Consultancy report

Regional Retreat for Gender Focal Points in The Arab States Report Strategic Gender Mainstreaming Synergy, Mechanisms, Actions, Rights, Training Cairo September 25 - 27, 2005 Acknowledgement On behalf of BDP and SURF-AS, I would like to thank all those who contributed directly and indirectly to the success of the Regional Gender Retreat held in Cairo fro m September 25 -27, 2005. Such event requires commit ment, dedication and trust. Many elements contributed to this rich and productive event. Let me conve y my sincere appreciation: For the participants who shared their views and their concerns , who discussed gender mainstreaming within their realit ies, and proposed important recommendations with strategic action plan and regional networks For the partic ipants of the UNDP COs recipients of the GTTF in preparing and sharing their reports For the enthusiasm and co mmit ment to gender mainstreaming and wo men‟s empowerment displayed by our guests at the opening ceremony. Mr.Antonio Vigilante the RR of UNDP Egypt and the Dutch Ambassador Mr. T.F de Zwann. For our guest speaker Fat ma Khafagy reminding us of the reality and challenges of Arab Women. For the international trainer Marguerite Appel fro m KIT Royal Tropical Institute whose training capacities and team work leads to synergy. For the participation of UNDP staff fro m Headquarter providing stronger linkages between them and the participants. For the support of GTTF fro m BDP/ HQ Senior Gender Advisor, Aster Zaoude with her valuable inputs and exchanges with the participants through the video conference. For the participation and support of Hannie Meesters, the GTTF coordinator BDP HQ. For the support of the LRC team headed by Varsha Redkar and the a mazing display of UNDP material: the gender market tool. For RBAS with Juliette Hage to present RPD / AHDR and other related informat ion and both Deputy RRs Of Syria and Egypt Fumiko Fukuoka and Elissar Sarrough in giving their support. For the SURF-AS gender team who provided conducive environment for learning, exchanging rich experiences and for introducing the benefits of Commun ity of Practices by Sonya Knox, our research assistant, our deepest appreciation for Nora Khalaf who handled the admin istration and financial matters, Abir Atma for the conference logistic work, in addit ion to compiling the questionnaire assessment & the final evaluation For UNDP CO Egypt for their support system. For our two translators Magda Bakir, Nadia Abbas who conveyed the issues through out the workshop and participated in some discussions: For our two reporters Germaine Haddad and Gielan El Messiri who rigorously captured all the discussions that occurred in the 3 days . Professionalism and friendship were at the rendez-vous. Jocelyne Talbot SURF-AS Gender Policy Advisor November 2005 ii Chosen Poem iii Acronyms Acronym AHDR BDP CBO CCA CCF CEDAW CIDA CO CS DRR ESCWA GE GFP GM GMCS GTTF HDR HQ HR KSA LRC MDG Moudawana MYFF NGO NMDG Ombudsperson PPA RBAS RCA ROAR RR Sharia SURF SURF UAE UNDP UNDAF UNFP UNICEF UNIFEM Meaning Arab Human Development Report Bureau of Development Planning Community Based Organizations Common Country Assessment Common Country Framework Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Canadian International Development Aid Country Office Civil Society Deputy Resident Representative Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Gender Equality Gender Focal Point Gender Mainstreaming Gender Mainstreaming Collaboration Space Gender Thematic Trust Fun Human Development Report Head Quarters Human Resources Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Learning Resource Centre Millennium Development Goals New Family Law in Morocco Multi Year Funding Framework Non Governmental Organizations National Millennium Development Goals Defined by the Swedish International Development Agency as a state institution with the task of protecting the individuals against other institutions of the state. Participatory Poverty Assessment Regional Bureau for Arab States Result Competency Assessment Result Oriented Annual Report Resident Representative Islamic law Sub-regional Resource Facilities Sub-regional Resource Facilities for Arab States United Arab Emirates United Nations Development Programme United Nations Development Assistance Framework United Nations Fund for Population United Nation Children‟s Fund United Nations Development Fund for Women iv Table of Contents 1 2 3 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 Cons ultancy outputs ............................................................................................. 2 Workshop Structure and Session Overviews ..................................................... 3 3.1 Needs assessment questionnaire ................................................................................. 3 3.2 Overall structure and methodology............................................................................. 3 3.3 Opening and introductions ......................................................................................... 4 3.4 Session 1: Conceptual clarifications ........................................................................... 5 3.5 Session 2: Gender analysis and the Programme Cycle ................................................ 8 3.6 Session 3: Specific gender issues in UNDP practice areas: Poverty and Governance .. 9 3.7 Session 4: Support Mechanisms for Gender Mainstreaming ......................................13 3.8 Session 5: Gender Expertise and Resources ...............................................................14 3.9 Session 6: Strategic Action Plans ..............................................................................14 3.10 Session 7: Building a Regional Network and Community of Practice ......................16 4 Overall observations and recomme ndations .................................................... 18 LIS T OF ANNEXES Annex 1 Participants list ........................................................................................ 20 Annex II Agenda ..................................................................................................... 23 Annex III Results Needs Assessment Questionnare Report ................................. 27 Annex IV Key note speech: Arab Wome n and the Challenges............................ 44 Annex V List of Handouts ..................................................................................... 51 Annex VI Strategic Action Plans and Building Regional Networks ................... 54 Annex VII Participants Retreat Evaluation, Comme nts & Questionnaire ........ 67 Annex VIII Aide Memoire for the Retreat and Terms of Reference................... 85 v 1 B ACKGROUND The UNDP Gender Policy Advisor of Sub-Regional Resource Facility contracted the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) for the Arab States (SURF-AS) based in Beirut to design and deliver the Regional Gender Retreat for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States, held in Cairo from 25-27 September 2005. The 3 day Retreat was attended by 36 participants: 22 UNDP staff, mainly gender focal points, from 15 Country Offices in the region; 3 represe ntatives from UNDP HQ New York: the BDP Gender Unit, the Regional Bureau for Arab States and the Learning and Resource Centre (LRC); the SURF-AS Gender Policy Advisor; the trainer; the organising Gender Team from SURF-AS in Beirut; the Key Note resource person; 2 reporters; 2 translators; also attended two Deputy Res. Rep. from Syria and Egypt came for specific sessions. The Gender Retreat focussed on Strategy Development for Gender Mainstreaming in the Arab States and by the end of the workshop participants were expected to:    be familiar with the key issues and challenges to gender equality goals for Arab women in the region have strengthened their conceptual understanding, analytical skills and familiarity with tools for gender mainstreaming be familiar with UNDP gender policies, strategies, practice and mechanisms for accountability in the region be familiar with GTTF (Gender Thematic Trust Fund) especially within the seven GTTF recipients in the Arab States(Algeria , Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Yemen)and share experiences and implementation rate with all the Gender Focal Points.   have identified the challenges and opportunities and developed strategic action plans for more effective gender mainstreaming in the Arab States have developed a structure for maintaining a regional gender network and supporting a regional community of practice on gender 1 2 REQUIRED OUTPUTS  Training needs assessment including design and implementation of a questionnaire and analysis of training needs (Annex III: Results Needs Assessment Questionnaire) Design of a 3-day Gender Retreat training programme, including presentations, activity guidelines, day- and final evaluation questionnaires (Annex VI: Participants Evaluation).     A 3-day training programme delivered for all participants by senior gender experts Strategic action plans, regional networks, and recommendations. Report and discrimination. 2 3 3.1 WORKS HOP STRUCTURE AND S ESS ION OVERVIEWS Needs assessment questionnaire In preparation for the Gender Retreat a needs assessment questionnaire was send out and participants feed-back provided valuable inputs for the workshop design (Annex III: Results needs assessment questionnaire). Most participants from country offices operated at the level of programme officer/analyst/specialist and few occupied higher management positions as Deputy Resident Representative/Head of Section/Chief staff support (Annex I: Participants list). Expertise and experience in gender mainstreaming varied considerably, ranging from 3 months to 25 years and without any formal gender training to higher educational degrees in gender and development. There was overall consensus among participants of what they considered as the most important job responsibilities of a gender focal point, in particular convincing and supporting country office staff to mainstream gender in all country projects/programmes, including capacity building, strategy development and resource allocation (although this was in most cases not mentioned in their Terms Of Reference). The challenges faced in promoting gender mainstreaming in country offices also revealed a number of similarities: lack of clear gender strategy; no gender specific project appraisal and evaluation system institutionalised; lack of capacity; staff indifference and resistance; competing priorities; cultural and political sensitivities; and lack of commitment from national authorities. As basic requirements and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming to happen at the country office level participants mentioned a general awareness among programme staff, in-depth gender expertise among gender focal points; establishment of an official assigned gender cluster with full-time gender focal point; networking and on-going dialogue for sharing experiences; leadership, high-level commitment and accountability; and resource allocation. From the Gender Retreat participants expected to gain knowledge on gender analysis, skills for gender mainstreaming, resources, tools and methodologies; reviewing effectiveness and constraints of gender focal points; exchange experiences and share good examples of successful strategies for gender mainstreaming. 3.2 Overall structure and methodology The training programme for the Gender Retreat was designed around the overall aim of strengthening gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice (Annex II: Agenda). Starting from conceptual clarifications of gender analysis and gender mainstreaming to increase 3 participants‟ awareness and deepen their understanding, subsequent sessions moved to the application of concepts of gender analysis in the programme cycle and gender mainstreaming in selected UNDP practice areas to strengthen participants‟ skills. Reviewing and discussing UNDP support mechanisms and available programming tools for gender mainstreaming increased participants‟ capacity to develop their strategic actions plans for gender mainstreaming and building regional networks and community of practice towards the end of the Retreat. Central to the training methodology was the participatory and reflective approach, taking into account participants‟ diverse expertise and experience – respecting diversity but also challenging participants own assumptions in the light of gender equality goals. Throughout the workshop specific attention was given to sharing experiences among participants, in small group work, plenary debates and during panel presentations. Technical inputs and presentations were kept short and interactive to facilitate optimal participation and ensure relevance to participant‟s daily practice, using exercises and case studies relevant to the work of UNDP gender focal points in the region. An on-going monitoring process on the content and process of the workshop was set up using daily evaluation forms with feed-back sessions in the morning. This allowed for further clarifications of key learning‟s and flexibility to adapt the programme to emerging needs. The workshop folders prepared for participants by the SURF-AS gender team included relevant UNDP and other documentation on gender equality and gender mainstreaming, copies of presentations, etc. For each session hand-outs were prepared and distributed and a wealth of information on gender mainstreaming and gender analysis linked to specific areas was available on the resource table prepared and clarified by the UNDP Learning and Resource Centre. All training sessions were recorded by support staff contracted by UNDP, preparing a detailed report on workshop proceedings. 3.3 Opening and introductions Ms. Jocelyne Talbot, the UNDP Gender P olicy Advisor at SURF-AS, welcomed participants and official representatives. She clarified the poster designed for the retreat with the eighteen lines symbolizing the UNDP country offices in the region, the diversity of people listening to and learning from each other, captured by a shell and the image of a young woman as hope for the future. The UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Antonio Vigilante and the Netherlands ambassador in Egypt, Mr. T.F de Zwaan, officially opened the event. A key note address was delivered by Ms. Jocelyne Talbot and the key note 4 speaker, Ms. Fatma Khafagy, Director of the Ombudsperson Office in Cairo, was setting the context by reviewing the challenges Arab women are facing in the region (Annex IV: key note speech). In the introductory sessions participants presented themselves and the trainer clarified the workshop agenda, structure, learning objectives and training methodology. Participants „hopes‟ and „fears‟ for the event, elicited in small groups and than made public for all to review, were discussed and matched with the objectives and workshop programme, indicating which hopes would be addressed and which not and how to minimize the changes that fears would be realized. Generally, most of the „hopes‟ especially those concerning content and methods, were thought to have been taken into account in the programme design. Some could be addressed briefly through revisions (women‟s political participation) others could not be addressed fully during the 3-days event (different approach to gender mainstreaming respecting Islamic Shariaa; cultural resistance) or were beyond the scope of the training (the perceived clash between UNDP policies and governments). Many of the „fears‟ were also taken into consideration in the progra mme design, such as too much theory and too many presentations versus practical applications and discussions, but to be fully addressed required participants input and contributions and their taking responsibility for their own learning. Some fears concerned post-training follow-up and actions, such as lack of resources and staff capacity / capabilities at country offices, lack of commitment and willingness, and no follow-up. Addressing such fears requires continued management support and follow -up. 3.4 Session 1: Conceptual clarifications This session aimed to build up a common understanding on key gender concepts, the institutional production and reproduction of gender difference and inequality and therefore the meaning of gender mainstreaming. A short exerc ise was used to clarify the social relations of gender, asking participants to reflect on when they realised for the first time to be a woman or a man; what the event/ incident was; and how and by whom this first realisation was reinforced. Although some hesitance could be noticed, the feedback from participants‟ own experiences, presented and discussed in plenary, clarified the rules that form gender identities in given contexts and the institutions that frame those rules, including the contradictory messages emerging. The session continued with a presentation on social relations of gender and tools for gender analysis and clarified gender as relations between men and women and the social meanings given to being either a woman or a man in a given society. As gender relations 5 are socially constituted and not derived from biological sex, they are historically and contextually specific, and change in response wider changes. Gender identities and experiences are mediated by other axis of power like class, race, ethnicity, religion, age, etc. Gender relations are produced and reinforced by institutions, such as household, market, community, state and other governance institutions. The gender division of labour reflect and in turn reproduces gender hierarchies, allocating particular tasks to a particular gender. They become social rules of who does what by gender and how this is valued. It was discussed how roles typically designated as female are less valued than those designated as male. Women are generally expected to fulfil the reproductive role of bearing and raising children, caring for other family members, and household management tasks, as well as home based production whereas men tend to be more associated with productive roles, particularly paid work, and market production The presentation continued with the principle tools for gender analysis that take into account the gender division of labour (production and reproduction) that leads to a gender division of skills and define women‟s and men access and control over resources. So for any UNDP development intervention it is critical to assess the differential implications on women and men in a particular context, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area at all levels, as integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages, with the ultimate goal to achieve gender equality. Finally a common framework for gender mainstreaming: „domains of change and strategies for transformation‟ was presented and discussed. Gender mainstreaming can be conceptualised as playing out in different domains: the technical domain (capacities, tools, guidelines, training, experts); the political domain (hierarchies of power that determine access and control over resources and decision-making in the organisation); and the cultural domain (daily practice of the organization, the gap between policy and practice is created, can be negotiated and contested). Each of these domains is intricately linked to the other and the system as a who le are influenced by multiple factors in the external environment –national development agendas, global discourses, civil society, women‟s movements, donor priorities and geopolitical processes and issues. The implications and impacts of each of these sho uld ideally be factored into strategies for gender mainstreaming. 6 Tools Methods Expertise Data Policies Hierarchies Systems Finances Norms and codes Values Attitudes Relati onshi ps 1 The discussion evolved around questions of priorities - was one domain more important than the other - and the resistance faced in the cultural domain. As can be seen from the UNDP experience in gender mainstreaming, changes in the technical domain are generally easier to bring about and encounter comparatively less resistance than changes in other domains. These are also activities that yield quick and visible o utputs such as policy documents, data sets and programme guidelines. Despite the fact that almost all development agencies have gender policy statements, gender advisors and gender toolkits, development programmes continue to produce gender inequitable outcomes. This underlines the fact that mainstreaming is a political process requiring transformation of organisational goals, cultures and ways of functioning. The issue of “gender” terminology was raised, especially in the Arab world where “gender equity” and “equal opportunities” seem to be more accepted than “gender equality”. It was stressed that a critical aspect of resistance around terminology is getting the meaning right – and in some contexts different words or arguments might be required as a stra tegy to achieve the same gender equality goals. The difference between gender equality and equity was further clarified as gender equality referring to women having the same opportunities in life as men. This formal equality however does not necessarily demand or ensure equality of outcomes. It also does not recognise that women‟s reality and experience may be different from men‟s, and also, 1 Framework presented by Kalyani Menon Sen at the BDP g lobal gender retreat, August, 2005. 7 amongst women experiences and capabilities vary. Gender equity means fairness or principles of justice supplementing formal or legal equality. Equity means that to ensure equality, the special needs and rights of different social groups need to be taken care of. The goal of gender equity, referred to as substantive equality, moves beyond equality of opportunity by requiring transformative changes. It recognises that women and men have different needs, preferences, and interests and that equality of outcomes may necessitate different treatment of men and women. The case of the „Moroccan Modawana‟ was used as an example to explain that even if the law changes in favour of women, this does not lead automatically to women being able to access their rights given their unequal positions in society. The institutional constraints women face to claim their rights in reality have to be analyzed continuously to identify barriers and develop strategies to overcome them. Finally Dr. Khafagy reflected on some fears expressed by few participants earlier around cultural resistance and challenging Islam & Shariaa. She gave as example t he personal status law, in particular with reference to „polygamy‟ which is accepted in Islamic Shariaa. Tunisia and Morocco however were able to ban or limit polygamy using different interpretations of Shariaa. She emphasized that Shariaa is basically a human interpretation of Quran. In addition it should be noted that not all Arab women are Muslim. She recommended to emphasize the economic aspect of gender equality with governments such as „education of women without their employment is a lost investment‟ etc, because it is the language they understand. 3.5 Session 2: Gender analysis and the Programme Cycle The second session aimed to increase participants understanding and practice of gender analysis of the program cycle with a focus on problem identificatio n, design and planning. Referring to the issues raised in the previous session, in particular the importance of looking at both the technical, cultural and political domain for effective gender mainstreaming, a presentation on the types of issues that shou ld be addressed during different stages of the programme was provided. Using two UNDP country office case studies on poverty and governance from the region, participants worked in small groups using the guiding questions and handouts provided (gender analysis and the programme cycle; checklist for engendering project proposals). (Annex V: List of Handouts). The activity proved to be a strong learning activity in a number of respects. It allowed participants to view UNDP activities from a gender lens; the case study represented a regular current document from participants‟ daily practice, not selected as a „good‟ or „bad‟ example; and the practice areas selected were relevant to all participants. 8 The main learnings as indicated by participants included: Project documents tend to be too general and are often gender blind - gender is hardly mentioned and it is often not made clear if women are being targeted or not It raised awareness on highlighting women as beneficiaries but not as homogeneous group and there was a need to look at different disparities It was also noted that women do not seem to have been consulted during assessment missions and there is no mention of accountability mechanisms It identified a lack of in-depth gender analysis and suggested that a situation analysis is not only required in the project design phase but throughout other stages too – and even if gender disaggregated data was available it was critical to know how to use it Project strategies do not mention gender equality and activities are mainly focused on technical capacity (focus on quantitative aspects of the work and neglecting qualitative aspects), and not addressing political or cultural constraints The project documents reviewed do not really allow for measuring ach ievements. It was recommended that the nature of intervention has to tackle all three domains for gender mainstreaming: the political, technical and cultural and that gender sensitive outcome indicators need to be included 3.6 Session 3: Specific gender issues in UNDP practice areas: Poverty and Governance The aim of this session was to deepen participants‟ understanding of gender mainstreaming and gender issues in two UNDP practice areas prioritized for this Retreat: poverty and governance. The session started with a short presentation on Gender and Poverty, highlighting how poverty is experienced differently by women and men and how women are more vulnerable to poverty because their right claims - over productive resources, market access and decisions making - lack social legitimacy. Gender dimensions of poverty include time poverty, reduced mobility, gender bias in labour markets, lack of access to resources (credit, property, education) lack of control over earned income, and limitations to access to public space. The presentation also reviewed the gender analysis of poverty reduction policies and the need to take a twin-track approach to poverty: 1) institutionalize gender equality goals in the policy process (MDG, PRSP , gender responsive budget analysis , etc.; and 2) mobilising around gender equality goals (linking movements, moving on all dimensions of citizenship, representation, participation, etc.). From the presentation the following issues were raised and discussed in plenary: 9 Multi-dimensional aspects of poverty A survey on gender and poverty in Palestine in 1996 revealed the multi-dimensional aspects of poverty, defined as income poverty (when women have obvious less); poverty due to lack of capabilities; poverty due to social exclusion; poverty due to lack of access to information (which was confirmed in a 2003 survey showing that information on political participation to women was limited and did not go beyond urban areas or was exclusively targeting men); poverty due to lack of access to liquidity and financial institutions (the persistent problem of men‟s control over loans). Time poverty and statistics Time poverty is due to women‟s additional unpaid labour and economies would collapse if women refused to do it. In Egypt rural women working in the field maybe forced to miss out on many services that are provided for them because they provide for their family or care for children. Women‟s unpaid labour is critical for the economy but remains invisible if not reflected in statistics. All Ara b regional statistical bureaus conducted time surveys in 1997/98 although it was never analyzed to address the issue of the feminization of poverty. These surveys were never updated but at least could be used as baseline data. Micro credit Even though development agencies are targeting women in micro-credit interventions in practice the brother or the husband controls the loans/resources. So it is not only a question of accessibility but also of utilization and control. Claiming rights Claiming for women is a complex process and in some cases, even if legal change occurs like Morocco, actual changes on the ground needs much more work. Gender budgeting It was argued that gender budgeting initiatives should be considered as a process with the purpose to use it as lobby and advocacy tool. As ministries will not base their decisions immediately on gender budgeting outcomes, the efficiency argument can be used that returns will increase if investments take gender equality issues into account. Based on participants‟ own experiences and the key issues emerging from the presentation and plenary discussions, participants worked in small groups to identify possible entry points for UNDP to support a process which would ensure gender equality outcomes in poverty reduction interventions. The group presentations reflected how the plenary 10 discussions had raised their awareness and strengthened their insights on the gender dimensions of poverty. Suggested entry points for UNDP included: Adopt a twin track approach: 1) working with civil society organisations to increase women‟s participation (e.g. building capabilities of marginalised groups; capacity building programs for women community leaders; awareness on women‟s rights for men and women; non-formal education and training; income generating projects; support NGOs to provide women with the necessary tools to access funds (ID cards); etc. 2) working at the policy level on international conventions and poverty reduction policies, e.g. CEDAW, MDG, PPA, ESCWA, HDR; advocacy/awareness campaign on legislations taking into account time poverty and income inequality; advocacy for gender budgeting at different levels; awareness of decision makers Support availability and utilization of gender disaggregated data base, including t ime use surveys to address time poverty Coordinate UNDP country program to run parallel with national development plans and initiate joint programs among UN agencies (UNIFEM, UNICEF). It was also recommended to have a joint gender and poverty focal point , as not much will be achieved in terms of gender equality if the poverty focal point is not the gender focal point. If all program officers are sensitized and trained they will be working on 2 tracks simultaneously. UNDP could use the poverty reports issued by all countries (although limited when it comes to participation) and insist that they are not an end in itself but a process (which includes commissioning participatory poverty assessment). These reports could gain relevance and importance by bringing in a more solid gender analysis and women‟s perspective of their own poverty through participation, focus groups, and polls with women groups, etc. The session continued with a brief presentation on Gender and Governance. It clarified what different international institutions mean by „good governance‟, how strengthening democratic governance concentrated on the institutional design of the state with an emphasis on technical interventions to improve state functioning, with little recognition for the role of civil society, citizen action and political contestation in holding governance institutions accountable. It highlighted the importance of engendering governance as a political process, the role of power and politics in decision making and a focus on rights, participation and inclusion by 1) enhancing women‟s political participation; 2) building institutional responsiveness and accountability; and 3) claiming and securing new entitlements. 11 The presentation generated a lively debate and the discussion in plenary focused on the main points raised and participants own experience, in particular around women‟s political participation. Some of the key issues raised include: Political processes and women‟s political legitimacy Women‟s political participation and their right to vote are priorities to make women part of the decision making process. This requires transparency and accessibility of the political process during elections to enhance women‟s participation (considering the violence that takes place) and securing funds for women to be able to campaign as candidates in collaboration with NGO‟s and other organizations. It was suggested to also work on women‟s representation in other decision making levels (NGOs boards, sport clubs, syndicates) and less violent arenas, preparing the ground for entering the political processes and making it more culturally acceptable. Women often do not support women candidates as being not good enough, although the capabilities of elected male candidates are never questioned; women‟s capabilities are questioned at the personal, social and professional level. The point that women are thought to be less corrupt because they care more about their reputation and are afraid to get involved was counteracted as this depends very much on the system: if it tolerates corruption women will also become corrupt. Affirmative action and legislative reform Affirmative actions such as quotas are a contested issue. No country has improved without applying any sort of quota system. Getting women into political procedures and in the electoral systems is a long struggle. Even if they are not legitimate political actors the process of getting them in can be very empowering. It is also about women‟s accessibility to justice, legal institutions and raising their awareness of their legal and human rights. Quota systems can be adopted in different ways and at different levels (by law, in the constitution or at party level) and very much depends on the specific context and entry points. The problem is that (male dominated) political parties often refuse to nominate women fearing that the party will loose its seat in parliament - stronger support remains needed from their constituency in communities. Quota‟s alone in the Arab region has proven to be insufficient and ineffective and must be complemented with capacity building of women candidates to catch up with men opponents. This could be a more efficient way of measuring performance than only counting the number of women in parliament. 12 Women‟s political participation also requires legislative reform (personal status law); mapping national laws and integrating conventions ratified by a country would contribute to a more conducive political environment supported by national programs tackling social attitudes and cultural resistance. Participation, representation and accountability To increase women‟s representation in elected bodies requires an analysis of the barriers women face in a specific context and strategies to overcoming constraints. Mobilizing marginalized groups that do not have a voice is a key entry point – making governance institutions more responsive and accountable to the needs of marginalized groups by creating an accountability interface – this allows for the participation of rights claimants to hold duty bearers accountable. Accessibility to resources, information and capacity development are critical elements. However, strategies always need to be contextualized: in a number of countries in the Arab world the entry point to gover nment and gaining legitimacy is through the sponsorship of the royal family. Although women have equal rights to enter elected bodies - equal representation doesn‟t guarantee a gender equality agenda. Views differed on whether women candidates should be supported as representatives in elected bodies without a gender agenda. This raised the issue of how to hold women candidates supporting an equality and rights agenda in elections accountable. It was argued that women are not solely responsible for taking u p gender equality issues and like any other candidate, women should be accountable to their own constituency. Many studies focus on the power relations between women and men, but not enough attention is paid to address power relations among women. A meth odological problem that persists is that women fight the first battle competing with men to get there, but they do not fight the second battle to become better than men or come up with more democratic programs. 3.7 Session 4: Support Mechanisms for Gende r Mainstreaming The aim of this session was to build a common understanding of the UNDP strategies, action plans and mechanisms in support of gender mainstreaming, what it is aiming to do and how it is relevant to participants‟ daily work. A panel composed of UNDP representatives presented the following: The UNDP Corporate Gender Strategy and Action P lan; the Gender Equality Practice Note and the GTTF: Hannie Meesters (UNDP/BDP) The role of UNDP SURF-AS: Jocelyne Talbot (Gender Policy Advisor) 13 - Gender Theme Group and the creation of a gender cluster in Syria: Fumiko Fukuoka (Deputy Resident Representative) The Arab Human Development Report: Juliette Hage (RBAS) The presentations proved to be very timely and useful for participants as it allowed for sharing experiences, interrogating the various processes and procedures followed in the implementation and evaluation of the UNDP gender mainstreaming strategy; the criteria used for allocating resources under the GTTF; the development of the Arab Human Development Reports; the support that could be provided by the gender policy advisor of SURF-AS; and sharing experiences in developing a gender cluster with the Syria country office. The session continued with a video conference with Aster Zaoude (BDP UNDP/HQ). After a brief introduction participants could present the state of the art in relation to gender mainstreaming in their respective country offices, in particular the use of the GTTF. Ms. Zaoude highly appreciated the initiative of a Gender Retreat for Arab States and the opportunity it offered to build networks and exchange experiences. She stressed the importance of starting with a gender analysis for any country office to be gender responsive and the need to share good practices and make more visible what has already been achieved to show results. She urged to combine the HDI with MDG indicators, coordinate with other UN and international agencies and indicate strategic entry points to address the gap of governance. 3.8 Session 5: Gender Expe rtise and Resources The aim of this session was to review the display of UNDP resources related to gender equality and gender mainstreaming, highlight some key documents and demonstrate the use of the collaborate space set up by the UNDP Learning and Resource Centre (LRC). The amount of resources developed by UNDP and other agencies was quite impressive and useful for participants to know of. What was appreciated in particular was the demonstration of the collaborative space by Varsha Redkar-Palepu from LRC and the opportunities it offered to access and share resources, expertise and good practice examples. 3.9 Session 6: Strategic Action Plans The aim of this session was to identify challenges and opportunities for gender mainstreaming in participants‟ respective country offices; assess key lessons learned for strategy development; and develop strategic action plans for more effective gender mainstreaming. Participants were divided into three groups as follows: 14 Group A: Group B: Group C: Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon (GTTF recipie nt countries) Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain (NCC) Sudan, Somalia, Palestine, Iraq (post- conflict countries) To guide and structure the development of their strategic action plans, the following framework was prepared and put on the wall for all to see: 1) Where we are - mapping exercise Challenges to gender mainstreaming at the country office and at the sub -regional level:  Institutional process and culture (priority of gender mainstreaming, attitudes , procedures, recruitment, performance management, financial resources, monitoring expenditure, monitor impact of gender mainstreaming on quality of work, etc.)  Programming for gender equality (entry points for effective gender mainstreaming in programming, challenging cultural norms, skills and information, policy and analysis gap in practice areas, etc.) 2) Where we want to go  Leadership and human resources  Gender equality as an integral aspect of performance management (staff support and mechanisms for accountability)  Gender expertise/experience pre-requisite in recruitment, etc.  Workplace culture  Common understanding of gender mainstreaming,  Men as gender advocates prioritised, etc.  Financial resources and budgeting  Programmes and programming  Communication and learning structures  Gender Task Force, Thematic Groups, Networks and Resource sharing (regional; and cross regional; working groups), etc. 3)   2 Steps towards our goal Review of structures, mechanisms and strategies in place for gender mainstreaming: mapping exercise of participants‟ country experiences 2 Review of needs assessment (SURF AS/GTTF) Concrete actions, responsibilities and time-line: Addressing the technical, political and cultural issues of the GM conceptual framework 15 The strategic action plans developed by each groups were presented and discussed in plenary and recommendations made were incorporated (Annex VI: Strategic action plans and building regional networks, 12 pages of recommendations). Critical in the further development and implementation of the strategic action plans will be the commitment and support at their respective country offices as well as the follow- up process supported by UNDP HQ and SURF-AS. 3.10 Session 7: Building a Regional Network and Community of Practice The aim of the last session was to develop a structure for maintaining a regional gender network and supporting a regional community of practice on gender. The session started with a presentation and discussion on knowledge management by Ms. Sonya Knox (a research assistant at SURF-AS). In relation to the structure of the website, she asserted that SURF-AS is in the process of organizing their website along practice lines. Following the discussion Hannie Meesters (GTTF Coordinator, BDP/HQ) gave a presentation on the WIDE roster BDP is developing on the website for experts, in addition to workspac e on gender. For other practice areas there will be specific links (e.g. gender and poverty or gender and governance). Subsequently participants worked in the same groups to develop concrete proposals which were presented and discussed in plenary (Annex VI: Strategic action plans and building regional networks, 12 pages of recommendations ). The retreat ended by a plenary discussion on next steps needed to make this all real: The recipient countries of GTTF will meet in December 2005 to review lessons learned and develop future plans A follow-up workshop for NCC countries is scheduled for early 2006 to develop gender mainstreaming strategy specific to their context (Net Contributing Countries) A follow-up workshop for (post) conflict countries will be scheduled for early 2006 to develop a gender mainstreaming strategy The report of the Gender Retreat workshop will be produced in three languages and disseminated to participants in the region including countries that could not attend the retreat (Tunisia, Djibouti and Libya) An executive summary and cover note will be send to the Resident Representatives of SURF and the Directors of RBAS and BDP Participants will brief their respective Resident and Deputy Resident Representatives and colleagues upon return to their country offices - 16 - The main outcomes of the Retreat will be put on the collaborative space The outcomes will also be sent to the Dutch Ambassador currently serving in Egypt (T. F. de Zwaan) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. - The suggestion raised by SURF-AS gender policy advisor to set up antennas for each sub-regional group was adopted: Seiko Sugita from Lebanon for the seven GTTF recipients, Sufian Mushasha from Palestine for conflict and post conflict countries , Sahar Shawa from Kuwait for NCC, Hannie Meesters for BDP/HQ. The antennas will be working closely with SURF-AS as a primary access point for communication, planning and exchange with the gender focal points of the sub-regional country offices involved. - SURF-AS will inform country offices on potential funding for gender mainstreaming Country Offices will send examples of their work to UNDP HQ/BDP (Hannie Meesters) 17 4 OVERALL OBS ERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Generally participants seemed to have learned a lot from the retreat (Participants evaluation: Annex VII). Their understanding of gender concepts and approaches was deepened and clarified and their knowledge of the links between gender equality and the two practice areas covered, poverty and governance, was reinforced. Although the difference in expertise and experience in gender mainstreaming among participants was substantial, the interactive debates in plenary and small groups, and the sharing of participants‟ country experiences from the perspective of a gender focal point, created a conducive learning environment with a sense of togetherness. Participants‟ involvement and commitment was also strengthened by the active and supportive role of the SURF-AS Gender Policy Advisor and her team prior, during and in the follow-up to the retreat. A number of participants indicated the workshop was beyond their expectations and many emphasized that the gender retreat was one of the best workshops that they attended. Particularly appreciated were the excellent overall coordination, management and administrative support provided by the SURF-AS Gender Team and their flexibility towards participants‟ specific requests. The co-facilitation and the participation in the design of the training by the SURF-AS gender policy advisor Jocelyne Talbot has been extremely valuable to set benchmarks for gender mainstreaming in the region. The contributions of Fatma Khafagy as a resource person was also highly validated, setting the context at the start of the Retreat with a key note speech on the challenges Arab women face in the region and continuing with valuable inputs during plenary debates. There was a genuine sense of solidarity for developing or strengthening their strategic action plans and building regional and sub-regional networks for on-going exchange, mutual support and joint initiatives. Many seemed to be motivated to be more concentrated on gender equality, more insistent on gender mainstreaming in all programmes/projects and push for gender mainstreaming at the policy/management level. Some planned to establish a gender cluster; gender team or gender thematic group and increase staff awareness at their country offices. For that to happen participants would need continued management and technical support from UNDP/HQ RBAS and BDP; SURF-AS; and Country Offices in the following areas: 18 - Ensure technical and financial support in the further development and implementation of the strategic action plans and regional networks and community of practice developed and presented at the end of the retreat - Provide further in-depth education and gender analysis training combined with technical assistance (through other strategies such as accompaniments, working groups, case studies, etc.) with an emphasis on sustained capacity development where interventions are short but recurring, strategic and hands-on; - Review and strengthen mandates and capacities of gender focal points through capacity building so as to be an effective and competent support structure with formal roles and responsibilities; - Support in maintaining regional and sub-regional networks for exchange and mutual learning, using existing UNDP and other tools and resources (e.g. the UNDP collaborative space); - Ensure the establishment of accountability mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (performance mana gement) and making gender expertise/experience as a pre-requisite in recruitment; - Setting up structures for monitoring impact of project/programme interventions with adequate financial resources and budgeting for gender mainstreaming. 19 Annex 1 Participants List 20 ANNEX 1 PARTIC IPANTS LIS T UNDP CO/ GTTF Name Title Office phone number Algeria Saliha Slimani Naglaa Arafa Ghada Waly Programme Assistant Programme Analyst Assistant Res. Rep. Programme Analyst Programme Specialist RBM Officer Programme Officer DRR Executive Assistant Governance Program Associate Programme Officer Chief of Staff Support Deputy Res. Rep Programme Officer GFP Saliha.slimani@undp.org Naglaa.arafa@undp.org Ghada.waly@undp.org Rania.hedeya@undp.org Sherif.el.tokali@undp.org Noha.rifaat@undp.org Seiko.sugita@undp.org Rania.el-azem@undp.org Roula.koudsi@undp.org Yoshiko.honda@undp.org Rima.hassani@undp.org Fumiko.fukuoka@undp.org Bushra.ahmed@undp.org Egypt Rania Hedeya Sherif El Tokali Noha Rifaat Lebanon Morocco Seiko Sugita Rania El Azem Roula Koudsi Syria Yoshiko Honda Rima Al-Hassani Fumiko Fukuoka Yemen Bushra Ahmed Jocelyne Talbot Nora Khalaf SURF-AS Abir Atma Sonya Knox Gender Policy Advisor Office Manager GTTF Assistant Research Assistant Jocelyne.talbot@undp.org Nora.khalaf@undp.org Abir.atma@undp.org.lb abiratma@hotmail.com Sonya.knox@undp.org 21 UNDP CO Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan UAE PAAP Name Ela Chirileanu Saad Al-Kadhimi Rania Tarazi Sahar Shawa Thuraya Ismail Halima Aman Samia Elnager Ruba Alhassan Sufian Mushasha Title Programme Advisor IREP Manager Poverty Analyst Gender Focal Point Programme Associate Programme Specialist Gender Senior Programme Officer HD Programme Analyst Head of SHD Section Email Address Ela.chirileanu@undp.org Saad.alkadhimi@undp.org Rania.tarazi@undp.org Sahar.shawa@undp.org Thuraya.ismail@undp.org Halima.aman@undp.org Samia.elnager@undp.org Ruba.alhassan@undp.org Sufian.mushasha@undp.org UNDP HQ RBAS, G Focal Group UNDP Egypt BDP, Gender Unit Others: Country Holland Varsha Redkar Juliette Hage Elissar Sarrough Hannie Meesters Learning & Gender Varsha.redkar@undp.org Specialist Senior Programme Adviser Deputy Res. Rep. Coordinator GTTF Juliette.hage@undp.org Elissar.Sarrough@undp.org Hannie.meesters@undp.org Name Marguerite Appel Title Senior Gender Advisor, KIT Trainer Key Note Speech Reporter Reporter Translator Translator Email Address m.appel@kit.nl fkhafagy@yahoo.com fatma_k@ncwegypt.com wowger@yahoo.com Gielan1@yahoo.com Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Fatma Khafagy Germaine Haddad Gielan El Messiri Nadia Abbas Magda Bakir 22 Annex II Agenda 23 ANNEX II AGENDA Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gende r mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Agenda September 24 Meeting of training team, resource persons & logistical team Arrival of participants Evening: Arrival, introductions Welcome Reception Day ONE - September 25 08:30-09:00 09:00-09:30 Registration OPENING WELCOM E ADDRESS Antonio Vigilante UNDP Resident Representative Egypt Mr. T.F de Zwaan, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Egypt Jocelyne Talbot, Gender Policy Advisor SURF-AS Fatma Khafagy, Director of the Ombudsperson Office The National Council for Women, Egypt Arab Women & Challenges in the region Presentation and discussion KEY NOTE ADDRESS: 09:30- 10.30 KEY NOTE SPEAKER: 10:30-10:45 10:45-11:30 Break INTRODUCTIONS Introductions, presentation of workshop objectives and agenda Expectations and contributions, including feed-back from training needs assessment. Plenary discussion 24 11:30-13:30 SESSION 1: BUILDING MAINSTREAM ING A COMMON UNDERSTANDING FOR GENDER Conceptual clarifications and presenting a common framework: domains of change and strategies for transformation Exercise, discussion and presentation 13:30-14:30 14:30-16:00 Lunch SESSION 2: GENDER ANALYSIS AND THE PROGRAMME CYCLE Presentation, case studies and discussion Break SESSION 2: GENDER ANALYSIS AND THE PROGRAMME CYCLE (CONT .) Presentation, case studies and discussion Day evaluation 16:00-16:15 16:15-17:30 17:30-18:00 DAY 2 - September 26 09:00-10:30 SESSION 3: SPECIFIC GENDER I SSUES IN UNDP PRACTICE AREAS Gender analysis of UNDP practice areas: poverty and governance Presentation, discussion and group work Break SESSION 4: SPECIFIC GENDER ISSUES IN UNDP PRACTICE AREAS (CONT .) Gender analysis of UNDP practice areas: poverty and governance Group work and case study presentations, plenary discussion Lunch SESSION 5: SUPPORT M ECHANISM S FOR GENDER MAINSTREAM ING Overview of policies, strategies and mechanisms for accountability in support of gender mainstreaming and the role of gender focal points Panel presentations:  Jocelyne Talbot: UNDP gender strategy & action plan, SURF-AS, GTTF  Fumiko Fukuoka: GTTF Syria and Gender Thematic Group  Juliette Hage: RBAS regional strategy, Arab HDR Plenary discussion and review of key issues emerging 11:00-11:15 11:15-13:30 13:30-14:30 14:30-16:00 16:00-16:15 16:15-17:00 Break SESSION 6: GENDER LINKAGES Gender mainstreaming in partnerships: CCA-UNDAF, Gender Theme Groups, MDG Reporting. Videoconference with Aster Zaoude, BDP Presentations and discussions 25 17:00- 17:30 SESSION 7: GENDER RESOURCES LRC Varsha Redkar-Palepu display and presentation of resources & collaborative space; sharing gender tools and good practice examples Plenary discussion 17:30-18:00 Day evaluation DAY 3 - September 27 09:00-11.00 SESSION 8: GENDER M AINSTREAM ING IN UNDP PRACTICE Review of structures, mechanisms and strategies in place for Gender Mainstreaming. Mapping exercise: participants‟ country presentations and clarification Break SESSION 9: DEVELOPING A FRAM EWORK FOR REGIONAL AND SUB – REGIONAL STRATEGIES 11:00-11:15 11:00-13:30 Situation analysis, review of key issues, data and statistics, information gaps; etc. Developing and discussing key elements of a regional framework and translating the framework into practice Working in sub-regional groups, presentations and discussion 13:30-14:30 14:30-16:00 Lunch SESSION 10: STRATEGIC ACTION PLANS FOR GENDER MAINSTREAM ING Preparing action plans for UNDP gender mainstreaming; building a Regional Gender Network and a Gender Community of Practice Identification of concrete actions and outcomes by the end of 2005 Working in sub-regional groups, group work presentations and plenary discussion Break FOLLOW-UP Plenary discussion on next steps and time frame EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Certificate of Appreciation / Certificate of Participation with Group Photo Closure and farewell 16:00-16:15 16:15-16:45 16:45-17:00 26 Annex III Results Needs Assessment Questionnaire Report 27 ANNEX III RES ULTS NEEDS ASS ESS MENT QUES TIONNAIRE R EPORT Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Needs Assessment Questionnaire Report In Preparation for the Training Prior to the workshop, 25 of the Needs Assessment Questionnaire (NAQ) were sent for the preparation of the gender retreat/ training. Three of the 25 could not attend Libya, Tunisia, and Djibouti. However, Libya and Tunisia filled the NAQ. Djibouti and one of the UNDP Egypt did not fill the NA Q. Therefore: 25 – 1 – 1 = the report covers 23 filled NAQs. UNDP CO Algeria Name Saliha Slimani Naglaa Arafa Egypt Ghada Waly Rania Hedeya Sherif El To kali Lebanon Seiko Sugita Title/Position Programme Assistant Programme Analyst Assistant Res. Rep. Programme Analyst Programme Specialist Programme Officer Area of Expertise Management of projects and gender issues Gender / Democratic Governance SME development, microfinance, income generation for female heads of households Governance ICT For Development Governance, HIV/AIDS mainstreaming Academic: B.A.: International Affairs and Politics/minor: Economics M.A.: International Polit ics Thesis on Moroccan Women UNDP- Have been working on Gender since Sept. 1st 2004 Governance Economics /Business Develop ment Team Management Progarmme Officer with Governance Un it: Elect ions, Hu man Rights, Gender Focal Point HIV/AIDS, governance and gender focal point Program management Morocco Rania El Azem DRR Executive Assistant Roula Koudsi Syria Yoshiko Honda Rima A l-Hassani Yemen Bushra Ahmed Governance Program Associate Programme Officer Chief of Staff Support Programme Officer GFP Bahrain Iraq Ela Chirileanu Saad Al-Kadhimi Programme Advisor IREP Manager 28 Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Tunisia UAE PAAP SURF-AS Rania Tarazi Asma Muttawa Sahar Shawa Thuraya Ismail Halima A man Samia Elnager Samir Bouzekri Ruba Alhassan Sufian Mushasha Sonya Knox Poverty Analyst GFP Gender Focal Point Programme Associate Programme Specialist Gender Senior Programme Officer GFP HD Programme Analyst Head of SHD Sect ion Research Assistant Poverty and Social Develop ment N/A Gender and ICT Good Governance, youth issues, and gender mainstreaming Programme/project management, gender equality N/A Governance Hu man Develop ment, Globalization N/A Research Assistant on gender and poverty alleviation issues 1. How long have you been involved with gender mainstreaming in your present post: UNDP CO Algeria, Syria, S URF-AS Syria, Kuwait Yemen, Jordan Morocco, Somalia Saudi Arabi a Egypt, Lebanon, Li bya Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, UAE Egypt Egypt Palestine Sudan Syria Any previous experience: Morocco, Syria, Syria, SA Egypt, Eg ypt Algeria, Somalia, Palestine 4 2 3 No 2 years 3 years # 3 2 2 2 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 2 Duration 3 months 5-6 months 7-8 months one year 18 months 2 years 3 years 5 years 6 years 10 years 25 years N/A Egypt, Eg ypt, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Li bya, Kuwait, 12 N/A Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, Tunisia I have been involved with UNDP related gender mainstreaming during my present Iraq post and previous experience.   university courses: introduction to gender, gender and development, gender and IR also: provided gender perspective to ICT4D manual by the Arab Resource Collective SURF-AS 29 2. Please list what you see as your most important job responsibilities with regard to gender mainstreaming. UNDP CO Algeria Ans wers  Management of national programmes and projects, with an accent on gender issues and the objectives of MDG,  Working with Algerian ONGs and civ il society in support of the MDGs.  Design and management of UNDP interventions in the area of Women empowerment and gender equality  Monitoring and reporting on gender mainstreaming in UNDP programmes and projects Ensure transfer of assets and accessibility of services to poor women and that projects and program are designed in a gender sensitive manner I should make sure that Gender taken care of in my programme activit ies. Innovate idea  Create the constituency among colleagues and partners on the importance of gender mainstreaming through by information and knowledge sharing  Propose concret solution (activity) which can beco me a break through to projects/ programmes Managing actually a project on Gender: “Strengthening UNDP Morocco‟s Gender Mainstreaming Capacity”  Raising awareness on the ole of wo men  Raising awareness on the misconception of wo men‟s role  Highlighting areas where wo men are expected to be involved  Train ing on how to mainstream gender in UNDP‟s work  Conducting training to our Govern ment counter parts. As a programme officer, ensuring if gender mainstreaming perspective is put in place for all programming practices by going through a check list, keeping catch up with the recent relevant literatures, best practices in other offices, and sharing it with the colleagues in the office. Exp laining the concept to the government counterparts. My responsibility as a Ch ief of Staff Support implies that I mains tream gender in the office structure. Currently, I am handling a new project on education and I will have a responsibility to mainstream gender in the project.  Develop and imp lement in cooperation with all programme staff and project counterparts a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for Yemen CO.  Work towards enhancing the capacity of the UNDP staff to be able to mainstream gender in all projects and programmes as well as consolidate and use the proper tools and methodologies to apply the GM Strategy.  Develop a framework for UNDP to assist the Govern ment of Yemen in promoting gender equality and mainstreaming gender in its national policies and programmes.  mainstreaming gender in the substantive work programmes  provide advice on gender perspectives to national counterparts  integrate gender issues within UN reports and documents  develop, maintain and disseminate a knowledge base on gender perspectives and good practices  Identifying gender mainstream target group  What are the reasons to target this group  What are the resources available  What are the methods to be implemented  What are the priorit ies for intervention  Co mparative experience and advantage of UNDP and related specialised offices  Collaboration with other concerned partners Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria Yemen Bahrain Iraq 30 Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a  Applicability of programs and projects design  Updating key indicators and receiving feedback  Ensuring all gender mainstreaming is featured into each program and project goal. To be introduced to the concepts, tools and methodologies of gender mainst reaming in project formulat ion and in monitoring and evaluation. Examp les of good practice projects from the region would be specifically useful, such as looking in depth at one or two case studies. I‟m currently working on developing my portfolio, and attending the workshop will be of great benefit during this phase. To understand the basic gender concepts, tools for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming into UNDP CO work. To clarify the use of support system and action plan available for success ful GTTF implementation Learn methodologies and tools of gender mainstreaming and exchange of best practices. Expectations: 1) Major support by Surf in preparation for the Women and MDGs workshop (relevant documents, expertise, ideas…etc) 2) More training in the future at the CO level to increase my capacity as wo men focal point. Specific Issue/topic: 1- Give special attention to the dissimilar status of Saudi Women when developing the framework for regional strategies 2- Focus on women & part icipation: Ho w to prag matically strengthen women‟s role in the polit ical/economic life  Garnering the buy-in fro m staff and management on the importance of gender mainstreaming  Where to start in developing a gender strategy  Making sure gender mainstreaming receives the attention it deserves, given that focal points are persons usually overburdened with a mult itude of other seemingly mo re pressing responsibilities.  Ensuring that the existing gaps in ensuring gender equality are identified, an d a strategy developed to close that gap to ensure men and wo men have equal opportunities  Ensuring my colleagues at the CO level understand and support the concept of gender equality both in the office environ ment and the programmes/projects  Influence/advocate and mobilize resources for supporting gender mainstreaming  Leading the process of developing a gender strategy  Assisting programme in identify ing gender issues, on demanded  Advocating for gender in all UNDP foru ms and interactions  Monitoring commit ment to and imp lementation of Gender mainstreaming Somalia Somalia Sudan Tunisia         Gender and indicators Specify the relationship between gender mainstreaming and development Train ing/providing information to all programme staff on engendering programmes/projects Train ing/providing information to all operational staff on gender mainstreaming (for gender sensitive recruit ment, correspondence…) Ensuring all programmes/projects/activities have a gender component Ensuring that all UNDP/PAPP activit ies and projects are gender sensitive support the Gender Policy Advisor (Arab Regional M DG report, co mp ilat ion of gender indicators, background research on women and quotas) provide gender input to SURF-AS Research Team‟s expert referrals, best practices and consolidated responses UAE PAAP SURF-AS 31 3. Are any/all of these mentioned in your TOR? UNDP CO Egypt, Eg ypt, Eg ypt, Syri a, Syri a, Yemen, Li bya, Kuwait, SA, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, Palestine Algeria, Syria, S URF-AS Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Bahrai n, Iraq, Jordan # 14 3 6 Ans wers No Yes Partly / General / Indirectly 4. Have you ever participated in any formal gender training or capacity-building on gender mainstreaming? UNDP CO Before joining UNDP: Algeria, Eg ypt, Eg ypt, S yria, S yria, Iraq, J ordan, Li bya, Kuwait, SA, Sudan, Tunisia Egypt, Somalia, UA E, Palestine, S URF-AS Lebanon, Morocco, Syri a, Yemen, Bahrai n, Egypt During a previous UNDP assignment: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Li bya, Kuwait, SA, Somalia, Tunisia Egypt, Eg ypt, Eg ypt, Syri a, Sudan, Palestine Algeria, Eg ypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, SURF-AS As part of present assignment: Egypt, Eg ypt, Eg ypt, Iraq, J ordan, Li bya, Kuwai t, SA, Somalia, Tunisia, UAE Algeria, Eg ypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, S URF-AS Syria, B ahrain, Palestine 9 6 8 No Yes N/A # Ans wers 12 5 6 No Yes N/A 11 9 3 No Yes N/A If yes, please give brief details (where and by whom, how many days, whether focused on perspectives, skills or specific issues) UNDP CO Algeria Egypt Egypt Lebanon Ans wers I have participated in the Meeting Beijing + 5 in June, 2000, within the framework of the Gender activit ies, This meet ing focussed on the recommendations made in Beijing‟s meet ing in 1995. Gender Mainstreaming in p rogrammes & pro jects and participated in video conferenc e organized by the World Bank. In the VDA courses there was a module on Gender. The duration of the on -line course was 2 weeks, and it walked through the subject as a whole. I took part in a workshop (Manila, CAPWIP, 5 days) on gender respo nsive governance. I visited on-going or past projects successfully implemented within M inistries, municipalities and academic institution. Rabat, Morocco, UNDP/UNIFEM 3 days « Institutionnalisation de l'approche genre dans le cadre du CCP 2002-2006: atelier 11-14 Octobre 2004 » A one day workshop will take place to morrow. Mr. Omar trabulsi is the trainer. One day briefing of gender sensitive budgeting by a gender advisor fro m HQ (in Tokyo) One session as a part of Policy introductory works hop for JPO (at HQ), 3 days briefing session by SURF AS Gender policy advisor. Morocco Syria 32 Yemen Somalia a four day workshop in Sana‟a Yemen with the World Food Progarmme (WFP).This a Gender Mainstreaming Workshop on the structure of the WFP Enhanced Co mmit ment to Women, Action and Work plan Develop ment Workshop A workshop in the early 1990s organized by Canadian International Develop ment Agency Long experience with several UN Agencies, INGOs and at community level Teaching Masters courses on gender and economy and gender and culture Gender and Develop ment course as part of MSc in Development Studies. Duration: 3 months Where: School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. o f London, London, UK Whom: Prof. Deniz Kandiyoti Attended intro to GM by SURF PA Jocelyne Talbot given in April/May 2005 – duration 1 hour Attended conference call/online conference on Gender Mainstreaming in a CO – held August 12, 2005 duration 1 hour – provided overview of GM and different ways of application in COs Sudan UAE SURF-AS 5. What are the three main challenges you face in promoting gender mainstreaming in your Regional/CO Unit? UNDP CO Algeria Ans wers  Integrate Gender approach in all national programmes and projects with UNDP, with a specific gender strategy;  To strengthen UNDP collaboration with NGOs and civ il society associations in support of the MDGS.  The appraisal and evaluation of project documents and programmes fro m a gender perspective is not institutionalized.  No clear gender strategy in the office with indicators, project orig inal design  No awareness among partners No N/A  Programme officer seems to agree on the importance of gender mainstreaming but do not see the urgency/ do not know how to do it in a particu lar situation/ project.  National counterparts do not consider gender as their priorities.  Besides the GTTF this year, there is no “seed money” to hold a “break-through activity” concerning cross -cutting issues.  Highly act ive civ il society  A pro-Gender government, in favour of changes  Most UNDP Morocco‟s staff and project coordinators want to mainstream gender in their pro jects and programmes, they just don‟t know how. There exists a positive attitude towards this subject. As I didn‟t work before on the subject, I don‟t know what challenges I would face.  Since Gender cluster or focal point is not officially assigned or established in our office, there in no actual drive to ensure or introduce it fo r all staff.  Indifference of staff to the issue (as it is a cross cutting theme and there is no teams entitled with Gender such as governance or environment, and due to the heavy workloads, programme staff tend to put it in the last.)  Staffs tend to put some reservation to the issue by considering cultural sensitivities and political situation. We usually have more female qualified candidates than males Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria 33 Yemen Bahrain Iraq Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Tunisia UAE PAAP SURF-AS Absence of an integrated framework for GM at the country office Absence of the required tools and methodologies for GM at the CO level. Inadequate institutional capacity for GM. (These three challenges are being addressed within the context o f the GM pro ject under the GTTF) The main obstacle is the commit ment fro m the national authorities. In Bahrain there is a national entity in charge of gender-related programmes The Supreme Council for Wo men and it is against any mentioning of the subject under any circumstances. After appro ximately 3 years of negotiations we have managed to have a project on gender political empowerment with the SCW. However, having said that we hav e also managed to include certain gender related activit ies as part of the governance programme.  Office capacity in terms of skills and expertise available to tackle gender issues.  Incorporating polices and programs into national development plans an d translating them into effective tangible outcome  Knowledge sharing and exchange of informat ion on effective gender mainstreaming.  The methods of mainstreaming gender at the different levels: policies, programmes, pro jects and for monitoring impact on both males and females i.e., the need to build our capacity on gender mainstreaming.  Challenges related to building awareness among our partners on the need for promoting gender equality.  In many instances applying gender mainstreaming co mes down to adding a gender component to the design of a project, or designing projects that target females in particular.  Convincing peers and colleagues of the importance of GM of p rojects and UNDP Libya‟s country programming. A short cut of including wo men with the execution of the project is seen as sufficient by most at UNDP CO and national partner levels.  Lack of a gender mainstreaming strategy  This responsibility is additional to a range of other responsibilit ies, and gets relegated to the back burner as a result 1- Traditional customs in the Kingdom dictate segregation of all activit ies related to women. 2- The lack of suitable job opportunities vs. academic majors for wo men. 3- The lack of independent transportation, which makes it harder for wo men to access jobs.  Lack of experience  Gender Mainstreaming in Parliamentary Work  Gender sensitive budgeting  Co mmit ment of staff and government  Coordinating my responsibilit ies in governance with needs for gender mainstreaming in office  to educate the main actors and develop a sensibility for mainstreaming  to avoid that mainstreaming results in immobilisation  thorough knowledge of the situation of wo men and the role of statistics in terms of specificity of the sexes  time  lack of significance/importance given to gender component by some staff  difficulty of finding the relation/linkage of gender issues for some programmes/projects  quick delivery  overworked professional staff  weak national wo men machinery  lack of trained staff in Arab COs  lack of support from within the SURF fro m colleagues 34  lack of organized, accessible and relevant materials/tools 6. What successful strategies for gender mainstreaming have you been involved in that you can share? UNDP CO Algeria Ans wers Stratégie visant à renforcer le statut social, écono mique et politique des femmes dans le processus de développement. Working with programme colleagues on a case by case basis No clear gender strategy in the office with indicators, project orig inal design No awareness among partners None N/A I shared with colleagues a written proposal on eventual entrypoints (of on -going Governance projects) and a basic knowledge (concept/ how to do it) with in a programme meeting. None N/A No Co mment None In the Yemen CO programme effo rts to address gender issues as a cross cutting issue is fairly developed yet warrants further strengthening and confirmation. The Yemen CO gives explicit attention to improving wo men‟s participation in economic and political life in four key capacity development pro jects. The general perception is that Gender and Develop ment is an under-developed area of concentration in the absence of a gender specific p roject, and in the context of weak advocacy for gender concerns through exiting projects. With support form the Gender Thematic Trust Funds (GTTF) the Yemen CO is working towards formu lating and imp lementing a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy as well as strengthening the capacity staff to understand gender concepts and gender mainstreaming as a method and to operationalism the perspective in every day work in projects and programmes. In the Yemen CO programme effo rts to address gender issues as a cross cutting issue is fairly developed yet warrants further strengthening and confirmation. The Yemen CO gives explicit attention to improving wo men‟s participation in economic and political life in four key capacity development pro jects. The general perception is that Gender and Develop ment is an under-developed area of concentration in the absence of a gender specific p roject, and in the context of weak advocacy for gender concerns through exiting projects. With support form the Gender Thematic Trust Funds (GTTF) the Yemen CO is working towards formu lating and imp lementing a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy as well as strengthening the capacity staff to understand gender concepts and gender mainstreaming as a method and to operationalism the perspective in every day work in projects and programmes. After finally obtaining the approval of the SCW to bring some experts to support the appointed women of the Parliament in legal draft ing, a mission has been mounted and a very successful training took place with wo men MPs acquiring the req uired skills that supported them in drafting gender-related legislat ion.  Collaborating with local wo men active groups like NNGO, UN specialised agencies like UNIFEM and others through networking  Introducing applicable programs and ensuring that equality of both men and wo men are part and parcel to any national program  Media and public awareness programs of wo men contribution and achievements as opposed to men through visibility campaign at the local level. Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria Yemen Yemen Bahrain Iraq 35 Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Tunisia UAE PAAP SURF-AS The office continuously attempts to mainstream gender within projects, during project formu lation and project appraisals committees. N/A  Benefiting fro m available sources, like SURF.  My only experience thus far, has been working with the SURF mission on equitable political part icipation fo r Kuwait i wo men, which resulted in a draft pro ject document.  Building partnerships with NGOs headed by Women towards projects development.  Involving wo men in the media in all UNDP related activit ies.  Organizing “from and to women” events to identify their needs at the national context. For examp le, we are currently preparing for a “Wo men and MDGs Workshop” that will take place in November 2005 and will main ly address women &the labour market. Lobbied for the allocation of TRAC resources (for the first time in the history of the CO) for gender mainstreaming Successfully applying for funding (fro m a t rust fund) specifically to support enhancement of wo men‟s participation and decision-making in the political arena Still in process of preparing office strategy None N/A Develop ment of the national strategy. Developing the gender statistic unit. Establishment of the local wo men economic empowerment in itiat ives. N/A - too new on the job 7. What do you see as the basic requirements and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming to happen at the Regional/CO level? UNDP CO Algeria Ans wers Share my experience and skills with other regional countries and learn new mechanis ms for gender mainstreaming.  General Awareness of programme staff on how to mainstream gender in their programmes.  In- depth knowledge of Gender focal points on tools to mainstream gender.  Programmes and project activit ies should be evaluated from a gender perspective. Planning and design stage Capacity build ing of implementing agencies Set standard critereas and indicators to be used in our programme activ ities. N/A  Programme officers/ project staff shoud get trained on gender mainstreaming.  Integrate gender focal point/ gender consultant in a project fo rmulat ion process.  Allocate the office/ pro ject budget (1%) for gender mainstreaming I think that the basic requirements are to simplify the concept “Gender Mainstreaming”. Many people are familiar with this concept because they hear about it very often but they do not necessarily understand it, nor do they know how to mainstream it. N/A First of all, we need to establish an officially assigned gender cluster with full t ime gender focal point. S/he should ensure that all staff are using tools/guideline/checklist for GM when programming and day -to-day process of projects. All of us also need to have basic knowledge and understanding on GM, and some materials we can refer to. Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria 36 Yemen Bahrain Iraq Iraq Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Educate all UNDP staff on Gender which is being done currently in Syria.  Developing Gender Mainstreaming Strategy at the CO level.  Leadership and Co mmit ment  Allocation of adequate resources.  Behavioural Change at the organizat ion level as well as local counterparts  Clear line of responsibilit ies for whoever is involved in the GM process.  Adequate monitoring and auditing tools for GM are in place.  Integrating GM fro m the very beginning in the projects / programmes formulat ion process.  Setting clear target and object that will take into consideration the existing capacity of the CO and the limited resources in some cases.  Apply GM concepts in both programme and CO ad min istration. More support to occur fro m the regional level in the national programme might be useful. For example SURF may co me for a visit to Bahrain and assess the possibilit ies of gender mainstreaming and provide reco mmendations/suggestions on how to improve the situation. Furthermore, support/advice is needed fro m reg ional level to the on-going project with the SCW main ly related to training on polit ical empowerment as wo men are preparing for next year elections.  Understanding the local heritage and culture  Design awareness and public information applicable programs  Build upon gender mainstream trad itional areas of activit ies.  Avail the right human and material resource  Build on the MDGs by ensuring wo men empowerment is integral part to the program cycle.  Networking and public information through sharing of lessons and experiences  Improve the dialogue aiming at favourable polices and regulations  Staff capacity building and enhancement of office expertise  Understanding the local heritage and culture  Design awareness and public information applicable programs  Build upon gender mainstream trad itional areas of activit ies.  Avail the right human and material resource  Build on the MDGs by ensuring wo men empowerment is integral part to the program cycle.  Networking and public information through sharing of lessons and experiences  Improve the dialogue aiming at favourable polices and regulations  Staff capacity building and enhancement of office expertise  Consultations with gender experts during CO programme/projects formulat ion.  Train ing programme and project staff on gender mainstreaming.  Maintaining an ongoing dialogue for sharing experiences.  Including a checklist to be used in the project appraisal meet ings during project formulat ion to ensure mainstreaming gender. Train ing of UNDP and national staff on gender mainstreaming and monitoring its implementation through the Cos.  Train ing  Setting realistic objectives  Learn fro m best practices Increasing job opportunities and more flexib ility in tradit ional constraints.  Support for gender mainstreaming at the senior management level  Allocation of adequate resources to ensure training, sensitization and development of tools is conducted  Strong advocacy role for gender adviser  Gender sensitive reporting guidelines for CO  Regular meeting for gender focal points to review progress and needs  Best practices and success stories regional workshops 37 Tunisia   UAE PAAP SURF-AS thorough knowledge of the specific indicators being aware of the risk that people who are to be helped seem less important than the programs or policies implemented  reinforcing the importance of people when viewing the specific indicators  Making it mandatory to have a 'proper' gender component for all programmes/projects (some are usually one short sentence on gender equality when recruit ing consultants)  Making it mandatory to detail imp lementation of the said gender component for monitoring and evaluation of programmes/projects  Technical expertise  National o wnership  Resources Properly trained gender focal points, with access to organized relevant tools, and supportive COs 8. What tools/methodologies/training materials have you developed for gender mainstreaming that you would like to share at this workshop? Can you recommend critical papers/documents you found useful and why? UNDO CO Algeria Ans wers We haven‟t developed training materiel for gender mainstreaming. The VDA course on Gender Mainstreaming Cida gender strategy Care international gender tool kit I did not ICT for Illitracy with focus on women. Woman ICT Club. A proposal on entrypoints (see attached) I would like to share with the participating gender focal points what has been developed by our Gender project team for the Gender pro ject “Strengthening UNDP Morocco‟s Gender Mainstreaming Capacity”: 1) Preliminary programme for our train ing workshops 2) Preliminary bib liography (sources we find useful) that our team is using for this project 3) Questionnaire developed to evaluate the level of understanding of Gender Mainstreaming of UNDP office and project staff and research paper (first draft) analysing the completed questionnaires. Useful documents available at UNDP website (were sent by Jocelyne Talbot to UNDP Gender Focal points) “Framework for Gender Mainstreaming in UNDP Angola's Programmes ” “Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for UNDP El Salvador” Reason: I found them clear and concise, had useful checklists and hints on how gender was successfully mainstreamed. N/A No Co mment None As mentioned in Q No. 7 Yemen CO is still at the beginning of this process, as we are already started to develop a CO GM Strategy and provide our programme and project staff with the necessary knowledge and tools to integrate gender issues into their wo rk. As no major gender mainstreaming occurred in our programmes I am keen in learning fro m my other colleagues how has it been achieved in their own context. Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria Yemen Bahrain 38 Iraq Jordan Li bya Kuwait Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Tunisia UAE PAAP SURF-AS 9. Adherence to the UN millenniu m summit by integrating gender mainstreaming issues as development goals. This will be measured by polices and program pract ices in action. Beside a strong monitoring and effective implementation will result into indicators to the level of success at the country and office level. N/A N/A N/A We are in the process of identifying speakers who will present background papers at the upcoming “Women and MDGs Workshop”, which we can provide you with by November 2005. I have not personally developed any tools, however, there is a mu ltitude of literature that I have found useful e.g. the BDP Resource Kit on Gender Mainstreaming N/A None N/A No N/A – I assisted in the gathering of the tools to be distributed at this conference What are your expectations for this workshop? Is there some specific issue/topic you would like to raise/discuss? Ans wers I expect that at the end of the workshop, I will lea rn a lot of experiences and captured good ideas fro m other countries for the gender mainstreaming. In-depth knowledge of Gender analysis and mainstreaming What is the UN strategy for gender mainstreaming I expect to learn more about: How to ensure gender is mainstreamed in develop ment projects, in the planning, imp lementation and later during the evaluation phases. Learn mo re about gender mainstreaming  Many of programme officers (including me) have already learned basic concepts and approaches in GM, received many good documents. Tools are available. However, few had chance to exercise it because of lack of t ime, fund, motivation …  Can we co mpare two written documents (project proposal/ strategy/ report): before and after gender mainstreaming? I would like to see concretely how the gender analysis should be carried out. Discuss the similarit ies and differences in methodology, and exchange experiences.  To be familiarized with the basic concepts of gender and development  To be trained on how to mainstream gender in UNDP‟s projects  To have the skills on how to train others on mainstreaming gender I would like to grasp an actual and clear picture how we can practically imp lement GM practice in programming step by step. Since nothing is really done thus far with regard to GM in our office as well as in the country, I am expecting to learn the best practices of other CO in the region as I am interested how successfully we can adopt it taking cultural aspects into consideration. I also wonder how other office succeeded in getting other staff involved and interested in GM. I expect to learn more about gender to enhance my basic knowledge in this field. Better understanding of what is Gender Mainstreaming and how we can apply the GM concepts in our daily work. To extent GM strategies have been effective in GM at the project and programme level for d ifferent UNDP offices and what are the lessons learned at the organizational and global level. Acquire more knowledge on how to assist the Govern ment in mainstreaming gender in its national policies and programmes( what are the success stories of other CO, challenges and whether GM has been integrated in the MDG p rocess) UNDP CO Algeria Egypt Lebanon Morocco Syria Yemen 39 Bahrain Iraq Iraq Jordan Li bya Kuwait I would like to learn fro m maybe fro m other colleagues/trainers what techniques or methodologies have been used in countries in the GCC to mainstream gender in their programmes. Having the right ammun ition at the end of the workshop to mainstream gender and support other organizations rather than national authorities such as civil society in their gender programmes would be highly beneficial however without antagonizing the SCW. I would expect that this work shop will enhance our knowledge and experience on how best we can incorporate successfully gender mainstream projects to our national support program .The work shop will identify effect ive techniques and tools that can be used into gender mainstreaming pro jects. The role of UNDP verses national developments polices through advisory services and exchange of expert ise .Moreover more understanding would emerge to the accountability of the program inputs to gender equality. I would expect that this work shop will enhance our knowledge and experience on how best we can incorporate successfully gender mainstream projects to our national support program .The work shop will identify effect ive techniques and tools that can be used into gender mainstreaming pro jects. The role of UNDP verses national developments polices through advisory services and exchange of expert ise .Moreover more understanding would emerge to the accountability of the program inputs to gender equality. To be introduced to the concepts, tools and methodologies of gender mainstreaming in project formulat ion and in monitoring and evaluation. Examp les of good practice projects from the region would be specifically useful, such as looking in depth at one or two case studies. I‟m currently working on developing my portfolio, and attending the workshop will be of great benefit during this phase. To understand the basic gender concepts, tools for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming into UNDP CO work. To clarify the use of support system and action plan available for successful GTTF implementation Learn methodologies and tools of gender mainstreaming and exchange of best practices. Expectations:  Major support by Surf in preparation for the Women and MDGs workshop (relevant documents, expertise, ideas…etc)  More training in the future at the CO level to increase my capacity as wo men focal point. Specific Issue/topic:  Give special attention to the dissimilar status of Saudi Women when developing the framework for regional strategies  Focus on women & part icipation: Ho w to prag matically strengthen women‟s role in the polit ical/economic life  Garnering the buy-in fro m staff and management on the importance of gender mainstreaming  Where to start in developing a gender strategy  Making sure gender mainstreaming receives the attention it deserves, given that focal points are persons usually overburdened with a mult itude of other seemingly mo re pressing responsibilities.  To discuss experiences with developing and implementing gender mainstreaming strategy for UNDP  To have a plan for mon itoring co mmit ment to gender at CO and regional level N/A Saudi Arabi a Somalia Sudan Tunisia 40 Expectati on  Have better resources (material/presentations/training programmes/consultants/trainers) on gender mainstreaming that can be used in the Arab world for our partners.  [We seem to have excellent and abundant material on internet, intranet and fro m various UN agencies on gender mainstreaming that until now I can only use internally ] UAE Specific issues for discussion:  Gender sensitization programmes/training/ material for distribution/publications that are tailor made for government partners in the Arab Region (possibly also having specific A rab Gulf Region material)  CEDAW articles and OP's co mpliance with Sharia'a Law outlined and explained by liberal Muslim scholars  How to highlight the importance of gender mainstreaming to our government partners (linking gender mainstreaming to sustainable economic development)  Having more accurate gender indexes (some are really misrepresentative for high income, developing countries in the Arab Gulf) Judging fro m past experiences I am keeping my expectations low, hoping that this time I can get something useful beyond only ensuring country representation. The only issue that I would like to suggest is to take stock of our past experience as gender focal points…have we made a d ifference that can be measured, and if not who can we do it better, what are the constraints… should we continue to claim that we have a gender focus, or simply support specialized agencies such as UNFIEM to really assist us. Generation of mo re reg ional and/or relevant best practices in GM The creation of more programs/outlets for young Arab women to explo re/learn about gender issues in a non-threatening environment PAAP SURF-AS Thanks. 41 Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Needs Assessment Questionnaire NAME: Area of expertise: Regional/Country Office/HQ Unit: 1. How long have you been involved with gender mainstreaming - In your present post - Any previous experience 2. Please list what you see as your most important job responsibilities with regard to gender mainstreaming. 3. Are any/all of these mentioned in your TOR? 4. Have you ever participated in any formal gender training or capacity-building on gender mainstreaming? - Before joining UNDP - During a previous UNDP assignment - As part of present assignment 42 If yes, please give brief details (where and by whom, how many da ys, whether focused on perspectives, skills or specific issues) 5. What are the three main challenges you face in promoting gender mainstreaming in your Regional/CO Unit? 6. What successful strategies for gender mainstreaming have you been involved in that you can share? 7. What do you see as the basic requirements and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming to happen at the Regional/CO level? 8. What tools/methodologies/training materials have you developed for gender mainstreaming that you would like to share at this workshop? Can you recommend critical papers/documents you found useful and why? 9. What are your expectations for this workshop? Is there some specific issue/topic you would like to raise/discuss? 43 Annex IV Key note speech: Arab Women and the Challenges 44 ANNEX IV KEY NOTE S PEECH: A RAB WOMEN AND THE C HALLENGES Fatma Khafagy, Director of Ombudsman Office Egypt, September 25 th, 2005 Ladies and Gentlemen, The Arab Region is not a homogenous region and Arab Women is certainly not a homogenous group. Their position and their status differ from one country to the other. They also differ inside the same country according to age, social class, religion and race. Nonetheless, they share many things in common especially with regard to trad itions, customs and social norms. The Arab region has witnessed since the beginning of this decade several initiatives that call for reform and for democratization. The position of women and also gender issues were addressed in almost all of these initiat ives. As we all know, a functioning participatory democracy requires a strong and articulate civil society, including organizations which represent women's interests. The debate about the need for reform in the Arab region has addressed the issue of gender equality and of women's empowerment. Each and every country has admitted one way or the other that it cannot achieve democracy if it discriminates against half of its population. The majority have called for more political participation of women as an important means of empowering them and ensuring their participation at high levels. The call for democracy and reform in the Arab region has made it possible for Arab women to push the agenda for advancing women forward. But we still have a long way to go. Each and every Arab woman needs to feel that her daily life has greatly improved, that she can benefit from every positive change that took place at the national and local levels, that she participates fully in what is happening and that achievements made will be sustained. The Arab Human Development Reports since 2002 identified major developmental challenges that continue to face the Arab World. Among these challenges is the issue of women's empowerment. Women's empowerment can only take place when gender equality is achieved and when women are able to participate fully in the democratization process. As we all know, it takes more efforts to bring about women's participation to achieve democracy. Women in many cases face much more challenges. However, there are now several opportunities available that we can make use of to deal with these challenges. 45 These are some of the major challenges that Arab women face: 1. Legal challenges: Women are still faced with gender discriminatory laws in the Arab region. The legal system in several of the Arab states still carries a major contradiction because in many cases, it guarantees women's rights in the public arena, but restricts them to a great extent in the private sphere. In many countries of the region, the family code or the personal status law still permits polygamy, the right of the husband to divorce his wife easily and without good reasons, the hardship women have to go through to have a divorce and the father's automatic guardianship of children. Family codes in several of the Arab countries focus on the reproductive role of women and on the responsibility of men to provide for their family. It also places the protection of the family unit above the individual rights of women within the family. Therefore the legal structure considers men the sole providers who should enjoy certain privileges that accompany this role. It treats women not as individuals but as wives, mothers and daughters. Despite the emphasis on women's reproductive role, s uch a role does not bring with it adequate compensation, particularly in divorce situations. The legal structure also when assuming that the husband is the sole provider, requires wives to obey. In several countries of the region, women are susceptible to harsher penalties than are men charged with the same crime, especially in cases of so-called moral crimes. Still the majority of Arab women do not enjoy equal nationality and citizenship rights. A woman who marries a foreigner cannot pass on her citizenship and nationality to her male spouse or to her children. There are few exceptions like the case of Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. None of the Arab countries has a specific law that criminalizes domestic violence or sexual harassment at the work place. Therefore women are unprotected from violence and perpetrators can escape punishment easily. There is also social stigma associated with women victims instead of social disapproval of the perpetrators of domestic violence. Several of the laws in the Arab region help create an environment of impunity, in which crimes such as rape and honour killing are both socially and to a degree legally tolerated. Fortunately a number of Arab countries have started to redress some inequalities in their family codes. Tunisia was the first Arab country that adopted a more equitable personal status law. The most recent and important change has been the new Moudouna in Morocco. Other countries in the region such as Algeria, Syria, Yemen and Egypt have 46 also recognized how discriminatory their codes are and started to make amendments or to put new laws to replace the existing discriminatory ones. Countries that have had no family code before such as Bahrain and Qatar are taking into consideration many of the defects in e xisting family codes in other Arab countries and attempting to overcome them. 2. Economic challenges: Arab women economic rights are still very much determined by their roles within the family. Family structure and relations play a significant role in determining women's economic opportunities (i.e. what kind of jobs they should take, how many hours should they work, how close should be the workplace to their homes, what to do with the young children…) Women are expected to take up jobs that do not contra dict with what is considered their more important role as wives and mothers. Therefore women's economic opportunities could be limited easily as therefore their position in the public sphere. The Arab countries' main financial sources – oil, aid flows, and worker remittances – have recently been declining, which along with structural reforms undertaken has led to the shrinking of public sector, the main employer of the female labour force. The public sector is likely to be unable to continue to be the main job creator. In several countries of the region, women's work is concentrated in the informal sector where there are many problems such as the instability of jobs, the fluctuation of income, the lack of social and medical insurance schemes and very few if non prospects for advancement at all. Although Arab women have high enrolment rates in higher education, their current participation in the labour force is still very limited. Women constitute only 28% of the region's labour force. Their unemployment rate is over 17% compared to 10.6% for males. There is also a danger of relying only upon the role of the family in ensuring social security and securing the livelihood for women. The rapid social and demographic changes have implications for the str ucture and function of families, and there is a fallacy in holding firmly to the idealized concepts and assumed gender roles and relationships of the patriarchal family as the mainstay of social policy decisions. There is a need for more realistic and informed family policies based on the evolving relationship between women, family and social security. The ability of women to combine their reproductive role with other productive role is a very important issue. However, there is potential for increasing women's economic contribution in the development of the region and in the new flourishing economic sectors. But this requires 47 gender equality as an economic necessity. It requires national budgets that are gender sensitive and requires us to make visible all kinds of women's work Lastly but not least I would like to mention the challenges that Arab women are facing in countries that suffer from conflicts and wars such as Palestine, Iraq and Sudan. We have to acknowledge the hardship they face and assist them in facing these hardships. Displaced and refugee women suffer a lot from decisions of wars that have been taken in their absence. Women, who care more about human security, should participate in all decisions concerning resolution of conflict because they are capable of making peace at all levels. 3. Social and cultural challenges: The problem is not only with discriminatory laws but also with the application of the law. Access to justice is still a problem for many women. Judges in many cases are influenced by the same patriarchal biases that exist in the society and to which they experienced during their early socialization. They do not sympathize with a woman who initiates divorce, or with a woman who suffers domestic violence. Sometimes co urt decisions reflect these biases. The police is also dominated by men who rarely sympathize with women who want to do something about the inequalities they face. Women are denied in some Arab countries certain positions such as judges (in Egypt), investigators in the police depts, governors, prime ministers… They are also not allowed to practice politics fully in few countries (in Saudi Arabia and until recently in Kuwait) Because of cultural expectations related to gender roles, women may face a number of health risks that are not faced by men. For example, several young Arab girls are still subject to discrimination in food, education and mobility. They have to carry more of household domestic workload than their brothers. They sometimes face more of child abuse and violence. Many Arab adolescent girls face early marriage, lack of sex education and information and the practice of FGM. As an Arab adult Woman faces maternal death and morbidity, desertion and loneliness and ageing problems. Arab Girls are socialized in almost all families to consider marriage as the most important mission in life because a woman does not have status unless she is married. As a result, women tend to accept and tolerate so many injustices that take place in the family. Many women especially from low and middle income classes tend to sacrifice their individual rights for the sake of keeping the marriage. 48 The focus on the control of women's sexuality has also been an obstacle to women's practice of their rights. Religious extremists put on women alone the duty of controlling sexuality. This has resulted in the universal practice of FGM and in veiling. Media and school curricula play a major role in preserving the traditional stereotyping of men and women. They show women as weak, dependant, emotional and always in need of male protection. But in spite of all these challenges, we can build on opportunities that we have available now. These include: 1) UN frameworks and tools which are available now and which are easily used to address gender inequalities. To mention some, the MDGs assign one of the eight goals to achieving gender equality. It also requires gender mainstreaming in the other seven goals. There are now tools such as training materials on gender mainstreaming, checklists, gender audit and gender budgeting. All these when seriously used can bring us to the goal of gender equality in policies and in programming. 2) CEDAW: All of the Arab countries except Sudan, Qatar, Oman and Palestine have ratified CEDAW. CEDAW is a viable international framework that can be used to call for gender equality both in the private and public spheres. It safeguards the respect, dignity, equality and self esteem of women and is based on the belief that people who are empowered with the capacity to articulate, promote and defend their rights are in a better position to enjoy those rights. Arab women should hold their states responsible for compliance with the convention. They should lobby for lifting the reservations and to ratify the Optional Protocol. CEDAW provides several tools that can be used by women's groups to achieve gender equality. These are the participation in writing the national reports or writing shadow reports to the International committee. Using the concluding remarks as benchmarks in advancing women's and gender issues and most importantly calling for the ratification of the O.P. There is a chance to do regional work also using CEDAW. In addition, Beijing Platform for Action and the MDGs are als o two good international frameworks that can be used to monitor the advancement of Arab women in general and the issue of gender equality in particular. 3) The Quota system in political representation: It is one of the means to increase women's politica l participation. Countries such as Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan quota systems managed to increase women's which have implemented different participation. (Women's representation in Jordan is 5.5%, in Morocco 10.8%, inTunisia 49 11.5% and in Sudan (9.7%). Other Arab countries need to implement means such as the quota system to increase women's participation in political life. 4) The establishment of Women's machineries : Almost all Arab countries have now women's machineries in the form of wome n ministries, councils, equal opportunity units, gender focal points in ministries…..etc. These machineries have to prove that they are really working seriously to achieve gender equality. They have to become more participatory. Women's councils for example have to allow the participation of the different groups of women especially NGOs in their decision making processes and in setting their agendas. Women should also have the right to monitor the work of these machineries and ask for adjustments, changes and more achievements in the domain of gender equality. This requires that the staff of these machineries is gender sensitive and committed to gender equality and that representation of the different women's groups and NGOs in these machineries is done in a democratic way. The establishment of Ombuds offices for citizens and for gender equality in the region in countries such as Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Egypt have helped in opening a door for women to claim their rights and to put an end to gender discrimination that has been tolerated for a long time. 5) The increasing number of Women's NGOs can contribute to building up a strong women's movement in each country. There are Arab countries that have stronger regional level. women's movements than others. There is a need to look at best practices and draw lessons from. There is also a need to build a women movement at the women's advancement. 6) The increasing opportunities available to Arab women to network with women from other regions exist now much more than ever before. The international conferences and the international conventions have helped to bring women together. Arab women have to capitalize on such opportunities and make use of best practices in other regions and other countries. To conclude, the wave of democratization which the Arab region is witnessing in several forms can be used to push forward the advancement of Arab Women and for achieving gender equity and equality. I am sure you can think of many more opportunities that we can all capitalize on for the sake of a better future for all Arab women. This requires developing and adopting a country level and regional level agendas for 50 Annex V List of Handouts 51 ANNEX V LIS T OF HANDOUTS Instructions On arrival Handouts and other materials Participants Gender Resource Box and CDs Revised agenda and participants list Selected documents (SURF-AS) Key note speech Conceptual clarifications Handout of PPT presentation and conceptual framework for GM Gender analysis and the programme cycle Copy PPT presentation Handout exercise instruction and country case studies Handout gender analysis and the programme cycle Poverty and governance Copy PPT presentation Handout KIT fact sheet poverty and governance Copy GM in governance portfolio (Seiko Sugita) Support mechanisms for gender ma instreaming Relevant documents on UNDP strategies, action plans, structures and mechanisms in support of gender mainstreaming Copied and distributed during session Copied and distributed during session Copied and distributed during sessions Distributed during session In participants folder In participants folder Relevant documentation on resource table UNDP GM folder distributed during session Gender linkages Gender resources Relevant documentation on resource table GM tools on resource table (LRC) and demonstration of Collaborative Space Copied and distributed at the last sessions of Day 1 and 2 Note for structure clarified during session Copied and distributed at the end of the workshop Day evaluation forms Developing a framework and Strategic Action plans for regional/sub-regional strategies Overall evaluation form 52 Participants Gender Resource Box and CDs that distributed upon arrival Participants Gender Resource Box:                         SURF for Arab State Booklet Progress of Arab Women 2004 Book, UNIFEM Gender Sensitive Indicators Book, MACMAG/GLIP, 2000 Gender Equality, The Millennium Development Goals Guidelines: Gender Thematic Trust Fund, 2005 Resource Guide for Gender Theme Groups Gender Mainstreaming: What it Means, How to do it, UNDP 2005 Guideline Checklist Gender Mainstreaming into UNDP CO Activities Gender Mainstreaming – Tools Marketplace UNDP cooperate gender strategy and action plan, 2005 UNDP Country Office Gender Focal Point Function, Terms Of Reference The Gender Action P lan 2005, UNDP Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Women in the Public Sphere, The World Bank UNDP-PAPPs: Assistance & Support to Palestinian women, 2004-2005 Draft regional programme doc ument for the Arab States (2006-2009), UNDP Draft 2004 MYFF Results, Gender Mainstreaming in the Arab States Region Governing Development: Defining Governance Economic Rights: Gender and Poverty Governing Development: Development Paradigms Checklist for engendering the project proposals Gender Concepts: Gender analysis and gender mainstreaming, pp presentation copy Gender and the “Good Governance Agenda” pp presentation copy Gender and Poverty pp presentation copy Genderizing Poverty: MDG # 1, pp presentation copy Participants Gender Resource CDs: 1. Gender Mainstreaming: What it Means, How to do it. UNDP 2005 2. How to Elaborate a Gender Strategy for a Country Office, UNDP , El Salvador 3. Collective Folders: 1) Guideline GTTF 2005 2) Pathway to Gender Equality – Gender MDGCEDAW Beijing 3) Guideline Checklist Gender Mainstreaming into UNDP CO Activities 4) UNDP CO Gender Focal Point Functions Terms of Reference 5) UNDP Corporate Gender Strategy and Action P lan 6) Tools market P lace Biography 7) The Gender Action P lan 2005 8) Gender Equality & MDG 9) Gender Theme Groups Resource Guide 53 Annex VI Strategic Action Plans And Building Regional Networks 54 ANNEX VI STRATEGIC ACTION PLANS AND BUILD ING REGIONAL N ETWORKS SESSIONS 6 & 7 Group A: Algeria Morocco Syria Egypt Ye men Lebanon (GTTF recipient countries) I. Where we are – mapping exercise Institutional process and culture:  There is a general agreement that the concept of gender equality is rather new within the country offices. There is some management support for the process but there is a general lack of awareness among the staff. This occurs at varying degrees in the different country offices. For example, the level of gender awareness in the Cairo office is quite advanced but staff is not held accountable for mainstreaming gender in performance reports such as the RCA.    Recruitment procedures are gender sensitive and they do provide for equal opportunity. Women are in management positions Financial resources: budget allocation varies across country offices. E.g. no resources are allocated to gender activities in Algeria, some in other countries, more in others. A starting point is the resources of the GTTF. This will enable different country offices to mainstream gender.  No specific budget allocated to gender mainstreaming as such and no gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation of the different budgets and programmes Programming for gender equality:  Concerning programming for gender mainstreaming: there is a corporate policy on advancement of women and gender equality as well as awareness that gender is a cross cutting (women as such and women specific interventions are mentioned in MYFF). However, at the country level there is no country strategy to mainstream gender nor is there a regional strategy to mainstream gender.    There is a need to have a situation analysis or a gender assessment to be able to program for gender mainstreaming / gender equality. There is a lack of statistical data on this issue (varies across countries). The national context for an enabling environment that is conducive to support gender equality programming varies across countries but is mostly positive. 55    Lack of skills at the country office level for gender programming and for gender mainstreaming in general. Entry points: Programming cycle – UNDAF/CCA; Upcoming AHDR on gender. MDG reports are gender sensitive; A process of networking among the different country offices that are participating in the GTTF. II. Where we want to go Leadership and human resources: 1. Revise the RCA for accountability for gender mainstreaming 2. Check the gender awareness, skills, biases of new recruits 3. TOR for staff should be revised to reflect that they will oversee gender mainstreaming in all their responsibilities 4. Staff needs to be sensitised regularly or as need be 5. Develop clusters for monitoring and reporting and supporting GFP Financial Resources and budgeting:    Allocation for training staff on gender mainstreaming Allocation from track to ensure projects are mainstreaming gender Allocation for: monitoring, analysing, documenting lessons learned for gender mainstreaming in all projects. Programming:       At different stages of project development documents are checked by GFP , clusters, relevant staff Check list in project development Advocate for a national budget review to check gender sensitivity National integrate gender. HDR or specific for gender Build capacities of national entities responsible for surveys and data collection to ensure they are gender sensitive Project for gender mainstreaming in the national development plan III. Steps towards our goal and timeline    Improve usage of ROAR Gender mainstreaming strategy ready for GTTF country Organize training on gender for programme staff and national project directors 56    Engendering the programme cycle and strategic planning Engendering the CCA and UNDAF Set up active gender clusters, boards, thematic groups. In Egypt, set up a gender advisory board comprised of NGOs, representatives of research institutions and other stakeholders to advise the country office on gender Document the process Redo needs assessment for country offices to compare before and after Further develop strategic action plans for 2006    As GTTF recipient countries the presentation on the strategic action plan was complemented with a state of the art of individual country achievements 1. Syria    Team Based Structure. Distribution of Staff by Gender. Gender Graph1 – Graph2 Strategy. GTTF outcome indicators         GM strategy in C/O developed. Gender integrated in all UNDP programs. UNDP staff trained on gender and development. GM plan per sector developed. GC formulated. Gender tool kit prepared. GM key points of entry at national level identified. Knowledge and best practice shared between COs. Achievements by now       Roles of Gender focal point at UNDP Syria strengthened and articulated. Gender Cluster formulated. Gender analysis of UNDP program is in process. Basic knowledge on GM introduced to UNDP staff. Capacity for UNDP projects staff in local areas strengthened. Synergy with some UNDP projects Synergy with UNDP Syria projects   Local Community Development at Jabal Al-Hoss. Strategic ICT Programme for Socio-economic Development in Syria. 57    Support to Local Elections in Syria. Support to the Rehabilitation of Zayzon. Support to Women‟s Strategy Phase II. Achievements by now • Formulation of UNGTG chaired by UNDP using the GTG resources guide in • • formulating TG TOR and Action Plan. Results: UNCT adopted gender as a CROSS-CUTTING THEME in the 5 priority areas as UNDAF outcomes. • • • • • Governance. Employment. Environment. Social Services. Emergency. Gender training- Project level • Six workshops in Governorates where UNDP has ongoing projects. • • Participants: UNDP projects staff and partners (local community, representatives of Gov. & NGOs and religious leaders). Active role of Deir Ezzor Mufti. Future activities • 2 workshops for UNDP staff on GM. • • • • Formulation of GM action strategic plan. A preparation of Gender tool kit for UNCT. Gender responsiveness will be integrated in UNDAF, CCA, CP. Partnership strategy adopted Partnerships • General Women Union: cooperation in the local level training. • • ETANA: future cooperation on “Political Empowerment for Women”. UNIFEM: future work on capacity building for female MPs. Media coverage • UNDP Syria Media and Communication Team played an active role with programme teams in full media coverage: • • Local newspapers. Local magazines. 58 • • Reuters. Irin Challenges • Coordination between projects‟ managements • • • • Different level of Gender knowledge for other UN agencies Lack of knowledge and misconception at the level of CO POs. Sensitivity of the gender theme and the lack of knowledge at the community level. Lack of gender expertise at the local level. Assistance of International and regional expertise Friendly tools can be a solution (space). Building capacity is a solution. 2. Lebanon 1. Awareness created among country office staff. 2. International consultant recruited to carry out a gender audit of the country office (corporate point of view/ programmes) and to develop a strategy, recommendations and action plans. 3. 4. A national company recruited to develop a survey to map significant gender initiatives in Lebanon in the past five years. A national consultant recruited to analyze the data of the mapping exercise (3), to develop a strategy to fill out the gap. 3. Yemen Yemen country office attempts to develop tools and methodologies for gender mainstreaming by formulating a Gender Strategy/P olicy. It will work to enhance in-house knowledge and skills for gender mainstreaming. Country office programme staff and project staff including governments counterparts will benefit from gender mainstreaming training. The objective is to build the required capability for gender mainstreaming and to work at a later stage in partnership with government to promote gender equality and mainstreaming gender in its national plans and policies. The project will seek to ensure coherent networking and effective cooperation with regional expertise in the area of gender equality as well as policy advice and support form the SURF-AS and BDP at UNDP HQ. Specifically it intends to do the following: • • • Develop in-house knowledge and skills for gender mainstreaming, gender mapping, target setting and advocacy. Adopt an integrated approach for gender mainstreaming under the current CCF by formulating a gender mainstreaming strategy. Project documents and work plans revised to include guidelines for gender policy. 59 4. Algeria • An international consultant undertook a mission in Algeria from 18 to 22 September 2005 to conduct an audit of ongoing projects through the gender approach. • • • A national consultant will train the UNDP staff on gender mainstreaming with deep discussions with programme officers involved in the current projects (October). Activities will be prioritized to finish by the end of the year. Establish a network through email contacts to help each other. 5. Morocco Main objective by the end of December: to have a practical tool and strategy for gender mainstreaming in their projects and to sensitise their staff. A first step was to develop a needs assessment so they informed their staff about the project and obtained their views. Their feedback provided the basis for a questionnaire that was sent to all of their project directors and project staff. The next step was to recruit a consultant to develop another questionnaire for UNDP staff using the interview method. The results provided them with insights on how their staff perceived the training, what areas they need training on, what kind of tools they want etc. The needs assessment has been completed and the training session will be organized in November/first week December. This information will be used as baseline data to formulate their gender mainstreaming strategy, making use of the existing tools which they are trying to adopt to the Moroccan context. 6. Egypt Cairo office is part of the global evaluation for gender mainstreaming in UNDP. The main findings of the evaluation mission were summarized as follows: • • • Significant progress has been made in incorporating gender into the design and implementation of a number of projects. Staff is encouraged to seek ways to address women issues in projects. Gender approach is not yet institutionalised. The main recommendations were to institutionalise gender mainstreamin g in the Egypt country office through: • • • • • • Orientation sessions for staff. Organization of workshops on gender analysis. Strengthening gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation. Developing a gender strategy. Developing tools and guidelines. Gender mainstreaming strategy The GTTF project expected outputs: 60 • • • • Gender Advisory Board Orientation session for all UNDP staff Workshop for programme staff and national project directors on gender analysis and gender mainstreaming Two demonstrations of policy impact of gender mainstreaming: conduct general analysis of human development reports to see how far these reports are reflecting gender issues in their respective governorates. The findings of this policy analysis will be presented in the workshop for program staff and national project director. • Documentation of the process and lessons learned In terms of implementation stage: a gender consultant has been recruited and an outline of the strategy, sensitisation program and workshop for program staff has been prepared. For the gender advisory board, they have yet to agree on its composition. Regarding to demonstration projects: a contract has been issued for the consultants who will be working on these issues. Group B: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates; Jordan, Bahrain (NCC) A. Where we are – Mapping exercise Institutional process and culture • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Recruitment is gender sensitive. Lack of management commitment in gender mainstreaming due to lack of prioritisation at HQ‟s Lack of skills/expertise in gender mainstrea ming for programme staff. Lack of awareness in some country offices on gender issues. No accountability of management for gender mainstreaming. Lack of financial resources for gender mainstreaming. No institutionalisation – no set up of processes – no dynamism Policies and tools are not culturally sensitive Segregation (specific to KSA) Governments are not sensitive to gender mainstreaming (not a priority – no awareness). No gender segregated data. Government is not transparent on gender issues. No collaboration between main government authority for women issues, NGOs, civil society movements. Mainstreaming gender in all policy tools. Gender mainstreaming is not implemented (gap between policy and implementation). 61 Programming for gender equality • • No gender budgeting within program budget. CEDAW/MDG/BFPA (no commitment) (reservations). II. Where we want to go: Leadership and human resources: • • • • • • • • • • • • Gender equality in offices Head quarters commitment Job descriptions include gender mainstreaming. Include gender mainstreaming in performance management to ensure accountability. Raise awareness of programme staff on gender mainstreaming. Enhance integration/collaboration within programme staff. Allocate a percentage of the budget for gender mainstreaming component. Set specific mechanisms for gender mainstreaming within programme cycle Gender mainstreaming integrated in monitoring and evaluation All country offices to have gender thematic groups. Sub-regional gender mainstreaming strategy Combine gender mainstreaming at the sub regional efforts. Workplace culture: Financial resources and budgeting: Programmes and programming: Communication and learning structures: III. Steps towards our goal Steps 1. Enforcing gender strategy in human resource policies. - Raising the awareness of the human resources through training sessions for human resource gender strategy polices 2. RBAS to send email Resident Representatives to lobby for gender mainstreaming. - RBAR allocate seed money for gender mainstreaming. 3. RBAS to have sub-regional meetings to develop a strategy to share country office strategy. 4. Training session on gender mainstreaming for monitoring and evaluation. Responsibility - RR, GFP, HR - LRC, GFP, HR Time November - RBAS, SURF-AS October - RBAS - Country offices in sub-region. - Gender focal points/ clusters. -Resident Representatives. - Learning Resource Centre - Gender Focal Points - Programme Staff 2005 -2006 (commence in October) By end of 2005 – first quarter of 62 Steps - Gender indicators, monthly evaluations and gender mainstreaming of all reviews. 5. Revise generic job description for all. 6. Presentation on gender mainstreaming for all staff (workshop, meetings). 7. Gender mainstreaming incorporated within program staff meeting. 8. Allocate a percentage of the budget for gender mainstreaming component (budget revision). 9. Set specific mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in the next program cycle. Gender mainstreaming in situation analysis. 10. Mobilize program staff and gender NGOs for thematic groups. 11. Combine gender mainstreaming strategic effort. (Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE will get together via email and develop a combined gender mainstreaming strategy) 12. Incorporate in RCA. 13. Set up performance management committee. Responsibility - Resident Representative - HQ - HR - Gender Focal Point/cluster - Learning Resource Centre. - Program staff - Res. Rep. - Gender Focal Points Time 2006 First quarter of 2006 First week of October 2005. Start October 2005 14 included in office work plan. Group C: Sudan, Somalia, Palestine, Iraq (-Post- conflict countries) Where we are: mapping exercise: challenges to gender mainstreaming Institutional process and culture: • • • • • • • • • • • • • Gender mainstreaming and gender awareness is not reflected. No understanding of gender mainstreaming. Office culture not supportive. Each program Lack of capability for gender analysis. Management (RR and DRR) no responsive. Donor resistance to gender. Programming for gender equality No data (need sex disaggregated data). National policy not approachable for gender mainstreaming. Some countries lack institutions. Cultural sensitivity; gender perceived as a western concept. Lack of clear needs assessment on gender mainstreaming. 63 Entry Points for effective gender mainstreaming: • Engender peace building (joint needs assessment that is gender sensitive, participation, empowerment to have a decision making role in the peace building process) • • • • Grassroots organizations, civil society: level varies across the countries – build gender advocacy and carry out gender awareness and poverty reduction interventions. Clear partnerships with the government that advocates for gender mainstreaming and awareness. Take an active role in establishing institutions and systems and engender them from the beginning. Convincing media to develop gender sensitive messages. II. Where we want to go Leadership and human resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Resident Representative and Deputy Resident Representative must be gender aware. RR and DRR must be accountable and must hold staff accountable. Enforce training of all staff. Utilize resources from head quarters. Gender sensitise all staff. Training upon arrival to country office. Gender focal point must be the Resident Representative or the Deputy Resident Representative (given responsibility, not only advocacy but also enforcement). Ensure a balance in senior staff. Gender mainstreaming in recruitment. Each program must allocate from its own funds for gender mainstreaming. Gender budgets in beginning of each programme. Address gender gap. Capacity building for gender analysis. Get gender disaggregated data in all areas. Encourage gender sensitive policy at the national level. Support progressive civil society where applicable. UNDP partners should be gender mainstreamed. Offer coordinators gender mainstreaming courses. Consider vendor/consultants that are gender sensitive. Gender sensitive planning process. Workplace culture: Finances and budgets: Programming: 64 9. Gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation. Communication and learning structures: 1. 2. Gender Thematic Groups (UN Agencies) are poorly organized. Need better tools and must be held accountable. Media: public relations at gender related events. Give awards for gender champions. III. Steps towards our goal Steps 1. Gender analysis in the work place** 2. Identification of gender gaps and needs through a participatory process. Include senior management – identify gender indicators** 3. Gender audit 4. Formulate gender mainstreaming strategy. Response GFP and expert GFP, RR, Expert When October 2005 October 2005 GFP, Expert GFP, Expert November 05 December 05 ** All process will be done with senior management and country office plus assistant and regional advisor. Building a regional network and community of practice Group A 1. GTTFAS@UNDP.ORG 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Gender Mainstreaming Collaboration Space not working properly. Open GMCS for gender clusters rather than the gender focal points only. Having GFP and Jocelyn Talbot on video conference after Ramadan (mid November). TORs of consultants, training programme, materials of workshops, etc. to be shared directly among GFP. Another regional FPs gathering before end of 2005 or early 2006 „evaluation and stock taking‟. Joint media coverage and regional advocacy plan for the region. Increase visibility efforts. Enlist the support of Good Will Ambassadors to advocate the gender component. Group B Tools Reason/Type 1. Website is simply Pool of knowledge structured. Organized according to sub-regional section. Participants SURF 65 2. Email 3. Joint retreats regional and yearly. 4. Joint workshops: subregional. Yearly basis or as need. 5. Video conference: bimonthly. Group C: 1. Email and website. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Communication Documentation & filtering Planning, strategizing, evaluating and follow-up. Focusing on specific issues. Developing work plans. Exchanging information Gender clusters + SURF Gender clusters and SURF Gender clusters and SURF Gender clusters Somalia and Sudan should also benefit from other African experiences. Regional gender newsletter. SURF focus on conflict countries (pro-active). Exchange of visit through MSI. Gender focal point (biannual meeting). Taking advantage of other events. Clarity on units: responsible for gender communication. 66 Annex VII Participations Evaluation 67 ANNEX VII PARTIC IPANTS EVALUATION Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Workshop Evaluation Replies from 18 Participants The Evaluation was divided into three components:  Component One: Questions 1-10 relates to the Sessions: Content, Process, and Facilitation. o  The participant sc ores from 1 to 6 as the highest. Component Two : Questions 11-18 excluding 16 relates to the Workshop in general. o The participant score according to Yes, Mostly, No, N/A.  Component Three: Questions requesting comments and recommendations. For reading the results we are proposing the following:  PART ONE: o o  Clustering the scores of Component One of 4, 5, and 6 together in percentage; followed by 3, 2, and 1 clustered together; then N/A. Diagram by percentage. PART TWO: o o Clustering the scores of Component Two of Yes and Mostly, followed by No, then N/A. Diagram by percentage.  PART THREE: o Contains Component Three: comments and recommendations.  PART FOUR: all detailed statistics leading to final evaluation. 68 PART ONE: Component One: Sessions Evaluation - Content Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a common understanding f or gender mainstreaming Gender analy sis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP practice areas: pov erty & gov ernance Support mechanisms f or gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Grou ps, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborativ e space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Dev eloping a f ramework f or regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans f or gender mainstreaming High 89 89 89 89 78 56 83 83 72 72 Content Low N/A 6 6 0 11 6 6 6 6 17 28 6 6 17 22 6 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Content 100 90 80 70 Percentage 89 89 89 89 83 78 72 72 83 60 50 40 30 20 11 10 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support common of the in UNDP mechanisms for understanding programme practice areas: gender for gender poverty & mainstreaming mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 56 High Low N/A 28 22 17 6 6 0 Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 17 11 11 6 6 6 17 11 6 6 6 6 6 1 6 7 8 9 10 Questions 69 PART ONE: Component One: Sessions Evaluation - Process Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a common understanding f or gender mainstreaming Gender analy sis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP practice areas: pov erty & gov ernance Support mechanisms f or gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Grou ps, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborativ e space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Dev eloping a f ramework f or regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans f or gender mainstreaming Process High Low N/A 89 6 6 83 11 6 89 6 6 94 0 6 83 56 89 83 83 89 11 28 0 6 6 6 6 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Process 100 90 80 70 Percentage 94 89 83 89 83 89 83 83 89 60 50 40 30 20 11 10 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support common of the in UNDP mechanisms for understanding programme practice areas: gender for gender poverty & mainstreaming mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 56 High Low N/A 28 17 11 6 6 6 0 Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) 11 6 0 Gender resources & collaborative space 11 6 6 11 6 6 6 6 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 1 6 7 8 9 10 Questions 70 PART ONE: Component One: Sessions Evaluation - Facilitation Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a common understanding f or gender mainstreaming Gender analy sis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP practice areas: pov erty & gov ernance Support mechanisms f or gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Grou ps, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborativ e space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Dev eloping a f ramework f or regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans f or gender mainstreaming Facilitation High Low N/A 94 0 6 78 11 11 94 0 6 89 6 6 83 72 78 83 78 83 11 11 11 6 11 11 6 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Facilitation 100 90 80 70 Percentage 94 94 89 83 78 72 78 83 78 83 60 High 50 40 30 20 11 11 10 0 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support common of the in UNDP mechanisms for understanding programme practice areas: gender for gender poverty & mainstreaming mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise Low N/A 17 11 6 0 6 6 6 11 11 11 6 11 11 11 11 6 6 1 6 7 8 9 10 Questions 71 PART TWO: Component Two: Workshop Evaluation Answers by Percentage % Question # 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 Question Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop appropriate to your current work at UNDP? Do you think there was a good mixture of presentations, exercises & discussions? Were the resources & handouts adequate and valuable for future re ferences? Was the duration of the me eting right? Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? Yes 89 78 94 94 100 100 89 No 6 0 6 6 0 0 0 N/A 6 22 0 0 0 0 11 Workshop Evaluation Results -By Percentage 120 100 100 89 80 Percentage 100 89 94 94 78 Yes 60 No N/A 40 22 20 11 6 0 Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop Do you think there Were the Was the duration of appropriate to your was a good mixture resources & the meeting right? current work at of presentations, handouts adequate UNDP? exercises & and valuable for discussions? future references? Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? 18 6 0 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 12 13 14 Questions 15 17 72 PART THREE: Component Three: comments and recommendations Question 16 Would you suggest any changes to this workshop?  Smaller workshops          Better control over sessions so everyone can feel heard Make it annual & during summer Just follow up sessions on the tools, more exercises similar to the GM in project documents More group discussions More participation More activity-oriented More technical aspects Less presentations Less harsh facilitator Question 19, Section A What would you do differently after having attended this workshop?  To concentrate more on GM                 Be more insistent about GM GM all programmes/ projects Establish a gender cluster & gender thematic group I would ask to become the office gender focal point/ try to implement strategy Increase staff awareness Push for gender mainstreaming at the policy/ management level Mainstream gender in situation analysis in PD Having GM in new projects Gender team Becoming more aware about the experience at the COs level Realizing how to find entry points and to start gender analysis More committed & linked with other measures of the team My approach to GM will be more substantive & effective Talk about GM to all my colleagues not only programme officers The preparation of training workshops Enforcing gender more strongly Question 19, Section B In which areas would you need further support?  Training in GM 73                Elaboration of PRO DOCS in GM Gave dream list to SURF Gender analysis & import analysis Poverty-gender links Implementation & work planning GTTF ( provide it to more countries) Consultant Networking Developing the strategy Technical expertise Monitory impact Linkage with outputs (GTTF) How to animate workshops & training Need money In technical areas, But reading can help a lot Question 19, Section C How would you try to get the support you need?  Raise awareness         Cop E-mail SURF Through SURF & networking Contact SURF & RBAS, BDP E-mail COs focal points Contacts Communicate with colleagues Visiting space, reading material Question 20 Any other comments or suggestions:  Room temperature was cold at some points until it was adjusted.    Workshop was beyond their expectations About half of participants gave thanks for such great work Four people took initiative to verbally emphasis the retreat management and content‟s success, flexibility towards participants‟ specific request, appreciation of working in personal relationship. Others emphasized that in their comments, too. Many participants wrote an emphasized note stating that the gender retreat was one of the best workshops that they attended. This was also verbally expressed by the interpreters at the closing session.   74 PART FOUR: Component One: Questions 1-10 that relates to the Sessions Content (The participant scores from 1 to 6 as the highest): Answers by Numbers of Participants Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Content 6 7 7 6 5 3 0 3 2 3 6 5 9 6 6 3 6 3 8 7 7 4 4 0 3 4 8 5 7 4 6 3 3 3 1 0 0 1 3 2 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A 1 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 Sessions Evaluation Results-Content 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 Participants 8 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 1 0 0 Gender resources & collaborative space 7 66 5 6 7 6 6 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 2 22 1 N/A 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 1 0 2 1 00 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 75 Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURFAS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & subregional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Content 6 39 39 33 28 5 50 33 33 17 4 0 17 22 44 3 6 0 0 6 2 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6 11 6 6 5 17 33 28 17 0 0 6 6 7 8 9 10 0 17 11 17 33 17 44 39 39 22 39 22 33 17 17 11 6 0 11 11 17 0 6 6 11 0 0 0 0 0 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Content 60 50 50 44 40 Percentage 44 39 39 33 39 33 6 5 4 3 22 22 17 17 11 11 6 0 0 00 Gender resources & collaborative space 39 39 33 33 33 28 22 33 28 30 2 1 N/A 20 17 11 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 11 11 6 0 0 17 11 11 11 6 0 0 11 6 10 6 0 00 6 000 6 6 0 0 6 00 6 00 6 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 76 Questions 1-10 that relates to the Sessions Process (The participant scores from 1 to 6 as the highest): Answers by Numbers of Participants Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Process 6 5 5 4 5 2 0 2 3 4 6 5 9 7 4 4 8 3 8 6 6 4 4 2 3 8 8 5 7 6 6 5 6 3 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 Sessions Evaluation Results-Process 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 Participants 8 8 7 8 6 66 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 00 1 1 0 0 000 1 2 11 1 0 0 0 000 Gender resources & collaborative space 6 6 6 5 5 44 4 3 3 2 2 1 0 0 1 00 1 00 1 1 0 0 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 5 4 3 5 5 4 5 4 2 1 N/A 3 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 77 Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURFAS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & subregional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Process 6 28 28 22 28 5 50 39 22 22 4 11 17 44 44 3 0 11 0 0 2 6 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6 6 6 6 5 11 44 28 6 6 0 6 6 7 8 9 10 0 11 17 22 33 17 44 33 33 22 39 33 33 28 33 11 0 0 6 6 17 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Process 60 50 50 44 40 Percentage 44 44 39 44 6 33 33 33 33 28 22 17 17 17 11 66 6 0 0 0 000 Gender resources & collaborative space 39 33 33 5 4 3 30 28 28 22 22 28 22 28 22 2 1 N/A 20 11 10 6 6 0 0 0 Key note address 17 11 6 00 6 6 0 0 000 6 11 17 11 11 6 0 0 11 6 00 11 6 00 6 Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 78 Questions 1-10 that relates to the Sessions Facilitation (The participant scores from 1 to 6 as the highest): Answers by Numbers of Participants Question # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & sub-regional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Facilitation 6 6 6 6 4 3 1 5 4 4 5 5 9 5 3 4 9 5 6 5 8 7 4 2 3 8 8 3 7 3 6 2 3 3 0 2 0 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A 1 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 Sessions Evaluation Results - Facilitation 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 Participants 9 8 8 7 6 6 5 6 5 44 5 4 3 3 2 1 00 000 1 00 1 00 1 1 00 00 Gender resources & collaborative space 6 5 6 5 4 3 2 2 1 0 0 00 00 2 22 2 2 1 6 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 000 0 Key note address Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 5 4 3 2 1 N/A 3 2 2 3 2 3 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 79 Answers by Percentage % Question # 1 2 3 4 Sessions Key note address Building a co mmon understanding for gender mainstreaming Gender analysis of the programme Gender issues in UNDP pract ice areas: poverty & governance Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy & Action Plan, SURFAS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) Gender linkages (CC-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) Gender resources & collaborative space Gender mainstreaming in UNDP practice: mapping exercise Developing a framework for regional & subregional strategies Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming Facilitation 6 33 33 33 22 5 50 28 17 22 4 11 17 44 44 3 0 11 0 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6 11 6 6 5 17 50 17 11 0 0 6 6 7 8 9 10 6 28 22 22 28 28 33 28 44 39 39 17 33 11 17 11 11 0 11 11 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 11 11 11 6 Sessions Evaluation Percentage Results - Facilitation 60 50 50 44 40 Percentage 50 44 39 44 39 33 28 22 22 28 33 28 22 17 17 11 6 00 000 6 00 6 00 6 6 00 00 Gender resources & collaborative space 6 5 4 33 30 33 28 33 28 22 17 3 2 1 N/A 20 11 10 000 0 Key note address 17 11 6 11 17 17 11 17 11 11 6 0 0 00 11 11 11 11 11 6 00 Building a Gender analysis Gender issues Support Gender linkages common of the in UNDP mechanisms for (CC-UNDAF, understanding programme practice areas: gender Gender theme for gender poverty & mainstreaming groups, MDG mainstreaming governance (UNDP Gender reporting) Strategy & Action Plan, SURF-AS, GATT, Gender Theme Groups, MDG reporting) 2 3 4 5 6 Gender Developing a Strategic action mainstreaming framework for plans for gender in UNDP regional & sub- mainstreaming practice: regional mapping strategies exercise 1 7 8 9 10 Questions 80 PART FOUR: Component Two: Questions 11-18 excluding 16 relates to the Workshop in general (the participant score according to Yes, Mostly, No, N/A): Answers by participants' numbers Question # 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 Question Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop appropriate to your current work at UNDP? Do you think there was a good mixture of presentations, exercises & discussions? Were the resources & handouts adequate and valuable for future re ferences? Was the duration of the me eting right? Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? Yes 13 12 15 16 18 16 16 Mostly 3 2 2 1 0 2 0 No 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 N/A 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 Workshop Evaluation Results- By Participants 20 18 18 16 16 14 Participants 16 16 15 13 12 Yes Mostly No N/A 12 10 8 6 4 4 2 0 Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop Do you think there Were the Was the duration appropriate to your was a good resources & of the meeting current work at mixture of handouts adequate right? UNDP? presentations, and valuable for exercises & future references? discussions? 13 14 Questions 15 17 Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? 18 3 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 11 12 81 Questions 11-18 excluding 16 relates to the Workshop in general (the participant score according to Yes, Mostly, No, N/A): Answers by Percentage % Question # 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 Question Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop appropriate to your current work at UNDP? Do you think there was a good mixture of presentations, exercises & discussions? Were the resources & handouts adequate and valuable for future re ferences? Was the duration of the me eting right? Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? Yes 72 67 83 89 100 89 89 Mostly 17 11 11 6 0 11 0 No 6 0 6 6 0 0 0 N/A 6 22 0 0 0 0 11 Workshop Evaluation Results -By Percentage 120 100 100 89 83 80 Percentage 89 89 72 67 Yes Mostly No N/A 60 40 22 20 17 11 6 0 Did the workshop meet your expectations? Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? Was the workshop Do you think there Were the Was the duration appropriate to your was a good resources & of the meeting current work at mixture of handouts adequate right? UNDP? presentations, and valuable for exercises & future references? discussions? 13 14 Questions 15 17 Did you find the physical environment & general administration of workshop satisfactory? 18 6 0 11 6 0 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 11 11 12 82 Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Evaluation We highly appreciate your cooperation in filling out this evaluation form: On a scale from 1 to 6 (where 6 is the highest), rate each session on: - The content (relevance, clarity, depth) - Process (how participatory, how collective) - Facilitation (how appropriate, how conducive to learning) Sessions 1. Key note address 2. Building a common understanding for gender mainstreaming 3. Gender analysis of the programme cycle 4. gender issues in UNDP Practice areas: Poverty and Governance 5. Support mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (UNDP Gender Strategy and Action Plan, SURF-AS, GTTF, Gender Theme Group, RBAS, Arab HDR) 6. Gender linkages (CCA-UNDAF, Gender theme groups, MDG reporting) 7. Gender resources and collaborative space 8. Gender mainstreaming in UNDP Practice: mapping exercise 9. Developing a framework for regional and subregional strategies 10.Strategic action plans for gender mainstreaming 11. Did the workshop meet your expectations? Content Process Facilitation 83 12. Were the goals according to the workshop plan achieved? 13. Was the workshop appropriate to your current work at UNDP? 14. Do you think there was a good mixture of presentations , exercises and discussions? 15. Were the resources and handouts adequate and valuable for future references? 16. Would you suggest any changes to this workshop? 17. Was the duration of the meeting right? 18. Did you find the physical environment and general administration of the workshop satisfactory? 19. In relation to gender mainstreaming in UNDP:  What would you do differently after having attended this workshop?  In which areas would you need further support?  How would you try and get the support you need? 20. AN Y OTHER COMMENTS OR S UGGES TIONS Thanks. 84 Annex VIII Aide Memoire And Terms of Reference 85 ANNEX VIII AIDE M EMOIRE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 AIDE MÉMOIRE The Context Over the past decades the United Nations policies on gender equality and strategies for implementing gender mainstreaming have been developed to confront challenges in translating its commitment to gender equality into action. Gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy from the promotion of gender equality in the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women & Beijing in 1995 and clearly indicated where the responsibilities lay. “Governments and other actors should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes, so that, before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on women and men, respectively (Beijing).” Through the evolution of the women & development paradigm leading to a gender & development framework to address the strategic as well as the practical needs of women and men, the global gender community of practice within the UN adopted a multidimensional definition of gender mainstreaming to embrace all sectors of society and ensure sustainable development. “Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women‟s as well as men‟s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of he design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres 86 so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. “ ECOSOC 97. The United Nations Millennium Summit, provided a platform to all stakeholders to declare their commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals MDGs. Gender mainstreaming into the MDGs would become the challenge to ensure that all gender issues be captured within each development goal, that the sustainability of the progress be guided by gender sensitive strategies and development programs measured by empowerment indicators. As the UNDP practice note on gender equality 2002 states that good progress was shown in the past years, the commitment of translating gender equality into action requires a major implication in integrating gender into all core practice and sectors of UN programs. Therefore “engendering UNDP‟s agenda includes the development of capacity both in country and in house to integrate gender concerns “ .We would also add gender perspectives and methodologies in the practise areas , provision of policy advice and the support for gender programs and projects. UNDP captured these recommendations and translated them into substantive gender program for 2005. UNDP gender strategic action plan for 2005, the preparation of the next Arab Human Development Report on women‟s empowerment for 2005 , the important contribution of the Netherlands to the UNDP BDP Gender thematic Trust Fund 2005 are all contributing to “making gender a reality”. A brief description of the GTTF Gender Thematic Trust Fund 2005 will underline the its importance within the UN system and more so for the UNDP Country Offices. UNDP / BDP and its gender unit is coordinating the Gender Thematic Trust Fund GTTF support the UNDP gender program for 2005. 70 % of the funds allocated are to build the capacities and systematize the use of gender mainstreaming across the organization for: The main objectives are: • • Enhancing gender mainstreaming in UNDP and promote gender equality Strengthening support to UNDP country programmes; and utilizing the UNDP role as coordinator of the resident coordinator system and chair of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) to advance gender mainstreaming. The main areas of activities • Gender expertise and staff training for all units 87 • Conducting a gender analysis of the programme portfolio and developing a gender mainstreaming strategy in 45 country offices, 4 regional centres /SURFs 5 headquarters units. For the Arab States it includes: Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon & SURF AS. Knowledge sharing and tools development to strengthen internal capacities and learning and Engendering the CCA/UNDAF through support to the RC system in close partnership with UNIFEM Knowledge network on gender Gender focal points at the regional and country level Organizational accountability for gender equality At the corporate level, gender score card with a set of indicators to monitor progress in the systematic integration of gender as a core objective of UNDP, across the board and at all levels • • • • • • • • • • Program level: monitoring the effectiveness At the management level: office of human resources has developed a system to monitor the implementation of the corporate gender policy in management New tool kin on gender mainstreaming LRC Learning Resource Centre a collaborative space to exchange information amongst the GTTF : a space to exchange information, experience and practices on effective gender mainstreaming UNDP impacting on gender equality through • Its work as scorekeeper and champion for the millennium Development goals; through its stewardship of the resident co-ordinator system, through the organizations effective advocacy tool, namely the Human Development Report and the national human development reports • • • • • • • • The six practice”: Democratic governance: Poverty and reduction: Crisis & recovery Energy and environnent: Information & communication technologies ICT Human development reports Resources for supporting gender equality: Gender knowledge network Gender program team ( UN inter-agency networks): Thematic Trust Fund Tools and publications Civil societies, it support more linkages and syner gy with all stakeholders and participation in the gender thematic group for CCA and UNDAF purposes A number of persistent constraints remain, however to be addressed, including inadequate linkages between gender perspectives and different work of UN and serious gaps in “anchoring” gender dimensions & women‟s empowerment with MDGs , in all services lines and be processed in all UN phases of interventions including program management cycles 88 • Gender mainstreaming means deliberate in giving visibility and sup port to women‟s contributions and addressing the differential impact of strategies, policies, programmes, and projects on women compared with men. It requires a focus on actual results in terms of gender equality in the practice areas at all levels. Since it is the first regional gender retreat for the gender focal points of the UNDP COs ever to be held, since SURF-AS had acquired at the beginning of 2005 its fist policy adviser on gender and recently a new research assistant to focus on gender & poverty, we felt compelled to gather all the gender focal points and embark in the institutionalisation of gender within the region. The last Arab Human Development Reports were quite revealing on the gaps and stated women‟s empowerment as of the major ones. Therefore to address this challenge and benefit from all the converging events occurring on gender and affecting our region, we must map out the current situation of gender mainstreaming in our programs , we must exchange on the GTTF experience and discuss specific regional challenges, opportunities and tools, identify the knowledge and capacity gaps, set regional priorities as to provide high quality support system for the current and future strategies & programs. SURF-AS and other regional centres have supporte d the development of community of practice as a mean to seriously engage, in our case, into the progress mainstreaming gender and enhancing our capacities, programs and UNDP comparative advantages. II The Workshop This workshop on gender mainstreaming is organised by UNDP SURF Arab States through the gender policy adviser and related staff and funded by GTTF and SURF-AS The objectives of the workshop: 1-To build a common understanding of basic gender concepts, tools for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming among gender focal points in the region 2-To review existing gender policies, strategies, practice and mechanisms for accountability in the region. 3-To share relevant experiences and good practices examples 4-To update support system and action plan for successful GTTF implementation. 5-To develop a framework for regional gender strategic priorities, & network and supporting a regional community of practice on gender III. Provisional Agenda We will be sending you a provisional agenda The final agenda will be distributed at the gender retreat. 89 Related documentation will be distributed at the gender retreat. implementation phase. IV. Participants (TBC)        BDP/LRC Some of the documentation was sent to the 7 GTTF recipients gender focal points for the current UNDP COs gender focal points in Arab Sates Country Offices GTTF UNDP COs gender focal points in Arab States Country Offices UNDP gender thematic group from RBAS. UNDP experts TBD UNDP CO Egypt Others TBD V. Venue and Logistics The workshop will be held in Cairo (Egypt) from Sunday, 25th of September to Tuesday afternoon September 27th 2005. The gender retreat agenda offers a detailed schedule of the sessions. VI. Organisers: SURF-AS Gender Policy Adviser and SURF-AS team in cooperation UNDP CO Egypt. VIII. Language: English, facilities for translation will be available if needed. 90 Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Term of Reference Trainer in Gender Analysis & Mainstreaming 1. Background SURF-AS is curre ntly imple menting the “Strengthening & Institutionalizing Gende r mainstreaming ´project. 7 UNDP country offices of the Arab States -AS and SURF-AS are amongst the 45 countries , 4 regional centres and headquarter units benefiting from the Bureau of Development of Policy BDP Gende r The matic Trust Fund GTTF finance d by the Netherlands, all efforts are deployed to mainstream, implement and monitor gender in all UNDP service lines & programs. In support of this engendering process and to maximize its multiplication effect, SURF-AS is also seeking the engagement of all the UNDP AS gende r focal points. Such initiative provides a conducive environme nt for capacity building in gender mainstreaming, and supports the development of a sound regional platform whe reby regional knowledge, expertise and experiences on gender are share d. Kindly refer to the document: context of the gender retreat. 2. Workshop aim and objectives: Building gender SMART S synergy, M mechanisms, A actions, R rights, T training The overall aim of the workshop is to strengthen the capacity and position of the UNDP Gender Focal Points to effectively mainstreaming gender throughout their work in the Middle East and Nort h A frica region by developing a framework for regional gender strategies and building regional networks. The provisional agenda was done through intensive consultations. 91 The objectives of the work shop are: To build a common understanding of basic gender concepts, tools for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming among gender focal points in the region To review existing gender policies, strategies, practice and mechanisms for accountability in the region To share relevant experiences and good practice examples To develop a framework for regional gender strategies and set -up a structure for maintaining a regional gender net work and supporting a regional community of practice on gender. 3. Dates and Venue September 2005: 25-26-27 Cairo, Egypt 4. Target audience The key target groups for the workshop are the18 Gender Focus points based at the UNDP country offices in the Middle E ast and Nort h A frica region. Also invited are represent atives from UNDP New York, focal points from other regional centres, members from SURF-AS. Around 30 participants are expected to attend the workshop. 5. Expected outputs from participants To increase efficiency and effectiveness during the workshop participants are expected to send in advance or bring wit h them: A brief description of their tasks and responsibilities as GFP Their field of expertise and a summary of their specific expertise and/or experience with gender equality and gender mainstreaming Brief description of the practice of gen der mainstreaming in their respective country officers (e.g. structure for gender mainstreaming; gender policy; gender action plan; gender strategy; mechanisms for accountability; etc.). 6. Examples of projects where gender has been mainstreamed Good practice experiences Expected outputs from the gender retreat Strengthened t heir understanding of gender conc epts, gender analytical tools and gender mainstreaming; and implementation within the UN service lines. Revised s upport system& action plan for successful GTTF implementation in the 7 UNDP COs. Developed a framework for regional &sub -regional strategies for gender mainstreaming Set-up a structure for maintaining a regional gender net work A gender community of practice By the end of the workshop it is expected that participants will have: 92 7. Dutie s and responsi bilities Working in close c oordination with SURF -AS Beirut policy adviser on gender, the consultant/trainer will be responsible for the following tasks.       Review and comment on the proposed draft ag enda (latest) Provide necessary resource materials and handouts prior to the actual training Conduct the three days inter-active training with a focus on UNDP gender corporate policy & mainstreaming, provide facilitation and presentation of sessions. Ensure that the sessions are linked to the priorities of UNDP region and the exercises are related to UN working documents. Ensure that the program covers the gender issues raised in the preparatory phase. Covers the issues: gender concepts, gender analysis, gender methodology and its application in UNDP services line & program. Engendering program/project management cycle & all relat ed gender issues related to the implementation of GM in UNDP and in region.  Provide a brief report describing the training met hodology and results upon completion of the main tasks 8.    9.         Deliverables Meeting with SURF-AS policy adviser on gender & logistic team (September 24 ). A three day training (September 25 ,26 ,27 , 2005) A summary report & recommendations (within the second week of October 2005) Required skill s & qualifications Academic studies relat ed to gender studies & development. Long standing training record in gender training & analysis From 10-15 years experience of work & training in gender and development issues Excellent communication skills in training & facilitating Working experience with UN agencies & partners Working experience in the Arab Region Knowledge of UNDP gender tool kit & documents English. French would be an asset th th th th The consultant will deliver the following: 93 Regional GEDNER RETREAT for UNDP Gender Focal Points in the Arab States Strategy Development for gender mainstreaming Building Gender SMART Cairo September 25-27, 2005 Term of Reference UNDP Country Office Gender Focal Point Function 1. Background Since 1986, following the Nairobi Conference on Women, UNDP has had a system of gender focal points in all of its county offices 3 . Each Resident Representative is requested to nominate two staff members to share this function: one in the senior management to ensure the consideration of gender issues in all policy, programme, administration and financial decision- making in the office, and one from the programme staff with operational responsibilities to act as a catalyst on gender issues. The gender focal point function is therefore a team function, comprising bother management and operational dimensions. If a gender focal point is seen as having sole responsibility for ensuring that gender issues are fully reflected in country office activities, gender mainstreaming by definition will not take place 4 . Working in a gender- informed and gender-committed manner is the professional responsibilities of all staff, and all must assume that responsibility, with the full and active support of management. The task of the fender focal point function is to provide support and guidance to colleagues, in the case of management, and act as catalyst and a clearinghouse on gender-related information in the case of the operational gender focal point. The Resident Representative has ultimate responsibility and accountability and accountability for the extent of gender mainstreaming in county office activities and programming, as indicated in the Guidance Note on Gender Mainstreaming (UND, 1997. 3 4 Administrator‟s Memorandu m 1996 Guidance Note on Gender Mainstreaming, UNDP February 1997, Page 1. 94 The kinds of activities that must be undertaken in order to fulfil this responsibility (together with the specific responsibilities of the Resident Coordinator) are set out in the Guidance Note. Many country offices now have UNV Gender Specialists in addition to UNDP gende r focal points. The precise division of labour between these two staff members is to be decided by the Resident Representative, based on local circumstances. As a rule of thumb the function of the gender specialist is to strengthen the gender dimensions of interagency activities, supporting the Resident Coordinator Function, and to provide specific support to the Beijing follow-up process, while the fender focal points retain the responsibility of mainstreaming gender considerations into UNDP activities. UNV Gender Specialists are assigned t countries where there is no direct UNIFEM representation. Their responsibilities are intended to be directly supportive of UNIFEM activities. Care should be taken to identify points of synergy and complementarity between the UNDP and UNIFEM programmes, and establish an appropriate division of labour to achieve the shared goals of the two organisations. 2. Workshop aim and objectives: Building gender SMART In July 1997 the Economic and Social Council of the General Assembly (ECOSOC) 5, adopted gender mainstreaming as the methodology by which the entire United Nations system would work towards the advancement of women and gender equality goals 6. Gender mainstreaming is defined by UNDP as taking account of gender concerns in all policy, programme, administrative and financial activities, and in organisational procedures, in order to contribute to organizational change. decision-making processes at all levels of the organization. therefore comprises two main processes: 1. Being informed about the relevant gender issues; and 2. Incorporating this information into the work of the organisation through policy advice, networking, advocacy and teamwork. Specifically it involves Gender mainstreaming bringing the outcome of gender informed socio-economic and policy analysis into a ll the 3. Gende r Focal Point Responsibilities / General It is suggested that the gender focal points take a lead role in preparing the following documents: 5 6 ECOFOC Reference Further information on tools and methods for gender mainstreaming may be obtained fro m the GIDP Information Pack on Gender Mainstreaming. 95 1. A Gender Mainstreaming Strategy document; setting out policy and strategy to guide country office staff, and as an instrument of resource mobilisation. 2. A Gender mainstreaming Briefing Kit; for the orientation of new arrival and missions. Indicates sources of gender related information and key contacts in the country. 3. A national gender profile. An analysis of the social, economic, political and cultural structure of the country from a gender perspective, as a basic resource for all programming activities. In addition, gender focal points should work with local NGOs and experts to ensure that the National Human Development Report reflects a gender perspective in each chapter, and also includes a chapter giving the overall picture with regard to gender relations and the rights of women in the country concerned. The national gender profile would be an important input to a gender-sensitive national Human Development Report. UNDP has adopted a strategy to ensure the appropriate inclusion of gender issues in major conferences, meetings and workshops. This has been tested effectively at headquarters, and is recommended for programme counties. The strategy involves ensuring that fifty percent of chairpersons, panellists and participants at the meeting are women. In addition, there should be a specific item on the agenda to discuss relevant gender issues. Gender balance should be observed in the composition of the panel/speaker‟s list of this session. This strategy has been shown to increase the chances that gender dimensions of each discussion will be raised, and that they will be included in the report of the meeting 7. The Gender in Development Programme has developed a Guideline/checklist on the actions that may be required to mainstream gender consideration throughout country office activities. This can be used to monitor the extent of gender mainstreaming in the country office. This guideline is also given as an appendix to the Guidance Note on Gender Mainstreaming. 4. Responsibilities of the Management Gender Focal Point The specific responsibilities of the manage ment gender focal point include: 7 A strategy to achieve gender balance should involve an incremental approach, setting targets which take the situation closer and closer to full equality. The ult imate objective is the equal (i.e. 50:50) involvement in dialogue and decision making of wo men and men. However, a lo wer target may initially be more strategically appropriate, and it has been found that one third participation of wo men in meet ings and conferences provides a crit ical mass which ensures that any distinctive view that they may have can be put with sufficient igour. This is a challenging area of act ivity to wh ich there is often much opposition, a fact which signifies its importance. Even where targets are not fully achieved, discussion around this issue can be a significant vehicle for advocacy. 96 Programme  Ensure that gender issues are raised appropriately and with force in policy dialogue with Governments. Here new developments in the gender implications of economic modelling and planning may be especially useful;   Take a lead in promoting inter-agency dialogue on gender equality themes, especially as an opportunity for joint advocacy activities; Promote and advocate gender equality through speaking at meetings and inaugurations, in senior-level contacts of all kinds, press encounters, mission briefings, etc.;  Ensure that the gender equality dimensions of UNDP are consistently included in all periodic reports, including the quarterly Resident Representative report and the Resident Coordinator Report;    Ensure that women are consulted equally with men in setting country programming priorities; Ensure team-work and appropriate division of labour between UNIFEM and UNDP staff, in accordance with local priorities; Make clear to all project and programme managers their acco untability with regard to gender mainstreaming, providing appropriate guidance if necessary, and the expectation that this accountability will be exercised. Make it clear that projects and programmes must be implemented in a gender-sensitive manner even if these issues are not specifically mentioned in project documentation;  Ensure that the gender dimensions of each project are discussed at monitoring visits, tri-partite review meetings and evaluations, and included in all project and programme reports even where this issue is not included in the agenda, or in reporting forms;  Insist upon gender balance in all training, workshops, conferences and seminars supported by UNDP. Office Management   Take a lead in ensuring gender-informed decision-making within the country office; In addition, seek to ensure that women take part in decision-making equally with men. Where there is no gender balance among the decision-making group explore creative ways to ensure that the views of both women and men are taken into account in decisions;  Appoint an operational gender focal point with the capabilities and commitment to undertake the responsibilities of the assignment effectively, and encourage programme and project mangers to do the same; 97    Provide staff members with active guidance and support, including capacity development where this is needed; Recognise that the responsibilities of a gender focal point require extensive networking, and support the staff-member in this aspect of the task; Require all staff members to mains tream gender considerations into their work: if necessary identify the necessary external expertise to ensure that this takes place, and to build the capacity of UNDP staff;  Contribute to the sustained establishment of a working environment in the country office and all UNDP-funded programme and project offices that promotes mutual respect, support and creativity among the staff, and eliminates fear and intimidation as management tools;  In particular, be alert to the fact that it may be more difficult for female staff to voice their views freely in meetings and other for a, and provide, active encouragement and support to the elimination of any barriers that may inhibit the attainment of their full professional potential;  Be fully aware of UNDP policy with regard to sexual harassment, and management responsibility in this areas, pro-actively ensuing that the country office and all kinds, whether expressed towards staff or project beneficiaries or member of the general public;    Ensure that gender considerations are reflected in inter-agency coordination matters, such as staff transport, crèche and nursing facilities and flexitime; Review gender dimensions of staff performance, especially management staff, n the PAR process, including the MRG; Encourage a strong staff association, and dialogue regularly with it, specifically ensuring that differences in the views and priorities of male and female staff are identified and addressed;  Set appropriate targets to achieve gender balance in all categories of staff, recognizing that an incremental approach, if actively and consistently applied, will in most cases be the most appropriate; Review the country office administrative budget from the perspective of the impact of local disbursements on gender equality – for example in the recruitment of local consultants, and in procurement from companies that practice gender equality and observe international conventions regarding women‟s employment;  5.   Responsibilities of the Operational Gende r Focal Point Analyse, collect and disseminate information on gender relations in the country; Act as catalyst to colleagues as they include gender considerations in their own work. In particular seek to support colleagues before they go to meetings, identifying the gender issues that could usefully be raised. (NB. It is not the 98 responsibility of the gender focal point to review all programme documents for their gender sensitivity: this is the task of the programme officer concerned. However, the Gender Focal Point should be able to provide information, offer guidance on the relevant gender analysis and suggest contacts or consultants who could help).  Network actively to build close professional relationships with all gender focal points in the development assistant community, and, most importantly, with local organizations of women, ideally on the basis of regular systematic meetings;    Identify means to support the formation and strengthening of national networks of women‟s organizations; Maintain a roster of regional and national consultants who can provide gendersensitive expertise on a range of topics to the county office; Be fully informed as to the gender equality policies and strategies of all members of the development community, and ensure that management is fully informed on these facilitate policy dialogue and resource mobilization;   Provide management and colleagues with briefings as appropriate (either written or verbal) on gender-relevant matters in the programme country; Ensure that UNDP speakers at events such as document launchings, workshop openings, receptions and press conferences are aware of any gender equality points that should be raised;  Ensure that the press corps is regularly provided with concrete stories on how UNDP is supporting the issue of gender equality in national like. Work closely with UN communications/ information personnel to encourage dissemination of such information;  Network actively (by electronic means, and to thee extent possible at regional and global meetings) with other country office gender focal points, and with headquarters. 99