Everyone's Blog Posts - Gender and Evaluation2024-03-19T02:19:36Zhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?xn_auth=noTERMS OF REFERENCE DIAGEO PILOT PROJECT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT REVIEW WORKSHOPtag:gendereval.ning.com,2024-02-08:6606644:BlogPost:1699882024-02-08T07:52:08.000ZSolomon Amaghereonuhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/SolomonAmaghereonu
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12375160463?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TOR%20FOR%20DIAGEO%20Project%20SHF%20Toolkits%20Review%20Workshop-%20Consultant%20%28002%29.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12375160463?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TOR%20FOR%20DIAGEO%20Project%20SHF%20Toolkits%20Review%20Workshop-%20Consultant%20%28002%29.pdf</a></p>Evaluating our work through a power lenstag:gendereval.ning.com,2024-01-14:6606644:BlogPost:1694062024-01-14T15:24:32.000ZBarbara Klugmanhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/BarbaraKlugman
<p>Colleagues, I thought you might find interesting this learning brief put together by a number of groups who participated in Comic Relief's Power Up peer learning initiative. It describes a few very different ways of addressing power in evaluation - one by an organisation's constituents; the other by a funder. It is attached but also at…</p>
<p>Colleagues, I thought you might find interesting this learning brief put together by a number of groups who participated in Comic Relief's Power Up peer learning initiative. It describes a few very different ways of addressing power in evaluation - one by an organisation's constituents; the other by a funder. It is attached but also at</p>
<ul>
<li><span><a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/zsfivwzfgl3t/7J9y6ZybrfbcR8ruf8fmG8/3560a9562d0bab763f8660c60d978c38/Learning_Brief_1_-_Evaluating_our_work_through_a_power_lens.pdf">Evaluating our work through a power lens</a></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Both drew on a framework I put together drawing on work of other feminists on how to identify different dimensions of power in movement-building and advocacy, which is also in the doc.</p>
<p>With best wishes for the year,</p>
<p>Barbara Klugman</p>Please guide me to write effectively on social issuestag:gendereval.ning.com,2024-01-07:6606644:BlogPost:1690362024-01-07T10:43:35.000ZSakshi Tekamhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/SakshiTekam
I have realised I feel alot and have understanding of the issues which causes the bigger problem. But when it comes to portraying it i fail. Even though i have data. When I try to use data it becomes all robotic and when i share what I share what I feel I become a storyteller. I have seen many amazing people sharing the most insightful knowledge. I'd appreciate you can spare a moment and guide me.<br />
I truly appreciate<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Sakshi Tekam
I have realised I feel alot and have understanding of the issues which causes the bigger problem. But when it comes to portraying it i fail. Even though i have data. When I try to use data it becomes all robotic and when i share what I share what I feel I become a storyteller. I have seen many amazing people sharing the most insightful knowledge. I'd appreciate you can spare a moment and guide me.<br />
I truly appreciate<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Sakshi TekamLooking back and looking ahead: Reflections on three decades of gender and developmenttag:gendereval.ning.com,2024-01-02:6606644:BlogPost:1693232024-01-02T09:09:17.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looking-back-ahead-reflections-three-decades-gender-ranjani-k-murthy-ca3xc">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looking-back-ahead-reflections-three-decades-gender-ranjani-k-murthy-ca3xc</a></p>
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<h1 class="text-display-large-bold pt6" dir="ltr"><span>Looking back and looking ahead: Reflections on three decades of gender and development…</span></h1>
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<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looking-back-ahead-reflections-three-decades-gender-ranjani-k-murthy-ca3xc">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looking-back-ahead-reflections-three-decades-gender-ranjani-k-murthy-ca3xc</a></p>
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<h1 dir="ltr" class="text-display-large-bold pt6"><span>Looking back and looking ahead: Reflections on three decades of gender and development</span></h1>
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<div class="mt3">January 2, 2024</div>
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<div><div><div dir="ltr" class="reader-article-content reader-article-content--content-blocks"><p id="ember791" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">I have working in the field of gender and development for three decades. This note reflects on what I believe has changed in this field over the three decades and some of the dilemmas I face.</p>
<p id="ember792" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Though passionate about gender equality since I was a teenager, it is only in the early 1990s that I gained clarity that gender relations were power relations, not just a product of ‘smooth’ socialization (Whitehead, 1979). I learnt that gender relations interact with social (power) relations of race, age, caste, class, religion, headship, marital status etc. This learning synched with my experience of how in some dominant caste households in India, the women domestic helps used to enter from behind the house to work, using another entrance. I understood that institutions shape gender relations, that is how households, community, markets, and the state were shaping gendered power relations (Kabeer, 1994). The human rights instrument, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against women, 1979, was used by women's groups then to hold government to account on gender equality. The Convention also refers to need for pro women pro poor and rights based development model. Now, in 2020s, it is the Sustainable Development Goal 5 which is used to assess progress on gender equality, and the indicators and targets do not adequately capture changes in power relations, institutional change and intersectionality (discussed in coming para) or development model. A human rights approach of rights holders holding duty bearers to account is missing.</p>
<p id="ember793" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">The concept of intersectionality entered development discourse more recently, though the idea was put forth sharply by Allen (1991) few decades earlier in the context of black women’s experience of discrimination, which was distinct from that of white women and black men. More sharply than the concept of social relations, the concept of intersectionality brought out the “uniqueness” of experience of discrimination women at the intersections of different marginalized identities. Yet, even today the concept of intersectionality is reduced to gender and social inclusion or gender and diversity, to say that the organizations work with women and people from a specific marginalized identity.</p>
<p id="ember794" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Bernstein (1992) observes that for lesbian and gay movements, which have always existed, goals include (but are not limited to) challenging dominant constructions of <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masculinity">masculinity</a> and <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femininity">femininity</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia">homophobia</a>, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family">nuclear family</a> (<a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteronormativity">heteronormativity</a>). The term Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender, it includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transwomen, transmen etc. Mainstream development discourse, still refers to sex and gender as binary. At the other end there has been a trend in social movements, to look at the queer as an undivided category, and not look at Dalit, minority or differently abled amongst queer.</p>
<p id="ember795" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">When I started three decades ago, I (and many others in the movement) was rooted in socialist feminist thinking looking at interactions between patriarchy (the base on which other 'isms' followed), capitalism (and other hierarchies like casteism) etc. Today, we talk of feminism as a homogenous vision and movement. To cope with my lack of comfort with the homogeneous category “feminism,” I use the term challenging Kyriarchy, translated through gender/social relations transformative development. The word Kyriarchy was coined by <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Sch%C3%BCssler_Fiorenza">Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza</a> in 1992 to describe her theory of interconnected, systems of domination and submission, in which a single individual might be oppressed in some “ism” and <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privilege_(social_inequality)">privileged</a> in others. Kyriarchy, encompasses, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism">sexism</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism">racism</a>, capitalism, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableism">ableism</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageism">ageism</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamophobia">Islamophobia</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia">homophobia</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transphobia">transphobia</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism">colonialism</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarism">militarism</a>, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocentrism">ethnocentrism</a> (Kwok Puilan, 2002)</p>
<p id="ember796" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"></p>
<p id="ember797" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">The concepts of kyriarchy and intersectionality challenges the simplistic notion that men and masculinities alone are the problem in women’s subordination or that dominant caste/race women are altruistic in their relations with women workers of color/Dalit women. It is important to examine how gender/social relations and hierarchical structures play out in real life, and build theory and action based on that, rather than other way around!</p>
<p id="ember798" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"></p>
<p id="ember799" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><strong>References</strong></p>
<p id="ember800" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Allen, Kimberley, 1991, Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color, in Stanford Law Review, <a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/i252725">Vol. 43, No. 6 (Jul., 1991)</a>, pp. 1241-1299 (59 pages)</p>
<p id="ember801" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Bernstein, Mary (2002). "Identities and Politics: Toward a Historical Understanding of the Lesbian and Gay Movement". <em>Social Science History</em>. <strong>26</strong> (3): 531–581</p>
<p id="ember802" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Kabeer, N, 1994, Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought, Verso, UK</p>
<p id="ember803" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><a class="app-aware-link" target="_self" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwok_Pui-lan">Kwok Pui-lan</a> (2009). "Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Postcolonial Studies". Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. Indiana University Press. <strong>25</strong> (1): 191–197</p>
<p id="ember804" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Whitehead, Ann 1979, Some Preliminary Notes on the Subordination of Women, IDS Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue, 3, April 1979, Pages 10-13</p>
<p id="ember805" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">.</p>
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<p id="ember807" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Cross posted</p>
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/looking-back-ahead-reflections-three-decades-gender-ranjani-k-murthy-ca3xc/">(3) Looking back and looking ahead: Reflections on three decades of gender and development | LinkedIn</a></p>
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</div>SALE! SALE! SALE! - A growing market for women’s digital datatag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-12-26:6606644:BlogPost:1673482023-12-26T07:00:00.000ZInstituteofSocialStudiesTrusthttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/InstituteofSocialStudiesTrust
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember38">Seema gets scared every time her phone rings. She has been receiving calls from an unknown caller for a while who wants to be her ‘friend’. Despite her clear indication that she does not want the same, he continues to harass her. According to a Truecaller report in India, as of 2019-2020, 8 in every 10 women receive harassment and nuisance phone calls at least once a week. Most of these calls are from unknown acquaintances. The…</p>
<p id="ember38" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Seema gets scared every time her phone rings. She has been receiving calls from an unknown caller for a while who wants to be her ‘friend’. Despite her clear indication that she does not want the same, he continues to harass her. According to a Truecaller report in India, as of 2019-2020, 8 in every 10 women receive harassment and nuisance phone calls at least once a week. Most of these calls are from unknown acquaintances. The callers, through phone harassment, infiltrate the victims’ safe space, making any place with access to a phone network unsafe for the victim.</p>
<p id="ember39" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Phones, for women, are not just a medium of communication and entertainment. They also provide them with a sense of security by enabling them to reach out to family members or friends in case of any problem. Moreover, as historically, women have been kept away from the public sphere, the digital world of today provides them with the long-awaited access to the world outside the boundaries of their home. Thanks to this digital age, women’s view of the world is no longer dependent on the perspectives of their male family members.</p>
<p id="ember40" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">The internet, besides becoming a key source of information for women, also offers them with opportunities to aspire for greater heights. It gives them access to a multi-dimensional life that their previous generations never experienced. Today, women are accessing the digital space to upgrade their skills and networks. They are becoming informed citizens of the country and are aware of their rights and responsibilities.</p>
<p id="ember41" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Another very important aspect of digital connectivity that has transformed the lives of women at home is leisure. Through the digital window at their fingertips, women can now access the world of entertainment.</p>
<p id="ember42" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">However, phone-based and/or data-based harassment hinders the limited progress women are making and forces them back into obscurity. The offline forms of harassment are now moving into online spaces, with rapidly growing commodification of women’s digital data. The harassers, unknown to the women, ‘manage’ to get the victim’s phone number and other data from this market. Though this market is not legal or organised, it is very much active through informal networks. The seller of the data can be someone as accessible and visible as the mobile recharge shop owner/worker or can be as mystical and invisible as a stranger from the dark web.</p>
<p id="ember43" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">In this market too, women, often considered as the second sex, are perceived as a tradeable commodity. The market even goes a step further by categorising and grading women's data according to their social identities and physical features. In Uttar Pradesh, the price of a women’s phone number differed according to their ‘beauty’. The demand for women’s data and the value placed on it is not homogenous and varies according to a buyer’s requirements. For example, there is a special demand for data of women of a specific religion, highlighting the communalism and misogyny in the market. The infamous Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals were purposively done to humiliate a particular community based on religion. Whereas in the case of Zivame, the intention was to instigate animosity between religions. No matter which community wins these battles, the women are certainly losing the war.</p>
<p id="ember44" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Despite continuous claims by the government and private players that our personal information is safe, we continuously experience data being hacked, sold, leaked or made public. For instance, on October 9, 2023, a hacker in the dark web agreed to sell the names, addresses, phone numbers, Aadhaar and passport details of 81.5 crore Indians for Rs. 6.5 million, according to the US cybersecurity agency, Resecurity. Anonymity of both the buyers and the sellers have given extensive power to anyone with money and resources. Data leaks have become a new reality of our society and in the interconnected world, no information is truly private. But the fact that women’s data is being monetised for the purpose of harassment is a replication of the patriarchal mindset of our society in the world of digits. The biases of the offline world are getting replicated in the online world. Seema often wonders how the man who ‘managed’ to get her number feels entitled to disrupt her privacy.</p>
<p id="ember45" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">This feeling of entitlement comes from the idea that social position and superior gender gives one the right to command the life of another. Culturally, due to lack of inter-gender socialisation, there is a mystique associated with the opposite sex which comes out in a wrong and misinformed way. The media’s representation of love through stalking is one of the major promoters of harassment of women. When movies repeatedly promote stalker-turned-lover stories, the concept of consent goes down the drain. How can Seema fight harassment after Section 66A of the IT Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015?</p>
<p id="ember46" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">She should file an FIR against the unknown harasser specifying all information she knows about the person. The perpetrator could be punished under Section 354A, Section 354D, Section 506, Section 507 and Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code. As far as data protection is concerned, with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 in force, the data fiduciaries (apps, banks, etc.) are held accountable for protecting the data of individuals. This legal safeguard would serve as a significant protection against potential victims.</p>
<p id="ember47" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Even today, despite various provisions, women are not taking legal action against their harassers. Our society has a major role to play in this. Not only do they blame the victim for their misfortune, but they also scrutinise unrelated actions of the victims that might have led to their harassment. The blame intensifies for women who deviate, even a bit, from social norms. The women, thereby, know that if they inform families about the harassment, they might lose their mobile phones - a privilege for most. This loss would hinder them further as they will lose their independence, even if they manage to get rid of the harassers in the process. This leaves most women without much agency in the predicament, in which they navigate between tolerating harassment and gaining access to the wider world. Let’s provide our women with equal access to the digital world and safety from harassment that might impede their exploration the world. They deserve to see and experience the world through their own eyes, and it is our duty as a society to help them in this.</p>
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<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><span class="white-space-pre">By - Shipra</span></p>
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><span class="white-space-pre">Research Analyst</span></p>Strengthening M&E Capacity in Yemen: Paving the Way for Gender Equality and Women's Empowermenttag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-10-14:6606644:BlogPost:1671482023-10-14T13:12:09.000ZEvalYemenhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/EVALYemen
<p>Introduction:<br></br> Yemen, a country facing immense challenges, is striving to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment amidst ongoing conflicts and social barriers. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity building plays a crucial role in this pursuit, enabling effective tracking, assessment, and improvement of initiatives aimed at advancing gender equality and empowering women. In this blog, we will explore the importance of M&E capacity building in Yemen and how it can…</p>
<p>Introduction:<br/> Yemen, a country facing immense challenges, is striving to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment amidst ongoing conflicts and social barriers. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity building plays a crucial role in this pursuit, enabling effective tracking, assessment, and improvement of initiatives aimed at advancing gender equality and empowering women. In this blog, we will explore the importance of M&E capacity building in Yemen and how it can contribute to fostering positive change for women in the country.</p>
<ol>
<li>Understanding M&E Capacity Building:<br/> M&E capacity building entails developing the knowledge, skills, and systems necessary for effective monitoring and evaluation of programs and policies. In the context of Yemen, it involves equipping individuals and institutions with the tools and expertise to collect, analyze, and utilize data to measure progress towards gender equality and women's empowerment.</li>
<li>Enhancing Data Collection and Analysis:<br/> Accurate and comprehensive data is the foundation upon which evidence-based policies and interventions are built. M&E capacity building initiatives in Yemen should focus on improving data collection and analysis methods, ensuring that gender-disaggregated data is consistently gathered and utilized. This data can help identify gaps and challenges, measure progress, and inform decision-making processes to address the specific needs of women and girls.</li>
<li>Strengthening Program Effectiveness:<br/> M&E capacity building enables organizations and government entities to assess the effectiveness of programs and projects targeting gender equality and women's empowerment. By monitoring and evaluating these initiatives, stakeholders can identify what works and what needs improvement. Such insights facilitate evidence-based decision-making, enabling organizations to allocate resources effectively and adjust strategies to maximize impact.</li>
<li>Promoting Accountability and Transparency:<br/> A robust M&E system promotes accountability and transparency, ensuring that resources allocated for gender equality and women's empowerment are utilized effectively. By tracking progress and outcomes, M&E capacity building empowers civil society organizations, government agencies, and donors to hold relevant stakeholders accountable for their commitments and results. This accountability fosters a culture of transparency, encouraging the efficient utilization of resources and the achievement of tangible outcomes for women.</li>
<li>Informing Policy and Advocacy Efforts:<br/> M&E capacity building generates critical data and evidence that can inform policy and advocacy efforts aimed at advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. By providing policymakers with accurate information on the status of women's rights, access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, M&E capacity building empowers them to create targeted policies and interventions that address the specific needs and challenges faced by women in Yemen.</li>
<li>Building Sustainable Change:<br/> M&E capacity building is essential for creating sustainable change in Yemen. By strengthening the ability of local organizations and institutions to monitor and evaluate gender-related initiatives, the country can develop a self-sustaining system that continues to address the needs of women and girls in the long term. This localized approach fosters ownership and empowers Yemeni stakeholders to drive the change they want to see.</li>
</ol>
<p>Conclusion:<br/> M&E capacity building is a powerful tool that can drive transformative change for gender equality and women's empowerment in Yemen. By investing in training, resources, and systems, Yemen can develop a robust M&E infrastructure that enables stakeholders to effectively monitor progress, identify gaps, and make informed decisions. By harnessing the power of data and evidence, Yemen can create policies and programs that transform the lives of women, ensuring their equal participation and contribution to the country's development. Let us join hands and advocate for increased support and investment in M&E capacity building in Yemen to build a brighter future for all.</p>
<p>Author: Nashwan Ahmed<br/> Email: nashwan@evalyemen.org</p>
<p>Website: <a href="https://evalyemen.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://evalyemen.org</a></p>Expanding reach-benefit-empowerment and gender transformation frameworktag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-10-09:6606644:BlogPost:1669902023-10-09T11:16:53.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember761">The CGIAR's Reach Benefit Empowerment and Transformation (RBET) distinguishes between approaches "<em>that<span> </span></em><em><strong>reach</strong></em><em><span> </span>women participants, such as by including them in program activities; those that<span> </span></em><em><strong>benefit</strong></em><em><span> </span>women, by improving their circumstances in some way; those…</em></p>
<p id="ember761" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">The CGIAR's Reach Benefit Empowerment and Transformation (RBET) distinguishes between approaches "<em>that<span> </span></em><em><strong>reach</strong></em><em><span> </span>women participants, such as by including them in program activities; those that<span> </span></em><em><strong>benefit</strong></em><em><span> </span>women, by improving their circumstances in some way; those that<span> </span></em><em><strong>empower</strong></em><em><span> </span>women, by strengthening their ability to make and put into action strategic life choices; and those that<span> </span></em><em><strong>transform</strong></em><em><span> </span>gender relations within and outside the household, such as by changing attitudes at the community level"</em><span> </span>(<a href="https://gender.cgiar.org/tools-methods-manuals/reach-benefit-empower-transform-rbet-framework">Reach-Benefit-Empower-Transform (RBET) Framework | CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform)</a></p>
<p id="ember762" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">This article argues that perhaps adding "<strong>coverage</strong>" to reaching women participants is necessary, in particular if gender norms and practices are to change. A program that works with only 25% of village women cannot hope to change social norms at the community level. A majority of women have to be covered by a program for norms and attitudes to change. Further the program, has to cover women at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities like 'migrant Dalit women', and not treat women as a homogenous category. Empowerment of women and gender transformation have a symbiotic relationship, with empowerment being essential for gender transformation and gender transformation being essential for women's empowerment.</p>
<p id="ember763" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">However, women's empowerment and gender transformation require transformation of other social relations too like race, caste, class, ethnicity, religion, abilities, sexual orientation and gender identity. Unless women address hierarchies amongst themselves, women cannot progress towards empowerment. To give an example, a middle-class woman may own a house in urban areas, but may not let out her house to single women and people from minority community etc. Thus, addressing<span> </span><strong>gender and intersectionality</strong><span> </span>is necessary.</p>
<p id="ember764" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">At another level, c<strong>onscientization of men and women who uphold dominant masculinities</strong><span> </span>is essential for both empowerment of women and gender transformation. Some men and women, including from marginalized communities in South Asia, feel that family lineage passes through sons. The practice of dowry upholds male supremacy, and is common in several South Asian countries. These are just few examples.</p>
<p id="ember765" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Yet another factor influencing women's empowerment and gender transformation is the<span> </span><strong>development models</strong><span> </span>which displace marginalized women and men to create beautiful cities for the elite. Poor women find it difficult to eke their living, housing is small, and at times safety is an issue. A pro-poor women development model is necessary</p>
<p id="ember766" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Thus, an expanded framework is suggested:</p>
<p id="ember767" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><strong>Reach/Coverage---Benefit- Women's empowerment/Men's conscientization- Pro-poor women development models- Gender/social transformation,</strong></p>
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"></p>
<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"><strong>Cross posted from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/expanding-reach-benefit-empowerment-gender-framework-ranjani-k-murthy%3FtrackingId=4LUFxn8bRCKqv%252Bgb5pABzg%253D%253D/?trackingId=4LUFxn8bRCKqv%2Bgb5p">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/expanding-reach-benefit-empowerment-gender-framework-ranjani-k-murthy%3FtrackingId=4LUFxn8bRCKqv%252Bgb5pABzg%253D%253D/?trackingId=4LUFxn8bRCKqv%2Bgb5p</a></strong></p>Intersectional, inter-sectoral and development focus: Why they matter to gender transformative evaluationstag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-09-28:6606644:BlogPost:1672262023-09-28T10:00:28.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p>Increasingly there is focus on "women" and "men" as analytical categories in gender transformative evaluations. This is necessary, but is it adequate? The answer is "No" </p>
<p>Women are far from uniform. One woman may progress at the expense of the other, like in the case of women from small farming household receiving support for mechanized harvesters which displace women form households without land. </p>
<p>While the project may be with regard to agriculture, unless she has access to…</p>
<p>Increasingly there is focus on "women" and "men" as analytical categories in gender transformative evaluations. This is necessary, but is it adequate? The answer is "No" </p>
<p>Women are far from uniform. One woman may progress at the expense of the other, like in the case of women from small farming household receiving support for mechanized harvesters which displace women form households without land. </p>
<p>While the project may be with regard to agriculture, unless she has access to clean energy and water, she may not be able to attend the training program of the agriculture project fully. While projects can be compartmentalized, humans cannot be. </p>
<p>Further, rarely do project designs analyse developments in the area, like emergence of a polluting industry which could affect the soil on the one hand, to cottage industries for women which could support poor women who also engage in agriculture. As a result, space for gender transformation shrinks or expands</p>
<p>The argument is for project design, implementation and evaluation to wear an intersectional, intersectoral, development lens.</p>Navigating the Global Challenge of Population Decline, Aging, and Gender Implications within the G20tag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-08-24:6606644:BlogPost:1667952023-08-24T07:28:12.000ZRITESH LADDHAhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RiteshLaddha
<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>
<p>The world is currently witnessing a profound demographic transformation, with consequences that resonate across numerous facets of society. Within the G20, developed nations have grappled with declining fertility rates for an extended period, a trend showing no signs of reversal. This issue extends beyond the confines of a single country. Still, it significantly impacts economic productivity, healthcare systems, and social security programs. Meanwhile,…</p>
<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>
<p>The world is currently witnessing a profound demographic transformation, with consequences that resonate across numerous facets of society. Within the G20, developed nations have grappled with declining fertility rates for an extended period, a trend showing no signs of reversal. This issue extends beyond the confines of a single country. Still, it significantly impacts economic productivity, healthcare systems, and social security programs. Meanwhile, other G20 nations are dealing with the contrasting issue of an expanding working-age population but must also prepare for a surge in elderly-dependent citizens.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Developing G20 nations have recently achieved or are on the verge of attaining replacement-level fertility rates, which bode well for their workforce but introduce a new challenge of addressing an ageing population. Outside the G20, developing nations face their unique set of challenges concerning youth populations and the imperative to invest in education, healthcare, and job opportunities.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In this dynamic demographic landscape, gender plays a pivotal role in shaping the challenges and outcomes that countries encounter. This article explores the implications of these demographic shifts through a gendered lens and outlines strategies for addressing them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Demographic Shifts Within the G20</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Developed G20 Nations</strong> (Aging Population and Declining Fertility): Developed G20 countries are grappling with declining fertility rates, leading to a substantial dependent population comprising individuals aged 0-14 and 60+. This burden on the elderly population places strain on healthcare systems, social security programs, and economic productivity.<ul>
<li>With the exception of France, all G20 developed countries have a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) below the sustainable level of 1.7-1.8 as of 2023. Countries like Korea, Japan, and Italy are particularly affected, with TFR ranging between 0.88 and 1.3. This decline in fertility has led to a substantial dependent population, consisting of individuals aged 0-14 and 60+, which accounts for approximately 43% of the population in these countries.</li>
<li>Of particular concern is the burden of the elderly population (aged 60+), which is increasing in developed countries. Currently, this burden ranges from 23% in Australia to 36% in Japan. This aging population places significant strain on healthcare systems, social security programs, and overall economic productivity. It is a challenge that demands immediate attention and innovative solutions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>G20 Nations with Peaking Working-Age Population</strong>: Countries like Brazil and China have achieved low fertility rates in the past, resulting in a significant working-age population (64%). However, they also face the challenge of an increasing elderly-dependent population, which requires careful planning.</li>
<li><strong>Developing G20 Nations</strong> (Achieving Replacement-Level Fertility): Developing G20 countries, including Argentina, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey, have recently achieved, or are approaching replacement-level fertility, which bode well for their workforce but introduced a new challenge of addressing an ageing population. This demographic transition necessitates effective planning and policy interventions to ensure sustainable development and social welfare.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Demographic Challenges Beyond the G20</strong></p>
<p>Beyond the G20, developing countries with higher fertility rates (in the range of 3-6) face different challenges. Countries like Niger, Angola, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Congo, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, characterized by substantial youth populations, must invest in education, healthcare, and job creation to harness their potential effectively. These countries are poised to experience significant growth in their working-age population in the coming years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Gender Implications in Demographic Shifts</strong></p>
<p>In this evolving demographic context, gender plays a crucial role in shaping outcomes and challenges:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Labour Force Dynamics:</strong> Women are often disproportionately affected by ageing populations due to their traditional roles as caregivers. As the demand for elderly care increases, women can face difficulties balancing caregiving responsibilities with participation in the labour force, hindering their career advancement and economic empowerment.</li>
<li><strong>Economic Security</strong>: The ageing population can impact women's economic security, especially as they tend to outlive men. Gender disparities in labour force participation can leave older women financially vulnerable. Policies must address these discrepancies to ensure women's financial well-being in old age.</li>
<li><strong>Fertility Choices and Work-Life Balance</strong>: In countries with declining fertility rates, policies that support work-life balance, affordable childcare, and parental leave are crucial for enabling women to make choices about family planning and career advancement that align with their aspirations.</li>
<li><strong>Education and Employment Opportunities</strong>: Developing countries with expanding working-age populations need to invest in women's education and employment opportunities. Empowering women in the workforce not only contributes to economic growth but also influences fertility choices and family dynamics.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Policy recommendation to address the challenges of population decline, ageing, and gender implications:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Invest in Education and Healthcare</strong>: Developing countries with expanding working-age populations should prioritize investments in education and healthcare. Ensuring access to quality education and healthcare, particularly for girls and women, can lead to better employment opportunities and healthier populations, which in turn can impact fertility rates positively.</li>
<li><strong>Promote Gender Equality in the Workforce</strong>: Implement and enforce policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, including equal pay for equal work and anti-discrimination measures. Encourage more women to enter and remain in the labour force, which can help offset the economic burden of an ageing population.</li>
<li><strong>Elderly Care Support</strong>: Develop policies and programs to support elderly care, with a particular focus on recognizing and alleviating the burden on women who often shoulder caregiving responsibilities. This might include subsidies for caregivers, respite care services, and initiatives to engage men in caregiving roles.</li>
<li><strong>Healthcare System Reforms</strong>: Reevaluate and reform healthcare systems to address the specific needs of an ageing population, including preventative care, long-term care options, and accessible healthcare services for the elderly.</li>
<li><strong>Encourage Active Aging</strong>: Develop policies that promote active ageing, including opportunities for older individuals to remain engaged in the workforce, volunteer work, and community activities. This can contribute to their economic security and overall well-being.</li>
<li><strong>International Collaboration</strong>: Foster international collaboration and knowledge-sharing among G20 countries and with other nations facing similar demographic challenges. Exchange best practices and strategies to address population ageing and declining fertility rates effectively.</li>
<li><strong>Youth Empowerment</strong>: In countries with substantial youth populations, invest in programs that empower young people through education, skills development, and job creation. Harness the demographic dividend by ensuring that the youth are productive members of society.</li>
<li><strong>Data Collection and Analysis</strong>: Continuously collect and analyze demographic data, with a particular focus on gender-disaggregated data. This will help policymakers make informed decisions and monitor the impact of policies over time.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>Addressing the global challenge of population decline, ageing, and its gender implications requires comprehensive strategies. Governments and international organizations must adopt gender-sensitive policies that empower women, promote equality, and recognize the diverse roles that women play in different demographic contexts. By doing so, we can work towards a future where every nation harnesses its demographic dividend while ensuring the well-being and empowerment of all its people. Failure to do so could lead to long-lasting social, economic, and political consequences affecting generations to come.</p>
<p><span><strong><em><u> </u></em></strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong><em><u>Source:</u></em></strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span><em><u>Demographic</u></em></span><span><em>: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022, Online Edition</em></span></li>
</ul>A Comprehensive Overview: Data Sources for Health and Family Planning Indicators in Indiatag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-05-02:6606644:BlogPost:1646742023-05-02T10:47:24.000ZRITESH LADDHAhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RiteshLaddha
<p>Accurate and comprehensive data on health and family planning indicators hold immense significance in the formulation and implementation of effective policies in India. In this blog post, we aim to explore several data sources that offer essential insights into the current state of health and family planning in our country. These valuable sources encompass the Sample Registration System (SRS), Census data, Civil Registration System (CRS), National Family Health Survey (NFHS), National Sample…</p>
<p>Accurate and comprehensive data on health and family planning indicators hold immense significance in the formulation and implementation of effective policies in India. In this blog post, we aim to explore several data sources that offer essential insights into the current state of health and family planning in our country. These valuable sources encompass the Sample Registration System (SRS), Census data, Civil Registration System (CRS), National Family Health Survey (NFHS), National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), National Health Profile, Rural Health Statistics, Annual Health Survey (AHS), and District Level Household Survey (DLHS).</p>
<p> </p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Sample Registration System (SRS): (</strong><a href="https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/node/294"><strong>https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/node/294</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>The SRS is an annual survey that has been conducted since 1970. It provides valuable data on fertility and mortality indicators such as the Crude Birth Rate (CBR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Crude Death Rate (CDR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Neonatal Mortality Rate (NNMR), Perinatal Mortality Rate (PNNMR), Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR), and Sex Ratio (0-4). The SRS offers representative sample data, and regular reports, and is considered reliable.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="2">
<li><strong>Census: (</strong><a href="https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/"><strong>https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>The decennial Census in India, conducted every ten years, offers population counts by age, sex, area, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), and child mortality data. The Census is a reliable and valid source of population information, providing a comprehensive overview of demographic trends. The last round of the Census was conducted in the year 2011.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="3">
<li><strong>Civil Registration System (CRS): (</strong><a href="https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/node/427"><strong>https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/node/427</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>The CRS generates yearly reports since 1958 and offers data on fertility and mortality indicators. It provides data on causes of death disaggregated by age, sex, and type of residence, allowing for trend analysis related to vital events. The CRS contributes to the understanding of long-term demographic patterns.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="4">
<li><strong>National Family Health Survey (NFHS): (</strong><a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/"><strong>http://rchiips.org/nfhs/</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>The NFHS is conducted periodically to gather data on various health and family planning indicators. The survey has been conducted in multiple rounds, including NFHS 1 (1992-93), NFHS 2 (1998-99), NFHS 3 (2005-06), NFHS 4 (2015-16) and NFHS 5(2019-21). NFHS data provide indirect estimates of fertility, mortality rates, reproductive and child health, women empowerment, gender-based violence etc. up to the district level. It is one of the most reliable data sources in the country now.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="5">
<li><strong>National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO): (</strong><a href="https://mospi.gov.in/download-reports"><strong>https://mospi.gov.in/download-reports</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>The NSSO conducts rounds of surveys that cover a wide range of parameters, including CBR, CDR, health problems and prevalence, and health expenditure. The NSSO is known for providing reliable estimates and contributing to a comprehensive understanding of health and family planning in India.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="6">
<li><strong>National Health Profile:</strong></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>(</strong><a href="https://www.cbhidghs.nic.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=75&lid=1135#:~:text=NHP%20is%20an%20initiative%20which,stakeholders%20in%20the%20healthcare%20sector"><strong>https://www.cbhidghs.nic.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=75&lid=1135#:~:text=NHP%20is%20an%20initiative%20which,stakeholders%20in%20the%20healthcare%20sector</strong></a><strong>.)</strong></p>
<p>The National Health Profile, published annually since 2005, is a comprehensive source of data covering demographic, socio-economic factors, incidence and prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, morbidity and mortality rates, health financing, and healthcare human resources (HR) and infrastructure. This profile provides reliable estimates and serves as a valuable reference for understanding the overall health scenario in India.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="7">
<li><strong>Rural Health Statistics: (</strong><a href="https://main.mohfw.gov.in/newshighlights-90"><strong>https://main.mohfw.gov.in/newshighlights-90</strong></a><strong>)</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>Published annually since 2005, the Rural Health Statistics report focuses on the rural healthcare system, including healthcare human resources and infrastructure, the status of facilities, and training of medical and paramedical personnel. This data source provides reliable estimates specifically related to rural health and plays a crucial role in identifying gaps and formulating targeted interventions.</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="8">
<li><strong>Annual Health Survey (AHS):</strong> <em>(Discontinued)</em></li>
</ol>
<p>The AHS, which has now been merged into the NFHS, was supposed to be conducted annually in eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. The latest available report is of 2012-13, offering data up to the district and state levels. The AHS provides reliable estimates on various indicators such as CBR, CDR, IMR, Neonatal Mortality Rate (Neo-natal MR), Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), Sex Ratio (0-4), and Sex Ratio (All Ages).</p>
<p> </p>
<ol start="9">
<li><strong>District Level Household Survey (DLHS) and Facility Survey:</strong> <em>(Discontinued)</em></li>
</ol>
<p>(<a href="http://rchiips.org/index.html">http://rchiips.org/index.html</a>)</p>
<p>The DLHS, conducted in multiple rounds (DLHS 1 - 1998-99, DLHS 2 - 2002-04, DLHS 3 - 2007-08, DLHS 4 - 2012-13), provides detailed insights into various aspects such as antenatal care (ANC), demographic behavior, family planning, awareness of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and health infrastructure (trained staff, equipment, etc.). It offers reliable estimates, although DLHS 4 does not include national-level data as it was not conducted in states where the AHS was implemented.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In conclusion, the availability of accurate and up-to-date data is absolutely crucial when it comes to understanding and addressing the key indicators of health and family planning in India. The diverse range of data sources that have been discussed in this blog provide us with reliable estimates on a wide array of parameters. As policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals, we heavily rely on these data sources to identify trends, assess progress, and develop evidence-based interventions that aim to improve health and family planning outcomes throughout the country. By leveraging these invaluable data sources, India has the ability to make informed decisions and implement targeted strategies that promote the well-being of its population and contribute to the overall development of our great nation.</p>A fine balance: Balancing what is possible vs what we want achievedtag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-03-25:6606644:BlogPost:1646192023-03-25T10:41:22.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<h1 class="text-display-large-bold pt6" dir="ltr">Cross posted <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fine-balance-balancing-what-possible-vs-we-want-ranjani-k-murthy/?trackingId=tLxvXnXlrV%2BeLfCicW6DFg%3D%3D">(1) A fine balance: Balancing what is possible vs what we want achieved | LinkedIn…</a></h1>
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<h1 dir="ltr" class="text-display-large-bold pt6">Cross posted <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fine-balance-balancing-what-possible-vs-we-want-ranjani-k-murthy/?trackingId=tLxvXnXlrV%2BeLfCicW6DFg%3D%3D">(1) A fine balance: Balancing what is possible vs what we want achieved | LinkedIn</a></h1>
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<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Last week a programme manager (implementation) told me:</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">"<em>Madam, the evaluation team came and graded our project as poor on gender equality, stating that land remained mainly under the control of men (though women's ownership had improved a bit) and agricultural markets were dominated by men (though poor women were entering it now, and not before). In the same district, no development project had achieved gender equality in these respects, and neither did we say that we will achieve gender equality at design, but improve status quo by 50% which anyway was unrealistic</em>".</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Influenced by SDG-5, Beijing Platform for Action, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of discrimination Against women, many donors, designers and evaluation team evolve ambtious gender and (recently) intersectionality goals/targets which they use for design, monitoring and evaluation. There is no assessment of whether other programme in similar context have acheived these goals/targets. The implementing agencies and federations of marginalised groups face a lot of disappointment when these larger gender equality goals, which they have not been party to framing, are used for design and evaluation.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">This situation/dilemma merits the following demands:</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">i) There needs to be context specific analysis of the extent of gender and intersectionality transformative change possible in an area.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">ii) A compendium of good practices needs to be available at district level, on a district level portal.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">iii) While further improvement over and above changes brought about existing good practices is possible, dramatic transformation may be difficult.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">iv) A compendium of what was tried related to gender and intersectional transformation and did not work needs to be maintained. The same mistake need not be repeated.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">On the whole a fine balance between what is possible (pushing the boundaries) vs what we want achieved has to be maintained.</p>
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</div>Ways to effectively work with research/evaluation agenciestag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-03-23:6606644:BlogPost:1648042023-03-23T09:36:00.000ZRITESH LADDHAhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RiteshLaddha
<p>Hello all, I am a monitoring and evaluation practitioner, currently associated with a reputed national NGO, and I have more than 15 years of experience in the development sector. During this journey, I have collaborated with multiple research/evaluation agencies to execute research or evaluation-related activities.</p>
<p>Working with an agency is not always a cakewalk as I have mixed experience with them. In our sector, we primarily recruit agencies for two main reasons – 1) to ensure the…</p>
<p>Hello all, I am a monitoring and evaluation practitioner, currently associated with a reputed national NGO, and I have more than 15 years of experience in the development sector. During this journey, I have collaborated with multiple research/evaluation agencies to execute research or evaluation-related activities.</p>
<p>Working with an agency is not always a cakewalk as I have mixed experience with them. In our sector, we primarily recruit agencies for two main reasons – 1) to ensure the external validity of the assessment and 2) to fill the resource gap in executing such studies, as NGOs usually don’t have such a workforce in-house.</p>
<p>Based on my experience, to work with agencies smoothly/effectively, I am jotting down a few points that need to be considered. These may sound very common but trust me; I didn’t come across any such compilation. </p>
<p> <strong>Before finalising the agency -</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Draft your terms of reference (TOR)/Scope of work as precisely as possible. You must include ‘areas of inquiry’ for each target group. You may also indicate a preferred way of collecting data (quantitative/qualitative) for each inquiry area.</li>
<li>While selecting any agency, please consider the team structure and profile. Please give special attention to the gender and inclusion aspect in the team proposed. Please ensure that the proposed/finalised team works on the study for the entire duration.</li>
<li>Please listen to all shortlisted agencies (physical/virtual) about their understanding of the TOR and proposed solution. Please also give attention to the ethical practices offered by the agency.</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>After selecting the agency -</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Please do the inception meeting with the agency and provide them with all the relevant information. The inception report should have all the operational details of the study.</li>
<li>Please ensure all data collection tools are vetted through the M&E and respective programme teams.</li>
<li>Please participate in the orientation/ training programme of enumerators on data collection tools. This is crucial to know how they are going to administer the questionnaire.</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>During data collection -</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Please observe a few data collection sites to get to know the enumerators’ capability, response rate, and quality of response.</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>During data analysis –</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Please discuss with the agency and finalise all the required tables that need to be generated from the data. This would work well for descriptive analysis.</li>
<li>For any inferential analysis, again, based on your experience and agency experience, list all the required tables. Both these steps will help you get the relevant information from the study and reduce the time for back and forth during the report review.</li>
<li>Once tables are discussed, please finalise the report's chapterisation plan/flow of report.</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>On receiving the draft report –</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Please ensure the draft report is vetted through the M&E and respective programme teams.</li>
<li>Please ask the agency for the raw dataset and analysis file/do file (STATA) / SPSS syntax. Please validate and run them on a sample basis. It will ensure the quality of data analysis.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong> </strong>I hope these points are helpful and practical to adapt.</p>
<p></p>Rethinking Program Theories and Theoriststag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-02-25:6606644:BlogPost:1637112023-02-25T07:53:23.000ZRatna Mathurhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RatnaMathur
<p>The MONEV Studio Indonesia and <strong>Evaluation Community of India</strong> organised the second in the series of quarterly book review online meeting on 28 January 2023. As a member of the Evaluation Community of India, I participated in the meeting as a commentator.</p>
<p>The book being discussed was Purposeful Program Theory by Sue Funnell and Patricia Rogers, a landmark book for development practice written in 2011. One of the authors, <strong>P</strong>rof Patricia Rogers, the…</p>
<p>The MONEV Studio Indonesia and <strong>Evaluation Community of India</strong> organised the second in the series of quarterly book review online meeting on 28 January 2023. As a member of the Evaluation Community of India, I participated in the meeting as a commentator.</p>
<p>The book being discussed was Purposeful Program Theory by Sue Funnell and Patricia Rogers, a landmark book for development practice written in 2011. One of the authors, <strong>P</strong>rof Patricia Rogers, the founder and CEO of BetterEvaluation, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, was the key participant. In the review of the book, Mr Benedictus Dwiagus Stepantoro, an Associate of MONEV Studio, reflected on <strong>evaluators’ knowledge on alternate theories of change</strong>, and on collaborations with program theorists. He emphasised the need for raising the right evaluation questions and for developing Program Theory for setting up M&E system, and on trends in emerging theories.</p>
<p>For me, as a commentator on the book, the meeting was an opportunity for learning from Prof Patricia Rogers about her classic, pragmatic book. My perspective on the book was based on the priorities and participation of the ‘target’ marginalised communities in program design and evaluation, and how this reflects issues of gender, inclusion, and system change, and the ways to address <strong>power structures that determine what gets designed and measured</strong>. Having facilitated evaluations as a part of donor organisations, I found the book’s guidance on the traps of Theory of Change and measurement to be critical considerations on the realities facing communities, for or around whom programs are designed.</p>
<p>The book asks us to introspect on what we design, like on unintended results. Such results may sometimes lead not only to weak analysis and policies, but also may trigger backlash against those very vulnerable communities we work with. There is evidence from longitudinal studies on long-term projects, for instance on women’s SHG collectives, that show unintended health outcomes in livelihoods programs, but with backlash against women or girls getting agency and voice. These opportunities and risks can be factored into the program design and theories of action, and have <strong>monitoring in a collaborative process</strong> to include all stakeholders. </p>
<p>Integrating participation is important for evaluation professionals to move forward in an increasingly complex and polarized world, where the inequalities are increasing sharply and communication technology has become widely accessible. Also perhaps because I work a lot with rural women and girls, I feel most concerned about being able to integrate sensitive processes that have a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable communities.</p>
<p>When designing for <strong>system level transformative change</strong> at macro, policy level, it is important to consider ways of integrating micro level approaches that actually influence the process and impact. The context analysis and stakeholder mapping may be considered to be major consideration for better operationalization of the Theory of Action, based on which partnerships for implementation may be built. The issue of accountability and participation in design and monitoring are thus critical in ensuring that evaluation professionals develop a robust implementable design that can be monitored.</p>
<p>The process of the development of the Theory of Change itself can be collaborative, and can <strong>integrate collaborative monitoring and assessment actions in the program systems</strong>. This has been done in fairly successfully to an extent even in large scale programs. Perhaps the authors, theoreticians and practitioners can help us reflect more about the choices made by evaluators in future. </p>
<p><em>About the writer</em> <strong>-</strong> Ratna Mathur is a member of Evaluation Community of India. She has led social development programming, grant-making, and management in senior leadership positions in non-profits and foundations. She works with a consultancy on program strategies, capacity building, and evaluations.</p>Beyond the Norm: Scope of Non-traditional Livelihood Skilling for Women in Achieving Women's Economic Empowermenttag:gendereval.ning.com,2023-01-06:6606644:BlogPost:1625622023-01-06T13:00:00.000ZRituu B Nandahttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/1uniqcg103ltu
<p><span>Institute of Social Studies Trust ISST's recent study, "Beyond the Norm: Scope of Non-traditional Livelihood Skilling for Women in Achieving Women's Economic Empowerment" aimed to understand the importance of skilling women in what is considered as ‘nontraditional’ and how that can lead to women’s economic empowerment. While there is no fixed definition of which work can qualify as ‘non-traditional’, vis-à-vis ‘traditional’, there are several ways through which it can be…</span></p>
<p><span>Institute of Social Studies Trust ISST's recent study, "Beyond the Norm: Scope of Non-traditional Livelihood Skilling for Women in Achieving Women's Economic Empowerment" aimed to understand the importance of skilling women in what is considered as ‘nontraditional’ and how that can lead to women’s economic empowerment. While there is no fixed definition of which work can qualify as ‘non-traditional’, vis-à-vis ‘traditional’, there are several ways through which it can be approached.</span></p>
<p><span>The research conducted with the support of Non-traditional Livelihood Network partner organisations was designed as a qualitative study with in-depth case narratives of selected participants. As a part of the dissemination plan of the research findings, a short film was commissioned by the team to help the key findings of the report reach a wider audience. Wind Beneath My Wings is a visual representation of the experience of NTL skilling of two organisations within the NTL network, that the study looks into. By highlighting the skilling journey of Beena Toppo, an adivasi girl living in the tea garden area of North Bengal getting skilled in wall painting and by diving into the pedagogical design of the driving training programme of Azad Foundation, the film showcases the processes and challenges of Non-traditional livelihoods skilling The film has been directed by Debalina Majumder, an independent film maker and cinematographer of international repute.</span></p>
<p><span>Study can be found on this link <a href="http://103.211.217.103:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1654/1/Beyond%20The%20Norm_ISST%20Study%20Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id="LPlnk768688" name="LPlnk768688">http://103.211.217.103:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1654/1/Beyond%20The%20Norm_ISST%20Study%20Report.pdf</a></span></p>
<p><span><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BtyivKrd-h0?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</span></p>Using UPRs to assess progress on SRHR: The case of BRICStag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-12-22:6606644:BlogPost:1625432022-12-22T06:30:00.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@ssranjani62/universal-progress-reviews-brics-and-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-71cb1884d9ef">Universal Progress Reviews, BRICS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights | by Ranjani K Murthy | Dec, 2022 | Medium…</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://medium.com/@ssranjani62/universal-progress-reviews-brics-and-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-71cb1884d9ef">Universal Progress Reviews, BRICS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights | by Ranjani K Murthy | Dec, 2022 | Medium</a></p>
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<div><div class="gq gr gs gt gu"><p id="b333" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">Universal Progress Reviews, BRICS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights</strong></p>
<p id="70c5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi">The goal of Universal Progress Reviews (UPR) is the improvement of the human rights situation in every country with consequences for people around the globe. •To achieve this, the UPR involves assessing States’ human rights records and to prompt, support, and expand the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground. The UPR working group (47 countries) reviews the government’s report, culls out observation of treaty bodies, gathers feedback from civil society, and then comes up with its observation.</p>
<p id="0f5e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi">The latest review by the UPR working group of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) identifies several vulnerable groups including landless, informal sector workers, migrants, Blacks, indigenous people, minorities, people with disability, elderly, children and those affected by conflicts, and women and LGBTIQ. Several sexual reproductive health and rights issues are identified by the working group in the countries of BRICS:</p>
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<li id="d3fb" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ha hd he hh hx hl hy hp hz ht ia ib ic id bi">Trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes,</li>
<li id="e780" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Maternal health/mortality in all countries (other than in Russia),</li>
<li id="8c44" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Violence against cis women/girls and LGBTIQ (other than in China)</li>
<li id="c1a2" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Violation of SRHR of LGBTIQ, in India and Russia,</li>
<li id="60c5" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Early marriage in India and South Africa,</li>
<li id="fd1c" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Harmful traditional practices like virginity tests and female genital mutilation in South Africa,</li>
<li id="eb77" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Nutrition of women in reproductive age (only in India)</li>
<li id="1be9" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Incidence of HIV, highlighted in working group report for south Africa</li>
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<p id="30a5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi">The working group identifies several country specific challenges, spilling to social determinants of SRHR and health system issues.</p>
<p id="762a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">Brazil</strong>: Cuts in budget, limited conditions under which legal abortion is available, poor quality of SRH services, limited services for migrants, and supply of medicines being affected during COVID-19.</p>
<p id="89fa" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">China</strong>: Human rights of LGBTIQ, rural-urban gap/regional gap in health infrastructure and inadequate health service for elderly.</p>
<p id="198c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">India:</strong><span> </span>Low public funding per capita, limited coverage of people with disability under insurance and limited capacity to provide services related to GBV and SRH (in particular to adolescents and LGBTIQ).</p>
<p id="c4cc" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">Russia:</strong><span> </span>Criminalize domestic violence by relatives (decriminalized recently), ban nonconsensual procedure on inter-sex children, and strengthen health facility in rural and remote areas.</p>
<p id="a285" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi"><strong class="gy hu">South Africa</strong>: Rural-urban and public-private disparities in quality of health services, limited abortion and SRH services for women and limited drug supply during COVID-19. National health insurance bill yet to be adopted</p>
<p id="8638" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi">At the same time, the observations of the working group on BRICS indicate that there is a backlog of human rights treaties which have not been signed or ratified, and with this backlog being higher in China and Russia. A concern is that the convention on rights of migrant workers has not been ratified by any country in BRICS. The optional protocol of the International Covenant on Economic and Social Cultural Rights has not been signed by all the BRICS countries and the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against women has not been signed by India and China.</p>
<p id="fd12" class="pw-post-body-paragraph gv gw gx gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht gq bi">If UPRs are to be used to promote SRHR it is important that the working group members are sensitive to SRHR, and are aware of strategies to address gaps in fulfilling SRHR and human rights. In particular, they need to have capacities to:</p>
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<li id="f98f" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ha hd he hh hx hl hy hp hz ht ia ib ic id bi">Monitor SRHR,</li>
<li id="5844" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Monitor ratification of relevant human rights instruments and human rights situation,</li>
<li id="e2e3" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Monitor other social determinants of SRHR,</li>
<li id="3635" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Track functioning of health systems from SRHR lens,</li>
<li id="7898" class="hv hw gx gy b gz ie hd if hh ig hl ih hp ii ht ia ib ic id bi">Strengthen capacity of SRHR groups to engage with universal progress review process</li>
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<p>Read the full article if topic of interest!</p>Addressing Intersectionality in Evaluations: From Buzz Word to Institutionalisationtag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-10-18:6606644:BlogPost:1610312022-10-18T05:30:00.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p><span class="break-words"><span><span dir="ltr"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10844329654?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Addressing%20intersectionality%20in%20evaluations.pptx</a></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="break-words"><span><span dir="ltr">This presentation of Ranjani K Murthy with Children Believe India in Evaluation Conclave 2022 argues that intersectionality needs to move beyond being a buzz word in evaluations; and be…</span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="break-words"><span><span dir="ltr"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10844329654?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Addressing%20intersectionality%20in%20evaluations.pptx</a></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="break-words"><span><span dir="ltr">This presentation of Ranjani K Murthy with Children Believe India in Evaluation Conclave 2022 argues that intersectionality needs to move beyond being a buzz word in evaluations; and be institutionalised in evaluation cycle and closely linked to accountability and planning. Human rights can be upheld and SDGs achieved only then. It distinguishes between the need to examine and address sequential multiple discrimination (which implies that marginalised participants' well being is tracked through their life cycle- beyond project period), all different intersecting identities that could lead to a phenomenon (example violence on dalit women) be explored and recommendations flow, and unique discrimination like transgender in poor households leaving the village be explored by "following" the participant outside the project area. It argues that intersectionality is linked to power, and evaluations with such a perspective has to follow with action with a ecosystem approach bringing multiple duty bearers in. Evaluation is then not an exercise/function to be completed.</span></span></span></p>Disjointed lines: Implementation history and development evaluationstag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-09-06:6606644:BlogPost:1599542022-09-06T10:14:23.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<div class="reader-article-content reader-article-content--content-blocks" dir="ltr"><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Development evaluations take place in a historical context. Many interventions have in the past been initiated by government and other development organisations in a village (or urban low income settlement) when evaluations of a NGO project is commissioned in the "now". A key question is how to delineate impact of past interventions by other organisations on present…</p>
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<div dir="ltr" class="reader-article-content reader-article-content--content-blocks"><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Development evaluations take place in a historical context. Many interventions have in the past been initiated by government and other development organisations in a village (or urban low income settlement) when evaluations of a NGO project is commissioned in the "now". A key question is how to delineate impact of past interventions by other organisations on present interventions of an NGO.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">While the new DAC criteria of coherence seeks to assess synergy of the project with what other donors or agencies are doing "now", the historical set of interventions by other agencies is not covered under this criteria. To give a few examples check dams were built through a government-NGO collaboration 20 years back in a watershed in Tamil Nadu, India. This increased water levels in the area. After 18 years another NGO came and introduced new agriculture technologies. These technologies work only because of the 20 year old checkdam (maintained by a committee), but this contribution is not accounted in the evaluation. The same initiative in an non-check dam area may not work.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Yet another example is the case of a Dalit woman who secured a house on her name 15 years back under the erstwhile Indira Awaz Yozana (housing scheme). Earlier she was living in a rented house, and not allowed to tie milch animals in the homestead as it gets dirty. Now Nabfin (subsidiary of National Bank for Agriculture and Rurla Development) gives her a loan for purchase of milch animals, with the approval of her self group (and NGO). Not all the income generated is due to present intervention.</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Development evaluations need to capture history of other development intervention to village and with each beneficiary to delineate what is a cumulative contribution and their own contribution!</p>
<p class="reader-text-block__paragraph">Cross posted from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/disjointed-lines-implementation-history-development-ranjani-k-murthy/?trackingId=psMf4cahTpC5IJj7%2Fss8gw%3D%3D">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/disjointed-lines-implementation-history-development-ranjani-k-murthy/?trackingId=psMf4cahTpC5IJj7%2Fss8gw%3D%3D</a></p>
</div>Women's Work: beyond binariestag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-08-22:6606644:BlogPost:1597122022-08-22T09:30:00.000ZPrateekhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/Prateek
<div><span>Pastoralists have been largely excluded from the discourses of policy making and development because of their non sedantarized ways of living. Furthermore, a pastoral woman who is in constant interaction with the forests, animals and land, as part of their profession and life world fails to find a mention in literature and policies. The kind of labour they perform, their interaction with animals and ecology and being in constant movement opens up ways to understand the role of women…</span></div>
<div><span>Pastoralists have been largely excluded from the discourses of policy making and development because of their non sedantarized ways of living. Furthermore, a pastoral woman who is in constant interaction with the forests, animals and land, as part of their profession and life world fails to find a mention in literature and policies. The kind of labour they perform, their interaction with animals and ecology and being in constant movement opens up ways to understand the role of women in the pastoral economy. This further allows us to add to the complexity of discourse on women and work and look at it from the perspective of non sedantarized populations. Therefore, ISST decided to undertake the research titled</span><span> </span><span><b>Understanding Pastoral Women's work: an exploratory study </b></span><span>in April 2021. The research was placed in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh where we were engaging largely with Gaddi and Hindu Gujjar pastoral communities.<a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10780687254?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10780687254?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></div>
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<div><span>This research opened up several questions related to, pastoral women and their work, care work </span><span>which transcends the human and changing meanings of work in pastoral communities. </span></div>
<p><span>Our relating with pastoral women and understanding their work has gone through multiple phases. We could point out before going to the field how pastoral woman's work does not find itself within the women and work discourse but it was after understanding the relationship of women with animals, we could understand the nature of "work" which a pastoral woman does. The work transcends beyond the binaries of paid and unpaid, human and non-human and, self and ecology. It helped us to look at the being of a pastoral woman in more complex and intricate ways. </span></p>
<p><span><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10780687275?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10780687275?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>Infusing Arts in Evaluation: putting power outside the boxtag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-08-10:6606644:BlogPost:1591432022-08-10T04:30:00.000ZRituu B Nandahttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/1uniqcg103ltu
<p>Gender & Evaluation online Community with Evaluation Community of India hosted an e-consultation on Art & Creativity Evaluation. Members with MEL expertise and creative talent generously offered to host the event. Abu Ala Hasan from Bangladesh provided a theoretical background on the topic with focus on Photography/ painting Chris Lysy from the United States shared how cartoons can relay Evaluation findings Yelizaveta Yanovich from the US brought experience of theatre in facilitation…</p>
<p>Gender & Evaluation online Community with Evaluation Community of India hosted an e-consultation on Art & Creativity Evaluation. Members with MEL expertise and creative talent generously offered to host the event. Abu Ala Hasan from Bangladesh provided a theoretical background on the topic with focus on Photography/ painting Chris Lysy from the United States shared how cartoons can relay Evaluation findings Yelizaveta Yanovich from the US brought experience of theatre in facilitation and evaluation. Madri Jansen van Rensburg from South Africa presented drawings to engage children in evaluations.</p>
<p>This started a conversation amongst 70+ attendees on Art as a means to evaluate and report on the results of an approach or programme. Participants shared experiences of using storytelling, using musical instruments, adapting a dance form, role play and improvisation. Faith Foundation from India shared about dissemination of study findings by theatre for youth in indigenous communities.</p>
<p>Art expressions bring out the feelings of the people at a deeper level than ticking boxes and presenting figures. There are many ways where people can express their feeling if words are not easy for them, and in such cases using art can be inclusive. Some are reluctant to draw. Perhaps this has to do with the hierarchy between the evaluator and the participants, or because they feel shy. Then it falls on the evaluator to facilitate a variety of creative tools. Art practices can tap into peoples' imagination and can help bring out insights in ways that connect deeply to people as human beings and not "subjects" of research. Gender transformative evaluation is about shifting power relationships, and creative methods can visibilize different voices/vantage points.</p>
<p>A challenge raised was that art can be interpreted in several ways and there exist individual differences, how can one be sure about the findings? Others responded the diversity has to be valued and arts based methods are interpretive, multi-faceted, and divert from positivist approach. Among those in the webinar, most had used arts to engage with people and said they canbest interpret their product.</p>
<p>Another challenge the participants said is how to get people on managerial level to open up to artsy forms of evaluation. Unfortunately, the funders do not consider art a scientific method. The group felt that arts combined with strong analysis could enrich evaluation. One suggestion was of using art in convincing commissioners of evaluations.</p>
<p><br/> Participants concluded that arts could be easily used without being an expert artist etc. They were inspired to incorporate different forms of art into evaluations as one observed that “we can start thinking of using comics as a tool for research and evaluation.”</p>
<p>Gratitude to the presenters, facilitators and the participants of the webinar for the rich learning and vibrant discussion.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10757752475?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10757752475?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p></p>Intersectional lens to development indicestag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-08-09:6606644:BlogPost:1589362022-08-09T07:24:44.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
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<p class="pw-post-title if ig ih bn ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd gi" id="201e">Since the 1990s, development is measured not just by economic growth, but also human development index, gender development index, gender empowerment measure, gender inequality index, global gender gap index and so on. However discrimination in its various forms continues, and apart from economic and gender discrimination few measure of other forms of…</p>
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<p id="201e" class="pw-post-title if ig ih bn ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd gi">Since the 1990s, development is measured not just by economic growth, but also human development index, gender development index, gender empowerment measure, gender inequality index, global gender gap index and so on. However discrimination in its various forms continues, and apart from economic and gender discrimination few measure of other forms of discrimination like those based on race, caste, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, minority status, migrant status, nationality, gender identity and sexual orientation exist. These are just other unitary forms of discrimination not adequately addressed in statistics and indices.</p>
<p id="3ff9" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">Sandra Fredman distinguishes between more complex kinds of discrimination, namely sequential multiple discrimination, additive multiple discrimination and intersectional discrimination (Council of Europe, 2022).</p>
<p id="720e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">· <strong class="jg ii">Sequential multiple discrimination</strong> describes situations when a person suffers discrimination on different grounds on <strong class="jg ii">separate occasions.</strong> For example, a girl child living with disability might suffer discrimination once because of her gender and on another occasion because of her disability.</p>
<p id="d55b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">· <strong class="jg ii">Additive multiple discrimination</strong>, describes situations when a person suffers discrimination on the same occasion but on two grounds, for example a short tribal boy (undernourishment) harassed by teacher and classmates from dominant group because he is a tribal and because he is short. Very few non scheduled caste/tribal boys who are short exist, and when they do are not harassed in a similar fashion. This type of discrimination is additive, because each of the grounds can be identified independently.</p>
<p id="39df" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi"><strong class="jg ii">Intersectional discrimination</strong> — happens when two or multiple grounds of discrimination operate simultaneously and interact in an inseparable manner, producing distinct and unique forms of discrimination at a more complex level. An example is the practice of purchasing brides (from marginalised families and communities) against their wishes by better off families from dominant castes (even for older grooms) living in areas where there is shortage of brides due to sex selection</p>
<p id="0227" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">What are the ways of measuring sequential, additive and intersectional discrimination so that they are taken into account in measures of development?</p>
<p id="a94d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">i) Surveys that will point to prejudices and stereotypes.People are often biased against others outside of their own social group, showing prejudice (emotional bias), stereotypes (cognitive bias), and discrimination (behavioral bias). Prejudice and stereotype surveys are important.</p>
<p id="f0f4" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">ii) Anticipatory discrimination surveys; that is surveys which assess how likely is it that sequential, additive or intersectional discrimination will happen based on different identities</p>
<p id="b13c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">iii) Actual discrimination surveys, that is surveys which assess incidence of sequential, additive or intersectional discrimination. Sequential multiple discrimination surveys entail interviewing the same person across time.</p>
<p id="a146" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">iv) Applying intersectional lens to quantitative data analysis, beyond one identity. However, this can only give information on some kinds of additive discrimination, not all. It cannot give data on intersectional discrimination</p>
<p id="ba36" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">v) Qualitative studies on sequential, additive and intersectional discrimination, which are then quantified.</p>
<p id="c0c4" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">Unless such data is applied to development indices and indicators, Sustainable Development Goals may not be achieved, for humans, and marginalised in particular, have multiple identities intersecting in complex ways.</p>
<p id="4ebf" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">Reference</p>
<p id="e245" class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">Council of Europe 2022, Intersectionality and Multiple discrimination, Council of Europe, France,<a class="au kd" href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/gender-matters/intersectionality-and-multiple-discrimination" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.coe.int/en/web/gender-matters/intersectionality-and-multiple-discrimination</a></p>
<p class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi">Crossposted from <a href="https://medium.com/@ssranjani62/intersectional-lens-to-development-indices-10903e3a930">https://medium.com/@ssranjani62/intersectional-lens-to-development-indices-10903e3a930</a></p>
<p class="pw-post-body-paragraph je jf ih jg b jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb ia gi"></p>Looking for MEL resources on Relationship buildingtag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-06-02:6606644:BlogPost:1579652022-06-02T17:25:37.000ZElisabetta Micarohttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/ElisabettaMicaro534
<p>Dear community,</p>
<p>I am looking for MEL frameworks and tools on relationship building. Please share if you have come across to any useful and user-friendly resource. Thank you! </p>
<p>Dear community,</p>
<p>I am looking for MEL frameworks and tools on relationship building. Please share if you have come across to any useful and user-friendly resource. Thank you! </p>Deepening SDG 5 monitoring from an intersectional lenstag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-05-28:6606644:BlogPost:1578182022-05-28T03:25:55.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p><strong>Ranjani K Murthy</strong></p>
<p>Examining the SDG 5 tracker (<a href="https://sdg-tracker.org/gender-equality#targets">https://sdg-tracker.org/gender-equality#targets</a>) after a field visit and interviews with women/girls and men/boys from economically and socially discriminated groups in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, India, I felt the urgent need for strengthening monitoring mechanisms for tracking SDG 5 from a gender and intersectionality lens- without which it…</p>
<p><strong>Ranjani K Murthy</strong></p>
<p>Examining the SDG 5 tracker (<a href="https://sdg-tracker.org/gender-equality#targets">https://sdg-tracker.org/gender-equality#targets</a>) after a field visit and interviews with women/girls and men/boys from economically and socially discriminated groups in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, India, I felt the urgent need for strengthening monitoring mechanisms for tracking SDG 5 from a gender and intersectionality lens- without which it may not be possible to track which women are achieving targets, and which women are not. Further, stereotypes about women and girls of certain communities can be broken. I illustrate my arguments taking examples from India, but they can be extended to monitoring SDG 5 from an intersectional lens elsewhere too. </p>
<p>To give an example, Indicator 5.1.1 is whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex. However, for women and girls form the bottom decile, Scheduled Castes<a href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1"><span>[i]</span></a>, Scheduled Tribes and people living with disability whom I met, non-discrimination on the basis of these identities was as important as discrimination on the basis of sex/gender; and sometimes they experienced unique intersectional discrimination like “marriage” of SC women to Goddess Yellamma (and then forced into sex work), kidnapping of ST girls living in remote areas when they go to school, forced hysterectomy on girls with disability by parents etc. In other countries racial and gender discrimination needs to be seen monitored together</p>
<p>Indicator 5.2.1 is the proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age. Using an intersectional lens to monitoring, can break several myths. There is a common perception amongst Hindus (the dominant community in India) that Muslim women (minority in India) are “backward” when compared to Hindus. Statistics from India suggest hat intimate partner violence (physical, sexual and psychological) is lower amongst Muslims sex ratio at birth is higher when compared to that of Hindus.</p>
<p>Indicator 5.3.1 is on the proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18. In some of the tribal communities in India, it is not uncommon for girls and boys above 15 to live together, and try out the relationship, but under the eyes of adults. This is not the practice amongst non-tribal communities. As long as they adopt contraception to avoid teenage pregnancy, there is a need to rethink whether cultural imperialism is being imposed through targets. Yet another is that false cases of child marriage are put by parents of dominant caste when their daughter run away/marry a person against their wishes (often from some other community). The numbers on child/early marriage have to be adjusted accordingly.</p>
<p>Indicator 5.4.1 is the proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location. The proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work varies not just by sex, age and location, but also by economic standing, caste, gender identity, ethnicity etc. Women from the top economic decile in India spend much less time on domestic and care work than those in the bottom. Scheduled caste women usually belong to the bottom economic strata, and are not only constrained by lesser access to water, clean cooking fuel and toilets in their hamlet, but not allowed to access water points, roads to collect cooking gas etc. in the dominant caste habitat. Transwoman are another discriminated group, leading to greater domestic work. Similarly, Scheduled Tribe women’s work load is immense, living in remote areas and having lesser access to basic facilities. Thus, inequalities in access to water, clean fuel, sanitation can be a good indicator of discrimination too (Indicator 5.1.1) </p>
<p>Indicator 5.5.1 is the proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments. This again by can disaggregated further by caste, ethnicity, religion etc. As there is reservation in local government for SCs and STs these categories intersectional data may be available. This observation equally applies to the indicator 5.5.2 on the proportion of women in managerial positions. Hierarchies of race, caste, class, abilities and marital status can persist, even when women occupy position of power.</p>
<p>Indicator 5.6.1 is the proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care. In India, and perhaps globally, the questions under demographic health survey are getting modified to reflect this. Yet in India, and several countries, sexual relations outside marriage are frowned upon for women. Sexuality of people of diverse sexual orientation is again frown upon. There is a need to capture this diversity and discrimination through studies that adopt purpose sampling and mixed methods. </p>
<p>Indicator 5.A.1 is the proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure. This indicator stands out as it captures not only share of women amongst owners, but proportion of agriculture population who are owners. The Agricultural Census of India provides disaggregated data across sex, caste, ethnicity and headship and can be used for monitoring progress from a gender and intersectional lens. </p>
<p>To sum up, the objective of gender equality and women’s empowerment can never be achieved unless the most oppressed women are reached and access & outcome parity is achieved across intersecting identities. Elimination of intersectional discrimination faced by women of particular identities is essential. The monitoring of SDG 5 has to change accordingly. The Voluntary National Reviews of countries need to be beyond sex disaggregation and coming up with solutions; to a more nuanced analysis</p>
<p>CROSS POSTED FROM <a href="https://www.comminit.com/global/content/deepening-sdg-5-monitoring-intersectional-lens%C2%A0%C2%A0">https://www.comminit.com/global/content/deepening-sdg-5-monitoring-intersectional-lens </a>;</p>
<p> ______</p>
<p><a href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1"><span>[i]</span></a> Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes are recognised by the Indian Constitution as the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups. Scheduled Caste is the official name given in India to the lowest caste considered ‘untouchable’ in orthodox Hindu scriptures and practice. Some of the Scheduled Castes refer to themselves as Dalits, or oppressed. According to the 2011 Census they constitute 16.6% of the population. Scheduled Tribes are an indigenous people officially regarded as socially disadvantaged. Scheduled tribes constitute 8.6% of the population (<a href="https://in.one.un.org/task-teams/scheduled-castes-and-scheduled-tribes/">https://in.one.un.org/task-teams/scheduled-castes-and-scheduled-tribes/</a>).</p>The trouble with evaluation (1-Data)tag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-05-04:6606644:BlogPost:1566792022-05-04T14:06:42.000ZSteven Arisshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/StevenAriss
<p>Invitation to help improve evaluation methods.</p>
<p>Dear Members and Colleagues,</p>
<p>A project, funded by The Health Foundation (UK) is comparing evaluation guidance with the lived experiences of evaluators. In current guidance the key assumption is that forward planning can prevent problems. However, in the Real-World, despite good intentions and evaluation expertise, problems happen and there is little guidance about how to fix these problems. This seems to be particularly relevant to…</p>
<p>Invitation to help improve evaluation methods.</p>
<p>Dear Members and Colleagues,</p>
<p>A project, funded by The Health Foundation (UK) is comparing evaluation guidance with the lived experiences of evaluators. In current guidance the key assumption is that forward planning can prevent problems. However, in the Real-World, despite good intentions and evaluation expertise, problems happen and there is little guidance about how to fix these problems. This seems to be particularly relevant to Quality Improvement (QI) projects.</p>
<p>Our response to this is to “crowdsource” a knowledge base of experience and advice about how to improve the integration of evaluation and QI; we invite anyone with experience of evaluation to complete an initial survey, which takes one of the key themes – that of <em>data access, collection and analysis</em> – as its starting point. We will be releasing further surveys on other topics over the next few weeks. To access the survey, click <a href="https://scharr.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abiDRf2XrOvk7vU">here</a>.</p>
<p>Or copy and paste this link into your browser: <a href="https://scharr.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abiDRf2XrOvk7vU">https://scharr.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abiDRf2XrOvk7vU</a></p>
<p><strong>Further details about the project are available below.</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><u>Current Assumptions</u></strong></p>
<p>It is often thought that the key to delivering a successful evaluation of any intervention lies in producing an appropriate and detailed evaluation plan, and then enacting that plan with adequate time and resources, and with the full collaboration of the intervention team and other stakeholders. Consequently, most guidance focuses on the elements of an evaluation that should be considered in advance in order to develop, design and schedule an evaluation plan that, in appearance at least, will meet the needs of the stakeholders.</p>
<p><strong><u>The Problem</u></strong></p>
<p>Of course, in practice, and even with the best possible design in place, evaluation projects do not always follow a smooth course. It is impossible to anticipate all the problems that may arise. These can include; the practical difficulties of accessing data or a lack of resources at key moments, changes to the intervention itself, to say nothing of external factors such as policy changes and global pandemics. These can all serve to throw plans off course and to undermine evaluation activities. In the case where evaluations do go wrong, or at least not according to plan, the existing guides offer little in the way of practical advice about what to do to rectify matters and rescue the evaluation process – if, indeed, it can be rescued.</p>
<p>Evaluation of quality improvement (QI) projects seems particularly susceptible to these problems since the latter are often complex and changeable interventions in open systems that can have unanticipated emergent characteristics. There are a number of areas of tension that can potentially derail the evaluation of QI projects. For instance, differing priorities mean that QI projects will often place the implementation of change above the requirements for evaluation of that change: for good or for ill, change becomes an end in itself.</p>
<p><strong><u>The Project So Far</u></strong></p>
<p>These conclusions are among the findings of the <em>Connecting to integrate Quality Improvement and evaluation practice</em> project being carried out by a team led by researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and Bath and supported through the Connecting Q programme of The Health Foundation. This project has undertaken a series of evidence reviews and consultations with QI practitioners and evaluators with the aim of bridging the divide between evaluation theory and QI practice. One thing that has emerged is the lack of practical guidance both for recognising the practical problems that can arise and for indicating how to respond when serious problems do occur while the evaluation is underway. But also apparent is the breadth of the practical experience that exists in the QI and evaluation communities, and the potential of this, if properly harnessed, to provide an invaluable shared resource for improving evaluation processes.</p>
<p><strong><u>The Plan</u></strong></p>
<p>To create such a resource, we first need to understand the nature of the problems that do arise. Our review of the published literature about the evaluation of QI projects (in both the UK and abroad) suggests that problems can be clustered around a relatively small set of themes or dimensions of the evaluation:</p>
<ul>
<li>Data access, collection and analysis</li>
<li>The purpose and parameters of evaluation</li>
<li>Stakeholder management and engagement</li>
<li>Evaluation approaches and methods</li>
<li>Resources, knowledge and skills</li>
<li>Timing and timeliness</li>
<li>Culture and context</li>
</ul>
<p>Note that certain problems can be related to more than one of these themes, which is unsurprising given the complexity of most evaluation efforts (as well as the somewhat artificial nature of any attempt to classify them into neat categories). Nonetheless, these themes give us a scaffold for talking about the problems that do occur.</p>
<p>While not all the problems will have easy solutions, we believe that the collected experience of evaluation and QI practitioners offers a pool of practical knowledge for both recognising problems and suggesting solutions. As a first step we would like to try to “crowdsource” a knowledge base of experience and advice about how to improve the integration of evaluation and QI; we invite anyone with any experience of the evaluation of QI or other interventions to complete an initial questionnaire which takes one of these themes – that of <em>data access, collection and analysis</em> – as its starting point.</p>
<p>You will be asked to provide your particular experiences of tackling problems that have arisen relating to this theme. You will also be able to share your opinions on the approach that we’re taking. To access the questionnaire, click <a href="https://scharr.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abiDRf2XrOvk7vU">here</a>. We look forward to receiving your responses!</p>Appel à candidatures - Prix d'Excellence Evaluation d'Or, édition 2022tag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-05-01:6606644:BlogPost:1565922022-05-01T01:00:00.000ZSamuel KOUAKOUhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/SamuelKOUAKOU
<p>Madame/Monsieur,</p>
<p>L’Initiative Ivoirienne pour l’Evaluation (2IEval), en collaboration avec la Cellule d’Analyse des Politiques Economiques du CIRES (CAPEC), lance un appel à candidatures pour la septième (7ème) édition du Prix d’Excellence Evaluation d’Or.</p>
<p>Ce Prix vise à promouvoir l’Excellence et l’Evaluation MADE IN Côte d’Ivoire, en récompensant les Etudiants, les Chercheurs, les Projets/Programmes, les Structures/Institutions, les Cabinets de Consulting ainsi que les…</p>
<p>Madame/Monsieur,</p>
<p>L’Initiative Ivoirienne pour l’Evaluation (2IEval), en collaboration avec la Cellule d’Analyse des Politiques Economiques du CIRES (CAPEC), lance un appel à candidatures pour la septième (7ème) édition du Prix d’Excellence Evaluation d’Or.</p>
<p>Ce Prix vise à promouvoir l’Excellence et l’Evaluation MADE IN Côte d’Ivoire, en récompensant les Etudiants, les Chercheurs, les Projets/Programmes, les Structures/Institutions, les Cabinets de Consulting ainsi que les Concepteurs de solutions informatiques et technologiques.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10451302255?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10451302255?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Le Prix d’Excellence « Evaluation d’Or » sera décerné dans quatre catégories :</p>
<ol>
<li>Mémoire et Thèse</li>
<li>Travaux de recherche</li>
<li>Projet et Structure</li>
<li>Innovations technologiques</li>
</ol>
<p>Le règlement du Prix et les formulaires de candidature peuvent être téléchargés sur le site internet : <strong><a href="http://www.2ieval.org/">http://www.2ieval.org</a></strong>, <strong>Rubrique « Prix d’Excellence ».</strong></p>
<p>Le règlement du Prix et les formulaires de candidature sont disponibles également sur le lien : (<strong>Veuillez</strong> <strong>Cliquer</strong>) :</p>
<p><a href="http://2ieval.org/liens/pages.php?page=prix_excellence&men=Prix%20d%27Excellence"><strong>2IEval – Prix d’Excellence « EVALUATION D’OR », 7<sup>ème</sup> édition</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BZZBaHoaAOilwbMOz1LWIMY8dAeSg68I?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BZZBaHoaAOilwbMOz1LWIMY8dAeSg68I?usp=sharing</a></p>
<p>La date limite de dépôt des dossiers de candidature est fixée au <strong>30 Juin 2022</strong><strong>.</strong></p>
<p>Veuillez agréer, Madame/Monsieur, l'expression de nos salutations distinguées.</p>
<p> </p>In Memory of Eleanor Chelimskytag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-04-25:6606644:BlogPost:1560332022-04-25T09:09:13.000ZRituu B Nandahttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/1uniqcg103ltu
<p>Hi Members,</p>
<p>Recently a very experienced Evaluation professional, Eleanor Chelimsky, passed away. Michael Patton compiled her insights and short video clips which you can enjoy. What a wonderful tribute and an opportunity to learn from her. </p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Colleagues,</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After several days of rereading Eleanor's writings and revisiting our email exchanges, I…</span></p>
<p>Hi Members,</p>
<p>Recently a very experienced Evaluation professional, Eleanor Chelimsky, passed away. Michael Patton compiled her insights and short video clips which you can enjoy. What a wonderful tribute and an opportunity to learn from her. </p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Colleagues,</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After several days of rereading Eleanor's writings and revisiting our email exchanges, I felt compelled to try to communicate to those newer to evaluation the enormity of her impact on the profession and transdiscipline of evaluation. So I've pulled together some of her writings and clips from interviews with her into a YouTube video in hopes of making her insights and wisdom more accessible to those coming into evaluation and an opportunity for veterans of evaluation to remember and re-experience some of what she so generously and thoughtfully gave to our global community.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">By YouTube norms, it's a long video (56 minutes), but edited down from more than 4 hours of profound material! The editing is choppy in places. I'm still learning how to use the technology. But the content is superb, important, and, I think, inspiring -- because it is Eleanor talking to us. I invite you to find a quiet hour to immerse yourself in her wisdom. Consider, if you will, resisting the temptation to skim and fast forward. She was on Earth for 95 years. Visit with her for an hour. Savor her words and spirit.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SB-jqt8g5Es?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/SB-jqt8g5Es">https://youtu.be/SB-jqt8g5Es</a></p>
<p>Michael Patton</p>Context analysis of evaluation reports from a gender, intersectionality and rights lenstag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-04-05:6606644:BlogPost:1557002022-04-05T09:30:00.000ZRanjani K.Murthyhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/RanjaniKMurthy
<p>In an earlier blog (<a href="https://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-gender-and-development-to-gender-intersectionality-rights">https://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-gender-and-development-to-gender-intersectionality-rights</a>), I argued the need to shift from gender and development (GAD) to gender, intersectionality, rights and development (GIRD) approach if SDG5 are to be achieved by 2030, and if the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against…</p>
<p>In an earlier blog (<a href="https://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-gender-and-development-to-gender-intersectionality-rights">https://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-gender-and-development-to-gender-intersectionality-rights</a>), I argued the need to shift from gender and development (GAD) to gender, intersectionality, rights and development (GIRD) approach if SDG5 are to be achieved by 2030, and if the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women is to be upheld.</p>
<p>Intersectional discrimination is distinct from "multiple discrimination". Multiple discrimination describes a situation where different forms of discrimination operate separately or at different points of time. For example, an ethnic minority woman experience only gender-based discrimination in one situation and only ethnic discrimination in another. Intersectional discrimination on the other hand refers to a situation where several grounds operate and interact with each other at the same time in such a way that they are inseparable. For example, a migrant woman from minority community being denied access to community toilets during lockdown facing violence during open defecation, while women and men migrants from other communities had access. Intersectional discrimination can operate in institutions of family and community, or markets, state or supra-state institutions. For example, state denying permanent methods of contraception to women from primitive tribes as it wants their population to grow. </p>
<p>In this blog I discuss what background information is required before any evaluation on inter-sectional discrimination in country context/project context. Information is required on:</p>
<ol>
<li>Relevant intersecting-oppressed identities and intersectional discrimination faced by "rights holders" of intersecting-oppressed identities living by themselves and in family, community and markets, </li>
<li>Powerful groups and intersecting privileges of powerful groups living in institutions,</li>
<li> Intersectional discrimination faced by officials/staff from marginalised sections who are "duty bearers",</li>
<li> Perpetuated through policies, programs, structures, systems and knowledge products of state, and</li>
<li>Similar analysis as 3 and 4 with respect to implementing agencies,</li>
</ol>
<p>Contextual analysis would also entail assessment of the extent to which rights holders facing intersectional discrimination are organised and able to demand state accountability on intersectional discrimination, and reduce the occurrence, as well as hold family, community and markets accountable to ending intersectional discrimination. For example, a Dalit women's group (from landless households) in Theni district of Tamil Nadu went on a protest to demand higher wages and non-use of caste names with land owners, and mobilised land for cultivation from the state. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is a gap between contextual analysis in evaluation reports and analysis inter-sectional discrimination as described above. Many evaluation reports stop at sex/gender (binary) analysis, and rarely capture intersectional analysis of discrimination, institutions, articulation of rights/accountability and state accountability. Identities of caste, race, class, abilities, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, migrant status, marital status, relation position, location, incarceration status are just a few oppressive identities to take into account </p>
<p>Till gender, intersectionality and rights are woven into contextual analysis t is difficult to evaluation policies, projects and programmes.</p>Does It Matter? Reflections on International Women’s Daytag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-03-08:6606644:BlogPost:1557052022-03-08T04:00:00.000ZJoyce Dashttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/JoyceDas
<p>Does International Women’s Day matter? What does International Women’s Day mean to you? Why should people care about International Women’s Day? Does International Women’s Day empower women?</p>
<p>We have asked several women to reflect on some simple yet important questions on International Women’s Day. Watch this video to know what their responses were:</p>
<p> …</p>
<p>Does International Women’s Day matter? What does International Women’s Day mean to you? Why should people care about International Women’s Day? Does International Women’s Day empower women?</p>
<p>We have asked several women to reflect on some simple yet important questions on International Women’s Day. Watch this video to know what their responses were:</p>
<p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g2E3zZr9CV4?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p>Link to the video: <a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dg2E3zZr9CV4&data=04%7C01%7Cjoyce.das%40anu.edu.au%7C7a83a482fa334167009f08da00b861bf%7Ce37d725cab5c46249ae5f0533e486437%7C0%7C0%7C637823090204565091%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=J3MoE7C4vzyEISs%2FBZNT0n%2F%2FRKP48TMPuW1yS7XybbM%3D&reserved=0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2E3zZr9CV4</a></p>
<p></p>
<p><span dir="auto" class="style-scope yt-formatted-string">Presented by: </span><span dir="auto" class="style-scope yt-formatted-string">Go Equal (</span><span dir="auto" class="style-scope yt-formatted-string">Gender Equity Consulting)</span></p>
<p>About Go Equal:</p>
<h4 class="text action_box-title"><span class="fw-thin">Go Equal is an Australia-based consulting firm that is committed to achieving gender equality globally. We support governments, civil societies, the international community and UN bodies, and local communities to achieve positive gender equity outcomes.<br/> <br/> We believe deeply in gender inclusion and diversity and collaborate to innovate cutting-edge approaches to empower and enable women to bring real changes in their lives and the community.</span></h4>
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<p></p>Announcing winning the honourable mention for the IDEAS Evaluation for Transformation Change Awardtag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-02-24:6606644:BlogPost:1552252022-02-24T04:03:57.000ZSONAL ZAVERIhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/SONALZAVERI
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Dear friends,</p>
<p>I am very honoured to announce that my evaluation “Real Time Evaluation of Gender Integration in the UNICEF COVID-19 Response in South Asia” was assessed among the top ones in the Award category "Evaluation as transformation" and has received an honourable mention of the Award! It is particularly important as it has embedded feminist principles in the evaluation design.</p>
<p>The Award Steering Committee represented by IDEAS, Independent…</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Dear friends,</p>
<p>I am very honoured to announce that my evaluation “Real Time Evaluation of Gender Integration in the UNICEF COVID-19 Response in South Asia” was assessed among the top ones in the Award category "Evaluation as transformation" and has received an honourable mention of the Award! It is particularly important as it has embedded feminist principles in the evaluation design.</p>
<p>The Award Steering Committee represented by IDEAS, Independent Evaluation Office of IFAD, and the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Group announced the results of the Evaluation for Transformational Change Award, 2022 edition.</p>
<p>The evaluation approach was “Real Time Evaluation” of gender integration, broadly based on the principles of Developmental Evaluation, leading to continuous learning and adaptive management, enabling the real-time utilisation of evaluation findings to course-correct and influence policy and programmatic responses in the SAR to the Covid-19 pandemic. It employed a rigorous methodology for evidence generation and ‘evaluative empowerment’ processes to deliver accelerated change.</p>
<p>For more details, please check out the IDEAS website</p>
<p><a href="https://ideas-global.org/award-2022/award-results-2022/">https://ideas-global.org/award-2022/award-results-2022/</a></p>
<p>The UNICEF site also hosts the report, along with the presentation and other reports developed for this evaluation.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.unicef.org/evaluation/reports#/detail/17393/real-time-evaluation-rte-of-gender-integration-in-unicef-covid-19-response-south-asia">https://www.unicef.org/evaluation/reports#/detail/17393/real-time-evaluation-rte-of-gender-integration-in-unicef-covid-19-response-south-asia</a></p>
<p>All of us, gender champions, may find the report of interest as we continue our journey to ensure that gender and equity are at the center of our evaluation processes.</p>
<p>Please feel free to connect with me for queries and comments. </p>
<p>Best </p>
<p>Sonal </p>Gender Equity Index -Ag Extension & Advisory Servicestag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-02-23:6606644:BlogPost:1550842022-02-23T16:01:40.000ZGreg Meenahanhttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/GregMeenahan
<p>This is a soon to be published article in the "Standart," an artsy coffee magazine for industry aficionados. It introduces a Gender Equity Index that Equal Origins has developed through a multi stakeholder group of 10 US, S. American and European based coffee roasters and raw coffee suppliers.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>A New Tool for a Hidden Risk</strong></span></p>
<p>The issues of gender equality and coffee sustainability have a lot in common. Both are…</p>
<p>This is a soon to be published article in the "Standart," an artsy coffee magazine for industry aficionados. It introduces a Gender Equity Index that Equal Origins has developed through a multi stakeholder group of 10 US, S. American and European based coffee roasters and raw coffee suppliers.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>A New Tool for a Hidden Risk</strong></span></p>
<p>The issues of gender equality and coffee sustainability have a lot in common. Both are extremely complex systems of interconnected domains that defy simple answers, and this complexity pushes us to the limit of our understanding—and therefore our ability to enact change. Another trait both share is that neither really exists.</p>
<p>The pursuit of sustainability or gender equality can seem like approaching a desert mirage, the shimmering illusion of water receding with each step forward. The more we learn, the more we understand the vast scope of the challenges at hand. Feelings of powerlessness, futility, and cynicism are professional hazards for those working in sustainable development, sustainable finance, sustainable—well, <em>anything</em>. Gender equality and sustainability are journeys that don’t necessarily have an end point; they are compass headings, a course we chart in which our progress is measured by the milestones we reach.</p>
<p>There are many ways in which the coffee industry can support economic and environmental sustainability, but we need to think more about the role of coffee in the struggle for gender equality at origin. What impact can we have, and how should gender issues be prioritized in the context of sustainability portfolios that also cover agroforestry, agricultural training, net-zero carbon strategies, regenerative agricultural investments, post-processing, and quality initiatives? What is the role of each player along the value chain, including producers, producer organizations, exporters and importers, roasters, and cafés and baristas?</p>
<p> The business and profit/loss justifications for sustainability in the coffee industry are well thought out and articulated, particularly in the environmental domain, which spans everything from meeting shareholders’ and consumers’ demands for more accountability to increases in the resiliency and profitability of impoverished farmers around the world. In the early days of this trend, environmental sustainability was often initiated somewhat cynically because the evidence indicated that businesses that embraced sustainable values and practices tended to outperform those that were not. Even though that may hold true to this day, more firms are becoming motivated by our collective desire to leave behind a recognizable world to our children. We are witnessing our planet burn melt, parch, and flood, and at the very least, we in coffee can work to ensure that our business practices to ‘do no harm’. For many, sustainability is no longer about branding values or maintaining a competitive edge; it’s a <em>non-negotiable imperative</em> <em>to survive</em>.</p>
<p> For the last few years that I’ve worked with the Partnership for Gender Equity (PGE), I’ve been somewhat conflicted when asked for the ‘business justification’ for supply-chain gender equality. To be sure, not much happens in business without a financial consideration, and I accept that such a justification is necessary, but financial and moral justifications often go hand in hand. For instance, what is the business justification for rooting out slavery in the cocoa supply chain? Of course, slavery is abhorrent from the moral point of view, but even when one looks at it through a business lens, a discovery of the presence of slave labour in one’s supply chain represents a risk to brand value. Brand reputations are fickle, magical, and somewhat fragile, but can generate enormous value, so in this case, the total time and money spent on eliminating slavery would largely be offset by warding off the financial catastrophe that would result from degraded brand value and, by extension, lower sales and reduced customer retention.</p>
<p> Similarly, we all oppose gender inequality, but its presence on a farm or in a producer’s organization doesn’t destroy a brand with the same blunt-force trauma as slavery, and whereas a direct connection can be established between slavery and cocoa production, crimes such as intimate partner violence do not attract the same degree of interest; only the most heinous or violent examples of gender-based oppression makes the news, and even then, these atrocities often seem like private tragedies, unrelated to anything directly related to growing, selling, or buying coffee. Indeed, gender inequality in the coffee supply chain is more like death from a thousand cuts. Each infraction tends to be far more hidden, and often so pervasive and widespread as to seem normal. This is, perhaps, our greatest contemporary challenge in coffee: Gender equity is competing against other sustainability efforts for attention, and is very much losing the battle.</p>
<p> But what is the business case for ensuring coffee supply chains work to increase levels of gender equity? It’s a fair question, and the answer lies embedded in the fact that women make up anywhere from 20 to 70 per cent of the labour required to grow and process beans. If the financial and technical support that firms provide to producers does not also reach and benefit women, the effective impact of such investments will be reduced by 20 to 70 per cent. It’s as simple as that. Advanced research and variety development, good agricultural practices, training, and capacity-building efforts mean next to nothing, if they don’t reach and benefit <em>men and women equally</em>.</p>
<p> We all have our own personal definitions of the terms ‘gender equity’ and ‘gender equality’ that often relate directly to how we’ve been treated as a woman or man, and to how gender roles and biases have helped or hurt us. Businesses around the world have tended to focus on the various opportunities available to male or female employees such as the chance to advance in one’s career, to be heard, and to lead. Initiatives often take the form of enforcing equal pay for equal work, understanding inclusivity and glass ceilings, and countering the biases that undermine respect and reduce expectations. ‘Women’s coffee’, differently, emphasizes purely women’s ownership, leadership, and access to opportunities, and should perhaps be seen as a reflection or even an extension of women’s fight for equality in the Global North.</p>
<p>Peet’s, a San Francisco, California-based roaster and retailer, may be the first such firm to go all-in on the concept of ‘women’s coffee’, introducing their Las Hermanas blend in 2001. Soon after came Café Femenino in Peru, and the Costa Rica chapter of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance under the brand name Woman’s Harvest. Today, women’s coffees are more widespread than ever, and if a major roaster doesn’t already have one in its product line-up, it’s likely considering it.</p>
<p>The idea is simple and good: Supporters commit to buy coffee at a premium from farms owned by women, or where women have equal title to the land; cooperatives run by women, or at least run inclusively; and from producers with credible gender equity development plans, or equal or fair representation in their leadership and/or membership strata. Alright, maybe it’s not simple, but it’s definitely good.</p>
<p> It’s usually not difficult to assess the impact of women’s coffee on the specific producers it benefits because this phenomenon gives female entrepreneurs market access, and the premiums received are often reinvested into sustainable farming and quality-improvement initiatives that further increase profitability. Research has demonstrated that when given access to the family’s income, women tend to invest more in the family and community, and profits are funnelled to other socially beneficial recipients such as schools, libraries, and community kitchens. Neither is it hard to evaluate the broader impact beyond the female producers directly involved; one need only consider how much coffee is grown in any given region and figure out what percentage of it is ‘women’s coffee’, but unfortunately, this is invariably a very low number.</p>
<p> Women’s coffee is, admittedly, a niche product, especially in comparison with other market initiatives such as Fair Trade, Rain Forest Alliance, 4C, or Organic, whose combined market share is still less than 15 per cent of total coffee sales. I remember a conversation with a representative from a cooperative in the Democratic Republic of Congo that was struggling to prioritize gender equity, given the many pressing needs that demanded their attention. Having contemplated the cost vs. the benefit of various market-access strategies, the cooperative’s leadership—which consisted of both men and women—was concerned that the market for women’s coffee was simply too small for it to be worth their spending much effort on it.</p>
<p>It is understandable that women’s coffee was one of the first strategies to be widely deployed across the industry to address gender at origin, but if we want to effect a measurable global impact on gender equality, focusing on female entrepreneurs alone will not get us there. For sure, women’s coffee should enjoy its place among every roaster’s offerings, and it’s imperative to give female entrepreneurs more market access, but if the goal is to bring about gender equity on a global scale—which is necessary, if we are to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 (SDG5)—it’s clear that additional strategies are of the essence. Given that female farmers and farm workers make up between 20 and 70 per cent of the labour necessary to plant, harvest, and process the entire global crop, no arabica or robusta can be ground without women. All coffee is women’s coffee.</p>
<p>What else can be done?</p>
<p>Another key element of gender equality is providing women with access to productive resources, land, training, and technical assistance. There are currently several major efforts under way in agriculture that are seeking to secure women’s equal legal right to farmland, and to overcome issues and inherent biases of customary land rights in producing countries that in many cases continue to marginalize women’s ability to use their own land as they see fit. Ultimately, if the women who work on coffee farms are to gain greater agency and empowerment, the most important step is education—a competence that lies within the scope and responsibility of global roasters and green suppliers. Given that, as the Global Coffee Platform has estimated, <span>half a billion dollars are spent each year on sustainability projects in the coffee industry, it is vital to ask: Are women specifically targeted by these investments; are they beneficiaries of educational programmes; and if so, do such programmes actually lead to real-world empowerment outcomes, and a transformation of the gender roles that limit women’s potential in coffee?</span></p>
<p> To this end, the gender experts at the PGE have launched the Gender Equity Index (GEI), teaming up with 11 roasters and green suppliers and a group of distinguished gender experts to develop a method of assessing and indexing the organizations that provide training and advisory services to producers. This shifts the focus from producers and farm workers to the downstream actors who perform services on the farm. The idea here is simple: Rather than specifically target female farmworkers, which would—as the Congolese cooperative lamented—compete with the many other priorities that occupy the attention of farmers, let’s instead harness the potential of sustainability across the board by working to up-skill and educate men and women all along the supply chain.</p>
<p> The GEI is an assessment tool that helps service providers to build their awareness of gender equality and to embed it in their initiatives and training, with the end goal of increasing the productive value of farms and their workers. One of the most prominent firms involved is the Lavazza Group, which stated in a recent press release: ‘It’s very important to Lavazza Group that our sustainability investments are made gender equitably. We strongly believe that women’s empowerment is a key driver for sustainable development and economic growth in every country.’</p>
<p> Support for this initiative has also been consistent from the green supply side. Caravela Coffee, a well-known specialty coffee export/importer, and a founding supporter for the initiative, voiced their support in a press release: ‘This is a very interesting approach because it’s not about creating a novel gender equity project, but rather seeks to weave gender equity within existing strategies and investments.’ Other large multinational traders who also provide farmer training have also embraced the tool. are among the founding partners GEI partners and are testing the tool, and SUCAFINA has agreed to help test and validate the tool in Indonesia.</p>
<p> The coffee non-profit Equal Origins (former The Partnership for Gender Equity) conducted some revealing research in early 2021 in conjunction with Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs and with funding support from Women Forward International and the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) to help establish an industry baseline for the gender development capacity of the sector. The research, which included interviews with coffee and cocoa stakeholders in the form of 22 public, private, and non-profit providers of education and advisory services to farmers, revealed a range of issues that are preventing the coffee industry from reaching its full potential:</p>
<ul>
<li>Extension and Advisory Services <span>(EAS) providers lack staff who have received gender-focused training and sufficient financial resources to design and scale long-term gender-responsive initiatives;</span></li>
<li>Inconsistent implementation of gender programming that varies greatly by region and context;</li>
<li>Inconsistent understandings of gender equity and inclusion that are not mainstreamed internally, preventing staff from embracing their individual responsibility to support initiatives; and</li>
<li>Gender strategies not yet being institutionalized or operationalized.</li>
</ul>
<p>The problems are legion—but so are the opportunities.</p>
<p> [Download research report: <a href="https://www.genderincoffee.org/yale-research">https://www.genderincoffee.org/yale-research</a>]</p>
<p>The Gender Equity Index helps roasters to become gender-educated consumers of sustainability programming, and service providers to more effectively reach and benefit women.</p>
<p> The GEI consists of 67 questions spanning five domains of gender equity, and once completed, users will receive annual evaluations of their progress, and have mastered a shared language and understanding of gender-equitable capacity-building at origin, making conversations between roasters and project implementors possible for the first time.</p>
<p> Although it is not the case that individual people or institutions—be they national coffee institutes, ministries of agriculture, NGOs, or green suppliers—are intentionally preventing women from attending or benefiting from training, neither should we allow the present inequality to persist through acceptance, and neglect of the possibility of change. If, in order to access training, a woman needs to leave her home for an extended period, put her young children in care, travel on dangerous roads, and learn about an area of production with which she has little or no experience such as the application of pesticides, then we all need to accept a responsibility to do a lot more to promote gender equity.</p>
<p> It is with this in mind that the GEI seeks to go beyond merely counting the number of women who show up for this or that training and instead judge the industry on its capacity to reach <strong><em>and</em></strong> benefit women.</p>
<p> ‘Historically, producer services have been designed and delivered by men for other men,’ according to Kimberly Easson, the CEO of PGE, and although that is not necessarily bad in and of itself, to continue in that vein would be ‘harmful to women, and roasters want to “do no harm.”’ It is in this gap that the GEI finds its niche. Supply chain managers are aware of the presence of a ‘hidden’ workforce embedded in many agricultural commodities of women who perform more than half of the labour, but not everyone has realized that reaching out to women requires additional resources and concrete action plans. The GEI clarifies the ‘what, where, and why’ of sustainability initiatives, and serves to ensure that sustainability investments receive the greatest return, both for the environment and for the women and men working on the farm.</p>
<p>Professionally speaking, one of the strongest attractions of the coffee industry is the opportunity to enact positive change in producing countries, and one of the chief avenues for improvement lies in endeavours working to provide technical assistance to women in coffee-producing countries. Access to education is a human right, and it’s the next milestone on the journey to gender equality.</p>Putting gender and capabilities into the equation: transformative evaluation for enhancing social justicetag:gendereval.ning.com,2022-02-23:6606644:BlogPost:1552202022-02-23T11:42:13.000ZJulia Espinosahttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/JuliaEspinosa
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>It's my pleasure to share with you my last publication on feminist evaluation:</p>
<ul>
<li>(2021) Putting gender and capabilities into the equation: transformative evaluation for enhancing social justice. <em>Journal of Poverty and Social Justice</em>, <em>29</em>(3), 279-296.…</li>
</ul>
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>It's my pleasure to share with you my last publication on feminist evaluation:</p>
<ul>
<li>(2021) Putting gender and capabilities into the equation: transformative evaluation for enhancing social justice. <em>Journal of Poverty and Social Justice</em>, <em>29</em>(3), 279-296. <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/jpsj/2021/00000029/00000003/art00003;jsessionid=1nkac59bo8rwv.x-ic-live-02">https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/jpsj/2021/00000029/00000003/art00003;jsessionid=1nkac59bo8rwv.x-ic-live-02</a></li>
</ul>
<p>As you know, evaluation is currently regarded as a central tool for learning and improving accountability in relation to public policies and social programmes. It is also understood as a process for boosting human development and social justice. Capability and feminist approaches have both been explored, separately, in evaluation theory, methodology and practice.</p>
<p>This article explores the potentials, complementarities and limitations of mixing the two approaches. To this end, we present an evaluation design for the ‘Programme Against Child Poverty’ of Save the Children Andalucia (Spain). Our aim is to contribute to the development of transformative approaches and methodologies within the evaluation discipline.</p>
<p>I hope you find this paper useful. I would really appreciate your comments and dissemination.</p>
<p>Best regards,</p>
<p>Julia</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Julia Espinosa Fajardo</p>
<p>Lecturer, University of Seville<br/> <span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Researcher and evaluator of public policies</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Espinosa-Fajardo">https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Espinosa-Fajardo</a></p>
<p></p>