Program Strategy for Gender Analysis

Definition

The use of gender analysis as a research tool is basic to technology development that is aimed at alleviating poverty of severely disadvantaged social groups, especially in the case of poor rural women. However, the PRGA Program acknowledges that, in order for gender analysis to be effective as a method, it cannot be separated from a focus on equity issues in the workplace. Mainstreaming gender analysis includes enhancing capacity for assessing social relations that effect technology development. Equally, it includes a focus on factors that affect organizational transformations reflecting equitable and participatory principles in the workplace.

Key Lessons

Three key lessons that emerged from the experiences in phase 1, input from Program stakeholders and demands of partner institutions are:

• That there is little attention to gender analysis, particularly in the CGIAR system
• There is an unmet need for capacity development in gender analysis
• There is increasing demand, particularly from NARS, for skill to mainstream gender analysis

Objectives

The Program's gender analysis objective can be stated in the following three ways:

• To promote and enhance the use of gender analysis, not only to understand the implications of women's existing roles and responsibilities in agriculture and natural-resource management for technology development and institutional innovation, but also to identify new opportunities for innovation that involve a concomitant change in women's status.
• Focus on developing capacity for mainstreaming gender analysis through organizational change.

Initiate a process of learning and change, both with its partners and within the Program itself through assessing impacts at two levels:

• the extent to which gender analysis and user involvement in the research process has been achieved and what impact they have had.
• assessing the impact of gender mainstreaming through organizational change

These will be achieved through capacity building, mentoring, building strategic partnerships with selected CG centers and NARS, developing networks of 'change agents' to support each other and provide support to others.

The Program itself should be an example of gender-sensitive stakeholder participation in its own organizational structure and functions in order to serve as a "learning lab." Gender-sensitive stakeholder representation is sought in all the Program's collaborative partnerships at all levels-from the Advisory Board that advises and guides management to the formation of stakeholder committees in projects receiving small grants.

Output Indicators (2003-2007)

• At least eight studies demonstrating outputs from gender analysis that are useful for implementation.
• Increased and enhanced capacity for conducting gender analysis tools and methods for research as well as implementation.
• The process of mainstreaming gender analysis is well underway in at least 10 institutions both within the CG system and NARS.
• An established network of champions who learn from each other and provide support to others, both in the CG system and particularly in the NARS.
• At least eight individuals trained as trainers in gender analysis and mainstreaming.
• Field manual on gender analysis and mainstreaming developed and disseminated to partner institutions.

Gender & Stakeholder Analysis

If agricultural research is to achieve impact that benefits poor people, it is vital that farmers participate directly in technology development. The participation of women is especially important, because their access to appropriate technology has a critical effect on household food security and on the well-being of children. The PRGA works with international and national agricultural research institutes, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions to support the process of establishing scientific partnerships with the rural poor, with an emphasis on the involvement of women. Emerging evidence shows that the involvement of users in technology development results in innovations that better suit their needs and improve their livelihoods.

The PRGA strategy promotes gender and stakeholder analysis as a valuable scientific tool and encourages its assimilation into the everyday toolkit for agricultural and natural resource management research. Cornerstones of the Program's work include:

• development and dissemination of gender and stakeholder analysis methods tools and guidelines for natural resource management and plant breeding
• research on the impact of gender and stakeholder analysis, particularly the benefits and costs of different types of approaches implemented under different conditions, so that scientists can critically assess the potential value of this approaches

Project Inventory