he criticality of incorporating gender perspectives in global and community development programmes lie in the fact that decision-making processes always start at home and at the individual level. Power structures not-with-standing, most of the decisions at the household level are taken by women, and directly affect the household to which she belongs. Also, benefits accrued from education and awareness building programmes targeted at women, are ploughed back to the family and household.

But dilemas with respect to gender issues do exist - Do we look for gender specificity or look at human dimensions? Do we work on gender stereotypes, or work on new/emerging roles? Is there a difference/distinction in the way women collect, process and use information and in the way they take decisions? Should gender studies be separate or should be mainstreamed? Should it be 'gender' and environment or 'women' and environment? Should 'Gender' focus on women, on men, or on both?

The three corners of a gender policy relate to (1) creating the right conditions for the delivery of a variety of resources to support empowerment of women, especially where they have a say on the type and mode of delivery of resources of their choice; (2) the provision of cost-effective and complementary services - for example, training and gender sensitivity workshops, covering all issues of economic, social, cultural and other aspects, that leads to empowerment, and (3) mainstreaming of gender issues within larger developmental policies, wich may call for a indepth review of norms and regulations from a gender perspective, identifying empowerment indicators for a programme or policy, etc.

Experience from GDRC research and policy initiatives have identified seven key steps that need to be taken into account in formulating gender programmes, or in making existing policies and programmes more gender sensitive.

Conducting gender analysis ensures that interventions are based on real, disaggregated data rather than assumptions. It helps in identifying power dynamics and structural inequalities that may not be visible on the surface. Additionally, gender analysis can inform monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess progress towards gender equity more effectively and to refine programmes based on real-time feedback.

In rural agriculture programmes, gender analysis revealed that women, despite doing over 70% of the farm work, had little access to land titles or credit.

In disaster risk reduction projects, gender analysis showed that women and men have different vulnerabilities and response capacities, leading to separate early warning strategies.

In urban transportation planning, gender analysis identified that women prioritize safety and childcare-friendly options, leading to design modifications.

See GDRC's special feature on how to do a Gender Analysis

Information flows are often gendered, with women having less access to formal channels of communication. A gender-responsive knowledge strategy therefore includes localized formats, oral transmission, visual aids, and context-sensitive dissemination. It also involves building platforms where women can contribute their knowledge and experience to inform policy, fostering inclusivity and empowerment.

In health outreach, infographics and audio tools in local languages were developed to educate women on reproductive health.

In education, gender-sensitive curricula were distributed using mobile libraries in areas with low female literacy.

Agricultural extension services created WhatsApp groups to share market prices and weather alerts with women farmers.

See GDRC's three programmes under the Information Sphere - Information Design; Knowledge Management, and ICTs and the Internet. While they are not gender-specific, it does provide ideas and indicators on developing a more gender sensitive information and knowledge management strategy.

Barriers to women�fs participation in decision-making often lie in social norms, time poverty, and lack of institutional support. Active engagement requires both invitation and preparation ? including leadership training, flexible meeting timings, and quotas or reserved seats where necessary. Women�fs participation should be meaningful, not tokenistic, with their voices influencing actual outcomes and policy directions.

Village councils in India adopted one-third reservation for women, resulting in more gender-sensitive local projects.

In cooperatives, bylaws were revised to allow women full voting rights and leadership eligibility.

A slum redevelopment project required 50% women in community committees to approve design changes.

See GDRC's programme on Environmental Decision-making. How can decision-making processes be made more gender sensitive?

However, legislation must not only exist on paper but must be actively enforced with adequate institutional support. This requires training for enforcement officers, public legal education, and easy-to-access grievance redress systems. It also calls for periodic reviews and revisions to laws to ensure they remain relevant and inclusive in changing socio-economic contexts.

Domestic violence laws in several countries include helplines and one-stop crisis centers for survivors.

Equal pay laws mandate that employers conduct regular audits and publicly report wage data by gender.

Maternity benefit laws were revised to include paternity leave, encouraging shared caregiving roles.

See GDRC's programme on Urban Governance. The programme has a special feature on Gender and Urban Governance.

Beyond recruitment, organizational balance requires gender-sensitive work cultures. This includes fair promotion systems, harassment-free workplaces, flexible working conditions, and gender audits. Organizations must institutionalize gender equity through leadership commitment and regular review of internal practices that may reinforce bias or exclusion.

A university conducted annual gender audits and revised its faculty hiring practices to increase diversity.

A tech company introduced mentorship programs for women and tracked promotion rates by gender.

A municipality offered child-friendly office hours and on-site daycare to encourage work-life balance for both genders.

Capacity building must be an ongoing, structured process that includes awareness-raising, technical training, and experiential learning. Gender training should not be generic or isolated, but tailored to the context and role of participants. It should also incorporate evaluation tools to assess learning outcomes and institutional impacts over time.

A city government trained engineers on designing gender-inclusive public infrastructure like toilets and lighting.

Judges underwent training on gender-based violence and victim-sensitive courtroom procedures.

Community media groups received training on producing content that challenges gender stereotypes.

Targeted resource provision must be coupled with institutional reforms that simplify procedures and remove discriminatory barriers. Resource support should be tailored to the specific needs and contexts of women, with a focus on scalability and sustainability. Monitoring systems must track not only access but also usage and outcomes to ensure that resources lead to empowerment.

A microfinance initiative tailored loans for women entrepreneurs with zero-collateral options and group guarantees.

A rural skills center partnered with market linkages to help women artisans sell products online.

Government procurement policies mandated that a percentage of contracts go to women-owned businesses.

See GDRC's programme on microfinance, particularly the special feature on "Improving Credit Access for Women"

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