Gender-transformative public policy alternatives

Recommended reading! She RISES: a framework for caring cities Cities often mirror the inequalities embedded in society. She RISES: A Framework for Caring Cities, developed by surabhi tandon mehrotra, Kalpana Viswanath, Ankita Kapoor and Rwitee Mandal from Safetipin, brings this imbalance into sharp focus. It exposes how urban design and governance frequently overlook the gendered dimensions of city life, especially the invisible role of care work in sustaining urban systems. The framework is built around four core principles: Responsive, Inclusive, Safe and Equitable Spaces. Together they form an integrated approach to gender transformation through four streams of action. The first stream focuses on public spaces and infrastructure. Well-lit streets, obstacle-free pavements, safe public toilets and mixed-use neighbourhoods are presented as essential design features that enable women’s participation in urban life. The second stream addresses services and amenities, highlighting the need for childcare facilities, housing for single women, and access to affordable health care. Recognising and redistributing care work across communities, markets and the state is seen as a cornerstone of an equitable city. The third stream targets mobility and public transport. Women’s complex travel patterns, shaped by care duties and multiple destinations, require safe, affordable and well-connected systems. Gender-disaggregated data and inclusive recruitment policies in the transport sector are proposed as practical tools for change. The fourth stream concerns responses to gender-based violence, emphasising the implementation of existing laws, the establishment of crisis hubs, and public campaigns that reshape social attitudes. The She RISES framework is both analytical and operational. It is intended for planners, policy makers and urban managers who aim to embed gender sensitivity into every layer of urban governance. The report also serves as a reminder that the care economy is not peripheral but foundational to the functioning of cities. Safetipin, the social enterprise behind this work, has been collecting and analysing safety data in more than forty-five cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Their evidence confirms that cities designed with care in mind not only improve safety for women but also strengthen social cohesion and economic resilience for all. #GenderEquality #UrbanDevelopment #InclusiveCities #UrbanPlanning #PublicSpace #CaringCities

This document is not a summary or a position paper. It is a hands-on manual built to equip cooperation actors with a standardized methodology for gender analysis across development and humanitarian contexts. Developed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, it combines legal frameworks, practical tools, and field-tested approaches to transform how gender is integrated into project cycles. For M&E professionals and practitioners, it is not just a reference—it is a system to identify inequalities, adapt interventions, and embed gender equality from design to evaluation. The manual provides operational tools, procedures and guidance to apply gender analysis effectively across cooperation initiatives: – A structured methodology for integrating gender equality into all phases of programming, from baseline to evaluation – Standard tools to collect, interpret and act on sex-disaggregated and intersectional data – Frameworks for general, sectoral and project-level gender analyses, with clear examples and applications – Checklists and indicators aligned with the EU Gender Action Plan and OECD Gender Marker system – Practical guidance on how to avoid harm, support transformation, and apply a rights-based approach – Strategies for intersectional analysis, including gender-age-disability dimensions and context-sensitive adaptation – Step-by-step instructions for participatory analysis involving local actors, WROs, institutions and civil society – Examples of transformative approaches across social, economic, political, cultural and environmental dimensions This is not about adding gender to existing plans—it is about rethinking those plans through a gender lens. It empowers practitioners to make gender analysis visible, operational, and accountable.

In one of our reflection meetings, a woman farmer raised her hand and said something simple but profound: “For the first time, I am not just being trained. I am being listened to.” That moment captures why gender-transformative work matters. This is one of the tools in the CGIAR Gender Transformative Research Methodologies (GTRM) Toolkit. Too often, agricultural innovations fail not because the technology is flawed, but because the social and institutional realities of women and youth are ignored. Seeds, tools, and digital platforms alone cannot shift outcomes when power, norms, and access remain unequal. This is the thinking behind Gender-Transformative Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles (GT-STIBs)—an approach that deliberately combines technologies with social dialogue, skills, institutional change, and shared decision-making. The aim is not just adoption, but agency. Not just productivity, but equity and resilience. Across learning labs in Ethiopia and Kenya, women and young people have co-designed these bundles alongside researchers, extension agents, cooperatives, and private-sector actors. The results are not abstract: Households renegotiating who decides and who benefits Women gaining confidence to lead, speak, and access markets Institutions are beginning to redesign services to include those who have long been excluded. What stands out most is not the framework, but the process: communities treated as co-researchers, not beneficiaries. Evidence generated with people, not merely about them. Gender transformation is not a quick fix. It is slow, relational, and sometimes uncomfortable work. But when innovation is grounded in lived realities, it becomes more durable—and more just. The question for all of us working in agrifood systems is no longer whether gender matters; it is whether we matter. It is whether we are willing to design innovation in ways that truly reflect how people live, decide, and aspire. CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Gender at Work The Alliance in Africa Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT CGIAR CGIAR Scaling for Impact Dessalegn Molla KetemaLutomia Kweyu Arwen Bailey #GenderTransformativeResearch #AgrifoodSystems #WomenInAgriculture #Inclusion #Resilience #CGIAR #DevelopmentResearch

If you think gender work is just about workshops and awareness-raising… read this. Because what we’re up against isn’t a lack of information, it’s entrenched power. This isn’t just another gender checklist. It’s a step-by-step guide for reshaping how we design, implement, and evaluate programmes, so they stop reinforcing inequality and start shifting it. What you’ll find inside: ✔️ Concrete tools anchored in feminist principles like the TLWR framework and gender power analysis methods. ✔️ Step-by-step guidance with real-world examples from Senegal, Nepal, Cuba, Ethiopia, and Myanmar. ✔️ Intersectionality is addressed. It tackles how race, class, age, sexuality, and disability intersect with gender. ✔️ Clear distinctions between gender-aware, gender-sensitive, and gender-transformative programming so you can assess where you are and what it takes to move further. ✔️ A roadmap to reshape your Theory of Change to focus on shifting power, not just increasing participation. ✔️ Practices that move beyond quotas and representation to actually change norms, policies, and institutional structures. 💾 Well worth saving this post 🙂 Follow me for similar content #GenderTransformative

Gender-transformative approaches (GTAs) seek to move beyond gender-sensitive interventions by addressing the structural and normative foundations of gender inequality. Rooted in feminist theory and intersectional analysis, GTAs conceptualise gender as a system of power relations embedded within households, communities, markets, and institutions. Rather than merely improving women’s access to resources, these approaches aim to transform discriminatory norms, redistribute power, and promote equitable decision-making. In practice, GTAs involve community dialogues, engagement of men and boys, institutional reform, and participatory methodologies that amplify marginalised voices. They also prioritise measuring shifts in attitudes, behaviours, and social relations alongside material outcomes. Evidence indicates that gender-transformative interventions can enhance agricultural productivity, improve nutrition and food security, reduce gender-based violence, and strengthen community resilience. Supported by global frameworks such as those advanced by the United Nations, GTAs contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to gender equality and inclusive development. Their long-term impact depends on sustained commitment, contextual adaptation, and policy integration. Gender and Development Journal, Gender at Work, Gender Intelligence Group, Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policy for Africa, Gender Diversity, Africa Centre for Health Systems and Gender Justice, African Gender Institute & African Feminist Studies, Africa & Middle East Gender Mainstreaming Awards, Institute for Gender and the Economy, Gender Dynamics - Eurac Research, Gender Equality in European Research & Innovation, European Alliance for Gender Safety at Work, Eugain. European Network on Gender Balance in Informatics, Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, ABAAD - Resource Centre for Gender Equality, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion, Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality, Gender Equality in Our DNA, Gender and Development Network, Grow. Gender and Work., Gender, Adolescent Transitions & Environment (GATE) Program, Gender Initiative For Change and Social Tranformation, Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights, ECPR Standing Group on Gender and Politics

Child marriage is not just a harmful practice. It is rooted in deep gender inequalities, norms, and power imbalances. This Technical Note on Gender-Transformative Approaches in the Global Programme to End Child Marriage focuses on how to move beyond surface-level interventions and address these root causes. Inside you'll find: • A clear breakdown of the gender equity continuum from gender-blind to gender-transformative approaches. • A socio-ecological framework to design interventions across individual, community, and system levels. • Practical strategies including empowering girls, engaging men and boys, and mobilizing communities. • Guidance on strengthening gender-responsive systems and services. • The importance of multi-sectoral partnerships and long-term investment for sustained change. Ending child marriage requires more than access or awareness. It requires transforming the systems, norms, and power structures that sustain it. Definitely worth a read! #GenderEquality #ChildMarriage #GenderTransformative #AdolescentGirls #DevelopmentPractice

💭 Knowing transport systems need to change is one thing, but having the tools to actually do it is another. Years of research, advocacy, and cross-border collaboration have built a strong foundation for more gender-equitable transport. What is increasingly catching up now are the practical instruments that help institutions move from intention to action. At our third Global Alliance for Feminist Transprot Meet & Greet, colleagues from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the City of Detroit joined us to share three toolkits tackling gender-inclusive transport from different angles: ✔️ Self-Assessment Tool for Gender-responsive Public Transport (SAT-GPT): a web-based self-assessment for public transport authorities and operators to understand where they stand and prioritise what to do next. ✔️ ADB Gender Equality in Transport Toolkit presented by Claire Charamnac: a step-by-step framework for transport teams and policymakers ready to move beyond gender mainstreaming toward genuinely transformative change. ✔️ Toolkit for Gender-Inclusive Mobility Planning by Leah Gerber: a starting point for planners and public agencies to re-examine mobility planning at the local level, drawing on case studies from cities like Umeå and Vienna. Take a look, and share with whoever needs them most. 👇 https://lnkd.in/dh6yXPwB #FeministTransport

New publication ‼️ OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)’s new publication series - the Gender-responsive governance Toolkit - is out. The Gender-responsive Governance Toolkit is a series of targeted tools, each with a distinct practical and thematic focus. They introduce or advance institutional and policy solutions and practices and aim at contributing to a shift in the way how politics are done, placing equal participation and gender equality at the heart of public policy and governmental agenda. The individual tools are aimed at participating States’ political parties, other democratic institutions and civil society organizations, and complement ODIHR’s existing gender-equality publications. I am especially proud of tool 1, as it is based on my vision that we need to try out new approaches in advancing women’s political participation & gender equality in politics. The last few years we are witnessing stagnation, not just but also related to women’s presence in parliaments, and it seems that existing temporary special measures might have reached their limits. This is why we at ODIHR propose a re-energised and multi-stakeholder approach. In this tool we call upon states to conduct national assessments on gender equality in politics, by assessing ACCESS to politics, VOICE within politics and the opportunity to influence and inform the political agenda, and TRANSFORMATION of politics, or the degree to which gender equality is embedded as a value and objective of political life. But conducting a national assessment is not enough. In this tool we also call upon states to consider developing and implementing targeted action plans for the advancement of gender equality in politics, aiming at making women’s political participation a governmental policy issue instead leaving it to political parties’ autonomy to take decision on how they want to promote women’s political participation. The tool 1 provides also a short overview of diverse strategies and approaches on how gender equality can be advanced, providing inspiration for all three dimensions of our theory of change: ACCESS, VOICE and TRANSFORMATION. The tool was drafted by fantastic Mona Lena Krook, co-edited by Sara Haapalainen, Yulia Netesova and myself. You can find the PDF version here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dgzx-dgD Let us know how you find it and please consider applying it in your own working context.