Independent Evaluation Group World Bank November 11, 2010 Evaluation of Bank Support for Gender and Development

Why Monitor and Evaluate Gender? “ We measure what we value, and value what we measure” (UN 2001) Commitment for gender equality reflected in a policy Feedback on Bank policies to the Bank Board Informs managers and other stakeholders whether the intervention is meeting its objectives Accountability for implementation of gender policy Demonstration of results and learning of lessons 2

Bank’s Gender Objectives Gender equality is an instrument for the Bank for enhancing poverty alleviation and economic growth To enhance client ownership 2002 Bank’s Gender Strategy states a clear process to identify country-level objectivesprocess Other Sector Strategies recommend project- level integration 3

The country director oversees the preparation of gender assessments for all countries where the Bank is active. The country director ensures that the results of the gender assessment are incorporated in the country dialogue and reflected in the CASs. In sectors and thematic areas where the CAS has identified the need for priority gender- responsive actions, the relevant sector managers ensure that Bank-financed projects and other Bank activities are gender responsive. The Regional Vice President reports annually to the managing director concerned on the implementation of this policy. Four-StepFour-Step Process for Gender Integration at the Country-Level Integration Diagnoses Strategic Integration Reporting

Why are Objectives Important? 1999: Improved women’s access to health and education and increase their economic participation Improved health and education Increased economic participation 2009: Gender equality as a tool for poverty reduction and economic growth Gender equality? Results Framework is critical 5

Preparation is Essential Scope of the evaluation (time & coverage) Aggregation level – unit of account Evaluation framework – why? what? how? Familiarize with other gender evaluations Availability of resources –Money, time, and skills Dissemination plans Formulate evaluation matrix 6

Frame Evaluation Questions 7 Relevance of Policy? Objectives: Consistency between Bank and country priorities? Links between gender equality and poverty reduction and economic growth? Design issues: Responsive to country contexts? Accountability Framework? Consistency international state of the art knowledge Quality of Implementation ? Implementation of 4-step process?4-step process Implementation of Sector Strategy recommendations? What Results? To what extent were gender-related objectives achieved? What is gender equality? (Equality, equity, women’s empowerment, women alone, men and women,)

Evaluation Methods RelevanceGlobal and country Level Literature Review of links between gender and poverty/growth Survey of Bank staff – Is policy relevant in their view? Desk review of Bank and other donor documents Participatory workshops with client country stakeholders Quality of Implementation Global, country, and project level Desk Review of almost 2000 Bank documents related to 91 countries and other government/donor documents Interviewed selected beneficiaries and stakeholders Regular sessions with Evaluees Results of Bank Policy Global, country, and project level Narrowed down to 12 countries through a weighted stratified sampling procedure Desk Review of 163 closed projects Participatory beneficiary workshops, Stakeholder interviews Beneficiary surveys Field assessments 8

EvaluationEvaluation Results Framework 9 Reduced gender disparity in access to education (assessed along with completion rates) Reduced maternal mortality Increased access to clean water for men and women Equal Access to Health and Education Increased equality in access to financial and economic services and assets Increased equality in access to economic opportunities Enhanced capacity or skills of both men and women for productive purposes Equal access to Economic Assets and Opportunities Increased participation in development decision making at the community level Increased accountability of local institutions Increased availability of gender-related data Equal Voice in Development

10 Challenges of a Gender Evaluation Weak availability of gender-related data –Triangulation becomes critical Rating system –Aggregation from project to country level Assessing Results –Before and after –With and Without Setting benchmarks for gender integration is challenging but possible

Sample Findings and Lessons Accountability –Scope & quality of gender integration improved and expanded between 2002 and 2008 over the nineties –Implementation of the Bank’s gender policy, initially strong, weakened between fiscal 2006 and 2008 Lessons –A results framework helps to enhance accountability and guides staff –Integrating gender delivers better gender –related results – A multisectoral approach is more effective (eg., Reducing maternal mortality) –Strategic support for gender- aware policies and institutions must accompany project or sector-specific interventions 11

Recommendations Improve implementation of the Bank’s Gender Policy by: –Establishing a results framework –Establishing and implementing a realistic action plan for completing or updating country-level diagnostics, Restore a sector- and/or project-level entry point. Establish clear management accountability to monitor the extent to which Bank work Strengthen the incentives for effective gender-related actions in client countries bto strengthen the collection, analysis, and dissemination of sex-disaggregated, gender-relevant data and statistics. 12

So What Changed? Regional VPs have instructed all Country Directors to integrate gender into their CASs Reinstated monitoring the number of diagnostics being conducted Several regions have established gender action plans IEG is also looking into how gender is being addressed in its project-level reviews Disseminating the message on results framework through a variety of activities 13

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