PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

MANUAL FOR GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN IFAD-SUPPORTED PROJECTS IN CHINA

Asia and the Pacific Division

Programme Management Department

November 2009

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

Beijing 2009

Table of Contents

FORWORDS

I.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

II.

KEY GENDER DEFINITIONS AND APPROACHES

2.1. Key Gender Definitions and Characteristics

2.2. Main Gender Approaches and Implementation

GENDER IN THE PROJECT CYCLE

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Gender in Project Planning and Formulation

III.

IV.

3.3. Gender in Project Implementation

12

3.4. Gender in Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

14

GENDER MAINSTREAMING: MEASURES AND PRACTICES

16

4.1. Institutional Support and Commitment

17

4.2. Gender Training and Capacity-Building

17

4.3. Gender Analysis at the Household and Community Levels

19

4.4. Livelihood Analysis at the Household and Community Levels

23

APPENDICES
Appendix 1

IFADs Targeting Policy - Checklist for Design

Appendix 2

IFADs Prerequisites of Gender-Sensitive Design Checklist

Appendix 3

Terms of Reference for Gender Focal Point in IFAD Projects in China

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

Beijing 2009
FOREWORD
I am pleased to introduce the Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-Supported Projects
in China, prepared as a guide for the design and implementation of projects and the country
programme, and for thematic work. This guide was developed by Dr Song Yiching with the
support of the project-based gender focal points in IFADs China country programme, the
IFAD country presence officer and gender specialists at IFAD headquarters. IFAD gratefully
acknowledges Japans financial support for this important task, provided through the
supplementary grant funds JP-020. I would also like to thank the Government of China and
the Ministry of Finance for their continuous guidance with regard to the IFAD-supported
country programme.
Gender equality and womens empowerment remain central topics for both IFAD as a poverty
reduction institution and the country programme it supports in the Peoples Republic of China.
Gender matters to IFAD as it affects both equity and development effectiveness. In the IFADsupported China country programme, rural women are the primary target group because the
majority of poor people living in rural areas are women, a result of the male-dominated
outmigration to cities and the growing feminization of agriculture. Women are playing a very
significant but unfortunately often ignored role in rural livelihoods: they constitute the main
agricultural working force and cover the managing and caretaking functions in the household.
For this reason, the IFAD China programme has set the promotion of gender equality through
gender mainstreaming as one of its strategic objectives.
Gender mainstreaming is a way of ensuring that women and men contribute to and benefit
from the progress of society in equal measure, and participate in healthy, balanced and
sustainable human development. It is hoped that this manual will be useful to IFADs project
management offices, womens federations and technical institutions at all levels to promote
gender mainstreaming in project management and implementation.
Over the past 30 years of IFADs operations in China, gender mainstreaming for gender
equality and womens empowerment has gained increasing importance, both as an objective
and as an instrument in IFADs poverty alleviation efforts. Since 2003, the IFAD China
programme has carried out a series of interlinked gender mainstreaming initiatives: (1) a
comprehensive gender assessment study during 2003 and 2004, followed by (2) the
development of a gender awareness-building plan and a series of training courses. This
Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-Supported Projects in China was developed
during the training process as a result of discussions and interaction with the programme
management offices, womens federations, gender focal points and gender experts.

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

Beijing 2009

This manual focuses on implementation, aiming to provide basic gender mainstreaming

perspectives and practical tools for the managers of IFAD-supported projects and other
implementation staff.

We trust that this manual will be helpful in the pursuit of gender-

sensitive project management and our common goal of poverty alleviation and a harmonious
society for all.

Thomas Rath
Country Programme Manager for China
International Fund for Agricultural Development

ii

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

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I.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Although much progress has been made in promoting gender equality across the world,
inequality still remains a universal phenomenon and is growing in complexity as the world
continues to change. Deep-rooted gender inequalities and newly emerged gender issues
present obstacles and challenges to societys efforts to achieve poverty alleviation and
sustainable development. To remove the obstacles and meet the challenges, practical efforts
are needed to mainstream gender effectively. Gender mainstreaming is a way to assure that
men and women equally participate in, contribute to and benefit from progress in society and
realize a healthy, balanced and sustainable existence.
Since IFAD was established three decades ago, the importance of mainstreaming gender in
achieving gender equality and womens empowerment has grown steadily and increasingly
informs IFADs objectives and instruments. IFADs Gender Plan of Action 2003-2006
established a systematic gender mainstreaming plan for IFADs operations at various levels.
Focusing on the project cycle, the plan includes 25 actions and provides practical instructions
and checklists for gender mainstreaming.
In its analysis of opportunities and constraints, the IFAD country strategic opportunities
programme for China identified the growing feminization of agriculture and the severe poverty
experienced by women. Under the country programme, rural women are considered the chief
target group because they play a significant but often ignored role as the main source of
family agricultural labour in poor households, and also act as manager, housekeeper and
caregiver. They are key agricultural cultivators and play a crucial role in both household and
national food security. For this reason, IFADs China programme has defined the promotion of
gender equality through gender mainstreaming as one of its strategic objectives.
In 2003, a gender initiative financed by the Japanese Government was launched. First, a
gender assessment study was undertaken in 2003 and 2004 to provide a comprehensive and
systematic gender assessment of IFAD-supported projects. Based on the main findings of the
study, a gender awareness-building plan was developed for IFAD-supported projects in China
in 2005.

The plan entailed a series of activities for gender awareness-raising, capacity-

building and mainstreaming. The main activities were: (i) a gender mainstreaming and
targeting workshop for the key project management office directors and gender focal points
(GFPs) from IFAD-supported projects in September, 2006, in XiAn, China; (ii) three gender
mainstreaming training-of-trainers (TOT) workshops for project implementation staff, as
potential gender trainers and GFPs for ongoing and upcoming IFAD-supported projects;
(iii) development of a manual for gender mainstreaming in IFAD-supported projects in China
in both Chinese and English. Each activity entailed supporting such "sub-activities as the
development of the gender training and action plan and its implementation by each project
after the TOT workshops. The gender study and gender capacity-building activities have
formed a solid base for gender mainstreaming.

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

Beijing 2009
This manual was developed through a process of discussions and interaction with programme
officers, project staff and related GFPs and gender experts. Based on the needs of the project
management officers (PMOs) and partners, the manual focuses on implementation. It aims to
provide basic gender mainstreaming perspectives and practical tools for project managers
and implementation staff. The manual has four chapters (i) introduction and background, (ii)
key gender definitions and approaches, (iii) gender in the project cycle and (iv) methods for
gender mainstreaming.

II.

KEY GENDER DEFINITIONS AND APPROACHES

2.1. Key Gender Definitions and Characteristics

What is gender?
The term gender refers to culturally based expectations of the roles and behaviour of women
and men. The term distinguishes the socially constructed from the biologically determined
aspects of being male and female. Unlike the biology of sex, gender roles and behaviour and
the relations between women and men (gender relations) can change over time, even if
aspects of these roles originated in the biological differences between the sexes.

What are gender relations?

In most contexts, women and men (or girls and boys) play different roles at the household,
community and society levels. To perform their roles, they need different resources (natural,
economic, political, social). Often however, women or men cannot play the roles they want
and/or access the resources they need because of their gender. Women in particular face
difficulties in accessing and controlling resources and their social and economic contributions
are often undervalued.
What are the key characteristics of gender relations?
Unlike the biological characteristics of women and men, gender relations are contextspecific. They vary by country and within the country itself (e.g. rural/urban regions); they
also change from household to household. Patterns of male-female relations depend on the
household structure, for instance whether it is woman-headed, unclear or extended. Because
women and men interact in all aspects of life, gender relations are omnipresent in the private
sphere (i.e. at the household level) as well as in the public sphere where women and men
interact as community members or colleagues.
Gender relations interact with other social relations. Age, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation and ability (physical and mental) influence womens and mens activities and
responsibilities, as well as their status, opportunities and constraints in life. Individuals carry
multiple identities. Depending on the circumstance, one identity may prevail over another, but
rich or poor, young or old, people are always women or men, meaning that gender is an
unavoidable relation. For instance, there are vast differences between rural and urban people
1

IFAD Gender Plan of Action

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

Beijing 2009
due to unbalanced development, but women and men are undeniably affected in different
ways.
What does gender equality mean?
In IFAD terminology, gender equality means that women and men have equal life chances
and equal opportunities to access and control socially valued goods and resources. This
does not necessarily mean that the numbers of women and men involved in development
activities are equal, nor does it mean that women and men (girls and boys) are treated in
exactly the same way. The aim is not for women and men to become identical, but for their
opportunities and life chances to become and remain equal. In order to achieve this, it is
sometimes necessary to empower, or build up groups that have limited access to resources,
for example, provide rural women with credit because their access to productive resources is
restricted.

What does gender mainstreaming mean?

For any institution, gender mainstreaming means that the process to close the gap between
men and women in terms of the development opportunities must become part of the
organizations strategy, policies and operations, and the focus of continued efforts to achieve
excellence. Thus, gender mainstreaming is fully reflected along with other core priorities
in an institutions leadership and staff, values, resource allocation, operating norms and
procedure, performance measurement, accountability, competencies, and learning and
improvement processes.
In IFADs development activities, gender mainstreaming entails assessing the implications
for women and men of any planned action, including registering their concerns and
experiences and ensuring that they are taken fully into account in the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of all development activities. The aim is to develop interventions
that overcome barriers preventing women and men from having equal access to the
resources and services they need to improve their livelihoods.

What does empowerment mean?

Empowerment is about people taking control of their lives. It is about people pursuing their
own goals, living with their own values, developing self-reliance, and being able to make
choices and influence both individually and collectively the decisions that affect their lives.
Empowerment is a process that can be long and complex. For women and men to be
empowered, conditions have to be created to enable them to acquire the necessary
resources, knowledge, political voice and organizational capacity.

What does integrating gender as a cross-cutting theme mean?

Working with gender as a cross-cutting theme is one of the strategies for mainstreaming
gender. It is a planning methodology. Before decisions are taken at the programme, project
2

Ibid.
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
3

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and sector level, this methodology entails an analysis of what the effects will be on women
and men respectively. It also requires the participation of both women and men throughout
the planning cycle and the systematic integration of their respective priorities and needs.

2.2. Main Gender Approaches and Implementation

Three major gender approaches can be combined to mainstream gender into projects. There
is no prescription or recipe for success. A valid strategy will be the most relevant, efficient and
sustainable in terms of gender equality in a particular context. The minimum requirement is to
integrate gender as a cross-cutting theme into all planning phases and processes. The
context (womens and mens needs, partners capacity and priorities, local dynamics, etc.)
then dictates the appropriate gender-specific component/activities and measures to reinforce
gender as a cross-cutting theme. The three main approaches are described below.
2.2.1. Integrating Gender as a Cross-cutting Theme
2.2.1.1. Objectives and approach
The methodology of integrating gender as a cross-cutting theme involves all steps and
processes of the project cycle. The approach increases the relevance, effectiveness and
efficiency of interventions as it brings the respective needs of women and men to the heart of
planning.
At different steps in the project cycle, questions are asked to ensure that the processes and
results integrate gender needs (see diagram below). Particular care is taken in ensuring that
the gender element does not evaporate between different phases and that the findings of the
gender analysis translate into gender-aware planning. This requires the PMOs and their
partners to be committed to equality and to possess gender-sensitive mechanisms, skills and
tools to realize this objective.

Integrating gender as a cross-cutting theme in all interventions is a minimum requirement.

Implementing gender-specific projects/components/activities and institutionalizing gender
in organizations are complementary strategies to mainstream gender in development.

Ibid.

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

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Graph 1: Relationship between the three main gender approaches

GENDER AS A CROSSCUTTING THEME

This is a minimum
requirement. It means
HOW TO MAINSTREAM

integrating gender into the

GENDER?

analysis, implementation
and monitoring/evaluation of
all projects.

MAINSTREAMING

GENDER SPECIFIC

GENDER ISSUES

Project/component/activity

This requires measures to integrate gender

These are initiatives/budgets addressing specific

into procedures, staff competencies, budgets,

gender issues. They are necessary when other

indicators, partnerships, organizational culture,

programmes/projects/components/activities are

as well as equal opportunities for women and

insufficient to reduce gender gaps. Their

men, etc. These measures are often necessary

implementation depends on the context analysis

to support gender as a cross-cutting theme.

and the projects commitment to equality.

Key questions to integrate gender as a cross-cutting theme

2.2.1.2. List of main gender checks in project cycle
In analysis/planning process

Are both women and men (target groups, staff, partners) involved in the initial situation
analysis at all levels (e.g. policy dialogue, community consultation)?

Are qualitative and quantitative data disaggregated by sex?

Are womens and mens constraints, needs and views reflected in the objectives, risk
analysis and impact hypothesis of the intervention?

Is the allocation of financial and human resources appropriate to address equality issues?
Are

key

processes

(e.g.

dialogue

among

key

stakeholders),

procedures

(e.g. memorandums of understanding, terms of reference for PMO and GFP) and
planning tools (e.g. logical framework) explicit on the issue of gender?
In implementation

Do both women and men participate in the project, including in decision-making?

Does the project have strategies to involve both women and men?

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

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Do women and men have equitable access and control over project resources e.g. are
there criteria that discriminate against women or men?

Is the project steered with a view to equalizing womens and mens benefits?

In monitoring

Do both women and men (target groups, IFAD staff, partners) take part in monitoring?

Are collected data on the immediate and /or longer-term effects of the project and

Are changes in gender relations reported as part of monitoring?

Are best and worst practices documented during the gender mainstreaming analysis and

component disaggregated for women and men?

disseminated?
2. 2. 2. Gender-specific project/component/activity
2.2.2.1. Objective and approach
Sometimes, integrating gender as a cross-cutting theme in general projects is not sufficient to
address disparities. Here, specific projects/components/activities are needed to promote
equality between women and men.
A key factor in achieving gender equality is womens empowerment, in particular womens
participation in decision-making in both formal and informal political structures. Genderspecific projects/components/activities strategically address inequality factors and create the
conditions for women to become the agents of their own development. Such initiatives can,
for instance:

Build womens awareness of their own situation (e.g. their rights)

Promote decision-making by women at home, in the community and in society

Sensitize men to accept women as equal partners (e.g. in decision-making processes)

In agricultural development and poverty alleviation projects currently being implemented
by IFAD in China, gender is treated as a cross-cutting theme. This means that gender
concerns inform all project activities and components. In addition, each project has a
social development component with gender-specific activities to defend womens strategic
interests and support their needs through specially designed activities such as microcredit
support for womens group, skills and technical training for women, enhancement of

Who to target: women and/or men?

Gender-specific programmes do not automatically or exclusively target women. Experience
has shown that to improve the situation of women (and girls) it is often necessary to involve
men too. Working with men will change the gender dynamic but also provides both groups a
chance to communicatethier needs and expectations vis-a-vis each other in the contaxt of a
prgramme.

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2.2.2.2 Gender mainstreaming in organizations
Gender-related work may require the development of capacity, procedures and mechanisms. The
institutionalization of gender within an organization supports the integration of gender as a cross-cutting
theme. For instance, the IFAD gender assessment shows that the strategic support provided to the
womens federation (WF) system, which includes support to WF representatives in project management
at the provincial, county, township and village levels is helpful for gender mainstreaming in IFAD projects
in China. Another good example is GFPs and PMOs in all IFAD-supported projects in China.

III.

GENDER IN THE PROJECT CYCLE

3.1. Introduction
Given this manuals practical aim and implementation focus, gender mainstreaming will not be
referred to as a theoretical ideal or dealt with in general terms. Gender mainstreaming is a
fundamental principle that guides IFADs work and an important criterion used in its
evaluation. It should be reflected in all project-related practices (e.g. decision-making,
planning and resource allocation), and promoted throughout the project cycle as a crosscutting theme.
The IFAD Gender Action Plan 2003-2006 provides a clear and systematic gender checklist of
the main questions and indicators for the four phases of the project cycle, i.e. needs
assessment, planning/formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
(See appendices for details.)
3.2. Gender in Project Planning and Formulation
3.2.1. Taking gender differences into account in project planning
To ensure gender-sensitive design and planning, IFAD includes the following key gender
concerns in the design and formulation of its projects:

Contextspecific gender issues and the related gender strategy to pursue gender equality
and womens empowerment.

Gender-sensitive targeting, for instance aimed at woman-headed households.

Operational measures to ensure gender-equitable participation in and benefit from project

activities, for example (i) a set proportion of women participants in planned activities;
(ii) empowerment of women in decision-making through womens groups and women's
associations; (iii) involvement of women and womens organizations, such as WFs, in
project management arrangement. For example, WF representatives collaborate with
PMOs and GFPs in project coordination units.

Monitoring system specifying sex-disaggregated performance and impact indicators.

Manual for Gender Mainstreaming in IFAD-supported Projects in China

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The integration of these gender concerns into projects requires the following preconditions
and support:

Gender analysis of the project area to identify context-specific key gender issues and an
appropriate gender strategy.

Integration of gender-specific objectives within the project goals and objectives.

Tools and methodologies to address the identified gender issues.

Awareness-raising for partners, Management and field teams on gender and the need for
greater gender sensitivity.

Project management teams and partners will need training before and during the design and
formulation process to ensure that this support is provided.
3.2.2. Dialogue with women and men in target groups
Dialogue is needed to allow women and men to express their respective priorities for change
and plan how to address them. The wishes of women and men with regard to project design
and implementation, and their expectations vis--vis what the project will achieve and improve
for them must be identified.
This process should be transparent and inclusive of different groups of women and men to
ensure that they are committed to the intervention and gain a sense of ownership over it. It
should be a participatory process, using participatory rural appraisal tools such as public
meetings, focus group discussions and interviews. The expression of womens and mens
needs must be facilitated (e.g. by organizing separate focus group discussions) and the data
collected should be disaggregated by sex to gauge womens and mens different reactions,
wishes, future contributions, expectations etc. The following table 1 is a summary of such
target group discussions, held during formulation of the South Gansu Poverty Reduction
Programme.
Table 1: Ranking of preference by different groups of farmers
Very
poor
Evaluators
Mens
Womens Poor
Activity
Group
Group
household
household
(C category)
(B category)
Drinking water
4
1
1
2
Electricity
1
4
3
3
Road
2
6
6
5
Irrigation
3
5
5
4
Clinic
6
3
2
1
Biogas
5
2
4
6
Skills training
3
4
3
4
Womens credit
2
1
1
3
Data source: South Gansu Poverty Reduction Programme formulation mission (2003) in
China.

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3.2.3. Gender information collection at the household and community levels
1. Gender equality and household livelihood/poverty (may be collected at both the household
and the community level)
Sex- and age-disaggregated data for:
-

population, labourers

income (agricultural and non-agricultural)

remittances

paid and unpaid work and main conductors

long-term migrants and seasonal migrants

land tenure

2. Gender equality and human development (health and education)

Sex-disaggregated data for:
-

infant mortality, under-5 mortality

maternal mortality

gynaecological diseases

access to education (boys and girls in middle and higher education)

illiteracy rate (gender and age)

farming womens workload

3. Gender equality and womens empowerment

Sex- and age-disaggregated data for:
-

access to paid work

womens voice and participation in decision-making (women in village committees)

access to support services (training, extension services, market information) (gender ratio)

access to credit (gender ratio)

associations and other collective action headed by women and men (gender ratio)

4. Gender information at the community level

-

What community/development resources have women/men access to?

Which are controlled by women/men?

How do women and men participate in community activities and what roles do they
perform?

What factors (culture/traditions, laws) influence womens and mens participation and
gender relations at the household and community levels?

Obligatory
Gender information at the household level:

What reproductive tasks do women and men have in different household structures
(e.g. woman-headed, nuclear, polygamous, extended)?

What productive roles do women and men have? What benefits do they obtain?

How do women and men use their time and resources (in different roles/ tasks)?

What do women and men contribute (value attached to their contributions)?

What resources are accessed and controlled (decision-making) by women/men?

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What factors (culture/traditions, laws) influence gender relations at the household level?

How do gender relations improve/constrain the welfare of individuals and of the

household?

What would women/men like to change in gender relations at the household level?

What are womens/mens priorities for change?

Obligatory
Gender information at the community level

What initiatives address gender needs (which needs? practical and/or strategic initiative)?

How do women and men participate in local activities/projects?

What roles do they perform?

Who is involved in making decisions?

What community/development resources have women/men access to?

Which are controlled by women/men?

What benefits do women/men gain from these development initiatives?

What factors (culture/traditions, laws) influence womens and mens participation and
gender relations at the community level?

How do gender relations improve/constrain community welfare?

What would women/men like to change in gender relations at the community level?

What are womens/mens priorities for change?

3.2.4. Dialogue with project implementation staff and partners

The role of IFAD project implementation staff and partners is to support and facilitate change,
including gender change. Their vision or beliefs should not overrule what women and men in
target groups wish to do and achieve. When formulating the project, they must consider both
external and internal constraints and opportunities for gender equality:

External: what opportunities and problems could affect womens and mens equitable
participation, access to decision-making and benefit from the project?

Internal: a dialogue within and between different institutional stakeholders must assess to
what extent IFAD's project implementation institution and its key partners are willing, able
and equipped to work with gender.

Intervention: what are the appropriate project components and activities to address the
constraints and opportunities for gender equality?

For example, using the livelihood framework approach, the PMOs of the Environmental and
Poverty Reduction Programme in Ningxia and Shanxi drew a diagram to indicate gender
disaggregated resources (the pentagon in red represents women) and the project
interventions entry point and focus should be on social and human aspects

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The project intervention area

should be in human and social
aspects which could benefit
women more .. by Ningxia
PMO

Source: Gender Mainstreaming Training in XiAn (2006).

Gender and the logical framework
The logical framework (logframe) is a basic management tool used by IFAD. It allows for
development and poverty alleviation projects to be conceptualized, to give a structure for the
analysis of complex realities. It helps to communicate a plan of action and to monitor or
evaluate the results of a project. One of the main principles of the logframe is to develop a
vertical, logical hierarchy of objectives. Those objectives are linked with a corresponding level
of indicators and expected results.
In order to mainstream gender and integrate it as a cross-cutting theme, its use has to be
complemented by pre-planning gender analysis to improve the understanding of the main
factors that affect womens and mens livelihoods in a particular context (e.g. access to assets,
vulnerability, gender needs of target groups, policies, social development issues). For
planning activities, the logframe should be shared, as far as possible, with partners to
encourage ownership and allow active participation by women and men in the process of
planning and producing a logframe. The final plan is the result of the negotiation process and
should fully reflect the principles and priorities of each party. Some gender-related questions
could be asked during the development of logical frameworks, as below:

Could partners express their vision concerning gender and development, and equality
between men and women?

Did women and men contribute equally to designing the programme/project goals and
objectives?

Could women and men, in both the target group and the implementation team, express
their points of view on existing problems and ways to address them?

Are indicators qualitative and quantitative at all levels disaggregated by gender

where relevant?

Did the project contribute to improving living standards for women and men?

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3.3. Gender in project implementation
Womens participation is not equal to gender mainstreaming
Merely including women in a project or activity is not enough to claim that an intervention is
gender-aware. For instance, a women-only project is gender-blind if it keeps women in
traditional areas and does not offer scope to progress towards gender equality. A mixed-sex
project is also gender-blind if it does not offer equal opportunities to women and men to
participate and benefit according to their needs. However, a men-only project (e.g. educating
men or family planning) is gender-aware if it aims to change gender relations between women
and men.
Of course, strategies promoting equal numbers of women and men in projects, including
quotas, can really boost womens participation (e.g. the percentage of women on electoral
lists). But the results of such strategies are limited if womens participation is silent
(i.e. without decision-making power). Quotas are often interpreted as a maximum and efforts
are not made to reach a real gender balance. To be effective, these strategies need to be
accompanied by capacity-building and empowerment measures, for instance, gender training
and the formation of womens groups, etc. An important requirement is for women to
participate in 50 per cent of all the project activities, with one WF representative present in the
project management office. IFAD observes this practice in all the projects it supports in China.
More importantly, targeted women should be empowered and gender sensitivity increased
among PMOs, especially that of leaders, through training. IFAD has followed this approach in
the China programme since 2003.
Womens group working on a village development plan

Source: West Guangxi Poverty Alleviation Project (2006)

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Women are not the only actors
So far, women have been the main actors working on gender (as trainers, agents, planners,
etc.).This area of work represents a real opportunity for women to develop as professionals.
However, working only with professional women can marginalize gender as a womens issue.
It is essential also to develop mens skills in this area to provide gender balance in the
working teams and bring mens point of view to bear on gender debates.
For example, the gender training held in XiAn in 2006 targeted both men and women PMOs,
and especially PMO leaders, who in most cases are men. After the training, the PMO director
of the Gansu project became a gender agent, taking a leading role in gender activities and
mainstreaming in the project.
Implementation through gender lenses
During implementation, the participation of women and men and their respective access to
decision-making and benefits must be examined. The point is not to create gender problems
where none exist, but rather to ensure that IFADs projects and partners keep a conscious
eye on gender.
Steering gender in annual planning
The annual planning process is a key moment in which to reflect on how projects affect
women and men and how they could be improved to support gender equality further. The
question Are we doing the right thing and are we doing it right? requires an assessment of
gender changes in three main spheres:
(1) Focus on the context
Annual planning requires a quick review of the main socio-economic, political and
environmental changes over the year and their immediate effects on the women/men of the
target groups. New policies, laws, political or economic events, projects and actors that may
affect gender in the project sector or geographical area are identified.
(2) Focus on the project
Annual planning must take stock of new gender-related issues/demands that may have
emerged during implementation (e.g. linked to unequal participation, decision-making, and/or
benefits). Monitoring and budget reviews are undertaken through gender lenses.
(3) Focus on the institution/partners
Annual planning must look at project management office staff and partners: do they effectively
support the integration of gender in the projects? If the answer is no, there are two solutions:

Partnerships cannot be altered overnight (for contractual and other reasons), but new
alliances and synergies can be created to enhance work on gender. Gender-competent
staff can also be hired to train and support existing staff.

Internally, gender activities can be planned to build the capacity of project management
office staff and the staff of partner agencies on gender issues (e.g. gender training and
exchange workshops, and training on use of gender analysis, gender tools, gender
indicators) and to promote equal opportunities for women and men in implementation.

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Dialogue is crucial in the formulation of gender-aware projects. Women and men in

target groups and partner organizations at all levels of decision-making must be part of
this process. Working on gender is an investment. The implications of integrating and of
not integrating gender into projects must be assessed. Lessons must be learned from
the past and for the future.

3.4. Gender in Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Effective M&E mechanisms should be established for the entire project cycle. A participatory
and gender-sensitive M&E approach should be adopted so that the women and men of the
target group can fully express their opinions and participate in the process. The Results and
Impact Management System (RIMS) is the framework adopted by IFAD for measuring and
reporting the results and impact of IFAD-supported projects. It is important to address gender
issues by collecting and reporting data disaggregated by sex in the project cycle.
Gender in RIMS:
The RIMS identifies three main levels of results in M&E: outputs, outcomes and impact. The
first and second levels relate to project implementation and correspond to different spheres of
responsibility and influence.

The first level focuses on project outputs and allows for measurement of project
efficiency (sphere of direct responsibility, what a project has to guarantee).

The second level measures the results obtained against project objectives. The
outcomes provide information about the effectiveness, relevance and sustainability of
a project (its domain of influence, partnerships, and expectations).

The four key factors efficiency, effectiveness, relevance and sustainability measured
by the two main RIMS levels should take full account of gender issues during the M&E
process to ensure a balanced and successful project.
Efficiency
Efficiency is a measure of how economically resources/inputs (financial, human, time,
material resources required for project implementation, etc.) are converted into outputs. At
this RIMS level, the focus is on the projects deliverables, i.e. goods or services, in numbers
and other quantitative measurements, generated by the activities. To integrate gender
concerns at this level, check if:

The selection criteria for project partners include gender criteria, and if project partners
are gender-sensitive and gender-competent or are willing to learn.

Womens organizations, such as WFs, are well represented among IFAD partners.

Gender training and specific action to mainstream gender (e.g. in institutions, procedures)
have been planned where necessary.

The gender approach has been integrated into all activities and all tools used.

Operational objectives address womens and mens practical and strategic needs.

Activities are planned and resources are used to respond equally to womens and mens
expressed needs.

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Expected results focus on the roles, resources and needs prioritized by beneficiary
women and men.

Women and men have equal access to project resources and benefit equally from the
project.

The workload related to the project activities is shared equally by women and men. At
this level, the project should support women not only in reaching the expected results in
terms of practical needs (as it is often the case), but also in benefiting from it to meet
their strategic needs.

Effectiveness
Effectiveness is defined as the extent to which the projects objectives were achieved. At this
level, how successful the outputs have been in producing the desired outcome is assessed by
reviewing immediate or mid-term observable effects and results. Generally, several outputs
are necessary to attain an outcome. The quality of partnerships, and the contribution and
commitment of the main stakeholders are crucial, in particular, to promoting gender in
projects. Key points to be checked are if:

Gender responsive and/or gender-competent staff are involved in planning activities or at

other key stages of the project.

All partners agree with the set objectives and participate in their formulation.

Cooperation and collaboration on gender issues lead to changes in practices, behaviour

and power relations between women and men in the partner organizations supported by
the project.

Mutual gender expectations are met.

Project objectives address/reflect the needs of both men and women; specific objectives
that address womens and mens needs separately may be required.

Relevance
This is the extent to which the goal or development objective(s) of a project is consistent with
womens and mens practical/strategic needs, country needs and global priorities. At this level,
comprehensive information about project impact is necessary. This should cover the positive
and negative, intended and unintended, long-term changes/effects for women and men. To
integrate gender at this level of analysis, check if:

Project results have been gender-disaggregated to allow relevance to be assessed.

The results are relevant to the beneficiaries and readily comprehensible to them.

All identified womens and mens needs/problems are reflected in the development
objective, together with their strengths and potential.

The project is coherent with the countrys and IFADs gender policies and priorities.

The project promotes greater equality between women and men, and girls and boys, and
does not reinforce or reproduce inequalities. Opportunities and life chances
become/remain equal.

The project has no negative effects on women and men.

The project has identified and reinforced local positive gender dynamics.

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Whenever possible, the project is involved in policy dialogue concerning gender issues
or supports local organizations working in this field, in order to create favourable
conditions and change towards gender equality.

Sustainability
The effectiveness, relevance and sustainability of a project are strongly linked. Experience
has shown that integrating gender and reducing inequality between women and men
contribute to sustainable development. It is important to raise awareness of this link among
the relevant project focal points. Here too, project partners should be familiar with basic
approaches to sustainability and how to integrate gender into this area. The discussion is
especially important concerning the effectiveness of a programme/project, within the sphere
of influence of the programme/project and the partner institutions on a mediumterm time
horizon. Project results and benefits should guarantee sustainable gender impact, i.e. that
impact continues to be felt after the conclusion of the programme/project. Check if:

Womens and mens differing circumstances have been taken into account.

The project focuses on the main interests of women and men (ownership).

Members of the target group both women and men benefit equally from the project
and have greater access to resources (income, education, health services).

The project considers equitable benefits for women and men as a key criterion.

The effects of the project are relevant and easily comprehensible to women and men.

The ecological effects on women and men have been considered, as well as the
ecological context (e.g. desertification context).

Partner organizations are learning-oriented and are willing to bring gender issues into the
mainstream (gender institutionalization). Organizations follow gender-balanced practices.
The integration of the gender perspective and the disaggregation of information along gender
lines is a pre-requisite for all projects. Gender-aware analysis at the household, community
and country levels makes a key contribution to the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and
sustainability of development interventions.

IV.

GENDER MAINSTREAMING: Measures and Practices

Five key measures should be introduced during implementation;

Institutional support and commitment

Gender training and capacity-building

Livelihood analysis

Gender analysis

Policy dialogue

It is worth noting that these gender-mainstreaming measures may be used in various ways
(individually or in combination). Gender training, for example, may be combined with gender

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analysis and gender programming. Similarly, gender analysis may be integrated with gender
programming, implementation or M&E, so that it covers various processes of decision-making
in the project cycle.

The projects and institutions concerned should use the pertinent

measures in a flexible and effective way, and in line with their particular conditions.
4.1. Institutional Support and Commitment
Institutional support and commitment are prerequisites for gender mainstreaming. The
following efforts are called for:
(1) Increase awareness of gender equality
Without a full understanding of the significance of gender equality and its realization, there will
be no meaningful institutional support, commitment or efforts. Without a strong sense of
mission and true commitment, action taken to realize gender equality will be merely symbolic;
similarly, the institutions set up to promote gender equality and the policies formulated will
have little meaning.
(2) Sufficient resources guarantee
Without material commitment to gender equality in terms of budget and resource allocation,
there is no guaranteed implementation of gender plans or measures. Resource guarantee
covers both sufficiency of funds, and availability of pertinent organizational set-ups and
human resources.
4.2. Gender Training and Capacity-Building
Gender training is an immediate and effective way to promote gender knowledge and skills.
Specialized gender training should be organized for all PMOs and staff from partner
institutions, especially their leaders and the key project implementer. In addition, inclusion of
gender-related content in general training activities is useful for gender mainstreaming and
institutionalization. Gender training can be conducted in two ways: provision of specialized
gender training or inclusion of gender-related content in general training activities, as
described below.
1. Specialized gender training
The provision of specialized gender training to decision-makers and staff members at various
levels became international practice in the 1990s. In specialized gender training, participatory
and field-based approaches are followed in designing course content and modes of delivery.
Training needs are assessed and then coupled with practices. Projects are used for case
studies, and course content is oriented to suit local conditions, to ensure that such training is
well received and useful. Specialized participatory gender training could start with general
gender-mainstreaming training for PMO leaders, main project managers and implementers,
and be followed by training for trainers in gender issues. IFAD followed this process when
holding the Gender Mainstreaming Workshop in XiAn in 2006 and the TOT workshops in
2007.

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Specialized gender training normally includes four main steps:

a) Training needs assessment.

During the design phase, specific details should be

obtained about the course participants, for instance their background, their attitudes to gender
equality, and their expectations, demands and concerns with regard to the training.
b) Determination of objectives and content. Objectives and training content should be
determined by the different backgrounds and needs of the participants. For those with little
previous exposure to gender issues, training should be designed to sharpen their awareness
of gender; for those already sensitized, training should focus on gender analysis
methodologies; and for those with insight into the concept and with a command of some
analysis methods but without knowledge of how to apply them, training should be focused on
gender programming.
c) Formulation of training programmes. When formulating training programmes, the
following factors should be taken into consideration: training objectives, content, outcomes,
main activities, agenda, and training resources. Ideally, such training should be conducted in
a systematic and progressive way. If conditions do not allow for this, a stage-by-stage
approach can also be productive.
d) Follow-up action. Gender training is sustainable only when accompanied by follow-up
action. Such follow-up could take the form of specialized forums on the issues raised during
the training course (e.g. the increasing phenomenon of feminization and ageing in agriculture,
which was raised and discussed in the XiAn workshop), development of a project Gender
Action Plan, which could cover such activities as gender assessment, training, exchange
networks, etc. (as was the case during and after the XiAn Gender Mainstreaming Workshop).

2. Inclusion of gender-related content in general or specific training activities

While providing specialized gender training, attention should also be paid to inclusion of
gender-related content in other project training activities such as the start-up workshop, RIMS
and M&E training provided to the PMOs and partners. Methods for developing gendersensitive parameters, for instance, could be covered by M&E training.

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4.3. Gender Analysis at the Household and Community Levels

4.3.1. Introduction
Why gender analysis?
Experience shows that some interventions do not reach their objectives because they have
not taken enough account of social relations, including gender. A gender analysis is essential
to understand local dynamics (problems, opportunities, values), plan interventions that are
relevant and beneficial to both women and men, and assess the different benefits/drawbacks
of the project for women and men. In particular, it is necessary to examine assumptions that
IFAD projects and its partners unavoidably bring with them to project planning and
implementation. For instance:

In many projects, the participation of target groups is a key assumption. It is assumed

that target groups will contribute in terms of ideas, labour/ time and, increasingly, money
(cost-sharing). Womens and mens ability to participate (time availability, skills, decisionmaking, financial capability, etc.) and the impact of gender on participation are not
systematically assessed, which can affect both the relevance and efficiency of the project.

Many projects aim to reduce the workload of women (e.g. water collection by building
some water tanks) and enhance womens productive role (by increasing availability of
microfinance) to empower women. But women do not always control their income, and
may have limited access to skills-building and technical training, etc. In such cases, a
gender analysis is needed to assess whether the reduction in womens workload and
their enhanced productive roles are sufficient to empower them, or if any supporting
activities are needed, e.g. skills training and market access.

Why at the household and community levels?

Gender analysis at the household and community levels is essential, as this is where women
and men live and experience the effects positive and negative of development.
Yet, many development projects make assumptions about the way women and men live at
the household and community levels. Projects may not take adequate account of the fact that
women and men have different roles, responsibilities, rights/power, resources and needs. The
lack of knowledge regarding the livelihoods and specific needs of women and men in target
groups is a key factor in the failure of projects. Collecting gender-aware data at the micro
level is essential to establish baselines and assess change over time.
4.3.2. Gender Analytical Framework
While gender analytical frameworks may vary, they all try, in one form or another, to establish:

the gender division of labour (gender roles and responsibilities)

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womens and mens access to and control over resources in various aspects and at
different levels

womens and mens needs (practical and strategic)

The gender division of labour: identifying gender roles

The first question to answer is who does what. The participation of women and men in each
of the four roles, (reproductive, productive, community-managing, politics) must be analysed
both qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysis of the gender division of labour by gender
roles is the starting point of virtually all gender analysis.
The reproductive role includes activities that take place mainly at the household level, such
as domestic chores, caring for the young and the elderly, looking after the health of household
members, their education, etc. These activities are unpaid because they are seen as
natural. The world over, women are more involved than men in the reproductive role.
The productive role refers to the activities of women and men that produce economic
resources, in cash or in kind. In many contexts, women work at home and their work
(e.g. doing piecework for factories from home) in subsistence livelihood/farming or
contribution to food and cash crop farming are productive tasks, albeit invisible. In many
contexts, men are involved in more remunerative and formal forms of work than women. For
instance, among married couples in rural China, it is normally the man who migrates to cities
or works in non-farming activities at home, with women working in farming activities at home
and taking care of their families. The following graph, drawn by women in the West Guangxi
Poverty Alleviation Project, indicates daily gender division of work in both the busy farming
season and the slack season.
Table 2: Farming calendars and gender division of labour

Source: Formulation of the South Gansu Poverty Reduction Programme in Gansu (2003)

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Graph 1: Gender division of work in busy and slow seasons

Source: Supervision of West Guangxi Poverty Alleviation Project (2006)

The community-managing role refers to voluntary activities undertaken at the community
level to ensure the provision and maintenance of collective resources and infrastructure
(e.g. water points, roads, health services). Women are very involved in this role because
deficient public goods and services affect women before anyone else. Yet, they often have
less access to decision-making than men.
The constituency-based politics role includes political and advocacy activities at the
community and local levels, within traditional structures such as village committees or local
authorities. Womens and mens participation in this role is strongly influenced by their status,
education, age, ethnicity, etc. In most contexts, men dominate local political leadership,
except in womens own groups or organizations. This is why IFAD-supported projects
normally include activities to enhance women's groups and associations for womens
empowerment.
Womens and mens access to and control over resources
The analysis of the gender division of labour should be followed by a review of what
resources are relevant in each role.
In the reproductive role, tangible resources are food, money, housing, clothing, clean water,
transport (e.g. to attend a clinic) and information (e.g. about social services). Intangible
resources include health, education, reproductive rights, time and social networks.
In the productive role, tangible resources include land, equipment, credit, raw materials and
transport. Intangible resources are skills and knowledge, mobility, the right to work and control
ones income, and access to economic markets, networks and information.

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In the community-managing role, access to information and decision-making is critical. Time
is a key resource as participation consumes time that women and men could otherwise spend
on reproductive or productive activities.
In the political role, key resources are information, political education, rights (e.g. to
participate in public debate, run as candidates for elections, vote), physical mobility and selfconfidence.
The distinction between access to and control over resources is critical in the
analysis. The continuum between the two is not automatic and often requires some
level of empowerment for those excluded from decision-making.

Womens and mens gender needs

The analysis of the gender division of labour and of womens and mens access and control
over resources should be followed by the identification of womens and mens gender needs.

When women and/or men demand greater access to some resources/opportunities to

perform their existing gender roles better, they express a practical gender need, for
instance, womens demand for credit to play their new productive role. Such a practical
need/demand does not aim to challenge the customary gender division of labour.

When women and/or men want to challenge the customary gender division of labour and
power relations and when they wish to fight factors that create gender inequalities, they
express a strategic gender need.

More projects including IFAD-supported projects in China respond to practical gender

needs as these are easier to diagnose than strategic ones. Practical gender needs also
create less resistance because they do not directly challenge gender-based power relations.
Practical gender needs are often perceived as social and identified in sectors such as health
or water and sanitation. In these sectors, it is mainly women (and children) who are most
visible as primary users, for example of water or services. However, where gender is
associated with and limited to the social sphere, linkages with power and the political
dimension can be overlooked. For example, an IFAD Gender Assessment in China revealed
that the impact of previous IFAD projects has tended to be limited to social development
components.
Practical or strategic gender needs: which should be addressed?
There is no right answer to this question. The projects context and objectives orient the
strategies. Sometimes, it is necessary to meet a practical need first (e.g. constructing a clinic,
or building a water tank or biogas system, etc.) in order to fulfil a strategic need later
(womens and mens shared control of the clinic, etc). On other occasions, strategic needs are
given priority. Strategic needs are strongly linked to decision-making and empowerment.
Because of their low level of participation in decision-making, women cannot promote their
practical needs (e.g. better health, competence in certain skills, stronger decision-making

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power). Gender-specific project or component/activities are therefore appropriate to tackle
womens strategic needs.
It is for the women and men in a specific context to define their priority gender needs. Women
and men may not always agree on what these are. Differences of age, income, culture,
religion, etc. at the household, community and regional levels will influence how women and
men prioritize their gender needs. Gender and PRA methods and tools are needed to obtain a
better understanding of different situations and needs. Table 3 provides a framework for
gender analysis.
Table 3: Guiding questions for three major aspects
Roles

Reproductive

Productive

Community
managing
women men

Political

Aspects
women
Men
women men
women men
1. Roles:
what are the
tasks and
contributions of
women and men
in each role
2. Resources:
what resources
do women and
men have access
to/control over;
what benefits and
status accrue to
women and men
in each role
3. Gender inequalities and gender needs:
What gender inequalities/needs are expressed in each role by women/men?
What gender inequalities/needs are not so easily expressed by women/men?
What gender inequalities/needs are directly linked to the project (e.g. accessibility criteria)?
What gender inequalities/needs are context-specific (e.g. cultural values, traditions, etc.)?

4.4. Livelihood analysis at the community and household levels

4.4.1. Why livelihood analysis?
As discussed above, gender issues are not isolated issues. Rather they are embedded within
and interlinked with complex social relations in a changing social context. Experience in IFADsupported projects in China shows that the sustainable livelihood analysis framework is useful
for poverty analysis and targeting. Experience has also revealed that a combination of
livelihood analysis and gender analysis is helpful and practical, introducing a gender lens into
the project cycle and preventing gender from being dealt with in isolation.
However, context-specific gender analysis alone may also provide insufficient insight into
complex livelihood situations, especially the deep-rooted causes of poverty in relation to
gender issues. Livelihood analysis is often used with gender analysis for targeting and

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evaluation, allowing comparison between rich and poor households, and between men and
women.

While for the purpose of poverty targeting, the focus is on the analysis and

comparison of different types of households (e.g. household categories A, B and C in the

case of IFAD projects). To address the gender situation, the emphasis needs to be on gender
differentiation in participation, access and benefits with respect to five categories of
resources/capital.
4.4.2. Combination of livelihood analysis and gender analysis
Graph 3: Sustainable livelihood framework

The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

Graph 4: Gender analysis with sustainable livelihood framework

Human Capital
physically weaker

So
..
So..
Women farmers
farmers
capital situation is a much
smaller pentagon

lower education level

lack of skills and technology

Natural Capital
limited access to land

limited access to common NR

Financial Capital
lower income

Human
capital

limited access to credit

Material Capital
Natural water supply
Capital living conditions

Social
Capital

poor communication

Material

Fiancial

Social Capital
social and household status

close relationships with relatives

and friends
tradition of exchange and mutual help
traditional knowledge

Table 4: Gender analysis for capital/resource access, control and benefit

Type of capital

Access
M

note

Control (decisionmaking)
M
F
Note

Financi
al
Natural

income
credit
gift

land
forest
river
mine
..

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Benefit
M

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Type of capital

Access
M

note

Control (decisionmaking)
M
F
Note

Benefit
M

Note

Material
Human
Social

road
water
electricity
irrigation
hospital
school

labour
education
skills
experience
.
customer
laws
association
religion
tradition
norm
institutional
services
laws and
regulation
s
..

4.4.3. What to analyse?

The general aim is to identify key issues or processes at the micro level (e.g. access to credit
or skills training and market information). This will enable a mapping out of local dynamics
and actors that can influence or address the identified issues. This exercise should be
undertaken using gender lenses within a livelihood analysis or other analytical frameworks,
or a combination of different frameworks, according to the local context.
Like any situation analysis, a gender analysis is concerned with two scenes: the local scene
where endogenous social processes take place and the development scene, which
concerns projects. Gender lenses are used to analyse both scenes.
1 Social context and processes: The analysis focuses on the local scene. It identifies what
women and men do and how, their respective needs/opportunities as well as the gender
relations and possible imbalance therein. The exercise reveals out how traditions, as well
as economic and social changes/problems, affect women and men in various groups
(such as the A,B,C groups normally identified in IFAD-supported projects). Depending on
needs, the analysis may focus on:

Household and community levels

Specific sector levels (livestock, food crop production, etc.)

2 Planned interventions of project. The analysis focuses on the project setting. It examines
womens and mens participation in projects and assesses:

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To what extent, how and why projects respond to womens and mens respective
gender needs

The effects of IFAD interventions on gender relations

Graph 5: Two-scene analytical framework

Reciprocal impact?

Social context & processes

Planned interventions

Household level

Community level

CONTEXT

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Appendix 1: IFADs Targeting Policy - Checklist for Design

IFADs Targeting Policy - Checklist For Design
Score
1-6
1) Does the main target group - those expected to benefit mostcorrespond to IFADs target group as defined by the Targeting
Policy (the extremely poor and food insecure)?
2) Have target sub-groups been identified and described
according to their different socio-economic characteristics,
assets and livelihoods - with due attention to gender differences?
3) Is evidence provided of interest in and likely uptake of the
proposed activities by the identified target sub-groups?
4) Does the design document describe a feasible and
operational targeting strategy in line with the Targeting Policy?
The targeting strategy will involve either all or some of the
following measures and methods.
.
4.1) Geographic targeting based on poverty data or proxy
indicators to identify, for area-based projects or programmes,
geographic areas (and within these, communities) with high
concentrations of poor people
4..2) Enabling measures These include measures to
strengthen stakeholders and partners attitude and commitment
to poverty targeting, gender equality and womens
empowerment, including policy dialogue, awareness-raising and
capacity-building, and appropriate project/programme
management arrangements (references in ToR, PCU
composition); language in describing staff positions (s/he;
masculine/feminine).
4.3) Empowerment and capacity-building measures including
information and communication, focused capacity- and
confidence-building measures, organisational support, in order to
empower and encourage the more active participation and
inclusion in planning and decision making of people who
traditionally have less voice and power.
4.4) Direct targeting when services or resources are to be
channelled to specific individuals or households. Such measures
may include eligibility criteria, to be developed and applied with
community participation; quotas (e.g. for women), earmarked
funds
4.5)Attention to procedural measures that could militate
against participation by the intended target groups (such as,
excessive beneficiary contributions; cumbersome legal
requirements, etc)
5) Monitoring targeting performance. Does the design
document specify that targeting performance will be monitored
using participatory M&E, and also be assessed at Mid-term
review?
AVERAGE SCORE

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Issues and
Recommendations

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Pre-Requisites of Gender Sensitive Design Checklist For Design

Score
Issues and Recommendations
1-6
1. Does the design document contain a
context-specific gender strategy that aims to:
Expand womens access to and control over
fundamental assets capital, land,
knowledge and technologies;
Strengthen their agency thus their
decision-making role in community affairs
and representation in local institutions;
Improve well-being and ease workload. .
2. The project identifies operational measures to
ensure gender- equitable participation in, and
benefit from, planned activities, and in particular:
2..1 Sets indicative and realistic targets in terms
of proportion of women participants in different
project activities and components;
2.2 Establishes womens participation in projectrelated decision-making bodies (such as Water
User Associations; committees taking decisions
on micro-projects; etc)
2.3 Reflects attention to gender equality/ womens
empowerment in project/ programme
management arrangements (e.g. including in
Terms of Reference of project coordinating unit
or project management unit (PMU)
responsibilities for gender mainstreaming;
inclusion of gender focal point in PCU, etc).
2.4 Explicitly addresses the issue of outreach to
women (e.g. through female field staff; NGO
group promoters, etc) especially where
womens mobility is limited
3. The project log frame and suggested
monitoring system specify sex-disaggregated
performance and impact indicators.
AVERAGE SCORE

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Appendix 2: IFADs Pre-requisites of gender-sensitive design-Checklist

Pre-Requisites of Gender-Sensitive Design

Checklist
Yes

No

Partial

Issues and Recommendations

1. Project document contains poverty and

gender analysis data.
2. Based on the above, the project articulates a
gender strategy that aims to:
Expand womens access to and control
over fundamental assets capital, land,
knowledge and technologies;
Strengthen their agency thus their
decision-making role in community affairs
and representation in local institutions;
Improve well-being and ease workloads by
facilitating access to basic rural services
and infrastructures.
3. The project identifies operational measures
to ensure gender- equitable participation in,
and benefit from, planned activities, and in
particular:
Sets specific targets in terms of proportion
of women participants in different project
activities and components;
Ensures womens participation in projectrelated decision-making bodies; and
Clearly reflects actions identified in the
gender strategy in the cost tables;
Ensures that the Terms of Reference of
project coordinating unit or project
management
unit
(PMU)
include
responsibilities for gender mainstreaming,
especially at level of project director, M&E
officer, extension officer and microfinance
officer;
Explicitly addresses the issue of present
and likely availability of field staff to ensure
outreach to women, and designs activities
accordingly;
Establishes experience working with
women and marginalized groups and
willingness to work with these groups is a
criterion for NGO selection.
4. The project logframe and suggested
monitoring system specify sex-disaggregated
performance and impact indicators.
5. The project provides opportunities for policy
dialogue on issues related to gender equality
and empowerment of women.

Adapted from: Mainstreaming a gender perspective in IFADs operations Plan of Action, 2003-2006

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Appendix 3: Terms of Reference for Gender Focal Point in IFAD Projects in China

The Gender Focal Point (GFP) will assist the Project Director in ensuring gender equity and
equality in project implementation and management, through the development and
implementation of a gender strategy and action plan for the project and by cooperating with
Women Federation and RCC, other line agencies, VIG and beneficiaries.
The overall objective is to facilitate equitable participation of both rural men and women in
project activities and provide benefits on an equitable basis. This would be done by creating
necessary enabling environment, using appropriate tools/procedures to address gender
differences and by collaborating with all project stakeholders. Womens empowerment is
facilitated through the delivery of good quality project activities designed specifically for them.
The role of the project GFP is crucial in initiating necessary actions and coordinating with
stakeholders to achieve the gender objectives. In particular, the GFP will:










Develop project gender strategy encompassing all its institutions and components.
Develop, implement and monitor gender action plan for the project by cooperating
with M&E officers, recommending related gender indicators to make sure project
activities are monitored and evaluated by using these indicators, and ensuring that
gender action plan is supported and included in the M&E system for documentation
and experience-sharing.
Coordinate with relevant project institutions to ensure equitable participation of rural
men and women in all project activities. In activities focused specifically on women,
attention will be paid to enhance the quality of such activities for their benefits.
Plan and organize gender training for project managers and implementers from the
PMO and related implementation institutions involved in project actions.
Coordinate with relevant project institutions to create an enabling climate for women
to play an effective and broad role in all project-generated actions.
Coordinate with RCC and other related financial institutions to ensure equitable
access to credit for men and women and suggest specific activities for women to
address gender imbalances in this respect.
Promote and disseminate the projects gender approach and achievements at all
levels.
Monitor the allocation of resources and other important implementation aspects for
supporting gender-related activities and report to PMO directors any problems
occurred and results achieved.

Expected results of the GFP:













A realistic gender strategy guiding the project implementation has been prepared.
An action plan outlining the major activities and tools to be adopted for implementing
the gender strategy has been prepared.
Process and quality indicators of gender sensitivity in project have been incorporated
in the M&E system.
The understanding of and staff capacity in gender mainstreaming improved.
Training on gender has been delivered to stakeholders.
A coordination mechanism on gender focus has been established with stakeholders.
Specific actions and activities have been conducted to benefit women.
Womens participation in project activities increased.
Women leaders have increased at all levels.
Womens organizations have been strengthened and increased.
Good practices/cases have been identified, documented and shared.

Drafted by Yinhong SUN and revised by Yiching Song with feedbacks from the Gender TOT
workshops in 3 provinces in China 2007