GENDER EQUALITY and

SOCIAL INCLUSION
FRAMEWORK 2.0

JUNE 2018
GENDER EQUALITY and
SOCIAL INCLUSION
FRAMEWORK 2.0

FHI 360 Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Hub

Prepared by Elise Young and Andrea Bertone

June 2018
 Acknowledgements
The FHI 360 Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Framework (GESI) 2.0 is
the result of a collaborative effort, with substantial input, recommendations
and review from FHI 360 employees at all levels within the organization, and
across Business Units, Regional Offices, departments, countries and practice
areas. The document was spearheaded by Elise Young, Senior Technical
Advisor, and Andrea Bertone, Director, of FHI 360’s Gender Equality and
Social Inclusion Hub. A diverse group of FHI 360 staff members gave
valuable input into either the Framework 2.0 or the suite of accompanying
GESI resources. This includes the following people:
Elise Young (Chair), Andrea Bertone (GESI Hub), Maryce Ramsey (GESI Hub), Lori
Reid (G3E), Barney Singer (G3E), Laura Dominguez (G3E), Rose Wilcher (GHPN),
Robyn Dayton (GHPN), Berengère de Negri (GHPN), Nilufar Rakhmanova (GHPN),
Katherine Lew (GHPN), Kevin Osborne (GHPN), Thad Pennas (GHPN), Johannes van
Dam (GRS), Esther Ko (OCIA), Joanne Kochuk (BDD), Brooke Mattocks (BDD US),
Elisa Chen (Strategy), Susan Voskuil (CMS), Patricia Shehata (CMS), Katje Vanden
Heuvel (COMMS), Lezanne Wollenschlaeger (HR), Tricia Petruney (ID), Philippe
GESI Task Force Sanchez (WAMERO), Shawn Malone (ESARO), Tembeka Sonkwele (ESARO), Srunya
Nopsuwanwong (BDD APRO), John Strand (USBU), John Ward (USBU), Hayley
Bryant (Mozambique), Cara Endyke Doran (Mozambique), Khin Zarli Aye (Myanmar),
Sumita Taneja (India), Robert Mwadime (Uganda), Satish Raj Pandey (Nepal),
Mirriam Dogimab (PNG), Bridget Lombardo (DRC), Blaise Kouadio (Ivory Coast),
Misti McDowell (Ethiopia), Kilyelyani Kanjo (Malawi), Tosin Akibu (Nigeria), Dorothy
Muroki (Kenya)

Rebecca Sewall (G3E), Jennifer Linkletter (G3E), Ahlam Kays (G3E), Jacqueline
Bass (G3E), Caroline Averch (G3E), Stephen Luke (G3E), Carina Omoeva (G3E),
Joy Cunningham (GHPN), Kate Plourde (GHPN), Donna McCarraher (GHPN), Merle
Operating Units Froschl (USBU), Maryann Stimmer (USBU), Michele Feist (USBU), Jacqueline Hess
(USBU), Ivan Charner (USBU), Todd Charner (USBU), Bethe Almeras (USBU), Amy
Detgen (USBU)

Andy Turner (BDD), Wellington Pak (BSAI), Priyanka Rao (BSAI), Justin Garrido
(BSAI), Sean Temeemi (OCIA), Kevin Pettit (OCIA), Greg Beck (CR), Art Carlson
Departments (CR), Merywen Wigley (CR), Kevin Young (L&D), Steven Hayes (BSGS), Martina Ban
(OM), Paula Pazderka (OM), Jessye Brick (BDD GHPN), Jason Kelleher (BDD G3E)

Nadra Franklin, Michael Tetelman, Rebecca Sewall, Barney Singer, Michael Stalker, Rose Wilcher, Laura
Kayser, Aleta Williams, Pam Myers, Debbie Kennedy and Patrick Fine provided final review and ensured
alignment with FHI 360 policies and strategies.

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Introduction
The GESI Framework 2.0 reflects a multi-year process to better assess
our organizational GESI strengths and gaps, examine promising practices
both internally and within the international development and humanitarian
communities, and set a collective vision for our future. It began with an
assessment of 35 projects FHI 360 implements across Africa and continued
with the input of the GESI Task Force and operating units and departments.
In addition to the Framework 2.0, this collaboration generated a suite of GESI
guidelines, tools and resources for use by FHI 360 staff, interns, consultants
and partners to integrate the GESI standards. The GESI Framework 2.0 will be
available publicly to our funders and partners as a demonstration of FHI 360’s
commitment to the standards described herein. Staff can find the following
full suite of internal GESI resources on the Connect site.

• GESI Framework 2.0
• GESI Standards International Cheat Sheet
• GESI Standards U.S. Cheat Sheet
• International BD-Capture GESI Cheat Sheet
• International BD-Proposal GESI Cheat Sheet
• International Project Implementation GESI
Cheat Sheet
• International Business Development GESI
Guidelines
• International Business Development GESI
Toolkits
• International Project Implementation GESI
Guidelines
• International Project Implementation GESI
Toolkits
We want all staff to fully engage with the
principles, commitments and standards within
this Framework, and to benefit from and add to
the larger set of available GESI resources. The
principles are aspirational, and offer ideas for
how we can focus our attention to help
advance the larger goal of GESI at FHI 360. The
commitments offer qualitative targets, that can
help us to better measure our progress towards
achieving more specific results. The standards
provide action steps, to help all staff integrate
the principles and work towards achieving the
commitments throughout different stages of
the business development and project
implementation life cycles.
For more information or to share questions or
feedback on the different available GESI resources
and initiatives at FHI 360, staff can send an email
to GESI@FHI360.org.

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 Forward
Since 2012, when FHI 360 launched the Gender Integration Framework, we have learned a great
deal about the depth of the commitment required, and the need for alignment of our organizational
processes and project implementation practices, in order to fully integrate approaches to achieve gender
equality in all aspects of our work. We have benefited from deep engagement with our staff, partners,
funders, fellow coalition members, and especially project participants/beneficiaries about the need for
intersectional approaches that address social exclusion. Now, we seek to stretch ourselves even further
by prioritizing social inclusion for people of diverse identities across race, color, national or ethnic origin,
disability, sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, veteran status, and all
other protected class status.

This Framework 2.0 establishes a clear set of GESI principles, commitments, and standards. It is based
upon the international development community’s Minimum Standards for Mainstreaming Gender
Equality, of which FHI 360 is a co-founder and endorser. It is our foundational document for a suite of
GESI tools and resources that guide our efforts to mainstream GESI across our entire organization and
throughout our projects. GESI 2.0 is in line with and reinforces FHI 360’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
and Code of Conduct. It also supports our strategic goal of increasing equity. It reflects promising
practices within both international and U.S. development efforts that will help us to collectively advance
our vision of supporting all individuals and communities to have the opportunity to reach their highest
potential.

I hope you will find this document inspiring and useful in the work you do to improve lives in meaningful
ways throughout the world.

Patrick C. Fine
Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

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Background
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals recognize that gender equality and
social inclusion (GESI) are fundamental issues in and of themselves, as well as
contributing to the end goal of reducing poverty and advancing a healthier, safer,
cleaner, better educated, connected, just and empowered world. Addressing
gender equality and social inclusion are crucial to achieving success within our
organizational practices, business development and programming.

These goals require integrated solutions built on
a deep belief that all people, communities and
countries should have equal rights and the power
to control their own fate. These goals also apply
to U.S.-based programs, and align with U.S. laws
requiring equal employment opportunity and non-
discrimination. As such, both U.S.-based programs
and international development programs are
expected to uphold universally recognized rights
regarding gender equality and social inclusion, and
to actively work on the measures of equity needed
to help achieve them. This includes embracing the
principles, commitments and standards that are
set forth within this framework, and weaving
these values into our organizational DNA and
program implementation.
FHI 360 is committed to advancing GESI through
both organizational mainstreaming and project
integration. This is a part of the organization’s
larger Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. FHI 360
seeks to strengthen the ways in which we recruit,
hire, build the capacity of, evaluate, and treat
our staff. FHI 360 has multiple policies in place
that help reinforce the Diversity and Inclusion
Strategy, as well as its commitment to achieving
gender equality and broader principles of social
inclusion. Our policies on Equal Employment
Opportunity, Professional Standards of Conduct,
and ensuring Harassment-free and Violence-free
Work Environments can be found in our Code of
Ethics and Conduct, which is required learning for
all employees.
FHI 360 supports a strong commitment to
addressing equality gaps, and finding ways to
respond to them head on. For example, FHI
360 recognizes that we need more women in
leadership positions among staff across several
country offices in order to reach greater gender
equity. The same is true for people with diverse
identities across race, color, national or ethnic
origin, disability, sex, age, gender identity, sexual
orientation, religion, marital status, and veteran
status. FHI 360 believes in looking at its own
internal processes to identify where inequality
might exist and working to improve our systems
so that all staff across the globe may have the
same opportunities, support systems, and
enabling environment.
Integrating GESI principles must simultaneously
take place within our diverse U.S. and international
portfolios, which include health, education,
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math), civil society, workforce development,

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youth empowerment, technology, livelihoods, and
research. Many FHI 360 projects – including in the U.S.
and globally – have addressed GESI over the years.
Under the Women’s Studies Project in the 1990s, FHI
conducted groundbreaking research on the impact
of family planning on women’s lives—including their
educational attainment, employment status and marital
relations. More recently, FHI 360 has researched the
reproductive health and decision-making power of
adolescent girls around the world through Passages;
worked with key populations1 to prevent HIV/AIDS and
gender-based violence through LINKAGES; advanced
research and practice in supporting girls in STEM in
the U.S. through Furthering Girls’ Math Identity; helped
young people from disadvantaged communities in the
U.S. to stay in school, excel academically, and elevate
their career aspirations through Bridge to Employment,
and enabled cross-border communities in East Africa
to take an integrated, gender-equitable approach to
economic development, governance and improved
health through ROADS (Regional Outreach Addressing
AIDS through Development Strategies), ROADS II and
CB-HIPP (Cross-Border Health Integrated Partnership
Project).
Despite these important projects and the many
places where FHI 360 has already been working to
integrate GESI, two challenges remain. First, despite
the fact that FHI 360 rolled out a Gender Integration
Framework in 2012 to provide guidance on integrating
gender into strategic business development, projects
and research endeavors, results have not always been
uniform or consistent across all sectors or regions.
Second, the previous Framework focused solely on
gender, and did not provide guidance on other social
inclusion issues such as disability, race/ethnicity, age or
sexual orientation.
The FHI 360 GESI Framework 2.0 addresses both
challenges by focusing on the integration of gender
equality and social inclusion principles, commitments
and operational standards across all sectors and regions.
The organization has also created complementary
guidelines and toolkits for GESI integration within
business development and project implementation. We
are working to build GESI capacity to establish greater
systems of accountability across the organization.
1. Key populations refers to the population most-at-risk to HIV
transmission, including men who have sex with men, transgender
people, people who inject drugs and sex workers.
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Evidence on Why GESI Is Important
FHI 360 PROJECTS IN AFRICA
ÎÎ90% of projects have staff that focus on
implementing gender activities. Of those, 65% have
a qualified gender focal point.
ÎÎ60% of projects had done a gender analysis,
yet only 15% of staff say gender was sufficiently
integrated in the proposal. Only 10% were satisfied
with the quality, content and resourcing of gender
activities.
ÎÎ100% of interviewed staff who received gender
trainings found them very helpful and say additional
training is needed to keep knowledge fresh, build
capacity, and improve project outcomes.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
ÎÎ Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
members invested over $25 billion in aid to support
gender equality and women’s empowerment in
2013, with $2.2 billion from the U.S. government.
(Aid in Support of Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment, OECD, 2015.)
ÎÎ The U.S. government has multiple GESI mandates
across different agencies. For example, USAID’s
ADS 205 establishes clear requirements for
implementation of the USAID Gender Equality
and Female Empowerment Policy. PEPFAR, the
Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S.
State Department all have gender guidelines in
place. Multiple agencies have disability inclusion,
child protection, and youth development
requirements as well.
ÎÎ Almost 2,000 private-sector companies
have endorsed the United Nations Women’s
Empowerment Principles.
U.S. DEVELOPMENT
ÎÎ Companies in the top 25th percentile for gender
diversity on their executive teams were 21% more
likely to outperform on profitability, and those in
the top quartile for ethnic/cultural diversity were
33% more likely. (Delivering Through Diversity,
McKinsey, 2018.)
ÎÎ Foundations investing in U.S. programs have
shown an increased prioritization on equity and
inclusion. Ford Foundation has invested $630
million in programs that challenge inequality,
including across gender, race and ethnicity.
ÎÎ FHI 360 leads the Post-secondary Success
Collaborative with support from Citi Foundation.
By focusing on issues of ethnicity and equity, the
project has helped achieve a 24% increase in
college enrollment among participating African-
American and Latino students compared with a
5% increase among students from the same
ethnic groups in the districts overall.
Based on our vision, mission and values, the GESI framework serves a three-fold purpose:

1. To embed GESI principles across the organization.

2. To set specific GESI commitments towards which FHI 360 will work.
3. To provide standards for achieving these commitments in all spheres of our work.

In addition, the FHI 360 GESI Framework 2.0 is designed to improve the quality, impact and competi-
tiveness of our work.

Guiding Principles
1. We maintain that gender equality and social
inclusion are essential components of
FHI 360’s development work that will
improve program outcomes. We address
harmful gender and social norms and utilize
equity measures at all stages of
the project life cycle, in both U.S. and
international programs.

2. We support approaches that address

inequalities experienced by people with
overlapping or intersectional social
identities. This includes better understanding
the realities of and supporting the
empowerment of women of color, LGBTQIA
youth, and men and women with disabilities.

3. We recognize that youth, adults and older

people have special strengths and needs
when it comes to GESI. We support the
empowerment of people of different ages
throughout our development work.

4. We emphasize the human rights and

dignity of all people, including those who
identify as LGBTQIA2 and/or as gender
non-conforming. We work to embrace,
engage and partner with LGBTQIA individuals
and groups, support their empowerment,
and collectively work to advance rights and

2. LGBTQIA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,

Queer or Questioning, Intersex and Asexual.

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 better development outcomes. In countries
with legal restrictions, we will obey all laws
while still upholding the concepts of LGBTQIA
respect and access.
5. We prioritize the inclusion of people living
with disabilities through our partnerships
and programming, including physical, mental,
emotional, and learning disabilities, as well
as both visible and invisible disabilities that
might not be immediately apparent. We
also seek to create a welcoming, respectful,
inclusive work environment for people with
disabilities.
6. We underscore the importance of
addressing racial and ethnic inequality
within our internal practices and
programming.This includes having greater
awareness of diversity gaps across our
organization and projects, actively recruiting
people of color and minority ethnic groups,
and pursuing equity measures to help
increase the participation and leadership of
people from underrepresented racial and
ethnic groups.
FHI 360 makes the following organizational and project commitments in ways that are inclusive of
the full spectrum of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, sex, age, gender identity, sexu-
al orientation, religion, marital status, veteran status, genetic information and all other protected
class status.
Organizational Commitments
1. Support hiring, advancement and leadership
opportunities across the entire organization
for people of diverse identities. These
commitments are included in recruitment,
hiring, onboarding, professional development,
compensation and staff support.
2. Integrate GESI commitments into relevant
job descriptions, and track progress
through annual performance reviews to
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7. We support country- and community-led
development, and will work with community
members, civil society organizations,
governments, the private sector and
academia to support culturally relevant
solutions to advance GESI. We support
context-specific adaptation of the GESI
Framework 2.0 to ensure the implementation
speaks to a country’s cultural and legal norms,
as long as the Framework’s principles and
commitments are respected.
8. Our approach is grounded in empirical
evidence and rigorous methodologies.
We are committed to generating and
sharing quality data about gender equality
and social inclusion and their impact on
development. We are further committed to
basing our programs on the best available
quantitative and qualitative evidence.
Monitoring and evaluation of our activities
and programs should include gender
equality- and social inclusion-related
measures as a critical component of overall
progress and outcomes.
support increased clarity, engagement and
accountability for staff.
3. Prevent and respond to harassment,
violence, abuse, or discrimination among
staff, interns, consultants, and partners,
including sexual harassment and abuse,
any forms of gender-based violence and
discrimination. We will uphold the strictest
standards of protection and will work to create
 a safe environment for project participants
and other stakeholders against harassment,
violence, abuse and discrimination by our
staff, interns, and consultants. (See FHI 360’s
Policies on Equal Employment Opportunity,
Harassment-Free Work Environment, and
Violence-Free Work Environment.)
5. Strengthen GESI measurement and
accountability mechanisms, including within
regular global surveys, audits, project tracking
tools, assessment reports, and partner and
staff performance reviews.

4. Prioritize the safety and security of all

FHI 360 staff, interns and consultants
throughout the course of their work with
increased attention on how to mitigate unique
safety and security risks.

Project Commitments
1. Engage with, measure, and increase the
involvement of individuals who have
historically been excluded in all points of the
project life cycle. This could include women,
men, boys, girls, and people of diverse gender
identities, depending on the context. We will
measure and support the empowerment and
leadership of women and girls.
2. Create systems to measure, prevent and
decrease GBV. We will also promote activities to
measure, prevent and respond to GBV whenever
possible.
3. Seek partners with a commitment to
integrate GESI into their work, or willingness
to build their capacity to do so. Work with
all partners to learn from one another and
collectively increase shared GESI integration,
knowledge and capacity.
4. Track numbers of diverse partners. When
identifying new potential partnerships,
proactively seek out underrepresented groups,
such as women’s organizations and disabled
persons’ organizations.
5. Measure and increase the number of
projects that conduct GESI analyses, create
GESI project strategies, hire project-level
GESI specialists where possible, utilize GESI
indicators, and build evidence among all FHI
360 projects to help inform programming
and achieve the first three programmatic
GESI commitments.

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 GESI Standards
The following are standards that can help FHI 360
achieve GESI within our business development
and project life cycles. Certain international
projects may make a strategic choice to focus
racial or ethnic equity. Both international and U.S.
programs, however, can increase their awareness
and integration of issues across the GESI
spectrum. FHI 360 can also work with its

FHI 360 Gender Equality & Social

solely or more exclusively on standards of gender
integration, depending on funder requirements,
partners to create an enabling environment
for gender equality and social inclusion, and

Inclusion (GESI) Standards

project goals and available resources and capacity.
Certain U.S. programs may focus more intently on
proactively implement equity mechanisms to help
achieve them.

Strategic Planning Opportunity Identification

& Market Analysis to Assessement

Integrate GESI into Engage GESI experts during

funder & competitor Bid Board processes and
Capture & Proposal
analyses within the BJM Development

Integrate rapid GESI

analysis & strategy into
1 2 capture & proposal:
TOC, Design, Partners,
Activites, MEL, Budget

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 3
Implement Plan Startup

Create GESI Complete GESI analysis Hire GESI Specialist &/or

capacity-building and & strategy in first 6 knowledgeable staff.
implementation plans for months. Adapt work plan Integrate GESI into staff
staff and partners & budget accordingly & partner onboarding

6 5 4
Monitor
& Improve

Include SADD* & GESI

indicators & qualitative PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
assessment in quarterly
& annual reports Monitor
Closeout
& Improve

Include GESI metrics in Record & share GESI

official staff and partner achievements & lessons learned
7 with staff, partners & funders
performance reviews

8 9
* SADD stands for sex- and
age-disaggregated data

The GESI Standards are integrated throughout
the project lifecycle under nine distinct stages.
The first three stages take place during the
business development processes, while the
remaining six happen during implementation.
These standards may need to be adapted for
specific proposals or projects depending on
their size, nature, and requirements. However,
they provide a set of strong steps and promising
practices that nearly all FHI 360 proposals and
projects can endeavor to achieve.
For more information on how the GESI Standards
apply to U.S. Projects, please review the FHI
360 U.S. GESI Standards Cheat Sheet. For more
information on how they apply to International
Projects, please review the FHI 360 International
GESI Standards Cheat Sheet.

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
FHI 360 has standardized its Business
Development (BD) 2.0 process, which provides
for a certain level of flexibility to meet funders’
needs. We must understand the changing
GESI landscape for prospective funders and
competitors, and be competitive by having GESI
capabilities in place. Different priorities also
exist between U.S. and international programs.
For example, many U.S. programs may pursue
projects with a heavy focus on equity, especially
across different racial, ethnic or socio-economic
backgrounds. Many international programs
respond to specific requirements around gender
integration. Despite these differences, all business
development initiatives can benefit from a more
expansive approach to GESI.
For more information on how to integrate
GESI into international business development
initiatives, review the International Capture
GESI Cheat Sheet, International Proposal GESI
Cheat Sheet, or the full International Business
Development Guidelines.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Project implementation may differ greatly
between projects when it comes to GESI. For
example, it may make most sense for a USAID
education project in Malawi to perform a full
GESI analysis in country within the first 6 months
after startup, to better understand the impact
of gender and social norms on project design. By
contrast (or by comparison), an education project
funded by a foundation in the U.S. might require
a different approach. This can still include a GESI
analysis, but it may need to be a much shorter
desk review that is well tailored to the specific
funder.
For more information on how to integrate GESI
into international projects, review the International
Project GESI Cheat Sheet, or the full International
Project Implementation GESI Guidelines.
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For more information on the
GESI Framework 2.0, please
contact the FHI 360 Gender
Equality and Social Inclusion Hub at
GESI@fhi360.org