Integrating feminist values into impact strategies

Gender equality is not an afterthought—it is a policy imperative rooted in evidence, rights, and long-term societal transformation. This academic methodology guide, developed by UN Women and the ISET Policy Institute, presents Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) not as a symbolic gesture, but as a structured, technical, and participatory approach to embedding gender considerations in public decision-making. It equips governments, donors, and institutions with a powerful framework for assessing the gendered effects of laws, strategies, budgets, and services—before they are implemented. For M&E professionals, policy advisors, and development actors, this is both a diagnostic tool and a guide for preemptive change. – It defines the structure of a full GIA process: Gender Relevance Assessment, Gender Impact Assessment, and Gender Quality Assessment – It introduces key operational steps: Problem Tree Development, Gender-Based Situation Analysis, Stakeholder Consultations, and Gender Objective Alignment – It provides application guidance: Ex ante and ex post integration into policy cycles, alignment with RIA (Regulatory Impact Assessment), and synergy with Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) – It emphasizes analytical domains: Participation, Rights, Norms and Values, and Access to and Control of Resources – It includes practical tools and case studies: Real-world examples from Georgia’s labor and agricultural sectors, plus guidance on adapting the model to national contexts This is not a theoretical framework—it is a methodological compass for institutions ready to operationalize equality through evidence-based policymaking. Whether you’re designing legislation, evaluating programmatic outcomes, or conducting policy reviews, this guide equips you to ensure that every intervention reflects the realities, needs, and rights of both women and men—across all sectors and levels of governance.

Gender Mainstreaming in Local Economic Development (LED) Strategies means integrating gender perspectives into all aspects of economic planning and decision-making at the local level to ensure that both women and men benefit equally and contribute fully to development efforts. 🔍 What Is Gender Mainstreaming? Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications of any planned action — policies, programs, budgets — for women and men. It ensures that gender equality is considered from the beginning and throughout. 💼 Why Mainstream Gender in LED? Unlocks full economic potential – When women have equal access to resources, skills, and markets, local economies grow. Reduces poverty and inequality – Women and marginalised groups are often excluded from formal economic activities. Promotes inclusive growth – Everyone benefits when local development reflects the needs of all. 🛠️ How to Integrate Gender in LED Strategies Gender Analysis: Understand local gender roles, barriers, and opportunities in the economy. Inclusive Participation: Ensure women and marginalised groups are part of decision-making bodies and consultations. Targeted Interventions: Develop programs that address specific challenges (e.g., child care, business training for women). Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Allocate resources to support women's economic empowerment. Monitoring & Evaluation: Use sex-disaggregated data to measure impact and adjust strategies accordingly. 📌 Example Actions Support women-owned small businesses with access to finance and training. Promote safe public spaces and transport to facilitate women's participation in the workforce. Create policies that address unpaid care work and gender-based violence in economic settings. Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe, Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) / ODI, Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI), HBS Race, Gender & Equity Initiative, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion, ADB Gender, Gender DEI, Gender & Health Hub, Gender Unit | Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Gender Justice & Women’s Rights Division - PJ&RI, Gender and Development Network, Gender and Development for Cambodia, Gender Equality Peace and Development Centre, Gender Unit Planning Commission, Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, Wem'afrika -Gender Department, Institute for Gender and the Economy, GREEN - Gender-Research in Ecological Economics Network, Center for Gender Economics in Africa (CGE Africa), African Gender Organisation and Development, IMPACT Gender Equality Network, Gender at Work India, Hlanganisa Community Fund for Social & Gender Justice, Gender Parity Collaborative, Gender At Work Community, Women and Gender Community - TIIKM, Gender Diversity , Zimbabwe Gender Commission

I am very pleased to share a new UNDP resource: Integrated Actions for Accelerated Impact: Putting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion at the Heart of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). In collaboration with Raquel Lagunas del Amo and Jennifer Baumwoll, this publication has been released jointly by the Climate Hub, Gender Team and Nature Hub. Advancing gender equality and social inclusion is vital to addressing climate change and halting biodiversity loss. Deeply entrenched gender social norms and intersecting bias and discrimination impact how women, girls, Indigenous Peoples and local communities experience climate change and environmental degradation. Addressing these inequalities and targeting gender gaps that are chronic barriers to human and sustainable development can have a powerful multiplying effect. As we are now in the midst of the ‘Tri-Cop’ period (#COP16Colombia, #COP29, and #UNCCDCOP16) – the convergence of three major environmental international conferences occurring within a span of seven weeks – this resource underscores the interconnectedness of the crises they address and their solutions. The knowledge product presents joint actionable entry points on gender equality and social inclusion across both NBSAPs and Nationally Determined Contributions NDCs, to foster gender-responsive and inclusive governance, financing, planning, and monitoring throughout environmental and climate policy and planning processes. We encourage you to use this resource as a guide to support countries to accelerate gender equality and social inclusion considerations in their climate and biodiversity efforts, promoting transformative change that benefits both people and the planet in line with our institutional commitments under the Climate Promise, Gender Equality Strategy and Nature Pledge. Download the publication here: https://lnkd.in/eTYRpRJ8

Research is a powerful tool, and more often than not, the organisations (both the NGOs and CSR) do not have the bandwidth (technical and time) to design and adopt appropriate monitoring and evaluation strategies. In my recent assignment, the following shifts helped inform the corrective measures in the existing programme - 1) women's entrepreneurship (context here - rural, tribal, remote pockets) is not just as comparable as women and men from different contexts. It's important to consider intersectionality of the research subject. 2) women's experience are unique also due to their social construct. It is important to include feminist take on 'female entrepreneurship'. More often than not, a blatant universal 'idea of entrepreneurship' is applied, mostly western idea but even the Indian idea of entrepreneurship is not completely analysed and documented, let alone, the female entrepreneurship in India. 3) quantitative measures are important but don't always provide the whole picture, certainly leaves out the caveats in the first two aspects. The devil is in the detail, and the details do not lie in the row, column and cells. 4) aside from the gendered phenomenon, women's entrepreneurship is also a socially embedded experience (have also talked about it in my previous LinkedIn post). Both in design and in assessment, often the variables are missed for making or breaking any business for women. All of it put together, the whole new understanding emerged at the end of the evaluation exercise. These elements completely shifted how the programme had approached 'empowering women' in the first place. This I am seeing in all my other assignments too - large scale livelihoods, agro-forestry or gender based violence studies. The most important outcome is improved transparency and dialogue between the CSR donor and the NGO, as a result. I think research as a knowledge tool is a deal-breaker ;) Share with me your experiences of robust monitoring and evaluation strategies you adopted. #monitoringandevaluation #researchmethods #csr #gender #livelihoods #entrepreneurship #womenempowerment #india #impactinvestment Monitoring and Evaluation

🧚 Making Operations Matter Is Very Feminist 🧚 So, you want to build a feminist organization, but you still...  🚩 underpay your operations team members;  🚩 overwork your junior or intern team members with operational tasks because your senior or executive ones don't "get their hands dirty" with ops work;  🚩 postpone process improvement, organizational policy and procedure design, platforms for automation and better collaboration systems;  🚩 deprioritize cleaning your internal ops mess or formalizing HR, finance and organizational ops roles within the team;  🚩 give for granted the hands-on effort of team members who put in the work and get execution up and running; That's a red flag! As someone who's been working in organizational/business operations for 9 years, I know the huge risk of snob-ing operations objectives, priorities, and roles. It kills team retention and motivation. It blocks business growth. It puts efficiency at risk. It creates unhealthy org and leadership cultures. Historically, operational tasks have always been considered less qualified and qualifying compared to executive or management ones. This is not only classist but quite sexist. Operational tasks have often been assigned to female-identifying professionals (many cultures still put into women's hands the "day-to-day execution tasks" while men handle decision-making, management, and executive tasks) or to professionals who've been considered less talented, educated, or qualified. This mindset is not what feminist organization principles stay for. So, making operations matter is about making organizational cultures more equitable and feminist. What does that mean? Not just giving value and equal priority to tasks that represent your organization's most foundational growth asset. But also about recognizing the value of operations professionals' efforts to foster a culture of embedded equity within your organizational culture and team. Don't feel bad if this sounds like your organizational setup right now. It's hard to deconstruct patriarchal + capitalist organizational structure and/or operations strategies. If you need some support with making operations, strategy, and growth more feminist AND efficient in your organization, just message me. I will very lovingly suggest some options to make this work right.