards sustainable
development.”55
ESCWA, like all UN agencies, also has an obliga-
tion to “ensure that a gender perspective is reflected in all […its]
organizational practices, policies and programmes.”56
The United
Nations System Wide Action Plan (UN-SWAP) on Gender Equality
and the Empowerment ofWomen,and the Chief Executive Board’s
policy on which it is based, commits all UN entities to the “imple-
mentation of the gender mainstreaming strategy adopted by the
Economic and Social Council in its agreed conclusions 1997/2”57
)
ECOSOC’s definition of gender mainstreaming describes it as “a
strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and ex-
periences an integral dimension of the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of [all] policies and programmes”.
ESCWA’s “Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of
Women” (2014-2018) further states that “specialized training
packages will be developed […] to train staff on technical aspects
of gender mainstreaming in their substantive work areas.”58
In
2011, ESCWA was one of the original eight UN entities, and the
only regional commission, which piloted the UN-SWAP.59
When
reporting its performance on gender equality against the Ac-
tion Plan’s 15 Performance Indicators60
, ESCWA’s 2013 UN-SWAP
progress report61
highlighted capacity development as an area
which would benefit from further attention. In response, the
organisation undertook its first online assessment survey in 2013
to evaluate staff knowledge and capacity in the fields of gender
mainstreaming and gender analysis. Key gaps in knowledge were
identified, including among the organisation´s Gender Focal
Points. These were highlighted in ESCWA’s 2014 White Paper on
54 As of October 2015, ESCWA’s 18 member states are: Bahrain,
Egypt, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic,Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen
55 ESCWA White Paper on “Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective
in Research”.
56 https://www.unsceb.org/CEBPublicFiles/press/UN_system_
wide_P_S_CEB_Statement_2006_0.pdf
57 https://www.unsceb.org/CEBPublicFiles/press/UN_system_
wide_P_S_CEB_Statement_2006_0.pdf
58 http://www.escwa.un.org/about/editors/Download.as-
p?table_name=about_swap&field_name=id&FileID=14 p. 6
59 http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/
attachments/sections/how%20we%20work/unsystemcoor-
dination/draft-roll-out-strategy-un-swap.pdf
60 The UN Swap defines, monitors, and drives progress towards
a common set of standards to which to aspire and adhere for
the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of
women (http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/
Media/Stories/en/unswap-brochure.pdf).For more see:http://
www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/
Sections/How%20We%20Work/UNSystemCoordination/UN-
SWAP-Framework-Dec-2012.pdf
61 http://www.escwa.un.org/about/editors/Download.
asp?table_name=about_swap&field_name=id&FileID=6
“Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Research”,62
which de-
termined that a lack of staff knowledge on gender equality chal-
lenged the mainstreaming process. It argued that the integration
of a gender perspective would be beneficial for ESCWA’s research,
by facilitating understandings of studied issues; shaping the
outcomes of research studies; and enhancing policy development
in the region, so as to ensure that women and men equally influ-
ence and benefit from research. As a first step, ESCWA developed
a tailor-made training module for Gender Focal Points, to enhance
their understanding and abilities to facilitate ESCWA’s integration
of a gender perspective in its research on economic and social
development in the Arab region. Following this training, ESCWA
maintained efforts to bolster staff capacity on gender issues. In
2015, it conducted a second capacity assessment survey, revealing
limited knowledge on gender statistics.Another training interven-
tion was designed and delivered later in the year to address this.
A conducive institutional context has been central to these ini-
tiatives. In addition to ESCWA’s policy commitments, its senior
management has been supportive of its UN-SWAP implementa-
tion and corresponding trainings for gender equality. For instance,
in 2014 ESCWA’s Executive Secretary appointed a senior official as
full-time UN-SWAP Coordinator, with responsibilities exclusively
pertaining to gender mainstreaming. This official dedicates her
time to supporting mainstreaming measures across the organ-
isation’s divisions, including training.63
Despite the challenges
posed by the fact that no extra budget was allocated for training,
the designation of funds for a full-time UN-SWAP Coordinator
reflects a level of management support for gender equality goals.
64
Furthermore, funds appear to have been assigned by ESCWA to
other activities connected with training for gender equality. For
instance, three ESCWA Gender Focal Points participated the UN
Women Training Centre and ITC-ILO “Blended Course on Gender
Equality for UN System Gender Focal Points” in 2015 (please see
the corresponding chapter for more information on the course).
This course requires trainees or their UN agencies to pay a fee
of EUR 2,900 for each participant they enrol, with a 50% reduc-
tion from the third participant onwards. The fact that ESCWA
sponsored its officials to participate in the course suggests that
budget allocations are being made to match ESCWA’s policy com-
mitments on gender issues. .
It is also important to take stock of the broader political back-
ground against which ESCWA’s trainings took place. The or-
ganisation operates in the Middle East and North Africa, where
conceptions of gender equality are highly varied and influenced
by specific cultural considerations, including religion. In terms of
legal frameworks, all countries in the region with the exception
of Sudan and Somalia have ratified the Convention on the Elim-
ination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
However, several have “established reservations to some of the
62 http://www.escwa.un.org/information/publications/edit/
upload/E_ESCWA_OES_14_TP-1_E.pdf
63 http://www.escwa.un.org/about/editors/Download.as-
p?table_name=about_swap&field_name=id&FileID=14 p. 5
64 However, it is worth noting that other regional commissions,
such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean, has an entire unit devoted to gender.

main provisions of the convention” and domestic laws in the
region “are not always consistent with the gender equality prin-
ciples set by international law”.65
In terms of their perceptions of
gender equality, the countries and societies of the Middle East
and North Africa vary greatly. They are influenced by diverse
schools of thought, from religious conservatism to secular femi-
nism, Islamic feminism, and nationalism, while a host of political,
economic and socio-cultures factors also add to the complexity
of regional perceptions, such as the recurrent tendency for both
men and women to equate masculine identity with patriarchy.66
The trainings’ approach sought to pay attention to cultural spec-
ificities in the Middle East and North Africa (as explored below),
particularly in terms of how these may differ from international
conceptualisations.
The approach adopted recognised that a single model of train-
ing cannot be used for all. As such, trainings were tailored for
the needs of the participants in question, based on the analysis
of ESCWA’s 2013 and 2015 capacity assessments. Based on these
surveys, as well as formal and informal discussions between the
Senior UN-SWAP Coordinator and ESCWA’s Gender Focal Points,
the training content was customised to the participants’ needs
and specific context.This participatory approach was replicated in
the case of the 2015 training on gender statistics, which was de-
signed in collaboration with ESCWA’s Statistics Divisions to ensure
contextual expertise.Statistical experts co-facilitated the sessions
alongside the UN-SWAP Coordinator.
The background of the UN-SWAP Coordinator, who designed and
led the trainings, was also significant for the approach adopted.
As an Egyptian gender expert who has worked extensively in the
Arab region, her knowledge of culturally specific understandings
of gender equality informed the training’s approach. For instance,
she made reference to an Arab perception survey conducted in the
Middle East in which the majority of female respondents revealed
that they did not see the veil as a symbol of gender inequality,
but simply as a characteristic of their traditional attire. She noted
that if such issues are not regarded as an obstacle to equality
by individuals – particularly women – in the region, the focus of
training to mainstream a gender perspective in research should
not be to impose a rigid view of equality. Rather, training should
acknowledge and work with cultural particularities in moving
towards greater gender equality and equity.
Comparison of the 2013 and 2015 staff capacity assessments
revealed an enhancement of participants’ knowledge on in-
tegrating a gender perspective in research. They reported the
65 OECD/Center of Arab Woman for Training and Research (2014)
Women in Public Life Gender, Law and Policy in the Middle East
and North Africa, p. 13
66 https://www.american.edu/sis/practica/upload/Bachman-
Freedom-House-MENA-group-Report.pdf
integration of gender equality issues in their work and the re-
search outputs of their Divisions. Similarly, they reported that the
knowledge acquired through both the 2014 training and the 2015
intervention on gender statistics is being employed in their daily
work and transferred on-the job to colleagues in their respective
Divisions. Even in areas defined by ESCWA as “hard” sectors, such
as economics, recent publications have demonstrated greater
concern with gender issues. For example, the 2015 flagship pub-
lication by the Economic Development and Integration Division,
Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the Arab Region
2014-2015, refers to the issue of the gender gap in the region for
the very first time.67
Several Gender Focal Points who participated in the trainings
were able and willing to follow-up on the request to disseminate
the knowledge they had gained throughout their Divisions. For
example, after the first training, the Gender Focal Point of the
Social Development Division regularly provided information and
assistance to colleagues, such as on the application of ESCWA’s
White Paper on integrating a gender perspective in research. Each
Section of this Division has identified its own “sub”-Focal Point
to ease communication and knowledge transfer between the
Division’s Gender Focal Point and their individual Sections. This
has facilitated the institutionalisation of knowledge on gender
equality in the Division’s work.
However, this cannot be attributed to training alone. A host of
elements – including training – combined to enable the Divi-
sion’s integration of gender issues in its work. Significantly, the
Division’s Director is notably supportive of efforts to mainstream
gender, and has encouraged the Division’s Gender Focal Point to
carry out her Focal Point tasks. This underscores the importance
of management support for training outcomes. It further appears
that gender mainstreaming has become more institutionalised,
and a greater part of the discussion concerning ESCWA outputs
overall. For instance, a training manual on “gender sensitive”68
language was developed to provide guidance on using such lan-
guage in research.69
To make sure the training was as relevant as possible for partic-
ipants, practical examples were drawn from ESCWA’s own work.
These made gender equality concepts and approaches easier for
67 ESCWA (2015) Survey of Economic and Social Developments in
the Arab Region 2014-2015: Summary. Beirut: ESCWA. Available
online: http://www.escwa.un.org/information/publications/
edit/upload/E_ESCWA_EDID_15_2_SUMMARY_E.pdf
68 In the context of this document, such language is defined as
“bias-free language” that is not “sex-specific” and avoids “po-
tentially discriminatory expressions”. Its use is upheld on the
understanding that “gender-biased terminology influences
attitudes and expectations and could, in the mind of the read-
er, relegate women to the background or help extending the
survival of a stereotyped view of masculine and feminine roles.”
69 http://www.escwa.un.org/information/conference/1400199.
pdf

52
trainees to understand and relate to. For instance, examples from
both “soft” sectors, such as social affairs, and “hard” sectors, such
as energy or transportation, were employed to illustrate that the
integration of gender is not limited to so-called “soft” sectors.
Methods used centred on interactive, participatory exercises, se-
lected to help the participants learn through discussion, dialogue,
and critical reflection, as outlined in the examples below.
Exercises on integrating a gender perspective in research
Participants discuss a list of research areas on conflict and post-conflict settings that a sample research project plans to cover, e.g.
violence; food supplies; humanitarian aid; peace-building negotiations, etc. As a group, they reflect on how a gender perspective could
be taken into consideration for each area. Based on their brainstorming, they jointly complete a written table on this subject.
Participants are asked to complete a “24-hour worksheet”, comparing an average day in the life of a man, and of a woman, in the
Arab region. They analyse the different activities which the man and woman engage in and discuss which ones are “reproductive”,
“productive”,“community-related”,or“political”. At the end of the exercise, they are able to compare how these determinations overlap.
Session Objective(s) Exercises/Content
“Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Research”Training (October 2014)
Session 1 Reviewing basic gender
concepts; understanding
gender sensitive research and its
relevance for ESCWA’s work
• Discussing basic concepts, e.g. gender equality, gender analysis
• Comparing definitions of“gender mainstreaming”
• Discussing the UN mandate to integrate a gender perspective and the need to do
so in all areas/levels of ESCWA’s work
• Discussing the differences between gender sensitive, gender blind, and gender
neutral research
• Practical examples of how gender blind research can lead to gender blind policies
with negative effects
• Practical examples of elements to help sensitise research
Session 2 Learning how to develop gender
sensitive methodology
• Exercise on gender sensitive research questions & methodologies
• Discussing secondary sources that integrate a gender perspective
• Examining the pros and cons of qualitative, quantitative, and diversified research
methods from a gender perspective
• Examples of ESCWA’s research to show how a gender perspective may be
integrated in areas like energy, water, economics
Session 3 Learning about data analysis
from a gender perspective;
understanding gender sensitive
policy recommendations
• Discussing examples of gender blind & gender sensitive research
• Group work to analyse data from a gender blind and a gender sensitive stand-
point so as to compare the approaches
• Discussing design of gender sensitive policy recommendations in the spheres of
trade, subsidies, and migration
Session 4 Practicing how to develop gen-
der sensitive research projects
• Group exercise to develop a gender sensitive research project
• Exercise to design 3 sample projects and research questions, on:
• The impacts of floods on women and men;
• Technology for food security in subsistence communities, given how food
insecurity affects men and women differently
• Renewable energy applications’impact on women/men
“Gender Statistics”Training (June 2015)
Session 1 Understanding gender statistics • Exercises to learn how to distinguish between gender statistics and sex
disaggregated data
Session 2 Reflecting on different data
sources
• Analysing the pros/cons of data sources on gender statistics, e.g. global sources;
those produced by ESCWA’s Statistics Division

Session Objective(s) Exercises/Content
Session 3 Reviewing the contribution of
gender statistics to policy
• Exercises to demonstrate how gender statistics can:
• raise awareness and help eliminate gender stereotypes;
• monitor and evaluate change; and
• guide policy making towards greater gender equality
Session 4 Understanding gender indicators • Examining the functions of“indicators”in general and“gender indicators”in
particular
Session 5 Analysing population sex ratios
for
• Reflecting on population sex ratios
• Exercises on how to detect possible gender‘biases’in measurements due to
discrimination against women and girls
Session 6 Understanding statistical
visualisation
• Learning how to convey messages via a“statistical story”
• Analysing the“do’s and don’ts”of statistical visualization and specific visualiza-
tion techniques (e.g. tables/charts, maps)
Challenges
Resistance was experienced from certain
“hard” sectors such as energy or transpor-
tation, which did not fully appreciate the
relevance of gender issues to their work.
The trainings included examples from “hard” sectors to illustrate how and why gender
is relevant to their research. The use of sector-specific and practically applicable exam-
ples helped to attune trainees to the importance of integrating a gender perspective,
the benefits of doing so, and how to go about this in their work.
The UN-SWAP Coordinator engaged in discussions with participants and other staff
members both prior to and after the training.This engagement facilitated understand-
ing of their concerns, helped to pinpoint the best methods of responding to resistance,
and assured them that their points of view were being taken seriously. As a result, Divi-
sions which had paid little attention to gender concerns in the past began to appreciate
the relevance of gender equality issues.

54
A NOTE ON PROMUNDO
Framing Promundo’s overall pedagogical approach is
theconceptof“genderconsciousness”.Thisdrawsonthe
theory of “critical consciousness” or “conscientization”
developed by Brazilian educational theorist Paolo Freire
(1970), concerning the capacity of individuals to reflect
on the world and choose a course of future action
informed and empowered by this critical reflection.
Promundo holds that:
•• Reflecting critically on the history of cultural
conditions and class structures that support and
frame experiences of gender inequality can help
to promote personal growth, political awareness,
and activism that in turn can create the conditions
to achieve greater social and gender justice.80
For Promundo, gender is a relational concept, i.e. it is
expressed and produced through continual negotiations
and interaction,and of diversity as a cross-cutting theme
inseparable from gender. It champions approaches
which “examine, question, and change rigid gender
normsandimbalance[s]ofpowerasameansofreaching
gender equity objectives”81
. These include “gender
transformative” or “gender synchronized approaches”,
which centre on “reaching both men and boys and
women and girls” to engage them in “challenging
harmful and restrictive constructions of masculinity and
femininity that drive gender-related vulnerabilities and
inequalities and hinder health and well-being.”82
80 Promundo, Instituto PAPAI, Salud y Género and ECOS (2013)
Program HMD: A Toolkit for Action. Engaging Youth to
Achieve Gender Equity. Promundo: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and
Washington, DC, USA, pp. 2. Available: http://promundo.org.
br/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Program-HMD-Toolkit-for-
Action.pdf
81 Ibid.
82 M.E. Greene and A. Levack (2010) Synchronizing Gender
Strategies A Cooperative Model for Improving Reproductive
Health and Transforming Gender Relations. Interagency
Gender Working Group (IGWG). Available: www.prb.org/
igwg_media/synchronizing-gender-strategies.pdf
As three distinct practices by Promundo are included
in this Compendium,a discussion of the organisation’s
overall mission, theory of change, and key tools is
included here. Promundo is an international non-
governmental organisation, currently working in over
25 countries77
to transform harmful gender norms and
unequal power dynamics. It is guided by a mission
to “promote gender equality and prevent violence by
engaging men and boys in partnership with women
and girls”.78
“Promundo’s definite strength is that we’ve been working in
the field of men and masculinities for a long time. We have
been one of the main thought-leaders in terms of where this
field has been,where it is now,and where it’s going.We provide
strong theoretical frameworks on how to approach working
with men and boys; we conduct research; [… and] we have a lot
of programmatic experience [….] We bring in that global per-
spective,which is why I think UN agencies seek Promundo out.”
Jane Kato-Wallace
Promundo’s work on gender equality concentrates
on: fatherhood and caregiving; conflict and security;
economic justice; preventing violence; youth and
equality; and research for action. In each area,
Promundo applies gender-transformative approaches
to bring about change (or transformation) in
inequitable gender roles. The organisation recognizes
that working with such approaches implies combining
a variety of strategies, including (but not limited to)
training; mobilization; community outreach; and
mass-media campaigns. Promundo, therefore, seeks to
accompany training with other strategies, rather than
undertaking it in isolation. Their trainings are guided
by the organisation’s to “do no harm”79
, i.e. to ensure
that its interventions do not have a negative impact.
Their work also aims to influence policies and laws to
advance changes towards greater gender equality. In
their endeavours, they consider it essential to engage
and partner with stakeholders from a range of sectors.
77 http://promundoglobal.org/about/ and http://promundog-
lobal.org/about/teams/?offices=#
78 For further information on Promundo’s activities, please see:
http://promundoglobal.org/about/interactive-map/
79 Interview with Promundo Programme Officer

Notable tools
Promundo’s training initiatives are guided by its
foremost tools, Programs H, M, and D, internationally
recognised instruments in gender transformative
programming.
Tool Description
Program H (“H”for homem
[man] in Portuguese/
hombre in Spanish)
• Promotes critical dialogue and reflection on gender norms for men (15-24).
• Questions men’s use of violence and encourages their participation in caregiving and household
tasks, so as to change inequitable norms related to masculinity.
• Developed in 2002 by Promundo and its partners (Brazil’s Instituto Papai and ECOS, and Mexico’s
Salud y Genero), it has been implemented and adapted in over 20 countries in South and South-
east Asia, the Balkans, Latin America and the Caribbean, the US, and sub-Saharan Africa.
• It is recognised by UNFPA,World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, and WHO as a promising practice for
promoting gender equality and reducing gender-based violence.
• Includes 70 exercises/activities and one related video: Once upon a boy
Program M (“M”for
mulheres [women] in
Portuguese/ mujeres in
Spanish)
Engages young women in a similar critical reflection on gender norms.
Promotes their empowerment and citizenship via work on gender identity, relationships, caregiving,
health, and civic engagement.
Includes a total of 30 exercises/activities and one related video: Once upon a girl
Program D
(“D”for diversity)
• Recognises as a cross-cutting theme the importance of promoting respect for diversity (of sexual
orientation, race, ethnicity, age, etc.).
• Highlights the need to confront homophobia, which is frequently embedded in attitudes linked to
harmful gender norms.
• Related video: Afraid of What?

56
PROMUNDO: PORTAL FOR GENDER
EQUALITY IN SCHOOLS (PEGE - PORTAL
EQUIDADE DE GÊNERO NAS ESCOLAS)
83
Region(s): South America Country(ies): Brazil
Organisation(s): Promundo Type of Organisation: International Non-Governmental Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: Between 4 and 7 months depending
on region; 90 hours of total dedication
Dates: Ongoing online-training since 2011
Participant profiles: Male and female teachers from Brazilian public schools (most participants have been women) with university
degrees in Education, and a maximum of 50 participants per class
Facilitator profiles: 2 per course/class (all women); national (Brazilian) members of a multi-disciplinary team, including experienced
teachers, NGO professionals, gender and sexuality experts
Funding Source: Private international funding
(Nike Foundation amongst others)
Budget: USD 500,000
• Online learning platform (most costly component)
• Tutors’salaries
• Assessments/evaluations of changes in attitudes, capacities and
practices.
• In-person meetings
Contact: Danielle Lopes and Vanessa Fonseca pege@promundo.org.br and/or contact@promundoglobal.org
Web page: www.pege.org.br, www.promundo.org.br and www.promundoglobal.org
Overview
In Brazil, Promundo’s work has concentrated on
engaging youth (both women and men) from low-
income areas to promote gender equality. Both
external and internal programme evaluations
revealed efficiency and effectiveness in their work
towards engaging youth to create positive change
towards gender equality, as well as initiatives carried
out in schools. Building on these findings, Promundo
started working to concertedly enhance gender
equality in Brazilian public schools, in collaboration
with education professionals. In 2010/2011, the
Portal for Gender Equality in Schools was designed
by pedagogy specialists and gender experts, in
coordination and collaboration with key governmental
actors and education representatives, to promote
gender equitable attitudes and behaviours, as well as
83 Please note that the interview for this good practice was un-
dertaken in Spanish and translated/adapted to English by the
research team
sexual and reproductive health education, in public
schools. The platform design was also informed by
other virtual learning environments, interviews with
key informants from the Department of Education of
the State of Bahia (with whom the first pilot sessions
were held), as well as focus groups with teachers in
two Brazilian cities (Salvador and Rio de Janeiro).
The main financial support for developing and
implementing the course has been external, including
from private donors such as the NIKE Foundation and
PLAN International. Depending on the region and the
teachers interested in training, agreements have been
signed with various partners to finance different course
components.As such,each course is financed in part by a
variety of donors whose contributions add up to the total
economic resources needed for course implementation.
The Portal has followed different specific steps for
improvements and adaptations:
•• Step 1: Discuss with partners and educators their
main demands and needs;

•• Step 2: Analyse cultural differences, especially
concerning sexuality, homophobia and violence;
•• Step 3: Determine the time which educators
have available for the course, considering their
professional (and private) obligations;
•• Step 4: Study the virtual platform and how classes
and other tools are working and interacting.
Currently the course offers many interactive tools
which require a fast internet connection. PDF
versions and/or other adaptations may be needed
according to the regional context (rural, remote,
urban etc.);
•• Step 5: Adjust each module of the course
according to the findings of the previous steps;
•• Step 6: Undertake a pilot with partners and/or
with teachers willing to participate;
•• Step 7: Make necessary adjustments based on the
assessment of Step 6 and launch the course.
The Portal for Gender Equality in Schools has been
developed within the specific political, cultural and
social context of Brazil. When the course began, the
political context was predominantly conducive to
producing favourable outcomes. The Five Year Plan
on Education included gender equality as well as
sexual and reproductive health rights as fundamental
concerns for school curricula. Teaching materials
concerning gender inequalities, gender roles and
relations, and sexual and reproductive health rights,
including HIV/AIDS, were developed and disseminated
in schools. These materials were further approved as
part of official public school curricula. Within this
scenario, Promundo’s overall work also influenced
school curricula in a positive manner, including gender
equality in schools at a local level.For the first edition of
the course (in total,four editions have been undertaken
to date), in the Salvador region, the political framework
also provided the possibility for teachers to demand a
pay rise once they obtained their course certification.
However, recent changes in Brazil’s educational political
project pose challenges for Promundo’s work in schools.
The current Conservative Congress has prohibited the
aforementioned material, and the development of the
new National Year Education Plan (adopted in 2014)
deliberately excludes a gender perspective, arguing
that: “we do not want to make Brazilian children
homosexual”.Their strong conservative stance, based on
Catholic religious arguments, has impacted the political
scenario. This has generated confrontation between
governmentalandcivilsocietyactors,ascenario towhich
the implementation and sustainability of Promundo’s
online course is connected. As a civil society actor,
Promundo is involved, together with other organisations
inBrazil,inadvocacyworkandliaisonswithgovernments
at different levels to try to change this scenario.
One way Promundo-Brazil has addressed this, in
addition to advocacy work, is by continuing its
collaboration with local governmental actors. This
has been possible as Brazil’s federal democracy offers
them space for some level of autonomous decision-
making. In this regard, specific Action Plans for
schools in the Salvador region have been produced
and implemented by teachers who participated in the
course. Regional educational departments in different
regions of Brazil also continue to show interest in the
course. So have other countries, including El Salvador
and states in the Balkans.
Another major challenge for the course, connected to
the political scenario, has been sustainable financial
resources. The Brazilian government (both at the
national and local levels) has shown resistance to
financing external social projects not driven by the
government itself. Brazil, classified by the World Bank
as a higher middle income country, is furthermore
not a priority country for international donors and aid
funding. Most funds have, until now, been received
from international private donors, including the Nike
Foundation and recently PLAN International Brazil.
An alternative strategy discussed by the Promundo
team leading the online course, apart from private
donations, is the establishment of a participants’ fee
to ensure the course’s continued implementation and
sustainability. Another means discussed to confront
both these challenges is partnering with a university.
It is believed such a partnership could provide greater
creditability for the course, as the curriculum would
be validated by the Ministry of Education. This could
increase interest in course enrolment, since a university
certificate would be obtained upon completion of the
course, thus adding more value to teachers’ credentials
than a course certification from an NGO. In these ways,
such a partnership could contribute to the course’s
consolidation and sustainability.

58
It is, furthermore, important to underline that the
Brazilian education system and learning methods still
emphasise an environment of discipline and order.
Classes are taught in a traditional,authoritative manner,
rather than in ways intended to stimulate creativity and
discussions between students and teachers. Gender
training is not part of the education of school teachers,
although UNESCO (2003/2004, 2010)84
has argued such
training should be a prerequisite in teachers’ education.
Furthermore, sexuality and diversity in public schools
have and continue to be seen as a taboo subject in
conservative or religious spheres of Brazilian society.
Promundo’s definitions of Gender
Specificity and Gender Equity
(taken from Toolkit Program H)
Gender
specificity
Engaging boys to discuss and reflect about
gender inequities, to reflect about the ways that
women have often been at a disadvantage and
have often been expected to take responsibility
for child care, sexual and reproductive health
matters and domestic tasks.
Gender
equity
Looking at the specific needs that boys have in
terms of their health and development because
of the way they are socialized.This means, for
example, engaging boys in discussions about
substance use or risky behaviour and helping
them understand why they may feel pressured
to behave in certain ways.
In line with Promundo’s work on gender equality via
gender transformative approaches, in the context of
which training is accompanied by other strategies,
the organisation considers it essential to engage
and partner with various stakeholders, including
governmental actors, schools and religious groups in
their work towards change. Promundo also regards
various changes/transformation as necessary at various
levels of society, targeting individuals, organizations,
communities, and institutions. What then, in more
specific terms, do they aim to change with this online
course? This course builds on the notion that gender
inequalities and harmful gender norms are produced
and reproduced within schools and educational
84 UNESCO (2010) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010, Paris:
UNESCO, (2003/2004) Gender and Education for All: The Leap
to Equality, Paris: UNESCO
environments. As highlighted by Connell (2010)85
and
Levtov (2014)86
, teachers’ attitudes and behaviours,
school curricula, materials, and pedagogical practices
can reproduce gender inequalities. Thus, pedagogical
approaches that embrace more gender-equitable
teaching–learning experience are needed. Plan (2013)87
argues that both female and male teachers can have
stereotypical prejudice towards their female and male
students, reproducing harmful, unequal gender norms.
Furthermore,theschoolenvironmentisoftenconnected
to unequal power relations that interact with age,
gender, ethnicity and authority (Dunne, Humphreys
and Leach 2003)88
. Challenging and transforming the
patriarchal power relations within this environment
implies working with teachers, students, curriculums,
and policies, amongst others. The Portal for Gender
Equality in Schools focuses on public school teachers’
changes/transformation as one means of influencing
and altering unequal gender relations in public school
environments in Brazil. Changes in teachers’ behaviour,
attitudes and practices may further influence changes
in curricula (as seen in the region of Salvador),student’s
outlooks, and parents’engagement.
It is important to underline that this online course is
just one of many strategies applied by Promundo in
their “youth and equality” area. Other notable change
projects, connected to this online course, include
the development of an educational animated video,
‘Afraid of What?’. This engages students and teachers
in classroom-based discussions on homophobia and
respect for sexual diversity. Brazil’s Diversity in Schools
programme also offers training on gender, sexuality,
and ethnicity/race for teachers.
85 Connell, R. (2010) ‘Kartini’s Children: On the Need for Thinking
Gender and Education Together on a World Scale’, Gender and
Education 22.6: 603–15
86 Levtov,R.(2014)‘Addressing Gender Inequalities in Curriculum
and Education: A Review of Literature and Promising
Practices to Inform Education Reform Initiatives in Thailand’,
Gender Equality & Development, Women’s Voice and Agency
Research Series, 9
87 Plan (2013) Girls’ Learning: Investigating the Classroom
Practices that Promote Girls’Learning, London: Plan UK
88 Dunne, M.; Humphreys, S. and Leach, F. (2003/2004) ‘Gender
and Violence in Schools’, background paper for UNESCO EFA
Global Monitoring Report 2003/2004,‘The Leap to Equality’

Promundo’s approach with respect to PEGE is
guided by the notion of “gender consciousness”, its
understanding that genderisarelationalconcepts,and
its commitment to gender synchronised approaches
that engage both men and women (as discussed in
detail in the Note on Promundo).
As training on gender equality is not part of teachers’
education in Brazil, the online course aims at providing
a space where participants can speak about and
explore issues that are normally not part of their
professional background. It also intends to deconstruct
the power relations connected to knowledge between
tutors and participants, by not portraying the tutors
as gender experts (although they are). Instead, the
course promotes interaction and mutual learning.
People learn not only with their heads, but also with
their bodies. Hence mind-body relationship activities
are promoted, as well as specific tasks to develop in the
class-room environment before returning to the online
forum to discuss these practical exercises. Once again,
Promundoand thisonlinecoursedrawsonPauloFreire’s
theories, and emphasis is placed on the autonomous
participation of individuals towards understanding
oppression.This is perceived to be essential and cannot
be achieved solely through the provision of information.
Promundo and the Portal have applied various
strategies as to monitor, evaluate and document the
results obtained, including the use of their Gender-
Equitable Men (GEM) Scale – a scale which aims to
measure attitudes toward gender norms in intimate
relationships, or differing social expectations for
women and men in society. Results that contribute to
gender equality include:
•• Changes in teachers’ capacity, attitudes and
practices with regard to gender equality, gender
equity and sexuality. Teachers report the use
of specific tools and methods presented in the
course. They also report more confidence to
speak to their students about sexuality, including
sexual diversity. Another important attitude
change concerns teachers’ reflection on gender
norms and relations in their personal lives and
within their families.
The course offers four modules: Gender, Sexuality,
Paternity & Maternity, and Violence, divided into
seventeen classes, each with its specific learning
objectives. The tools and methods used in these
classes are connected to Promundo’s Toolkits, Program
H, Program M and Program D, which are discussed in
detail in the Note on Promundo.
Building on the exercises/activities included in these
Toolkits, the Portal for Gender Equality in Schools has
also developed its own specific exercises.The following
table summarizes some of these:

60
Examples of specific exercises from the Portal for Gender Equality in Schools
Gender Module Participants investigate laws that seek to minimise inequalities and analyse their impact within their own
school.Two specific questions are posed to guide the analysis:
Are these laws disclosed in the school environment?
Do these laws produce the effect they propose?
Participants are invited to discuss and give examples of how girls and boys are treated at their school.They are
guided by the following question:
What role should the teacher play in promoting gender equity?
Participants read the Executive Summary of the research“Because I’m a girl”and discuss:
What were the results that most caught your attention?
How can they be related to the lessons of Module 1?
In what ways research like this can be the basis for actions in favor of gender equity?
Sexuality Module Participants discuss:
What purpose should sexuality education in schools have?
They do so while considering the issue of sexual and reproductive health rights and the relationship of
individuals with their bodies.
Participants elaborate a set of questions related to sexual diversity in schools and send these to an expert to
answer (as an interview).The answers were later published online for all participants to review.
Participants choose one topic discussed in this module (sexuality, SRHR, sexual diversity and orientation) which
they find the most difficult to work with in their school.They are then requested to justify the difficulties and
propose alternatives to overcome these.
Participants reflect upon the law on sexual education (PCN), and how to how to approach sexual education
beyond biology classes. Students should discuss the challenges related to this and how to overcome them.
Chat discussion about making condoms available in schools
Paternity
& Maternity
Students are requested to discuss the concept of family, while taking into consideration how this institution is
portrayed in the media and materials included in this module.They also discuss how to debate the concept of
family in their classroom and at schools and propose activities to work with this concept from a multidimen-
sional approach.
Challenges
A traditional, conservative vision con-
cerning changes in gender roles, as
seen in the political context
Presenting facts and figures (e.g. statistical information) on gender inequalities, and present-
ing different perspectives and debates related to gender equality (liberal, socialist, radical,
etc.) based on professional practices and research. The course has preferred not to enter into
ideological and political discussions so as to not privilege any particular point of view.
Sexuality (i.e. heterosexual, homosex-
ual and bisexual relations) is a taboo
subject in most Brazilian regions
Targeting those regions where educational departments are open to speaking about and
integrating a gender perspective, including sex, in public schools.
It is more common for public school
teachers to be women, due to gender
roles in the Brazilian society. This is
reflected in the gender of participants,
who are predominately women.
The Portal promotes the inclusion of both women and men in the course to share life-experi-
ences and reflections about gender norms and relations in their personal and professional lives,
including their relationship with other fe/male colleagues and students.To increase the number
of male participants, Promundo has and will collaborate with institutions and departments re-
sponsible for the recruitment of teachers for the course,based on a specific Action Plan.

PROMUNDO AND UNFPA: GENDER
TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAMMES
AND APPROACHES IN EASTERN EUROPE
AND CENTRAL ASIA
Overview
Held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, this Promundo training
was directed at UNFPA Gender Focal Points from
across the organisation’s Country Offices in the region
of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was not a one-
off initiative, but part of a wider partnership between
Promundo and UNFPA which included previous
trainings and on-going collaboration. Designed by
Promundo in coordination with UNFPA’s Regional
Office and Country Offices, the training intended to
bolster regional capacity in “gender transformative
programming”89
.Specifically,its aims were:to enhance
participants’understandings of gender transformative
programmes; to equip them to apply gender
89 UNFPA (2013) Delivering for Women and Young People in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Istanbul: UNFPA EECARO.
Available: http://eeca.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/
Regional%20factsheet%20final.pdf
transformative approaches in their work by providing
a space for sharing lessons learned from the region;
and to discuss the development of a regional platform
to advance exchange, build coalitions, and conduct
policy advocacy around gender transformation.
Promundo’s role as a thought-leader in the field of
engaging men and boys in gender equality, as well
as championing “gender transformative” approaches
more broadly (see the Chapter on Promundo) underlies
the organisation’s collaboration with the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). It has formed
a particularly fruitful partnership with UNFPA’s
Regional Office 90
in Istanbul, Turkey, its Sub-regional
90 For more information on UNFPA’s presence in the EECA region,
please see: http://eeca.unfpa.org
Region(s): Africa and Asia Country(ies): Zambia and Cambodia
Organisation(s): Promundo, in coordination with WorldFish Type of Organisation: International Non-Governmental
Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: On-going (with Zambia) Cambodia from
June -October 2014. Specific training session 4-5 days
Dates: Cambodia – September 1-5, 2014. Zambia – August 4-15, 2014
and August 10-19, 2015 (Exact training dates)
Participant profiles: 22 (Cambodia) and 30 (Zambia) staff and partners (40% women and 60% men for both WorldFish Cambodia and
Zambia); University-level education
Facilitator profiles: 1 main female facilitator and 1 male local co-facilitators per country. External -international (Promundo-US) and
national (GADC,Cambodia and local consultant,Zambia) with expertise about gender roles and norms,and wide experience in training
sessions
Funding Source: WorldFish Aquatic Agricultural Systems pro-
gramme
Budget: USD 25,000 (Cambodia); 15,000 (Zambia)
Trainers’flight tickets and salaries
Design and delivery of the initiative
Training material
Training venue
Contact: Jane Kato-Wallace, Senior Programme Officer, Promundo-US j.kato@promundo.org.br ; contact@promundoglobal.org
Web page: www.promundoglobal.org and www.worldfishcenter.org

62
Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and its Country Offices
in the Eastern European and Central Asian region.
The organisation is committed to ensuring that the
sexual and reproductive health and rights of women
and youth, and the attainment of gender equality,
are at the centre of development. As part of its goal
to advance gender equality, the Regional Office has
identified strategic directions for its work on gender.
One of these is engaging men and women in “gender
transformative” programmes to transform inequitable
gender norms, relations and stereotypes.91
•• Gender transformative approaches aim to
challenge harmful gender norms and promote
positive alternatives.These are highlighted in the
United Nations Inter-Agency Gender Working
Group’s continuum of gender programmes, which
range from gender exploitative, (reinforcing
inequitable messages around gender), to gender
accommodating (acknowledging but working
around gender differences and inequalities to
achieve project objectives), and finally to gender
transformative (that seek to transform gender
relations to promote equality and achieve
program objectives) (see Figure 1). 92
The sustainability of this training is due in large
part to the prioritisation of gender transformative
programmes by Promundo’s partners at UNFPA. In light
of their commitment, funding for training was made
available and mechanisms to enable sustainability and
the institutionalisation of knowledge were built into
the initiative, such as the development of a regional
platform for action and learning.The institutionalisation
of knowledge also owes a great deal to the context wider
partnership between the two organisations, which has
included past training initiatives. In 2011, Promundo
91 http://eeca.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/gender_
equality_WEB.pdf
92 http://www.igwg.org/igwg_media/Training/FG_GendrIntegr
Continuum.pdf
FIGURE 1.
Gender Equality Continuum, adapted from the
UN Inter-Agency Gender Working Group
Gender
Exploitative
Gender
Accomodating
Gender
Transformative
conducted training in Istanbul for UNFPA staff and
representatives from NGOs and foundations from across
the region. This offered a preliminary introduction to
gendertransformation,especiallyasitrelatestoengaging
men and boys. In 2012, training was held for a similar
audience in Zagreb, Croatia, focused on engaging men
in fatherhood and caregiving as key areas for fostering
change in gender relations.These initiatives encouraged
the inclusion of gender transformative programming in
work plans across the region,including activities to reach
out to men and boys. They also led to calls for UNFPA
actors to share their experiences of implementing such
programmes in the region with one another,forming the
basis for the 2014 training intervention.
The wider environment in which these trainings were
held relates to the specific context of Eastern Europe
and Central Asia. This geographic region is one of
immense diversity both in terms of the realities of
gender equality on the ground, policy frameworks
supporting equality, and broader political factors
which influence the implementation of such policies.
The OECD argues that, broadly speaking, “women in
Europe and Central Asia enjoy high levels of equality in
all aspects of society” which it attributes in great part
to “a legacy of the former Soviet system, which was
a driving force in much of the region for introducing
gender equality into legal frameworks.”93
Nevertheless,
gender-based violence is prevalent, as are gender
stereotypes, as “social norms often reinforce a power
structure in which men are seen as breadwinners and
women mainly as caretakers”.94
Persistent stereotypes
also influence attitudes and actions concerning
sexual diversity, with homophobia widespread and
“LGBT people […] among those who often experience
multiple levels of discrimination and disadvantage.”95
This environment poses challenges for gender
transformative programming, and thus training which
supports such initiatives, as explored further below.
93 http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/4110011e.
pdf?expires=1445637282&id=id&accname=ocid56028003&-
checksum=093EFE320821023C59FE493AC3DC5598, p. 56
94 http://eeca.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/gender_
equality_WEB.pdf
95 http://eeca.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/
Inequalities_social_inclusion_rights_WEB.pdf

Promundo’s pedagogical approach was influenced by
the context of the initiative, as UNFPA sought a more
“theoretical” training to build on the foundation laid
by previous trainings. As such, the approach adopted
was to use the “Ecological Model” as the overarching
framework of the training.
Ecological Model
The Ecological Model is a conceptual framework to guide gen-
der equality professionals in looking at how gender norms are
reinforced at multiple levels of society. It promotes the develop-
ment of comprehensive approaches to challenging entrenched,
harmful gender norms,ranging from the individual level, to the
relationship level, the community level,and the wider national/
state level.
This enabled the training to offer a more in-depth
understanding of how men and women are influenced
at various levels of society. Gender transformation
was framed as something which cuts across multiple
dimensions in order to encourage interventions with
multiple components.
The approach hinged on trainees’ active participation
in the learning and knowledge construction process.
It followed Promundo’s understanding of the Freirean
concept of “gender consciousness”. Recognising that
learning comes from critical reflection, engagement
and dialogue, trainees were encouraged to reflect
on gender and its intersections with cross-cutting
issues and structures in the region. In keeping with
Promundo’s overall approach, participants were not
seen as “empty vessels” to be filled with information.
They were considered active agents of change. They
constructed knowledge alongside facilitators, implying
a circulation of knowledge, rather than merely its
transfer from trainer to trainee. The trainers facilitated
this process, drawing out critical reflections by digging
deeper into the “whys” behind gender, power, privilege,
and equality. Taking participants out of their comfort
zones in this way was a key part of the approach in order
to prompt deeper contemplation. Examining power
relations, and how these intersect with gender, race,
sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and age, etc.
was considered the key first step in understanding why
and how to change unequal gender norms.
To contextualise the approach, the content of the
training was informed by UNFPA Country Offices’
responses to Promundo’s mapping survey of regional
gender transformative approaches. This took stock of
how the Country Offices and their partners had been
integrating gender transformative methods into their
work since 2012, and where they needed additional
support. In this way, the training was attuned to the
real, expressed needs of participants and aimed to
respond to them. Promundo also worked closely with
local partners to lend contextual relevance to the
training. For instance, the training’s co-facilitator was
the Director of the Croatian NGO Status M96
. Given his
long-standing experience of working in the Balkans and
Eastern Europe, details of the nuanced ways in which
masculinity and gender are understood in the region
were integrated into the training. The use of humour
and anecdotes specific to the region also helped to
establisharapportwithtrainees.Hispastcollaborations,
and those of Promundo’s trainers, with UNFPA Gender
Focal Points also helped to contextualise the approach
to the participants’institutional environment.
A six-month post-test was undertaken to assess
the training’s results, particularly how learning was
integrated into participants’ work. Comparison of the
pre- and post-tests revealed an increase in participants’
knowledge about gender transformative programmes.
They reported applying what they had learnt during the
training by:
•• Integrating a gender transformative lens into
their work;
•• Adapting and applying conceptual frameworks
and resources to their settings;
•• Strengthening programme/project activities and
work plans through increased research on gender
transformation, as well as by engaging men/boys;
•• Including the approaches presented in the
training in funding proposals;
•• Sharing information with partners, including
learning and materials from the training; and
•• Collecting data on men and masculinities.
They also reported that the training informed Country
Office plans, activities and thinking on challenging
96 For further information on Status M, see: http://www.sta-
tus-m.hr/en/about-us/

64
harmful gender norms and engaging men and boys
in gender equality. For instance, Kazakhstan and
Belarus prioritised the engagement of men and boys
in addressing inequality and gender-based violence
in their Country Programme Documents (2016-2020).
Inspired by the SerbianYoung Men’s Initiative presented
in the training, Kyrgyzstan is developing a Concept
Paper to promote sexual and reproductive health, and
healthy views of masculinity, among students.
Also as a result of the training,participants preliminarily
agreed on avenues and modalities for establishing a
regional gender transformative programming platform
to carry forward regional exchange and encourage
advocacy around gender transformation. Due to be
launched in October 2015, this is envisioned as a way
to promote the sustainability of gender transformative
approaches. It is also expected to contribute to the
institutionalisation of knowledge from the training
by ensuring its continued circulation. Promundo
is encouraging a partner-driven platform in which
organisations are bound together by common set of
goals and objectives, including advocacy. This would
help partners move beyond sharing lessons and
towards joint action.
The training showcased diverse voices, perspectives,
and experiences. Methods used included group
education sessions interspersed with presentations
from participants. These enabled them to showcase
their own work and highlight existing research around
gender transformative programming in the region.
Their experiences served as prime examples of what
contextualised gender transformative programmes
look like, alerting other UNFPA trainees to the kinds of
initiatives possible in their regional setting. This made
gender transformative work feel relevant, achievable,
and realistic for participants. Using these presentations
to illustrate theoretical concepts, such as patriarchy
and inequitable gender relations, made them easier to
understand and relate to. Featuring their presentations
further encouraged a sense of ownership by trainees
and reinforced the dialectic of knowledge circulation
between participants and facilitators.
To encourage reflection on masculinities, power,
and the structures and dynamics underlying gender
inequality, exercises like “Patriarchy and the Power
Walk”(see below) were used.These helped participants
visualise inequalities and informed their reflections on
the ways in which gender transformative programming
challenges patriarchy to create more equal societies.
Time was set aside for trainees to brainstorm on
how to integrate a gender transformative approach
into their work. This encouraged dialogue and
reflection on how to put their learning into practice.
The tools from which training’s exercises and activities
were drawn included: the Program HMD Toolkit (see
Note on Promundo for more details) which engages
young men and women in critical reflection on
gender norms and diversity; the Program P Manual for
Engaging Men in Fatherhood, Caregiving, and Maternal
and Child Health; the Father School Manual which
guides the start-up and management of groups for
fathers-to-be; the toolkit on Engaging Men and Boys in
Gender Equality and Health; and MenCare multimedia
on men overcoming violence and gender norms to
become involved caregivers.
“Patriarchy and the Power Walk”Exercise
• Each trainee “steps into the shoes” of another person, e.g. a
single mother, a blind man, etc.
• Statements are read aloud. If these apply to them, they step
forward. If not, they do not move.
• In the end, participants visually see how much power, access
to resources, and opportunities some individuals in society
have compared to others.
• Based on this,they discuss how power and privilege is relative
to a person’s gender, socio-economic position, ethnicity, and
other cross-cutting issues. This is followed by a discussion
of the “Patriarchal Paradox”, i.e. how men are also disadvan-
taged by the system of patriarchy.

TABLE 1
Training Content
Day Objectives Content and Exercises
Day 1
Introduction to Gender
Transformation
Understanding
gender transformative
programmes
Definitions and examples of gender blind, exploitative, sensitive/aware, and
gender transformative programmes
Discussing why gender exploitative messages shouldn’t be used
Presentation on the Balkans’Young Men’s Initiative
Understanding power and
patriarchy and its relation
to gender inequality and
transformation
Interactive“Patriarchy and the Power Walk”activity, visualising differences in
power, resources/opportunities across society
Discussing the relativity of power and privilege; the“Patriarchal Paradox”, i.e.
how patriarchy disadvantages men; how gender transformative programming
creates more equal societies
Understanding why to
involve men
Presentation on the conceptual framework behind engaging men/boys in
gender transformation, including Jackson Katz film
Analysing gender norms
and power dynamics
Presentation of a tool to analyse gendered norms, roles and practices in
UNFPA programmatic settings
Activity using it to make a programme gender transformative
Day 2
Deepening Learning on
Gender Transformative
Programming
Understanding Country
Office needs
Review of UNFPA regional mapping by Promundo
Identification of areas in which Country Offices need support
Discussion of why some Offices felt hesitant of their abilities
Understanding male
health vulnerabilities and
the social capital benefits
of confronting patriarchy
Presentations on: men/boys’health vulnerabilities; men’s health statistics;
causes of vulnerabilities; need for engagement
Short film from Men for Gender Equality in Sweden
Discussing the benefits/drawbacks men face by conforming to/confronting
patriarchal systems; rigid masculinity and the health/social capital benefits of
questioning it
Overview of Ecological Model as a framework for the training
Exchanging lessons on
work
Presentations by pre-selected Country Offices
Snapshot of gender transformative work in the region, illustrating progress in
embedding such approaches since 2011

Day Objectives Content and Exercises
Day 3
Ecological Model Indi-
vidual and Relationship
Levels
Understanding gender
theories and gender
analysis frameworks
Discussing theories behind gender analysis, e.g. Pleck; gender analysis
frameworks, e.g. Moser, Harvard, etc.
IMAGES survey as a tool to collect baseline data and conduct cross-sectional
surveys on gender norms/practices/attitudes
Armenian Country Office presentation on their IMAGES survey and implica-
tions for programme development and advocacy
Understanding the
individual level of the
Ecological Model
Presentation of the Balkans-oriented Young Men’s Initiative
Georgian Country Office presentation of Men Talking to Men initiative and use
of IMAGES research to develop programming
Understanding the
relationship level
“Gender Road Map”presentation on implementing partner community
interventions; exercises on social network maps
Examining a case from
Tajikistan
Presentation by Tajikistan’s Country Office of lessons learned on working with
men/boys/women/girls in sports
Reflecting on integrating
lessons into programming
Group discussions among participants on lessons from Day 3, and what to
integrate into their own programming at the country-level
Understanding gender
based violence
Presentations on: conflict affecting masculine identity, gender inequality,
gender-based violence, etc.;“Living Peace”intervention on work with men in
conflict/post-conflict areas
Day 4
Community Level/
Institutionalisation
Understanding the
community level of the
Ecological model
Presentation of fatherhood data and its impact
Presentation of Kyrgyzstan’s MenCare Campaign approach, IMAGES data, and
its translation into community-level action
Understanding the
institutionalisation of the
Ecological model
Lessons on institutionalising approaches engaging men/boys
Ukraine Country Office data on paternity/maternity leave
Discussing how to advocate for equitable family leave policies
Learning about
effective monitoring and
evaluation
Overview of monitoring and evaluation in gender transformation, e.g. SMART
objectives1
Interactive exercise on the Gender Equitable Men Scale2
Reflecting on Country
Office plans
Group work on how to incorporate/contextualise lessons learned in Country
Offices’gender transformative programming
Day 5
Coalition building and
Developing Plans for
Action
Analysing how to build
and sustain networks/
coalitions
Lessons learned in developing/strengthening networks
Discussing Country Office strengths, needs, and advocacy
Collating participants’reflections to inform the development of the regional
platform (later validated by participants)
Future collaboration Discussing entry points to develop a regional platform
Evaluating the training Participants’post-test and evaluations of the training
Certificate of completion and USB with training materials

Challenges
When discussing how to make gender-based
violence prevention campaigns more appealing
to men, some trainees suggested messages
which were gender exploitative, e.g. a poster of
a boxer with the slogan “Hit me, not your part-
ner”. While such a message calls for an end to
violence against women, it nevertheless implies
that men using physical force against other men
is acceptable.
The trainers sought to illustrate why this message is gender exploitative. In line
with Promundo’s ethical commitment to “do no harm”, they further explained why
gender exploitative messages should not be employed, as these perpetuate ineq-
uitable gender stereotypes, norms and roles. The facilitators affirmed that using
traditionally masculine figures in campaigns (e.g. sports figures or military person-
nel) is not exploitative in itself. However, messages that reinforce harmful gender
norms, like the acceptability of male violence against other men, are exploitative.
As a group, the trainees reflected on how to identify gender exploitative approach-
es, and why they should not be used.
Engaging countries from diverse cultural
backgrounds was a challenge, e.g. discussions
of “traditional” notions of gender revealed
how hard these are to influence, especially in
relation to sexual diversity, in conservative en-
vironments. Some trainees were hesitant about
where to start their interventions, and the pos-
sibilities for success.
The trainers encouraged participants to “go for the lowest hanging fruit”, i.e. work
towards what is achievable, concentrate on this level, and capitalise on their stron-
gest partnerships.
Learning about the work of neighbouring Country Offices helped participants ap-
preciate the kinds of gender transformative approaches being implemented in the
region, and which could potentially be applied in their context.

68
PROMUNDO AND WORLDFISH: CAPACITY
DEVELOPMENT TO INTEGRATE GENDER
TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACHES IN
AQUATIC AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
Region(s): Africa and Asia Country(ies): Zambia and Cambodia
Organisation(s): Promundo, in coordination with WorldFish Type of Organisation: International Non-Governmental Organisation
Timeframe / Duration: On-going (with Zambia) Cambodia
from June -October 2014. Specific training session 4-5 days
Dates: Cambodia – September 1-5, 2014. Zambia – August 4-15, 2014
and August 10-19, 2015 (Exact training dates)
Participant profiles: 22 (Cambodia) and 30 (Zambia) staff and partners (40% women and 60% men for both WorldFish Cambodia and
Zambia); University-level education
Facilitator profiles: 1 main female facilitator and 1 male local co-facilitators per country. External -international (Promundo-US) and
national (GADC, Cambodia and local consultant, Zambia) with expertise about gender roles and norms, and wide experience in
training sessions
Funding Source: WorldFish Aquatic Agricultural Systems
programme
Budget: USD 25,000 (Cambodia); 15,000 (Zambia)
Trainers’flight tickets and salaries
Design and delivery of the initiative
Training material
Training venue
Contact: Jane Kato-Wallace, Senior Programme Officer, Promundo-US j.kato@promundo.org.br ; contact@promundoglobal.org
Web page: www.promundoglobal.org and www.worldfishcenter.org
Overview
In 2013, WorldFish – an international agricultural re-
search institution committed to reducing poverty and
hunger by improving fisheries and“aquaculture”– initi-
ated its collaboration with Promundo to ensure its CRP
Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) programme fully
integrated a gender transformative approach, since
WorldFish had recognized that “unless development
research and practice address the underlying causes
of gender disparities in access to and control over ag-
riculture resources, sustainable change is unlikely to be
achieve”. Promundo has since provided capacity devel-
opment training and technical advice to WorldFish in
two countries: Cambodia and Zambia. The partnership
was initiated in Zambia and expanded to Cambodia.
The specific training course lasted for 5 days in each
country with objectives to:
•• Enhance participants’understanding of gender
transformative programmes, as well as how to
involve women and men in these programmes by
applying different approaches and tools;
•• Improve participants’ability to adapt and use these
approaches and tools in the AAS programme; and
•• Strengthen participants’ personal commitment
to gender transformative approaches and
programming.
WorldFish is an international agricultural research in-
stitution committed to reducing poverty and hunger by
improving fisheries and aquaculture. Gender equality
and equity form part of WorldFish’s programming and
research. It is committed to:

Rural women have a major role in sustainable fisheries
and aquaculture, but they often have unequal access to
resources and services […in comparison with men]. Closing
the gender gap in access to important resources can improve
productivity and increase incomes and food security. The
social norms that constrain poor women’s and men’s
opportunities need to be better understood. WorldFish
gender equity research is aimed at generating evidence
and information on how poor men and women access and
use resources, who has power and makes decisions, whose
priorities are being addressed, and who is impacted by, or
benefiting from, different development alternatives.
WorldFish
At the global level,there is a fruitful and on-going part-
nership between Promundo and WorldFish. However,
senior management in each country where WorldFish
operates also need to be engaged and committed to
ensure successful results and sustainability. To this
end, WorldFish have established strategies related
to gender and equity within the Aquatic Agricultural
Systems’ programme, including the Gender Strategy
Brief: A Gender Transformative Approach to Research
in Development in Aquatic Agricultural Systems and
Gender Transformative approaches briefs. Resistance
was, however, present in Cambodia, where most train-
ees were highly educated older men.This may relate to
gender relations in the Cambodian society in question,
interconnected with other socio-demographic char-
acteristics such as age and education levels – where
older wo/men with high education-levels/expertise in
a specific field obtain higher social status (please see
below for a discussion of key challenges).
The collaboration has been financed by WorldFish’s
programme budgets. The possibility to allocate funds
from these budgets relates to the organisation’s gen-
eral commitment to gender equality as well as senior
management’s engagement and commitment. In the
case of Cambodia, WorldFish’s collaboration with its
local partner organization ended in 2015 due to bud-
get shortages. Zambia, however, Promundo continues
providing technical assistance to the Small Internal
Lending Communities’ programme, and they also
frequently engage the local consultant to do similar
gender-transformative trainings with other partners
in different provinces.
“Gender transformative approaches that influence
social norms and bridge the gaps in access to, and
control of, agricultural resources, promoting gender
equality and economic development”.97

The approach [Gender Strategy’s Theory of Change] is
innovative through its efforts to translate gender and
development concepts into practice and; in developing
creative means to understand and influence the way social
norms and relations, and the power, interdependencies
and inequalities associated with them, affect Aquatic
Agricultural Systems’ outcomes for poor women and men
across the CRP sites.
WordFish’s Gender Strategy Brief
WorldFish works towards integrating a gender-trans-
formative perspective in several of their programmes,
including the Aquatic Agricultural Systems,Livestock and
Fish and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
Senior management and leadership at WorldFish’s HQ-
level have been, and remain, committed and interested
in gender transformative approaches to its work. This is
evident in the Gender Strategy’s Theory of Change used
by WorldFish in their research approaches and stages;
planning, objective identification, implementation, part-
nerships and monitoring and evaluation. Promundo’s
technical assistance is being provided to five Aquatic
Agricultural Systems’programme countries (Bangladesh,
Cambodia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and
Zambia). Their theory of change explicitly recognizes
that “The need for a gender transformative approach
emerges from the gap between gender and develop-
ment practice and the field’s conceptual development,
and from the focus within standard gender integration
efforts on interventions that tend to address individ-
ualized demonstrations of gender inequality - gender
resource gaps -but ignore their wider social causes”.98
97 http://www.worldfishcenter.org/content/gender-equity
98 CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems
Gender Strategy Brief A Gender Transformative Approach to
Research in Development in Aquatic Agricultural Systems,avail-
able at:http://pubs.iclarm.net/resource_centre/WF_3048.pdf

70
Reaching sustained results after 4-5 days training is
challenging and further actions and strategies are
needed, including changes in organisation’s/ pro-
gramme’s internal policies and/or strategies on gender
mainstreaming and women’s empowerment. As
noted by Promundo-US’ Senior Programme Officer, a
4-5 day training only “scratches the surface” of gender
transformation. Sustained collaboration has shown
effectiveness as Promundo has been able to support
WorldFish with the incorporation of a gender transfor-
mative approach in project design, research, articles,
tools. etc. beyond its training sessions. Importantly,
WorldFish is also implementing gender transforma-
tive approaches in the three other countries where
the Aquatic Agricultural Systems programme is im-
plemented.These have been evaluated in publications
including Transforming Aquatic Agricultural Systems
towards Gender Equality: A Five Country Review.99
Promundo’s approach was guided by its understand-
ing of “gender consciousness” and the corresponding
critical reflection this seeks to elicit from trainees. Also
key to its pedagogical approach in this case was the
emphasis it places on partnerships with wide-ranging
stakeholders, both to contextualise training and to ad-
vocate for transformative change.
For Promundo, facilitating trainings with local partners
was key in this experience, as it open up opportuni-
ties for these actors to work with WorldFish’s Country
Offices after Promundo’s training had been carried out.
The results achieved were verified through evaluation
methods including questionnaires, interviews and
continued liaisons with local partners and WorldFish.
Notable results include:
•• Aquatic Agricultural Systems’programme staff
and partners have increased knowledge on gender
transformative programming, which lead to at
least 4 projects being designed from a gender
transformative approach.
99 http://pubs.iclarm.net/resource_centre/WF_3348.pdf
•• Sustained technical assistance by Promundo for
WorldFish Zambia, with continual communication
for supporting gender transformative approaches
in other programmes, including the Savings and
Internal Lending Communities programme (on
economic empowerment), review of articles to be
published, research tools, co-writing proposals and
publishable manuscripts and other similar organi-
sational outputs so as to ensure the integration of
a gender-transformative perspective.
•• Successful integration of gender-transformative
approaches that enhance and improve shared
household decision-making, particularly around
household savings and investments within the
Savings and Internal Lending Communities
programme.This gender integrated program is
called Savings and Internal Lending Communities
+, aiming to work around gender norms related to
households’savings and investments.
•• Promundo’s increased knowledge and experience
of working with gender transformative approaches
in non-traditional areas,e.g. aquatic agriculture
sciences.This result demonstrates the importance
of mutual learning and diverse ways of knowledge
flow between collaborating organizations for the
advancement of gender equality.
•• Participants report addressing inequalities in
their personal lives by recalling the training
exercises connected to the “patriarchal paradox”
and power dynamics;
Another interesting result, often part of Promundo’s
training experiences,has been the increased capacity of
the local partner organizations,which co-facilitated the
training, to undertake gender transformative training
sessions themselves.The experience has improved their
understanding and ability to facilitate trainings and
provide technical assistance. Gender and Development
Cambodia, for instance, has adapted and employed
gender transformative tools and have used the Gender
Equitable Men scale in their work. They were also able
to implement a community-based training session
focusing on WorldFish community facilitators in the
Aquatic Agricultural Systems’ programme. The local
consultant in Zambia, on the other hand, was contract-
ed to undertake a follow-up facilitator skills’ training
session with community facilitators in the Savings and
Internal Lending Communities-programme in Zambia.

Importantly, the results obtained from the collabora-
tion with WorldFish are not only bound to the training
sessions developed in Cambodia and Zambia, but are
also due to the continuous coordination between
Promundo and Worldfish, which in itself can be seen
as a result. WorldFish’s leadership at headquarter-lev-
el appreciated the efficiency of introducing gender
transformative approaches in their work, and have
therefore established specific staff positions for ad-
dressing gender concerns, including a “gender team”.
Currently the WorldFish office in Zambia has a staff
member responsible solely for gender, and a Senior
Scientist who is also well-oriented on the subject.
The training was characterized by Promundo’s partic-
ipatory methodological approach, which centres on
participants, partnerships, and contextual relevance.
The initiative was modelled to meet the organisation’s
and participants’ needs in gender transformative pro-
gramming, particularly in Zambia, where WorldFish’s
leadership showed a deep commitment throughout
the training’s different stages.
The tools and methods used in training are connected to
Promundo’sToolkits,Program H,Program Mand Program
D (outlined in detail on the Note on Promundo).
In the case of this training,adaptations were necessary
to adjust to the organization’s aquatic agricultural
research focus. Promundo-WorldFish’s training design
was, therefore, a very participatory process, resulting
in the utilization of following methods:
•• Critical reflection exercises addressing harmful
gender norms that prevent women and men from
sharing household decision-making power and
achieving gender equality;
•• PowerPoint presentations providing contextua-
lized examples and good practices of gender
transformative programming at the household-
and community-levels;
•• Programme management and organizational
tools with which to perform power analyses,
achieve gender transformative solutions, and
develop realistic and achievable work plans.
One of the exercises most appreciated by partici-
pants in both Cambodia and Zambia was the “Gender
Fishbowl” exercise, explained in detail below.
The specific training initiative lasted for 4-5 days. In
both countries they followed more or less the same
format, as seen below:
The Gender Fishbowl activity
The aim of this exercise is to learn about women and men’s experiences, in childhood and as adults, related to what it means to be a
woman or a man.
Women and men are divided into two groups. The women are asked to sit in a circle in the middle of the room, becoming the “fish”,
while the men form an outer circle around the women and sit down facing in,becoming the“bowl”. Specific questions are asked by the
facilitator/s for the women to discuss while the men listen (about 20-30 minutes), then they shift places (e.g. the men become the fish
and women the bowl). Questions include:
• When did you first realize you were a girl/boy?
• What do you hate/love about being a woman/man?
• What do you find difficult to understand about women/men?
• What is one thing you wish men/women knew about what it is like to be a woman/man?
Afterwards the participants discuss and reflect on questions such as:
• How did you feel being the“fish”/“bowl”?
• Did you learn anything new by listening to the women/men?
•
Extracted from Promundo’s Toolkit “Journeys of Transformation”

72
Day Objective Content and exercises
Day 1: Introduction
to Gender
Transformation
Understand the objectives of
the workshop and expected
outcomes
Presentation of main findings from WorldFish’s Gender Scoping Report.
Presentation about how the gender-transformative approach fits within the
AAS-framework
Introduction of participants and facilitators: who we are and what do we
bring? Guiding questions for this session:What is your experience in working
on issues related to gender equality?
Understand the difference
between sex and gender
Activity:“Gender Values Clarification”:The facilitator read a series of state-
ments about gender. Participants should then go to the face that described if
they agree (happy) or disagree (sad) with that statement.
Drawing exercise: the participants visualize by drawing the gender norms,
roles and responsibilities of men and women in their community. Experiential
learning activity:“Draw a typical man and woman from the Tonle Sap
community”Group discussion, which includes reflections on the differences
and similarities between women and men; where do we receive messages
about how to be a woman and a man; what do we think being a woman or a
man means?
Define a gender transforma-
tive program in the context of
their work.
Presentation:“what are gender-transformative programmes and what do
they aim to do?”, including brief programme examples from: Gender and De-
velopment Cambodia – Gender Road Mapping method Promundo – women’s
economic empowerment (MenCare film)
Presentation by WorldFish of 2-3 programme examples that serve as concrete
“case studies” throughout the 4 days as to analyse these and transform them
into gender-transformative programmes.
Presentation and review of the Participatory Action Research (PAR) process;
presentation of the findings on gender norms from community pilot of PAR
instruments Group discussion on where the 2-3 AAS programmes are located
on the gender continuum (from gender blind; gender exploitative to gender
transformative).
Homework Assignment –“Do one activity outside your assigned gender role”
Day 2: Gender and
Exploring Power
Obtain basic understanding
of why it is important to
deconstruct and challenge
harmful masculinities in order
to promote gender equality;
Recap from previous day in a fun and interactive way – through song, dance,
game, drama, etc.
Review and reflection on the previous night’s homework
Gender Fishbowl activity (see text box above)
Introduction to power and gender inequality: Activity,“Patriarchy and the
power walk”.
Understand how unequal
power dynamics between
men and women impacts
community well-being
Drawing and group discussion about the power dynamics that exist at
multiple levels of AAS communities. Group work to examine gender and power
dynamics at AAS-community level using the 2-3 examples of AAS programmes

Day Objective Content and exercises
Day 3: Tools and
Approaches to
Engaging Men and
Women in Gender
Transformation
Learn about key approaches to
engaging men and women in
gender transformation
Learn about various types of gender-transformative approaches, using the
Ecological Model approach
Presentation:“Overview of AAS Gender Capacity Development Theory of
Change”
Become knowledgeable about
gender transformational
approaches
Developing a gender-transformative programme via the lens of fatherhood,
using the MenCare Campaign and Program P as examples
Presentation of Community-Based Approaches
Become skilled in how to
modify programmes to be
Sharing of Tools (manuals, campaign materials) on gender-transformative
approaches
Discussions on how to integrate gender-transformative approaches into
the programme design and implementation (using the 2-3 case study
programmes).
Integrating gender into your programme activity: Presentation of the Program
Cycle and how to integrate a“gender lens”into the 2-3 example AAS pro-
grammes. Group work –groups divided according to the 2-3 AAS programmes.
The group work on the handout “Gender throughout the Program Cycle”and
present their plans for comments and constructive criticism from the other
groups.
Jeopardy game (see text box below for more information), were participants
“play jeopardy”with the objective to re-call concepts and ideas from previous
days. One card has a question related to a concept and a value (money), for
each right answer a group obtain the card and the value (money).The group
with the most correct questions/most money wins.
Day 4: Monitoring
and Evaluation &
Program Planning
Become knowledgeable
about gender indicators and
integrate them into M&E
framework
Presentation:“Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender-Transformative Programs”
Groups are invited to take the GEM scale quiz and IMAGES Survey.This is
followed by group discussion on how to integrate this into their Research in
Development (RinD) approach using the 2-3 case study AAS programmes.
Develop a 6 month integration
work plan; become aware of
and develop a plan for follow
up on WF-AAS team needs
after the training is complete
Group work: develop of 3-6 month work-plan to integrate gender transforma-
tive approaches into AAS work.What will be needed? Presentation of some of
these plans (max. 2) to the group.
Discussion of support needed after this training is over to integrate a gender
perspective into their work.What support do they need from:World Fish-
Penang/Phnom Penh office? Gender and Development Cambodia? Promundo?
Each other?
Final check out, application of post-test and Promundo’s Workshop Evaluation

74
Challenges
Adapting materials, tools
and exercises to the Aquatic
Agricultural System’s Research
areas since the thematic area
is an area not traditionally
connected with gender-trans-
formative approaches
Training was prepared and planned in a participatory manner, involving WorldFish’s HQ in Malaysia
in discussions about materials and tools.
Exercises and actions that demonstrated how addressing gender equality makes the work of
organizations more efficient was included.
Involving local consultants from the MenEngage Alliance, knowledgeable in local gender relations.
WorldFish had not worked ex-
tensively with gender equality
in previous programmes.
WordFish had conducted a social and gender analysis, mapping exercises to identify organizations
working in the field of gender and agriculture and other baseline research in order to better
understand the local gender landscape. Understanding this baseline research to identify practical
examples which demonstrate possible key entry points and opportunities to integrate gender
transformative approaches in aquatic agriculture was an essential part of the training preparations.
Participatory, simple, and practical methods and exercises connected to the participants’work
increased their engagement and commitment to gender equality

UN WOMEN TRAINING CENTRE/ITC-ILO:
BLENDED COURSE EMPOWERING
UN SYSTEM GENDER FOCAL POINTS
Region(s): Latin America and the Caribbean;
Europe (global reach)
Country(ies): Dominican Republic and Italy (participants from across the globe)
Organisation(s): UN Women Training Centre and
the International Labour Organization Internation-
al Training Centre (ITC-ILO)
Type of Organisation: UN agencies
Timeframe / Duration: 1 month online and 5 days
face-to-face (55 hours in total: 5 hours per week for
online modules; 35 hours for face-to-face sessions)
Dates: 2013 – present (on-going)
Participant profiles: 158 UN System Gender Focal Points (128 women and 16 men); university-level education
30 in 2013 (28 women and 2 men); 36 in 2014 (all women); and 92 in 2015 (78 women and 14 men))
Facilitator profiles: 2 online facilitators and 3 face-to-face facilitators; internal international trainers, all of whom are women and UN
Women or ILO staff members, with expertise in training for gender equality
Funding Source: UN system (UN Women and
ITC-ILO); participants own resources/their UN
agency’s support
Budget:
• Design and delivery of online and face-to-face modules; creation of an
online training platform
• Salary of facilitators
• Meeting room, accommodation and catering for participants during face-
to-face module
• Participant fees (EUR 2,900 paid by each participant/their UN agency)
Contact: Ziffer, Programme Officer: alicia.ziffer@unwomen.org
Web page: https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/
•• Deepen the participants’understandings of basic
gender concepts, the gender architecture of
the UN system, and thematic areas concerning
important gender and women’s issues;
•• Help them apply gender mainstreaming tools
in their daily work as Gender Focal Points;
•• Develop their skills in advocacy and
communication for gender equality and;
•• Promote the building of a support network to
encourage discussion, sharing of lessons learnt,
and support access to resources and tools.
Overview
Working in close collaboration,the UNWomenTraining
Centre and the International Labour Organization’s
International Training Centre (ITC-ILO) have offered
the training course “Empowering UN System Gender
Focal Points”since 2013. Its purpose is two-fold. It aims
to strengthen the capacity of UN System Gender Focal
Points, who exist within most UN agencies, to support
and promote the integration of gender concerns in
their work units and organisations. It also seeks to
foster a sense of community between Gender Focal
Points in order to serve as a support network for ad-
vancing gender equality and women’s empowerment
throughout the UN. Its specific objectives, pursued
through two online modules and one face-to-face
module, are to:

76
All UN agencies and personnel are responsible for
ensuring that gender equality is integrated effec-
tively into their policies and programming.100
Guided
by the gender mainstreaming policy outlined by the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1997 (see
text box), most agencies have developed networks of
Gender Focal Points at various levels of their organi-
sations, both at headquarters and in the field. First
and foremost, Gender Focal Points are conceived of
as change agents, functioning as resource persons,
enablers, and a central mechanism to mainstream a
gender perspective thorough the UN system. While
working in their own areas of expertise, they have
the added responsibility of “facilitating” gender main-
streaming in their organisations and work units. Their
role is one of advocacy and facilitating communica-
tion and connections related to gender equality. They
are meant to advocate for increased attention to, and
integration of, gender equality and women’s empow-
erment in an agency’s policy and programming, as
well as in the work of development partners.
In practice, however, their roles differ between organisa-
tions, contexts, their positions within their agencies, the
time supervisors allocate to their tasks as Gender Focal
Points, and the kind of gender architecture their organi-
sation has in place.They are not intended as substitutes
for full-time institutional gender specialists,but in effect
may often be treated as such.This is especially challeng-
ing as their capacities and knowledge of gender issues
vary greatly between contexts. While most voluntarily
take up this mantle,some are appointed to the position.
“The ECOSOC agreed conclusions 1997/2 define gender
mainstreaming as:“…the process of assessing the implica-
tions for women and men of any planned action, including
legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at
all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as
men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension 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 is to
achieve gender equality.”
These factors have implications for the Gender Focal
Points’ abilities to fulfill their responsibilities; their
effectiveness as change agents may be hampered by
100 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ianwge/gm/
UN_system_wide_P_S_CEB_Statement_2006.pdf
inadequate gender architecture within their organisa-
tions, resistance from supervisors, or a lack of gender
knowledge or personal interest in gender issues. For ex-
ample,theSecretary-General’s2014Report,Improvement
in the status of women in the United Nations system,
identifies“the greatest area of weakness for focal points”
as“the lack of time they were able to devote to their gen-
der related duties”, noting that 75% of entities “reported
that focal points allotted 20 per cent or less of their time
to their focal point functions.”101
It is also worth noting
most Gender Focal Points are women, and thus men
have made up only 10% of the participants in this course.
The fact that more women than men are Gender Focal
Points, may have implications within and outside the
UN system for the tendency to view gender equality as
a“question for women”, rather than one of equal impor-
tance for women and men.
With the roll-out of the 2012 System Wide Action
Plan (UN-SWAP) for Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment, Gender Focal Points are being expect-
ed to take on increased tasks. For instance, as this
involves a new assessment and reporting process for
each UN agency, it is likely that “the responsibility
will fall to GFPs to coordinate the data collection for
reporting on the UN-SWAP.”102
UN Women, therefore,
determined that they will require further support
to perform their facilitation functions. This was the
impetus behind the launch of this course by the UN
Women Training Centre and ITC-ILO, the two agen-
cies responsible for supporting the advancement of
gender equality within the UN system by providing
training to actors within and outside the organisation.
The agendas of both agencies are similar. Based in the
Dominican Republic, the UN Women Training Centre is
guided by the following vision and mission:
•• Vision: To become the leading UN centre that
contributes, through training for gender equality,
to building a society that respects and promotes
human rights for all women and men.
101 United Nations (2014) Improvement in the status of women
in the United Nations system:Report of the Secretary-General.
A/69/346. New York: United Nations General Assembly.
Available: http://www.un.org/ga/search/vieA/69/346w_doc.
asp?symbol=A/69/346&Lang=E p. 48
102 UN Women Training Centre and International Training Centre
of the International Labour Organization (2013) Blended
Course Module 2 Understanding gender equality: a GFP per-
spective, p. 30

•• Mission: supporting the UN and other stakehold-
ers to realize commitments to gender equality,
women’s empowerment and women’s rights
through transformative training and learning103
.
These are at the heart of its theory of change, which
advocates a transformative and reflexive approach to
training for gender equality.
The International Labour Organization’s International
Training Centre is guided by a commitment to the ILO’s
goal of decent work104
for women and men worldwide.
The ILO’s policy on gender equality, outlined in the 1999
Director-General’s Circular No. 564105
and operational-
ized in its Action Plan for Gender Equality 2010–15106
,
commits the organisation to gender mainstreaming
as the strategy to promote equality in all aspects of
its work. Its approach is based its understanding that
women and men have “specific and often different
needs and interests in the sphere of work”.107
Awareness
of these is integrated into policies, programmes, proj-
ects, institutional structures and procedures. The ILO
also believes that gender-specific actions can be part
of gender mainstreaming when required, such as in
the face of entrenched or pronounced inequalities.108
For instance, technical interventions designed to help
women overcome gender-related biases and barriers in
the labour market.
Given this political context, a legal framework exists
which provides entry-points for initiatives like this
course, by and for the UN. In addition to ECOSOC’s
1997 Agreed Conclusions and the 2012 UN-SWAP, one
indicator of which specifically relates to training for
gender equality, the newly established Sustainable
Development Goals (specifically goals 4 and 6) feature
gender equality and life-long learning opportunities109
as key aims. It is also bolstered by various internal pol-
icies and regulations of specific UN agencies, such as
FAO’s or UNOCHA’s policies on gender equality.
103 http://gtcop.unwomen.org/index.php?option=com_con-
tent&view=article&id=317&Itemid=55&lang=en
104http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/decent-work-agen-
da/lang--en/index.htm
105http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@
gender/documents/policy/wcms_114182.pdf
106 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgre-
ports/---gender/documents/publication/wcms_179106.pdf
107http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/equality-and-discrimina-
tion/gender-equality/lang--en/index.htm
108http://www.ilo.org/gender/Aboutus/ILOandgenderequality/
lang--en/index.htm
109 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsproposal
Central to the approach was an understanding that
training must pay attention to power-relations, how
these are produced and re-produced within different
spheres, and how these can influence training. This is
in line with feminist approaches to knowledge, which
“challenge traditional models of power and knowledge
[… which] value acquisition of knowledge over processes
of learning and that subscribe to hierarchical, positivist
and didactic knowledge and learning models”110
This
course, by contrast, valued the process of learning itself
and sought to negotiate power-hierarchies between
trainers and trainees to avoid reinforcing them. For
example, it addressed the power dynamics present in
online settings, which afford trainees a degree of ano-
nymity but may lack direct personal contact,by ensuring
that expert online facilitators, available and responsive
to participants’concerns. Similarly, emphasis was placed
overall on the expertise of the trainers, as well as their
openness and approachability. The fact that they were
senior trainers was considered important for securing
their legitimacy in the eyes of trainees, adapting the
sessions to trainees’ needs, and building relationships
of trust between participants and facilitators. Another
instance concerns the selection of UN Women staff as
participants for the “Training of Trainers” initiative, who
were identified as “key strategic actors”. To avoid rein-
forcing hierarchies of power, the Training Centre built on
collaboration with other UN entities,such as UNWomen
field offices, to inform the selection process.
The approach adopted viewed training as a horizon-
tal, dialectic learning process. This was based on an
appreciation of the value of people’s own experiences
as an important part of the learning process. These
were not only treated as individual experiences, but as
building blocks in a net of sharing and exchange that
the training aspired to encourage. Trainees learnt both
from their own experiences as well as those of others,
creating a knowledge-base of shared “lessons learnt”.
Knowledge transfer therefore occurred between the
facilitators and participants, and vice versa, as well as
between participants themselves. Flexibility and ad-
aptation were also prioritised based on reflection on
how to improve the course to better meet participants’
110 Mukhopadhyay,M.andF.Wong(2007)“Introduction:Revisiting
gender training. The making and remaking of gender knowl-
edge”, Revisiting Gender Training: The Making and Remaking
of Gender Knowledge – A Global Sourcebook. Amsterdam: KIT
Royal Tropical Institute,The Netherlands, p. 11.

78
needs.For instance,in light of internal assessments and
consultations with colleagues at other UN agencies,the
original length of the course was deemed insufficient,
and it was expanded accordingly.
The outcomes of the course were evaluated through
questionnaires, interviews, and testimonies. Results
included participants’ increased knowledge of gender
equality and its relevance for their work as Gender
Focal Points; as well as improved advocacy skills and
abilities to liaise with management towards the
implementation of gender equality actions in their
agencies. The course also led to the development of
support networks of Gender Focal Points within and
between agencies.These contribute to the institution-
alisation of knowledge from the training, acting as an
impetus for participants to keep learning by exchang-
ing information and lessons learnt.
Following the course, there were increased demands
for further technical support, both from Gender Focal
Points and UN agencies in general, to help main-
stream gender within agencies’ procedures (internal)
and programmatic actions (external). In response, the
UN Women Training Centre and ITC-ILO developed a
“Training ofTrainers”initiative geared towards 25 mem-
bers of UN Women’s field staff. Its objective is to train
UN Women personnel to provide training for Gender
Focal Points connected to their field offices, from differ-
ent agencies and world regions. This is envisioned as a
means of continuing with the course and maximising
its impact across the UN.
In line with the pedagogical approach, many of the
exercises and methods used in the online modules and
face-to-face sessions sought to draw out the partici-
pants’ own experiences from mainstreaming gender?,
both good and bad, to help them reflect and learn from
these.The two online modules focused on basic concepts
related to gender equality.This was felt to lay a necessary
foundation for the face-to-face component.The blended
modality was chosen as the best method by which to
meet the training’s objectives. It drew on the particular
strengths of online and face-to-face training,using these
to complement one another. For instance, reading ma-
terials were provided online, which trainees discussed
through a chat facility. This chat function allowed them
to discuss topics at any time and in any place. As it let
them take their time with the material, and think about
their concerns at their own pace, it facilitated in-depth
discussion of complex concepts which would be far
harder to achieve in face-to-face settings. Such exercises
make the most of key benefits of online learning,namely
“convenience, flexibility and self-pacing that cannot be
achieved through face-to-face education, in addition to
being more cost effective.”111
As such, the online modules
lent themselves well to the internalization of more ab-
stract conceptual knowledge by participants.
The face-to-face component, meanwhile, used interac-
tive exercises to illustrate key concepts. This enabled
participants to interact with one another in ways that
cannot be achieved in virtual forums, in order to build
a sense of community between them. As noted by
Wuensch et al. (2008), “social and spatial awareness is
natural in face-to-face classrooms” as learners observe
the reactions of their peers and instructors.This creates
a space where “social and intellectual interactions are
immediate, dynamic, and more efficient than with
the online education environment” since that “facial
expressions and body language […] provide a feedback
mechanism” for all those involved.112
Specific activities
that built on the assets of face-to-face training includ-
ed exercises to build trainees’ advocacy skills and help
them overcome resistances:
Exercise to build participants’advocacy skills
• Participants are divided into pairs. Each trainee “steps into
the shoes” of someone else. One assumes the role of, for
example, a government representative or a colleague who
is reticent to integrating gender concerns in their work.The
other tries to convince their partner of the importance of
gender.The two then swap roles and continue this role-play.
• In this way, participants reflect on and practice the argu-
ments in favour of gender mainstreaming that they them-
selves would find most convincing.
111 Baldursdottir et al., 2014, p. 13.
112 Wuensch, Karl, Aziz, Shahnaz, Ozan, Erol, Kishore, Masao, and
Tabrizi M.H.N. (2008). Pedagogical Characteristics of Online
and Face-to-Face Classes. International Journal on ELearning,
7(3), 523 – 532. Page 524.

TABLE 1
Training content
Module Objective Exercises
Module 1
(online)
Understanding the role of
Gender Focal Points
Appreciating organisational
change and how it takes place
Recognising the international
framework and regulations for
gender equality and women’s
empowerment
• Watching informative videos on topics like:
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
• Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting
• Forum discussions such as:
• “Your tasks as a Gender Focal Point”
• “Word Choices: identify alternatives to words that contain bias”
• Critical reflection on issues including:
• Effective communication strategies for gender equality
• UN agencies’sexual harassment policies
• Gender-based violence and socio-cultural contexts
• Q&A throughout and discussion on the discussion forum
Module 2
(online)
Strengthening participants’
knowledge of the UN’s gender
mainstreaming policy, and
its tools and mechanisms for
promoting gender equality
• Reflection exercises including:
• Gender equality within the participants’ agencies, asking “Is gender equality
mainstreamed in policies and programmes?”,“Are women and men fairly rep-
resented in decision-making processes?”
• Challenges/successes in integrating gender issues in these agencies
• Agencies’monitoring mechanisms for gender equality
• Agencies’gender equality policy, strategy and/or plan
• Discussion forum on such issues as:
• “What would the ideal gender responsive organisation look like?”
• “What is missing to mainstream gender in your/other agencies?”
• Q&A throughout and discussion on the discussion board

80
Module Objective Exercises
Module 3
(face-to-face)
Day 1 Enhancing oppor-
tunities to create
a community of
support and learning
for Gender Focal
Points
• Presentation on gender equality concepts
• Participants write a phrase to define a concept related to gender. They share
these with the group to create and present a final definition in the plenary
session
• Life cycle approach exercise
• Group discussion between participants of different ages on discrimination
they have faced. Conclusions shared in the plenary
• Power Point presentation about CEDAW
• Participants share their experiences of writing reports on CEDAW. They con-
duct internet research on questions posed by facilitators, which they present
in the plenary
• Trainees share challenges faced in their work as Gender Focal Points
Day 2 Understanding and
applying gender
analysis methodolo-
gy, and M&E from a
gender perspective
• Discussion and exercise on gender analysis
• Groups of participants analyse 3-4 case studies, at least one of which focuses
on men/masculinities. They share their assessments of these cases in the
plenary session
• Exercise on results-based management and gender indicators
• In groups, participants discuss the “results chain” related to a specific topic,
and share their work in the plenary
Day 3 Understanding
resistances
Improving
communication and
negotiation skills on
gender equality
• “Fish bowl”exercise on how Gender Focal Points address internal and/or external
resistances and develop resilience
• Lessons learnt session
• Strengthening participants’negotiating skills
• Presentation and discussion on output from the online forum
• Communications and gender
• Presentation on mainstreaming gender in different fields
• Exercise to examine key features of an effective message
Day 4 Appreciating different
levels of change
• Advocacy / Communications Plan exercise
• Participants design an advocacy plan to rally support for their work
• UN Tools revision exercise
• A review of the UNDAF, UN-SWAP, Scorecards, gender marker, equality seal,
etc., led by participants who provide contextualised examples from different
institutions and countries
• Exercises on communication for change
• Role-play to practice communication for change and discussions around
change and being an actor of change
Day 5 Applying what has
been learnt
• Participants present their action plans and get facilitators’feedback
• Wrap-up, evaluation and certification of participants
Challenges
Some Gender Focal Points are appointed to their
position,while others assume it by choice.Although
most trainees took part in the course voluntarily, it
was mandatory for some. Resistance was encoun-
tered either to the training, gender mainstreaming,
or to their tasks as Gender Focal Points.
For instance, one trainee asked“I just allocate funds
– what does that have to do with gender?”
The course sought to overcome resistance by providing concrete examples to
illustrate the relevance of gender equality for the work of all UN agencies. Tools
such as Gender Markers and the United Nations CountryTeam Gender Scorecard
were also shared.
Building a sense of community and support networks between participants
encouraged them to learn from those with more experience as Gender Focal
Points. This helped to tangibly illustrate why gender equality is important and
how it can be furthered by Gender Focal Points.

YELLOW WINDOW: GENDER IN
EU-FUNDED RESEARCH
(TOOLKIT AND TRAINING PROGRAMME)
Region(s): Europe Country(ies): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary,
Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Organisation(s): Yellow Window Type of Organisation: Management Consultancy
Timeframe / Duration: 73 days encompassing 73
training sessions; 8 hours per training session
Dates: 2009 – 2010; and 2011 – 2012
Participant profiles: 158 UN System Gender Focal Points (128 women and 16 men); university-level education
30 in 2013 (28 women and 2 men); 36 in 2014 (all women); and 92 in 2015 (78 women and 14 men))
Facilitator profiles: 1,214 participants (77% women); researchers and others involved in research projects funded under the European
Union’s Seventh Framework Programme; doctoral-level education
Funding Source: European Commission, Seventh
Framework: Programme Capacities Programme; Host
institutions (under the second contract)
Budget:
• First Contract: 33 training sessions (2009-10)
• Second Contract 2: 40 training sessions (2011-12)
• Design of training; development and printing of toolkits; website devel-
opment and hosting; registration management; promotional activities
• Salaries and internal coaching of trainers
• Travel and accommodation expenses for trainers
• Meeting rooms; catering; printing and copying
• Quality monitoring; satisfaction evaluation
Contact: lut.Mergaert@yellowwindow.com; gender@yellowwindow.com
Web page: http://www.yellowwindow.be/genderinresearch/
States and Switzerland. Research institutions vol-
untarily applied to host a session, and participants
voluntarily registered to attend. The 1,214 participants
were professional researchers involved in research proj-
ects funded under the Seventh Framework Programme,
European Commission National Contact Points, staff
of the Directorate General for Research and Innovation
and research advisors. The sessions sought to raise
their awareness of the importance of gender equality
in research; build their capacity to contribute to the
Framework Programme’s objectives on gender; and
strengthen their advocacy skills for integrating a gen-
der perspective in research.
This case adds to debates surrounding training for
gender equality particularly given the reflexivity of the
training team, whose acknowledgement of trainer
Overview
The “Gender in EU-funded Research” Toolkit and
Training package was commissioned by the European
Commission and developed by Yellow Window, in
consortium with the organisations Engender and
Genderatwork.113
Of the two contracts awarded to
the project team, the first (2009-2010) involved the
design of the Toolkit and training concept, as well as
the delivery of 33 training sessions. Under the second
contract (2011-2012), 40 further training sessions were
delivered. These took the form of one-day interactive
workshops, held across 19 European Union Member
113 Under the first contract,YellowWindow worked in consortium
with Engender and Genderatwork; under the second contract
both organisations were subcontractors.

82
bias served as a means of overcoming an oppositional
relationship between facilitators and participants and
enabling a productive two-way dialectic learning pro-
cess. The project experience and results further suggest
that training for gender equality is a useful instrument
that can support the European Union’s gender main-
streaming approach in the field of research and beyond.
Following the 1995 Beijing Conference, the European
Commission declared its commitment to gender main-
streaming “as a strategy for the promotion of gender
equality in all its policies and activities”.114
Its 1996
Communication on “Incorporating Equal Opportunities
for Women and Men into all Community Policies and
Activities”defined its approach as:
•• Not restricting efforts to promote equality to
the implementation of specific measures to help
women,but mobilising all general policies and
measures specifically for the purpose of achieving
equality.115
This approach was adopted in the policy area of research
with the Commission’s Fifth Framework Programme
(1998-2002), one of a series of funding initiatives to
support research in the European Union. 116
Under the
Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006), mandatory
instruments like Gender Action Plans were introduced to
integrate gender concerns into EU-funded projects and
support gender mainstreaming.117
Nevertheless,the inte-
gration of a gender perspective proved limited. Internal
gender monitoring studies held that “actors across FP6
bodies generally did not have the capacity to integrate
gender into their activities.”118
Moreover, the Programme
did not encompass awareness-raising or capacity-build-
ing measures for those involved in EU-funded research.119
114 http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/what-is-
gender-mainstreaming
115 European Commission (1996), p. 2. Available: http://eur-lex.
europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:1996:0067:FI:
EN:PDF
116 https://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/gender_
monitoring_study_sustdev_en.pdf
117 http://www.steunpuntgelijkekansen.be/wp-content/up-
loads/II.39-Equal-is-not-enough.pdf p. 223
118 http://eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2014-005.pdf p. 16
The Seventh Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development (2007-2013) expressed the
commitment that“the integration of the gender dimen-
sion and gender equality will be addressed in all areas of
research.”120
Its objectives in this respect were two-fold:
equal opportunities for men and women in research;
and integrating a gender dimension into research con-
tent. Nevertheless, it featured significantly scaled-down
policy initiatives to strengthen gender equality. Gender
Action Plans were abandoned, gender was presented
as an “optional” consideration for research proposals121
,
and “gender mainstreaming efforts were largely de-
moted and weakened without clear justification.”122
Scholars have outlined how “gender equality objectives
were lost” during the transitions from the Sixth to the
Seventh Framework Programmes. This is attributed in
part to procedural and institutional challenges, such
as high-turnover within the Commission, and partly to
political factors such as the “discontinuity of political
support” for gender equality measures.123
These argu-
ments echo concerns of gender mainstreaming being
scaled back in the European Union more broadly, partic-
ularly in light of austerity policies following the onset of
the global financial crisis.124
Limited resources have been
shown to negatively affect gender equality measures the
world over, as contraction and spending cuts slash bud-
gets for social and support services125
, and governments
are consistently less likely to invest in policy reforms for
“social” issues. In this case, tighter budgets at the EU-
level appear related to the fact that host organisations
were asked to cover some costs under the second train-
ing contract (e.g. local travel and accommodation for
trainers, a meeting room, catering, printing and copying
hand-outs,etc.) so as to reduce the project’s expenses. In
120 Annex, “Cooperation Programme”, Decision No 1982/2006/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December
2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the
European Community for research, technological develop-
ment and demonstration activities (2007-2013)
122 Lut Mergaert and Emanuela Lombardo,http://eiop.or.at/eiop/
pdf/2014-005.pdf p. 13-14
123 Mergaert and Minto, p. 52
124 See for instance Rubery (2015) “Austerity and the Future for
Gender Equality in Europe”: http://ilr.sagepub.com/content/
68/4/715
125 UN Women (2014) The Global Economic Crisis and Gender
Equality. New York: UN Women. Available: http://www.un-
women.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/
library/publications/2014/theglobaleconomiccrisisandgen-
derequality-en%20pdf.ashx

addition, Mergaert and Lombardo (2015) have identified
individual and institutional resistance as preventing
the effective implementation of the EU’s gender main-
streaming approach.126
Despite contentions that the Seventh Framework
Programme’s approach was a result of demands for
“simplification” from research institutions, this has
been called into question by feminist critiques which
point to strong signs that the Commission itself came
to favour a “shrunk-down” approach to gender.127
Internal monitoring studies argued that researchers
tended to view the Action Plans “as a bureaucratic re-
quirement, rather than something of importance for
the project.”128
However, this suggestion is problema-
tized by other sources. For instance, the rapporteur
of the Marimon panel of high-level experts reported
“experiencing clear pressure from the responsible EC
Head of Unit to mention in the [panel’s] report that
[…] horizontal, cross-cutting concerns and the Gender
Action Plans were ‘too burdensome’ for the research
community,” despite their belief that the evidence did
not fully support this conclusion.129
This raises an im-
portant question of how gender equality can be made a
core issue without being perceived as involving an extra
workload for individuals and institutions.
Clearly, the “Gender in EU-funded Research Training
and Toolkit” was commissioned against a challenging
political backdrop. While it has been regarded as a
“stand-alone new form of specific action”130
, it could
also be taken as a response to the difficulties of inte-
grating a gender perspective into research without
accompanying measures for developing capacity.
Yellow Window, the Antwerp-based management con-
sultancy selected to deliver the training and toolkit
package, had been involved in earlier gender equality
research for the Commission, such as monitoring stud-
ies to gauge progress made on the Sixth Framework
Programme. The consultancy’s experience in gender
126 http://era.ideasoneurope.eu/2015/08/03/resistance-imple-
menting-gender-mainstreaming-eu-research-policy/
127 SeeforinstanceLut Mergaert andEmanuelaLombardo,http://
eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2014-005.pdf and http://www.steun
puntgelijkekansen.be/wp-content/uploads/II.39-Equal-is-not-
enough.pdf
128 p.24https://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_
library/pdf_06/gender-monitoring-studies-synthesis-report_
en.pdf
129 http://eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2014-005.pdf p. 11
and research131
, and their involvement in initiatives
like the EU’s QUING-OPERA project on contemporary
training for gender equality, put them at the forefront
of debates in this field. During the OPERA initiative,
they provided feedback on the experience of training
to help “counterbalance the inclination of academics
for theory-oriented discussions and top-down learning
processes, to the expense of more experience driven
andbottom-upapproaches.”132
Moreover,theyraisedthe
need for policies and strategies which take a coherent
approach to gender with the Commission, noting that
these are necessary precursors for training to enhance
participants’ ability to integrate gender considerations
into their work.
If such conditions, including management support, are
not in place, the institutional context of participants
will not accommodate a focus on research that inte-
grates a gender perspective. A single training cannot
change that. Moreover, participants will sense the
contradiction between the messages delivered by the
training and the situation in which they work,provoking
frustration and resistance. According to the represen-
tative interviewed, as “external” trainers they felt may
have had more freedom to express themselves during
the sessions than perhaps internal trainers would have
had. For instance, it was easier for them to challenge
the institutional context, structure and culture, and ob-
jectively assess the preconditions for effective gender
mainstreaming. Participants may also have felt freer
when expressing themselves to an external facilitator.
Nevertheless, the representative acknowledged that
their knowledge of the institutional context may have
been less intimate than that which internal trainers
would have had, and their ability to address issues of
gender equality with senior management more lim-
ited. As such, mixed teams of external and internal
facilitators may be better placed to capitalise on these
advantages and avoid drawbacks.
131 http://www.yellowwindow.com/en/work/policy/
132 http://www.quing.eu/files/results/final_opera_report.pdf p.10

84
Yellow Window employed a “peer review” and “action
learning”approach to monitor and enhance the training.
Peer review involved facilitators attending each other’s
trainings, especially in the initial phases of the initiative.
They did so both to support one another, for instance by
assisting participants during group exercises, as well as
to observe and facilitate quality control. As observers,
they were better placed to assess participants’ body
language and non-verbal communication. They could
gauge when messages came across well or were misun-
derstood, and when more time could usefully be spent
on a topic. Following each session, the team discussed
these observations and decided how best to adapt fu-
ture sessions in order to make the best of each one-day
intervention.For instance, the case exercises used initial-
ly in the sessions dealt with the disciplines from which
the trainees were drawn. However, the facilitators soon
found that it worked well to provide cases from other
disciplines as well. In a way, it was more revealing for
participants to realise that they could see the relevance
of gender in places that were totally unfamiliar to them.
This reassured participants that they had really learned
something in the training. In addition to peer review,
feedback from trainees and host organisations,gathered
via discussions and questionnaires, was integral to the
adaptation process. By monitoring whether the sessions
were responding to participants’needs,and reflecting on
how they could do so more effectively, the format and
content were continuously improved “along the way”.
During thefirst contract,insightsfrom theOPERAproject
in which Yellow Window was involved convinced them
to “privilege a multiplier format”, focusing on advocacy
skills and dealing with resistance, over a “research com-
munity format”, involving work on actual documents. 133
This was also influenced by input from participants and
host organisations,which highlighted the need for more
of a focus on advocacy skills.
Also key was the training’s use of an “action learning”
approach. Although understandings of action learning
vary,it is broadly taken to signify a method“based upon
small groups of colleagues meeting over time to tackle
real problems or issues [...] reflecting and learning with
and from their experience and from each other.”134
In
addition to group exercises, participants were invited
134 Edmonstone, J. (2003) The Action Learner’s Toolkit. Aldershot,
UK: Gower.
to discuss their own research projects and how gender
issues relate to these.The knowledge they gained by en-
gaging with one another and critically reflecting on the
training materials in an interactive manner was central
to the learning process. Interactive learning techniques
were selected as they were deemed “the most efficient
and effective method for adult learning” and given
YellowWindow’s understanding that“learning can only
be optimized if trainees participate actively, and thus
say and do themselves during the training what they
are supposed to learn.”135
Moreover, the trainer and trainees were understood to
learn from one another in a two-way, dialectic process. A
balance was struck between promoting a particular un-
derstanding of gender equality and trying to challenge
assumptions held by participants, on the one hand, and
being open to discussing their distinct views,on the oth-
er. In this regard, reflexivity was key. This not only refers
to reflection, such as the adaptations of the training
based on the facilitators’ reflections of what went well
and what didn’t, but also to a means of“respond[ing] to
power inequalities”, in this case between trainers and
trainees,“thatcannotnecessarilybeovercome,undoneor
even predicted,but which can be thought about and act-
ed upon.”136
For example, the training team appreciated
that trainers, like all individuals, view reality subjectively,
filtering it through the lens of their own biases.These are
shaped by the fact that trainers for gender equality are
often women and, most likely, feminists.137
The facilita-
tors were guided by the understanding that:
•• Denying your bias will not be productive.The best
possible strategy is to address your own bias as
a trainer and make it work for you. If a trainer
admits to and illustrates her bias, trainer and
trainee step out of an oppositional relationship
and chances are higher trainees will also start to
recognise their own biases.138
While acknowledging the trainers’ biases, the training
adopted a“pragmatic non-ideological strategy”.Gender
equality was treated as a policy goal for trainees. The
136 Bondi, L (2009) “Teaching Reflexivity: Undoing or Reinscribing
Habits of Gender?”, Journal of Geography in Higher Education,
33(3), 327–337, p. 328

training recognised that participants “have a profes-
sional duty to apply gender mainstreaming and they
are not obliged to agree with all feminist claims they
rightly or wrongly assume are part of present-day
feminism.”139
This deflected resistance based on the
perception that the training was making “feminist”
claims (discussed further below),a term which is deeply
misunderstood and can elicit prejudice.
The approach also sought to balance theory and prac-
ticality, emphasising the relevance of the approach for
participants’ work, and its day-to-day application. While
discussions of theory were retained in light of the aca-
demic qualifications of the audience, care was taken to
alternate between practical and theoretical content.This
was important as the participants, despite their similar
academic backgrounds, varied greatly in terms of their
knowledge of gender. For example “a more practical
approach”to“the use of gender mainstreaming vocabu-
lary”was preferred as“jargon”,such as acronyms,was felt
to be detrimental to the process of knowledge transfer.140
During the sessions, trainers consistently observed
how “the light went on” in trainees’ faces as the
training’s key messages began to sink in. Participants
reported increased awareness, strengthened advoca-
cy skills, and enhanced capacity to integrate gender
concerns into research content and to promote gen-
der balance within research teams. Specifically, it
increased their understanding of gender inequalities
as a social construct; the fact that gender is more than
a “women’s issue”; the distinction between equal
opportunities and the gender relevance of research
topics; how considering gender equality in research
contributes to its quality; the relevance of gender
issues throughout the research cycle and in specific
research domains; and how research can practically be
made “gender sensitive”141
. The development of their
141 Gender sensitive research does not focus on women exclu-
sively, but rather acknowledges that men and women have
different socially ascribed roles and responsibilities that di-
rectly affect their status in the society. The promotion of this
approach raises the question of whether training for gender
equality should seek to promote gender sensitive, gender re-
sponsive, or gender transformative approaches.
advocacy skills equipped trainees to convince others
of the importance of working in a gender sensitive
manner, acquainting them with arguments to use and
how to address and overcome resistance. This soon
gave rise to multiplier effects which helped to insti-
tutionalise knowledge from the training. For instance,
many participants became “change agents”, i.e. pass-
ing on knowledge within their project teams, to other
researchers, colleagues in their fields or departments,
and students. Follow-up activities were also under-
taken by research institutions, such as the translation
of the Toolkit into Spanish, upon the initiative of the
Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation, and into
French at the request of a Canadian institution wish-
ing to use it for their own training initiatives.
Interactive methods used by the training combined
cognitive (knowledge-based) and inductive (experi-
ence-based) elements. Each training encompassed
short, succinct sessions featuring exercises designed
to provoke critical reflection, discussion, and debate.
The Toolkit, which remains available to download, was
distributed to participants at each session. Featuring
a general module and 9 discipline-specific modules,
it explores how gender issues are interwoven with
all aspects of research; how the gender dimension of
research content contributes to excellence; and how
this is visible in concrete examples from specific re-
search fields.
Exercises included, for instance, participants reflecting
on the reactions or objections they felt they would
encounter upon explaining what they had learned
during this training to their colleagues and superiors.
They identified a range of possible reactions in small
groups, before brainstorming ways to respond. This
enabled them to practice their responses amongst
themselves, via a form of role-playing, before present-
ing these to the group at large.In this way,participants
became more comfortable about raising the issue of
gender equality amongst their peers, while enhancing
their communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills.
Similarly, tools such as the “Reconstruction Exercise”,
outlined below, helped participants interactively re-
flect on how they themselves could integrate gender
issues into research. Such methods were intended to
help search for a“trigger moment”, where the training

86
“becomes ‘an experience’ in which eye-openers serve
as bridges that trainees can take with them to their
professional context”.144
Reconstruction Exercise
• Participants are presented a diagram indicating the principal steps in the research cycle.They are divided into small groups and
asked to generate as many ideas as possible about how scientific research can take into account gender differences, as well as
how it can actively promote gender equality.
• The groups note down their ideas in relation to the research cycle on cards,using the basic questions of what,who,when and how.
• Each small group presents its cards to the larger group, which are then fixed to a whiteboard and organised in relation to the
cycle. The smaller groups explain their ideas and are asked questions by other participants. These ideas are then discussed
among the larger group.
• In this way, participants learned by themselves positing an approach to integrating gender concerns into a specific research
area, working out the logic behind their ideas themselves, and better understood the role they could play in contributing to
greater gender equality in research.
Session Objectives Content/Exercises
Morning
session
Introducing gender in research and
understanding how to make research gender
sensitive
• Short ex-ante questionnaire completed by participants to assess
their knowledge on gender
• Group discussion of trainees’expectations for the day
• Discussions to introduce the concept of gender in research
• Discussions on how to make research gender sensitive
Afternoon
session
Analysing practical examples from 2-3
specific research fields (adapted according to
the backgrounds of participants) to see how
research can be made gender sensitive
• Practical group exercises analysing case studies based on actual
EU-funded research projects
• Exercises to build advocacy skills, e.g. discussions of what kind
of reactions participants expected to face when relating their
experience in the training to colleagues and superiors, and how
they could respond to these reactions
• Group discussion of whether the participants expectations were
met by the training and what could be improved in future
• Exit questionnaire to ascertain participants’satisfaction with the
training and their suggestions

Challenges
Individual resistance was
encountered, e.g. when participants,
notably from“hard”sectors (energy,
transport, etc.), did not see the
relevance of gender for their
work, or when they experienced
frustration/a sense of“incapacity”
if they felt they would not be able
to implement what they had learnt
because of their institutions’organ-
isational culture. Resistance also
related to biases against feminism
and confusion about what gender
mainstreaming actually entails.
The trainers were skilled in addressing resistances.They focused on understanding the reasons
for resistance and used this to determine appropriate responses. For instance, the module on
advocacy encouraged trainees to devise strategies to“counter”dismissive reactions within
their institutional cultures.
The trainers reflexively acknowledged their own biases, thus encouraging trainees to recog-
nise their biases against feminism. Arguments were based on trustworthy sources and factual
evidence to avoid claims that could seem“ideologically feminist”. Practical examples enhanced
trainees’understandings of gender mainstreaming and gender equality in research.
Voluntary registration, by trainees and host institutions, minimised individual and institutional
resistance that can be evoked when actors are obliged to participate in training. Efforts to
promote the training by the project team and host organisations contributed to participants’
interest in attending.
The reduced focus on gender
equality in the Seventh Framework
Programme posed a challenge by
casting the training as a stand-
alone initiative, as opposed to one
part of a wider change strategy. As
noted by Yellow Window, training
alone cannot effect change. It must
be coupled with other measures
and policies.
In their discussions with the Commission,Yellow Window underlined the need for policies/
strategies with a coherent approach to gender, within which training can only play a part.
These are required both at the EU-level and the level of host institutions. Such measures are
necessary precursors for training to meaningfully enhance participants’ability to integrate
gender considerations into their research and every day activities.

“We cannot say that one training
is going to change the world. But
at least participants have seen a
different edge to gender equality.
I think that over time,
with replication, it will make
a real difference.”
Mehrinaz El Awady

“A good practice is something
that helps participants relate to
their own gendered socialisations
and realise how one strand of
patriarchy reinforces the other.
At the same time, it makes
the participants realise that things
can be changed”
Shipra Deo
Gender Advisor/Trainer, Sunhara India
Programme, ASI

UN WOMEN IS THE UN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED
TO GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF
WOMEN. A GLOBAL CHAMPION FOR WOMEN AND
GIRLS, UN WOMEN WAS ESTABLISHED TO ACCELERATE
PROGRESS ON MEETING THEIR NEEDS WORLDWIDE.
The UN Women Training Centre (TC) is dedicated to supporting the UN and
other stakeholders to realize commitments to gender equality, women’s
empowerment and women’s rights through transformative training and
learning. It aims to become the leading UN centre that contributes, through
training for gender equality, to building a society that respects and promotes
human rights for all women and men.

© UN Women 2016
ISBN 978-1-63214-045-6
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS
OF UN WOMEN,THE UNITED NATIONS OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS.
GENERAL COORDINATION: UN WOMEN TRAINING CENTRE
AUTHORS: LUCY FERGUSON, RUYA LEGHARI, AND EMMA WRETBLAD
TEXT: LUCY FERGUSON, RUYA LEGHARI, EMMA WRETBLAD
LAYOUT DESIGN: SUGHEY ABREU (INEXUS PRINTING)
PRINTING: INEXUS PRINTING

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