Gender Integration

While the toolkit focuses on gender analysis, it is not exclusively
about gender. Wherever possible, it seeks to highlight
the ways in which power dynamics around gender and
disability, gender and sexual orientation, and gender and age
intersect. The intersections of these power dynamics and
identities tend to multiply the effects of privilege, discrimination,
and marginalization. Interventions aimed at reducing
vulnerability and inequality must take these intersections of
multiple identities into account in order to be effective. Effort
has been made to demonstrate the broad applicability of the
guiding questions, ideas, and approaches contained within the
toolkit to other groups and types of programs, even where
not explicitly noted.
USAID works to promote gender equality and female
empowerment through a two-pronged approach: first,
through integrating gender into programs not specifically
designed as gender equality promotion programs; and
secondly, through the implementation of standalone programs,
or programs designed with a specific focus on advancing
gender equality. As such, the toolkit discusses strategies for
both program approaches. The clearest successes are usually
evident when a combination of these two approaches is used.
The toolkit contains modules on how to integrate gender
effectively into the following ten DRG sub-sectors 5 :
1. Human Rights Protection and Promotion
2. Civil Society
3. Rule of Law and the Justice Sector
4. Legislative Strengthening
5. Local Governance and Devolution
6. Political Party Development
7. Electoral Processes
8. Anti-Corruption and Accountability
9. Reconciliation, Peacebuilding, and
Transitional Justice
10. Media and Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs)
While the modules are complementary and contain many
areas of overlap, they are designed for ease of use and, as
such, to be used individually or as a whole. Each module is
structured similarly and contains four sections:
1. An overview of the issues related to gender
and gender integration that are most relevant
to the sub-sector;
2. A list of guiding questions for integrating gender
analysis into design of programs and activities in
the sub-sector;
3. A series of challenges and opportunities in
integrating gender into the sub-sector, including
illustrative programming approaches; and
4. A selection of key resources on gender integration
within the topic.
The toolkit concludes with two appendices, one featuring
selected additional external resources on gender and DRG
and one highlighting relevant USAID resources. As the field
of democracy, rights, and governance changes, and as USAID
policy and practice evolves, the DRG Center will update
the toolkit.
INTRODUCTION ENDNOTES
1
USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) 205.3.
2
Development Objective 1, USAID DRG Strategic
Framework.
3
Development Objective 2, USAID DRG Strategic
Framework.
4
Development Objective 3, USAID DRG Strategic
Framework.
5
These sub-sectors represent the areas in which DRG
officers dedicate significant attention and were determined
through consultation with relevant USAID staff and DRG
Center technical teams, including the Gender Working
Group, and through an anonymous online survey of DRG
officers in the field and Washington.
10 USAID | Gender Integration in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Programming Toolkit