Monthly Corner
IDH Publication, 2026
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is not just a social issue, it’s a systemic challenge that undermines agricultural value chains.
In rural and isolated areas, GBV threatens women’s safety, limits their economic participation, and weakens food security. When women cannot work safely, entire communities lose resilience, and businesses lose productivity. Climate resilience strategies that overlook gendered risks leave communities exposed and women vulnerable.
Ending GBV is essential for building equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient agri-food systems; and it’s not only a human rights imperative, but also central to climate adaptation and economic stability.
The good news? Solutions work. Programs like the Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund (WSAF) demonstrate that addressing GBV can enhance productivity and strengthen workforce morale and brand reputation. Safe, inclusive workplaces aren’t just good ethics, they’re smart business.
Gurmeet Kaur Articles
Luc Barriere-Constantin Article
This article draws on the experience gained by The Constellation over the past 20 years. It is also a proposal for a new M&E and Learning framework to be adopted and adapted in future projects of all community-focused organisations.
Devaka K.C. Article
Sudeshna Sengupta Chapter in the book "Dialogues on Development edited by Prof Arash Faizli and Prof Amitabh Kundu."
Events
Vacancies
- We’re Hiring: National Evaluation Consultant – Bangladesh
UN Women is recruiting a National Evaluation Consultant (Bangladesh) to support the interim evaluation of the Joint Regional EmPower Programme (Phase II).
This is a great opportunity to work closely with the Evaluation Team Leader and contribute to generating credible, gender-responsive evidence that informs decision-making and strengthens programme impact.
📍 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh (home-based with travel to project locations)
📅 Apply by: 24 February 2026, 5:00 PM
🔗 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gar4ciRr
If you are passionate about feminist evaluation, gender equality, and rigorous evidence that drives change (or know someone who is) please apply or share within your networks.
- Seeking Senior Analyst - IPE Global
About the job
IPE Global Ltd. is a multi-disciplinary development sector consulting firm offering a range of integrated, innovative and high-quality services across several sectors and practices. We offer end-to-end consulting and project implementation services in the areas of Social and Economic Empowerment, Education and Skill Development, Public Health, Nutrition, WASH, Urban and Infrastructure Development, Private Sector Development, among others.
Over the last 26 years, IPE Global has successfully implemented over 1,200 projects in more than 100 countries. The group is headquartered in New Delhi, India with five international offices in United Kingdom, Kenya, Ethiopia, Philippines and Bangladesh. We partner with multilateral, bilateral, governments, corporates and not-for-profit entities in anchoring development agenda for sustained and equitable growth. We strive to create an enabling environment for path-breaking social and policy reforms that contribute to sustainable development.
Role Overview
IPE Global is seeking a motivated Senior Analyst – Low Carbon Pathways to strengthen and grow its Climate Change and Sustainability practice. The role will contribute to business development, program management, research, and technical delivery across climate mitigation, carbon markets, and energy transition. This position provides exceptional exposure to global climate policy, finance, and technology, working with a team of high-performing professionals and in collaboration with donors, foundations, research institutions, and public agencies.
Are surrogate cum participatory evaluations gender-socially transformative?
I do evaluations which I often call participatory. I have a consultation with the primary stakeholders on what should be evaluated, involve them in the process of evaluation, and analyse and validate findings with them. While it is participatory, the control rests with me, and I act as a proxy or surrogate for the marginalised women/girls, men/boys and transwomen/transmen.
However, being a "surrogate", do I really capture the voices of marginalised, which may be contradictory given the intersecting marginal identities. Further, given that marginalised women, men and transgender may hold attitudes which uphold patriarchal casteist, binary/homophobic values is handing over control over evaluation to marginalised good? When should surrogate evaluation end, and true participatory evaluation which is also gender and socially transformative begin?
In a participatory evaluation of a group savings and credit programme in Andhra Pradesh the members present were very happy with the programme and shared they had moved from being poor to non poor through repeated credit for livelihood, taking more land on lease for agriculture and expanding livestock base. They had collectively addressed cases of domestic violence against two of its 20 members. In the evening of the same day, when returning, I met two other women who were members of the same group whose life had not improved much as they could not absorb livelihood credit and in fact got education loan for their children on the condition they leased their dry land to the leader of the group. The latter were from Dalit community, while the former came from OBC, BC and other communities. When this data was fed back at the end of the evaluation to group leaders without naming the group, the leaders pointed that they were "high risk", "risk averse" and they were helping by leasing their land. That is intersecting identities, lead to different perceptions which have to be sifted from a justice perspective.
In another participatory evaluation the adolescent boys in Tamil Nadu observed that after life skill training they tried to dialogue for better basic services in Gram Panchayat on behalf of women and girls and they had formed a violence protection committee during festivals so that boys form other villages did not flirt and misbehave with "their village girls". The adolescent girls group on the other hand observed that their brothers policed them even more now than before, and some did not see what was wrong if they talked to boys from other villages. The boys stated that they had stopped whistling at girls and teasing them, and they were acting in their best interest by "protecting" them
These examples are given to highlight that participatory evaluation need not be gender and socially transformative, and the need for surrogate semi-participatory evaluation. However it is important that "surrogate semi-participatory evaluators" remember that their role is temporary. There will hopefully come a time when inequalities do not exist and norms of gender/social justice prevails. Further, they need to come out with recommendations as to how to move towards the same.
The accountability of surrogate participatory evaluators is to social/gender justice and the ethos of participation
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Add a Comment
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Comment by Carol Miller on April 23, 2019 at 6:02
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As always, super insightful, Ranjani. A good reminder that we all come to evaluation with our biases and that as feminist facilitators of participatory processes, a key value we uphold is that power relations must be challenged wherever we see them. I love the concept of the "surrogate" semi-participatory evaluator.
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