Commitment 2.2: We promote gender equality and equity.
Compliance Indicators
Compliance with the Commitments will be assessed against the following Compliance Indicators. All of the applicable Compliance Indicators must be met by every ACFID Member to be considered compliant with the Code. Each of the Compliance Indicators has one or more compliance Verifiers. Verifiers are the description of evidence that is required to substantiate compliance with each Compliance Indicator. Guidance is also provided.
2.2.1 Members demonstrate an organisational commitment to gender equality and equity.
Policy, statement or guidance document that commits the member to promoting gender equality and equity and to non-discrimination in regard to gender identity.
This policy should address how these are prioritised and advanced within organisational programming as well as within the organisation’s internal operations.Â
Guidance
All people have the right to equality and to live a life free from discrimination on the basis of their gender. A commitment to gender equality and equity is grounded in globally agreed human rights principles, including non-discrimination. It is based on international instruments, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Attention to gender equality is also reflected in the SDGs, including Goal 5 which calls on the world to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and Goal 10 which seeks to reduce inequality within and among countries.
Gender inequality is a root cause of many barriers to sustainable development. It intersects with and exacerbates other factors contributing to marginalization, including race, religion, ethnicity, indigeneity, disability, age, displacement, caste, sexuality, sexual orientation, poverty, class and socio-economic status.
A formal policy provides an important statement of the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and equity and can be used to communicate this commitment to internal and external stakeholders. Internally it ensures the leadership and staff are committed and accountable and dedicate the appropriate resources to fulfil the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and equity. It also provides a clear message to external stakeholders of the organisation’s commitment.
For an example of a gender policy refer to the Resources Section below. If you use this policy to inform your own, remember to adapt it to your organisation’s circumstances.
2.2.2 Members’ planning process includes consultation with those marginalised due to their gender, in particular women and girls, contextual analysis of barriers to their inclusion and identification of opportunities for their participation.
Design or planning framework, tools, templates which require, or approaches which consistently show evidence of, consultation with those marginalised due to gender identity, in particular women and girls, contextual analysis of barriers to their inclusion and identification of opportunities for their participation.
Guidance
Design or planning framework, tools or templates could include: activity design template; activity appraisal/assessment template; gender analysis checklist: gender equality marker tool.
Each of these should require gender and power analyses with prompts to ensure the analysis includes the perspectives of those marginalised due to gender identity, and consideration of barriers to their inclusion. The planning process should also include explicit strategies to actively promote gender equality and address power inequalities.Â
2.2.3 Members promote opportunities for those marginalised due to their gender, in particular women and girls, to participate in decision-making.
Development and humanitarian initiatives consistently show evidence of strategies for those marginalised due to gender identity, in particular women and girls, to participate in decision-making. Â
Guidance
There are persisting obstacles to female participation in decision-making due to power imbalances, stereotypes, traditions or discrimination. All programs and initiatives should identify the obstacles women and girls face, and integrate strategies that seek to overcome these obstacles. Strategies that seek to overcome these obstacles might include:
- capacity building activities for women and girls that foster leadership skills and build confidence
- training activities for young people, women, and men on women’s right to participation and roles in decision-making
- engaging men as champions for women’s participation
- revising the rules and procedures of committee structures so that they require female representation
- supporting women’s leadership in the workplace through greater inclusion in senior positions
- ensuring that meetings are scheduled at times that suit the other responsibilities of women
- ensuring that there is safe transport for women to attend decision making forums
2.2.4 Members monitor and evaluate their progress in promoting gender equality and equity.
Monitoring and evaluation framework, tools, or templates which require, or approaches which consistently show evidence of, the assessment of progress in promoting gender equality and equity.
Guidance
Examples of the way an organisation might demonstrate this commitment include:
- reporting data is disaggregated by gender
- progress reporting templates include a sub section on gender ensuring dedicated reflection and analysis
- a gender checklist is used for monitoring visits
- output or outcome indicators and targets explicitly relate to progress in promoting gender equality and equity
- gender equality and equity is included as a dedicated inquiry area in evaluation terms of reference.
Refer to the resource kit on selecting and using gender indicators in the Resources Section below. Â
Good Practice Indicators
The following Good Practice Indicators describe a higher standard of practice than that set out in the Compliance Indicators. While Members do not need to meet the Good Practice Indicators to be considered compliant with the Code, they will self-assess against these indicators once every three years. This provides a clear pathway for Members to strengthen and improve practice over time.
- Gender focal person in place.Â
- Initiatives with a primary or explicit focus on the promotion of women’s rights and/or gender equality and equity are supported.Â
- Gender training for governing body, staff, volunteers and partners is provided, covering topics such as gender analysis, gender programming, gender equality and equity, gender identity and gender rights.Â
- Initiatives that seek to build the capacities of those marginalised due to gender identity, in particular women and girls to determine their own priorities and advocate for their own equality and equity are supported.Â
- Women’s rights, gender equality and equity, and other relevant gender issues are promoted in communications with the public and external stakeholders.Â
- Members work with partners and communities to challenge attitudes which permit or excuse sexual misconduct both internally and within organisational program activities.
Good Practice Guidance
Here are some practical suggestions for your organisation to further deepen and improve practice over time.
Organisational
- Use project design tools, such as a stakeholder priority matrix, for in-depth analysis and to prioritise primary stakeholders
- Assess the level to which primary stakeholders have been involved in the initial planning of the program and the level of consultation and engagement with various community groups and the local government
- Train staff in relevant issues such as participatory processes, accountability and empowerment and increasing the voice and engagement of primary stakeholders
- Train staff in how to carry out power analyses as a basic step in the preparation of any development activity
Partners
- Seek to work with partners that have a commitment to the empowerment of local people and communities, and to accountability
- Ask partners how local people will be involved in the design of the program
- Encourage and support partners to have good relationships with local government and officials where this is possible and appropriate
- Train partners in participatory processes, empowerment and democratic ownership
- Encourage and support partners to prioritise the recruitment of local people.
Programs
- Do a comprehensive analysis of the program’s context, including barriers and constraints to social change as expressed by primary stakeholders, on which to base project design
- Conduct research to identify the enabling factors and barriers for participation and empowerment of local people
- Use participatory processes for strategy and program design, implementation, evaluation, and accountability
- Design mechanisms for ensuring participation of, and accountability to, marginalised people such as women, girls, children, indigenous peoples, workers, people with disabilities, refugees and displaced populations, religious and ethnic minorities, people with different sexual identity and migrants.
- Ensure in-country staff are able to interact and communicate with in-country stakeholders in local languages and are able to prepare key documents in local languages
- Regularly monitor – using feedback forms, focus groups and surveys – the satisfaction level of local people and partners with the program
- Create safe opportunities and spaces to hear from a diversity of stakeholders including primary stakeholders
- Establish local committee structures for the local governance of programs or activities
- Encourage and create opportunities for women to take leadership roles
- Recruit, where appropriate, project staff from among stakeholders.
- Hold public meetings to share project information, and seek feedback when appropriate
- Document program information and make it easily accessible to stakeholders
- Communicate program progress regularly to stakeholders
- Structure feedback mechanisms into programs and activities
- Clearly establish and publicise a complaints process to be used by stakeholders
- Undertake project monitoring and evaluation in collaboration with stakeholders.