Gender Integration

3. CSO Activities and Outreach
Challenge: Helping CSOs integrate a gender perspective
into their work.
Opportunities:
• Gender analysis training. Build the capacity of CSOs
to institutionalize the use of gender analysis and a gender
perspective in their work so that their programs are
accessible to and inclusive of men and women.
• Building communities of practice. Facilitate partnerships
and information sharing between CSOs with varying levels
of experience in integrating gender and operationalizing
inclusive policies and practices.
• Accessible activities. Support CSOs in enacting policies
and practices that are sensitive to formal and informal
restrictions on mobility and association so that all people
are equally able to participate fully in the organization’s
activities. For example, changing when and where meetings
and activities are held, making accommodations for travel
concerns, and ensuring that adequate safety and security
measures are in place are all essential elements in making
sure that women and members of traditionally marginalized
populations are able to participate meaningfully. In some
environments, holding separate events for men and women
or for youth and elders may be necessary to facilitate
equitable participation.
• Coalition building. Support the development of diverse
civil society coalitions to advance gender equality as well
as broader inclusion goals. For example, health or environmental
organizations may also have a stake in furthering
gender equality objectives. Facilitate and support partnerships
among organizations that promote issues of
importance to women, indigenous groups, persons with
disabilities, and LGBTI individuals, in order to widen and
deepen the reach of their efforts.
• Girls and young women. Support programs and
activities that focus specifically on building the capacity
and participation of girls and young women, a group
sometimes overlooked in both youth programming and
programming for women. At the same time, support
efforts to make existing organizations, programs, and
activities more sensitive to and inclusive of the specific
needs and interests of young women.
• Literacy and language. Work with CSOs to develop
civic and voter education campaigns that are sensitive to
differences in oral and written literacy and do not utilize
technical jargon or terms of art. Build the capacity of CSOs
to utilize existing data regarding varying levels of literacy
among, as well as between, certain groups. For example,
while women and men in an indigenous community may
not read the dominant language, women within that
community may not even read the indigenous language.
Where feasible, promote civic education campaigns that
are integrated with literacy training and other forms of basic
education, as this may engage a broader range of people.
• Media and communication. Prioritize the use of varied
means of communication appropriate to the target
audience, including drama, performance, door-to-door
canvassing, radio, television, SMS, and the Internet,
including social media. Make sure that the people and
images portrayed in these campaigns reflect the target
audience.
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
Prior to 2010, just one human rights
group from Burkina Faso had submitted
a shadow report to the UN Committee
on the Elimination of all Forms
of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) to provide a civil society
assessment of the country’s progress
advancing gender equality in accordance
with its treaty obligations. The National
Democratic Institute (NDI) convened a
broad coalition of 19 Burkinabe CSOs,
including women’s rights groups, women’s
legal and professional associations,
and human rights groups, and provided
training on the requirements and procedures
for submitting a shadow report.
Participants then formed a committee
of eight members, who were charged
with drafting the report for submission.
The coalition collected the necessary
data, drafted the report, and presented
it to the CEDAW Committee. The
report provided an overview of the
status of women and girls in Burkina
Faso and described the existing challenges
and gaps to full enforcement of
the convention. At the same time, NDI
and the coalition partnered with the
National Assembly to deepen parliamentarians’
understanding of CEDAW
and to identify ways in which they could
to contribute to its implementation.
Source: “Burkina Faso Women Detail
Discrimination Against Women in UN
Report,” National Democratic Institute,
February 25, 2010. https://www.ndi.org/
node/16078
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USAID | Gender Integration in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Programming Toolkit