Gender-responsive evaluation for a sustainable future for all
What is a gender-responsive evaluation?
A gender-responsive evaluation is an assessment aimed at:
measuring progress towards the achievement of the intended gender equality-related objectives and goals set out in policies, programmes and projects;
evaluating how the relevant processes, activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts of an intervention pay attention to the various needs, priorities and power relations between women and men in all their diversity[1].
Essential elements of gender-responsive evaluation for a sustainable future
Seeks to challenge and transform norms and power structures which perpetuate gender and environmental injustices and destroy nature. It also focuses on shifting gendered attitudes and beliefs, promoting more equitable, intersectional gender-just policies and practices, and ecological sustainability.
Essential for identifying the different impacts between and among women and men in all their diversity. An intersectional approach recognises that gender intersects with other characteristics and that these intersections contribute to unique experiences of discrimination.
User-friendly and gender-sensitive language is crucial throughout the evaluation process to ensure that the evaluation is inclusive and accessible to all EU citizens and stakeholders.
Key to providing the evidence base for making gender inequalities visible and for reporting on differentiated gender impacts, including environmental impacts.
There must be sufficient expertise in gender equality and gender mainstreaming within evaluation teams. A gender-responsive evaluation should aim to ensure gender balance (at least 40% of each gender) in the team.
Requires a proactive effort to identify, engage and consult those who may be typically excluded from the conversation, e.g., young women, or other groups traditionally excluded from decision-making spaces due to intersecting inequalities.
Allows for capturing complex situations in which interventions are implemented, the existence of facilitating and hindering factors (such as the availability of data, competences, resources, etc.), and medium- and long-term changes related to gender equality that may be difficult to measure.
Gender-responsive evaluations recognise that achieving gender equality is a complex, non-linear process that is beyond the scope of any single intervention and that is influenced by various contextual factors.
Ensures that an evaluation’s methodological approach can respond flexibly to challenges and is context specific, avoiding a ‘one size fits all’ model.
Gender-responsive evaluation as a tool for gender mainstreaming
Gender-responsive evaluation is a critical component of EU policymaking processes. It is a gender mainstreaming method that supports and directs policies to respond effectively to the various needs, priorities and realities of women and men in all their diversity.
As a gender mainstreaming method, gender-responsive evaluation can be applied to all types of interventions (policies, programmes, projects and legislation). It goes beyond assessing interventions specifically focused on gender equality.
In this way, a gender-responsive evaluation also assesses to what extent an intervention has pursued gender mainstreaming.
