WHY ADOPT A GENDER LENS?
In 2014, Melinda Gates stated in Science magazine that: “We will not use the complexity of resolving gender inequality as an excuse for failing to think and act more intentionally about putting women and girls at the center of what we do.”
This call to action set in motion a series of conversations and initiatives to address gender equality in the foundation’s work. One of those initiatives is gender integration, which is the adoption of a gender lens across bodies of work and in specific investments to accelerate progress toward sectoral goals and to advance gender equality.
We created this website to share the tools and guidance we have developed internally to help program officers integrate gender considerations in their work. We hope that the contents of these pages will serve as resources to the broader development community and inspire conversations and actions to advance gender equality around the globe.
THE GENDER EQUALITY TOOLBOX
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Gender Equality Lexicon
A concise set of clearly defined gender concepts. This lexicon helps to ensure staff benefit from the use of a common language.
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Conceptual Model of Women and Girls’ Empowerment
The foundation’s model of women and girls’ empowerment that can inform program design, strategy and policy work on gender equality.
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Methods Note on Measuring Empowerment
Practical guidance for program officers and partners on the measurement and evaluation of women and girls’ empowerment.
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Gender Equality Primer
Key concepts, the motivations for and lessons learned from gender mainstreaming efforts, and our approach to transform the foundation into a gender-intentional institution.
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Gender Equality Toolbox
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Gender Integration Guide
Highlights key questions for investment makers and provides hints about what to look out for during the investment design phase.
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Gender Integration Marker
A tool to assess the level of gender intentionality (gender unintentional, intentional, transformative) during investment design.
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Gender Integration Marker Job Aid
This job aid is designed to support the use of the Gender Integration Marker.
FURTHER RESOURCES
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Case Studies in Gender Integration: Sanitation Product and Service Delivery in Kenya
This case provides an example of a social enterprise that worked to change its sanitation product and service delivery to account for gender differences and barriers to access in Kenya.
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Case Studies in Gender Integration: Market-based solutions in Cambodia
This case study interrogates the ways in which gender matters across the sanitation value chain. The case is an example of a program that aims to address gender in the sanitation marketplace to promote equal economic opportunities and increased empowerment for women in rural Cambodia.
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Case Studies in Gender Integration: Community-led Sanitation in Timor-Leste
This case study focuses on the influence of gender on community-based sanitation programs targeting user decisions and behavior change. It analyzes a program in Timor-Leste that aimed to build the capacity of community facilitators to address gender-related issues.
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Gender and the Sanitation Value Chain: A Review of the Evidence, March 2018
This report is the first in a series of evidence reviews commissioned by the foundation to highlight how gender influences development outcomes across sectors. This report seeks to uncover the evidence on gender differences in the sanitation value chain to show why gender matters across this sector.