Gender and
Development
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ATprojects
has begun a campaign to address the issue of how our
development work and the technologies we promote affect the
existing gender power structures and the position of women
in Papua New Guinea society. In early August of 1999,
ATprojects brought in an expert on gender and development
(GAD) Mrs Gabrielle McDowell (pictured at left) from CUSO to
serve as an outside consultant on these issues and on what
ATprojects can do to improve its contribution to the
solution of gender inequities.
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Reasons to consider gender
analysis for ATprojects donor funding criteria;
- a lack of understanding by (external)
donors of the constraints to implementing broad based gender
policies and reforms within the Papua New Guinea context;
- a lack of practical experience in
implementing gender analysis in the NGO sector (ATprojects'
approach to gender would provide valuable feedback to other PNG
based NGOs and donors);
- ATprojects is working with
largely masculine institutions and must find a means of balancing
gender considerations with institutional reality in the Eastern
Highlands Province;
- Gender Analysis may provide for better
projects that make inroads into Eastern Highlands Province's
gender inequities.
Suggested Activities
- ATprojects to devise a gender policy for
all of its projects and activities;
- ATprojects to undertake gender analysis
as a matter of course for all new projects and activities;
- ATprojects to look at
practical ways of helping women, youth and children to become
involved in the process of development;
- ATprojects to recognize that appropriate
technologies can embody both cultural and gender biases (new
technologies evaluated bearing this in mind);
- ATprojects to provide feedback to other
NGOs for dealing with the issue of gender through the PNGDEV forum
(or any other appropriate avenues);
- ATprojects project staff to undergo
training in gender analysis
- ATprojects should address, where
appropriate, how it is going to work with women;
- ATprojects evaluation reports should
include a section on gender/social impact (not just
technological)
Assumptions
- Addressing the equality of men and women
requires the use of gender analysis and an understanding of the
roles and responsibilities of both men and women within a specific
development context.
- Addressing the equality of men and women
must also consider control over and access to resources and the
'rewards' of development.
Strategy
- Full consultation and participation by
women and men in planning and design,
- An analysis of the differential impacts
of project activities,
- Equal opportunities for men and women to
contribute to and benefit from development,
- Collection and analysis of sex
desegregated data related to the project.
After reporting her findings and suggestions
with ATprojects, Mrs McDowell led ATprojects through a detailed
gender analysis of our provincial community school water supply
project, leading the way for ATprojects to conduct such gender
analyses for all significant future projects. Further, Mrs McDowell
and ATprojects staff discussed at length how ATprojects might
incorporate such practices into the daily routine of our operations
as a matter of policy in order that ATprojects have GAD principles
and practices thoroughly incorporated into its modus operandi.
If after reading this you may be interested in a list of other
organizations doing this type of work click
here
