STEP 1

Conducting a Gender Analysis

WHAT IS GENDER ANALYSIS?

WHAT DOES CONDUCTING A GENDER

ANALYSIS ENTAIL?

A gender analysis is a systematic effort to identify

and understand the roles, needs, opportunities, and life
circumstances of women and men in a given or more
often a changing socio-economic context. In addition
to collecting relevant statistics (i.e. unemployment rates,
pay rates, percentage of men and women in a given sector, etc.) it includes identifying:

gender differences in the division of labor and the

access to and control over resources;
practical needs and strategic interests of women
and men;
power differentials and dynamics between men
and women;
social, economic, political constraints and opportunities facing women and men; and
assessing institutional capacities to promote gender
equality.

WHY IS CONDUCTING A GENDER

ANALYSIS IMPORTANT?
A gender analysis is an essential component of (not
a replacement for or addition to) an overall analytical process that a successful program of social change
requires. It is a simple equation, really: if we do not
fully understand the trends and dynamics that dene
and perpetuate gender inequality a core dimension
of labor exploitation - we will be unable to mount
a successful strategy to promote gender equality and worker rights. Knowing key facts, labor
market trends, and the power dynamics is critical
for grounding the analytical and strategic work
of gender equality programming in reality. It
also helps develop a snapshot of that reality
against which the impact of programs and
strategies can be measured.

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Undertaking a gender analysis to ensure quality

gender programming will likely require, as a rst step,
searching out new and sex-disaggregated data and
labor market trends and broadening the list of contacts
and information sources to include people in academia,
government, womens organizations, labor-support
organizations, and other social movement groups.
For Solidarity Center staff new to a country, a gender
analysis will likely require an initial investment of several days of concentrated research as well as information gathering over the life of the program. However,
this is no different from learning any new skill or topic.
Once you become comfortable with gender analysis, it
will be an integral part of, rather than an addition to,
your job.
An important aspect of gender analysis for program
design is a consideration of the difference between
basic survival needs and key strategic interests for
both men and women. Basic survival needs, also called
practical needs, include, for example, physical safety,
nutritious food, shelter, easy access to clean water,
health and affordable and accessible health care, and
employment or income. Strategic interests, typically,
play out over a longer time horizon, and address a
need to shift relative power, provide equal opportunities, and eliminate all forms of oppression that hinder
men and womens full humanity. For women, this
will require that they achieve access to and control
over resources and opportunities, both as a
means of increasing their relative power in
society as well as to gain greater control
over their own lives. While the goal is
the same, programs that address these
interests will look different for men
and women.

EXAMPLE: SC Program Built Around Womens Basic Survival Needs

diminishing signicantly. When project
staff examined the
underlying power dynamics, they realized that their
educational
program did
not recognize the
sexual power imbalance between men and women.
They decided to address this directly by revamping their program. In phase two, the staff created
educational workshops for male-only audiences to
address their behavior and consciousness. The SC
staff now reports much greater success.

This example looks at the practical need for women

to avoid contracting HIV. By undertaking a gender
power analysis, staff realized that only by addressing
womens strategic interests for more control over their
lives could they advance the programs goal.
Trade unions in several African nations have
made AIDS education a priority among their
members and in hard-hit communities where
members live and work. One such SC-supported
effort was designed to meet the needs of women.
Initially, the program focused on women for several reasons, including that women were the fastest growing segment of the population contracting
the disease. Increasingly, women also had to raise
families alone as mothers, as grandmothers.
Cultural traditions also meant that they were the
primary caregivers for those who were sick and
dying, as the governments health care budget and
system could not cope with the pandemic.

In another program, a gender analysis led union

HIV educators to bring husbands and wives together in Couples Workshops to learn about the
disease and related issues. This enabled the couples to understand and jointly develop ways to address issues such as the high risk married women
face of contracting HIV from their husbands, how
to care for themselves and other family members
with the disease, and how to prevent the spread of
HIV in their family and communities.

In the early stages of this new SC program, one

main strategy was to focus on teaching women
how to protect themselves from contracting HIV.
During a program evaluation, however, it became
clear that this strategy was having very limited
success. The rate at which new women in the target area were being diagnosed with HIV was not

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Another central part of a strategic gender analysis

by which we mean an analysis whose purpose is to
help inform and shape a process of social change is
looking at social, economic, and political power dynamics. Certainly, trade unions have historically understood that addressing practical needs and strategic
interests in the ght for worker rights requires a clear
analysis of the many faces and manifestations of power many of which in the right circumstances can be
used to promote social good. Identifying the dynamic
of both employer and worker power is a key element
in most successful organizing campaigns. This same
principle applies to gender equality. Understanding
the role of gender in power relations who has power,
how do they keep it, how do you build power, what
kind of power helps the greatest number of people
will help us best use our own power in the service of
gender equality and worker rights.
Finally, as you integrate the information and insights from the gender analysis into your Field work,
new program ideas will begin to gel. Using a strategic
gender screen will help you prioritize and choose the
most effective program option.

Summary of Tools and Tip Sheets to Help

Undertake a Gender Analysis
Tool 1:

Sex Disaggregated Baseline Labor

Market Data and Trends
This tool will help you identify key
quantitative data on gender differences
in: workforce participation rates;
unemployment; wages; incomes;
poverty rates; union density: and
key labor market trends in the
formal and informal economy,
and in unpaid work.

Tool 2:

Partners Practical Needs and

Strategic Interests Survey
Sample questions to determine
womens and mens needs and interests,
possible actions to meet them, and
where there is political energy and
movement to tap.

Tool 3:

Key Political Dynamics Questions

These questions help identify who
has power and who doesnt inside and
outside the labor movement; to learn
from those who dont have power as well
as those who do; and to think carefully
about the strategy behind any activities
you are contemplating. The information
you derive from this will help you
identify possible audiences; allies; and
decide how to set priorities for your
work.

Tool 4:

Strategic Gender Screen for Selecting

Issue and Program Priorities
The criteria in this checklist will help
you narrow various options regarding
program directions and activities to
select those with the greatest chance
of success and the greatest impact. The
criteria can also be used to help set
benchmarks or indicators.

Tip Sheets are found in Part 2 of the manual.

Tip Sheet 3: Checklist for Assessing Your
Contacts
Some helpful guidelines to test
whether you have a broad enough base
of people from which to gather ideas,
plan, or strategize.
Tip Sheet 4: Gathering Quantitative Date For a
Gender Analysis
Lists data sources and provides key
labor market denitions.

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