1. Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming - UNFPA -
SESSION 5:
Gender

2. Session Overview Introduction to UNFPA’s work in gender
Gender and culture
Gender mainstreaming
Gender-responsive budgeting
Examples of UNFPA’s work in gender equality and women’s empowerment
Introduction to case study
Conclusions

3. Introduction
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are vital aspects of UNFPA’s mandate, and gender mainstreaming is a cross-cutting approach relevant to all programming and policy areas within UNFPA and within the UN in general.
UNFPA’s goal in this area is:
gender equality advanced and women and adolescent girls empowered to exercise their human rights, particularly their reproductive rights, and live free of discrimination and violence.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are vital aspects of UNFPA’s mandate, and gender mainstreaming is a cross-cutting approach relevant to all programming and policy areas within UNFPA and within the UN in general. (Definitions of ‘gender’ and ‘gender mainstreaming’ are provided below.)
The concept of bringing gender issues into the mainstream of society has been in existence for a long time and was clearly reaffirmed as a global strategy for promoting gender equality in the Platform for Action adopted at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing (China) in It highlighted the necessity to ensure that gender equality is a primary goal in all areas of social and economic development.
In addition to the Beijing Platform for Action, governments around the world have made a number of other powerful commitments that aim to promote the fulfilment of gender equality and women’s empowerment:
Most of the world’s governments have ratified the ICCPR, ICESCR, and CEDAW—all treaties that support gender equality and non-discrimination. CEDAW in particular promotes the empowerment of women in all sectors of society—social, economical, political, cultural.
In 1994, the world’s governments made a commitment at ICPD to promote gender equality and advance women’s rights. It was agreed that advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women is a cornerstone of population and development programming.
In 2000, governments from around the world signed the Millennium Declaration and made a commitment to promote gender equality and empower women with the MDGs (Millennium Development Goal 3).
The current international climate, therefore, is one where commitment to gender equality has been made by almost all the world’s governments. Despite this, gender disparity and discrimination against women continue to prevail, hence the importance of increased effort in this area.

4. Gender and Culture
When focusing on gender equality and women’s empowerment, it is also essential to take culture into account. Cultural or religious attitudes and beliefs often have an enormous impact on the lives and choices of women and girls. Working from within a culture (for example, by working with faith-based organizations, religious leaders, cultural leaders, etc.) is therefore essential to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.
ASK PARTICIPANTS to provide examples of when they have paid attention to both gender and culture in their own work.
When focusing on gender equality and women’s empowerment, it is also essential to take culture into account. Cultural or religious attitudes and beliefs often have an enormous impact on the lives and choices of women and girls. Working from within a culture (for example, by working with faith-based organizations, religious leaders, cultural leaders, etc.) is therefore essential to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.

5. Gender and Human Rights
Key to work in gender equality and women’s empowerment programmes is CEDAW
UNFPA staff should familiarize themselves with this Convention:
it provides a definition of ‘discrimination against women’
use CEDAW articles as well as General Comments and Concluding Observations to provide governments with guidance when designing gender polices and laws
Provide some examples to participants where CEDAW has proven useful. Turn to page 41of Module 1 for some examples.
UNFPA is committed to progress on gender equality from an ethical, results-based, programmatic and financial perspective. A HRBA can greatly support and enhance these commitments because it advances non-discrimination and gender equality on all these fronts.
How does applying a HRBA support UNFPA’s commitment to gender equality from an ethical perspective? Consider what was said in Module 1 with respect to the intrinsic rationale for implementing a HRBA. A HRBA is the right thing to do—morally, legally and ethically. Human rights form the fundamental, normative basis for development programming, and gender equality is an essential part of this normative basis.
A HRBA also supports results-based programmes, because it requires a focus on processes that will ultimately lead to long-term, sustainable development results.
Finally, from a financial perspective, a HRBA requires that resources be put into gender equality efforts in order to make them real. While a law prohibiting discrimination is a good first step, that law must be implemented, and resources must be spent to make that implementation a reality. This is essential for good governance and to fulfil the human rights principles of accountability and rule of law. Gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting both strive to make gender equality efforts real.

6. Addressing Gender Across UNFPA’s Operations
Throughout UNFPA’s work the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment is both:
a goal in itself
central to achieving all the other goals to which it is committed in both the MDGs and UNFPA’s Strategic Plan
UNFPA policies and UNFPA-supported programmes emphasize the importance of addressing gender equality across its operations
Gender mainstreaming is thus an integral aspect of national development programmes, poverty reduction strategies and other types of development strategies
Throughout UNFPA’s work the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment is both a goal in itself and central to achieving all the other goals to which it is committed, in both the MDGs and UNFPA’s Strategic Plan. As a result, in collaboration with UNIFEM and other sister UN agencies, UNFPA makes critical contributions to promoting the broader gender equality agenda at global, regional, and country levels using ICPD as the entry point.
Supporting governments to fulfil the ICPD agenda entails providing systematic attention to gender equality and women’s empowerment. UNFPA regards gender equality as a vital concern for all partners, including governments and NGOs, and remains concerned that gender equality still is not receiving the priority that it requires. Given the centrality of gender to all development policy, UNFPA will always be a strong advocate and supporter of ongoing efforts to ensure system-wide and agency-specific gender-based action consistent with its mandates.

7. Gender Mainstreaming (1)
Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action— including legislation, policies or programmes—in any area and at all levels.
UNFPA policies and UNFPA-supported programmes emphasize the importance of addressing gender equality across its operations. This has been particularly true since the ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action in which governments agreed that a gender perspective should be an integral and cross-cutting aspect of all follow up efforts. Gender mainstreaming is thus an integral aspect of national development programmes, poverty reduction strategies and other types of development strategies.

8. Gender Mainstreaming (2)
UNFPA’s Strategic Framework for Gender Mainstreaming and Women’s Empowerment lists six priority areas for gender equality programming:
setting policy for ICPD and the MDGs (HR, gender equality, culture)
reproductive health
gender-based violence
adolescents and youth
emergency and post-emergency situations
men and boys
In addition to the above priority areas, four strategic linkages for advocacy are identified:
girls’ education;
economic empowerment;
political participation of women; and
balancing reproductive and productive roles (UNFPA, Delivering on the Promise of Equality: UNFPA’s Strategic Framework for Gender Mainstreaming and Women’s Empowerment ).
These strategic linkages are critical areas for furthering gender equality and reproductive health and rights and fall squarely within UNFPA’s efforts to develop a holistic, culturally sensitive, gender-responsive, human rights-based approach.

9. Gender-Responsive Budgeting
Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is about ensuring that government budgets and the policies and programmes that underlie them address the needs and interests of individuals who belong to different social groups
GRB is incredibly important if long-term progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment is to be made

10. Examples of UNFPA’s Gender Work (1)
Mobilizes support for developing and improving gender equality policies and legislation
Works to eliminate gender-based violence
Actively engages men and boys as partners and agents in promoting gender equality and ending gender-based violence against women and girls
Advocates for gender equality and women’s empowerment with governments and CSOs, and promotes commitment to ICPD goals and CEDAW

11. Examples of UNFPA’s Gender Work (2)
Supports capacity development activities that raise awareness of women’s rights and provide women with the services they require, especially in the area of sexual and reproductive health
Promotes gender mainstreaming in all programmes and policies (supported by the UNFPA gender mainstreaming framework), and also promotes gender-responsive budgeting

12. Examples of UNFPA’s Gender Work (3)
Supports governments in preparing their reports to CEDAW, and thereby helps governments ensure accountability for their international human rights obligations
Ask participants to provide additional examples.

13. Conclusion: Value Added of a HRBA in a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Programme (1)
Gender equality programmes that integrate the principles of participation and inclusion often result in bringing together State actors with local and national women’s groups and gender experts.
Bringing these groups together in the same room fosters a sense of collective ownership of the programme and can motivate government agencies, particularly at the local level, to contribute additional resources to promoting women’s human rights.
Gender equality programmes that integrate the principles of participation and inclusion often result in bringing together State actors with local and national women’s groups and gender experts. Bringing these groups together in the same room can create a sense of collective ownership of the programme and can motivate government agencies, particularly at the local level, to contribute additional resources to promoting women’s rights.
Bringing different groups together also fosters a common dialogue on issues of importance to women’s rights. Communication of this sort is useful for reaching solutions on obstacles to implementation of gender equality laws and policies.

14. Conclusion: Value Added of a HRBA in a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Programme (2)
Bringing different groups together also fosters a common dialogue on issues of importance to women’s human rights. Such communication is useful for reaching solutions on obstacles to implementation of gender equality laws and policies. ｧ

15. Conclusion: Value Added of a HRBA in a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Programme (3)
A HRBA in a gender programme requires you to cultivate a synergistic relationship among different stakeholders. Working with both rights-holders and duty-bearers is critical for sustainable accomplishments in women’s human rights.
For example, working only with rights-holders to empower them to claim their right to be protected from gender-based violence will not be effective if similar efforts are not made among the police and judiciary to ensure that services are in place to respond to women survivors of gender-based violence.
A HRBA to a gender programme requires you to cultivate a synergistic relationship among different stakeholders. Collaborating with both rights-holders and duty-bearers is critical for sustainable accomplishments in women’s human rights. Working only with rights-holders to empower them to claim their right to be protected from gender-based violence will not be effective if similar efforts are not made among the police and judiciary to ensure that these duty-bearers have the capacity and the commitment to ensure that the right services are in place to respond to women survivors of gender-based violence.

16. Conclusion: Value Added of a HRBA in a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Programme (4)
A HRBA can invigorate women’s NGOs and human rights NGOs by helping them recognize their roles as duty-bearers, not just as charitable institutions.
In addition, learning about their human rights can empower women rights-holders. As a result, both NGOs and women rights-holders have an increased ability to take an active role in articulating the community’s needs and assessing the effectiveness of institutional responses.
A HRBA can invigorate women’s NGOs and human rights NGOs by helping them recognize their roles as duty-bearers as opposed to seeing themselves as strictly charitable institutions. In addition, learning about their human rights can empower women rights-holders. As a result, both NGOs and women rights-holders increase their ability to take an active role in articulating the community’s needs and assessing the effectiveness of institutional responses.

17. Conclusion: Value Added of a HRBA in a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Programme (5)
Finally, a HRBA ensures that government parties become more aware of their legal obligations and duties to women. This awareness, coupled with specific capacity development activities advances the government’s ability to progressively work towards the realization of women’s human rights.
Finally, a HRBA ensures that government parties are more aware of their legal obligations and duties to women. This awareness, coupled with specific capacity development activities, advances the government’s ability to progressively work towards the realization of women’s human rights.