GAD Legal Mandates and Instruments:

A. International Mandates
In the international level, prioritizing the achievement of gender equality is
evident especially on the Beijing Platform of Action to the inclusion of gender
equality in the Millennium Development Goals and more recently in the
Sustainable Development Goals. By becoming a party to CEDAW, a State is
legally obliged to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination
against women and advance gender equality. Also, as parties to Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the
States are legally obliged to take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women and advance gender equality.

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action flagged 12 key areas where urgent
action was needed to ensure greater equality and opportunities for women and men,
girls and boys. It also laid out concrete ways for countries to bring about change.
The Platform for Action imagines a world where each woman and girl can exercise
her freedoms and choices, and realize all her rights. As a defining framework for
change, the Platform for Action made comprehensive commitments under 12
critical areas of concern:
 Poverty
Develop macroeconomics mechanisms to improve access to economic
resources.
 Education and Training
Ensure equal access to education and promote life-long education and
training for girls and women.
 Health
Increase women's life-long access to affordable, appropriate, and quality
health care and to information dealing with maternal mortality, sexually
transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health.
 Violence
Adopt and implement legislation to end violence against women, ratify the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women,
and encourage international cooperation to dismantle trafficking in women.
 Armed Conflict
Increase participation of women in conflict resolution at decision-making
levels; condemn ethnic cleansing and rape as a consequence of war and a
violation of human rights.
 Economy
Promote women's economic rights and independence, including access to
 employment and appropriate working conditions and control over economic
resources.
 Decision-making
Ensure women's equal access to and full participation in public sector power
structures; increase women's capacity to participate in decision-making and
leadership positions.
 Institutional Mechanisms
Create and strengthen national bureaucracies to ensure that the
advancement of women is vested in the highest-possible level of government.
 Human Rights
Promote human rights of women by fully implementing all human rights
instruments, especially the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women.
 Media
Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.
 Environment
Integrate gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programs for
sustainable development.
 The Girl-Child
Eliminate discrimination against the girl-child: enforce rights to succession;
eliminate female genital mutilation, son preference, and economic exploitation
of child labor; and strengthen the role of the family in improving the status of
the girl-child.

In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations

conferences and summits, world leaders came together at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration .

The Declaration committed nations to a new global partnership to reduce

extreme poverty, and set out a series of eight time-bound targets - with a
deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).

The final MDG Report found that the 15-year effort has produced the most
successful anti-poverty movement in history:

 Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by
more than half.
 The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has
fallen by almost half.
 The primary school enrolment rate in the developing regions has reached
91 percent, and many more girls are now in school compared to 15 years
ago.
 Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis.
 The under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half, and maternal
mortality is down 45 percent worldwide.
 The target of halving the proportion of people who lack access to improved
sources of water was also met.
The concerted efforts of national governments, the international community,
civil society and the private sector have helped expand hope and opportunity for
people around the world.

Yet the job is unfinished for millions of people—we need to go the last mile on
ending hunger, achieving full gender equality, improving health services and
getting every child into school. Now we must shift the world onto a sustainable
path.

The global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or Global Goals, will

guide policy and funding for the next 15 years, beginning with a historic pledge on
25 September 2015 , to end poverty. Everywhere. Permanently.

The 8 MDG Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a framework of 17 goals

and 169 targets across social, economic and environmental areas of sustainable
development, which United Nations (UN) Member States have committed to making
a reality over the next 15 years.

The SDGs are to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which
expire at the end of 2015, but are much broader in their scope. Unlike the MDGs,
which were focused on social issues, the SDGs set out targets across all three
dimensions – social, economic and environmental – of sustainable development.
Furthermore, while the MDGs were targeted at developing countries, the SDGs are
applicable to all countries. The SDGs form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development which UN Member States adopted at the UN Sustainable
Development Summit in September 2015. The adoption of the Agenda is the
culmination of a lengthy process of intergovernmental negotiations and
consultations that lasted nearly three years.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Gender inequality is one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable development,

economic growth and poverty reduction. Thanks to MDG 3 on gender equality and
women’s empowerment, progress in enrolling girls into school and integrating
women into the job market has been considerable. MDG 3 gave the issue of gender
parity a lot of visibility, but its narrow focus meant that it failed to address important
issues such as violence against women, economic disparities and the low
participation of women in political decision-making.

Almost half of the world’s population are female. No society can attain genuine
sustainable development when half of its population is marginalized.

Goal 5 advocates equal opportunities for men and women in economic life,
the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, the
elimination of early and forced marriage, and equal participation at all levels.

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and
private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and
female genital mutilation

5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of
public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of
shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate

5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for
leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life

5.6: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive
rights as agreed in accordance with the Program of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and
the outcome documents of their review conferences

5.7: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well
as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial
services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

5. 8: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and

communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women

5. 9: Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the
promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all
levels

In 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly. It entered into force as an international treaty on 3 September 1981 after
the twentieth country had ratified it. By the tenth anniversary of the Convention in
1989, almost one hundred nations have agreed to be bound by its provisions.

The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to
monitor the situation of women and to promote women's rights. The Commission's
work has been instrumental in bringing to light all the areas in which women are
denied equality with men. These efforts for the advancement of women have
resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and most
comprehensive document.

Among the international human rights treaties, the Convention takes an

important place in bringing the female half of humanity into the focus of human
rights concerns. The spirit of the Convention is rooted in the goals of the United
Nations: to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person, in the equal rights of men and women. The present document spells
out the meaning of equality and how it can be achieved. In so doing, the Convention
establishes not only an international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda for
action by countries to guarantee the enjoyment of those rights.

In its preamble, the Convention explicitly acknowledges that "extensive

discrimination against women continues to exist", and emphasizes that such
discrimination "violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human
dignity". As defined in article 1, discrimination is understood as "any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made o.1 the basis of sex...in the political, economic, social,
cultural, civil or any other field". The Convention gives positive affirmation to the
principle of equality by requiring States parties to take "all appropriate measures,
including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for
the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men"(article 3).

The agenda for equality is specified in fourteen subsequent articles. In its

approach, the Convention covers three dimensions of the situation of women. Civil
rights and the legal status of women are dealt with in great detail. In addition, and
unlike other human rights treaties, the Convention is also concerned with the
dimension of human reproduction as well as with the impact of cultural factors on
gender relations.

B. National Mandates

The Philippines is a state party to the United Nation (UN) Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is obligated to
pursue and implement program, project and activities that will contribute to the
achievement of women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Republic Act 9710 or The Magna Carta of Women (MCW) is a

comprehensive women’s human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination
through the recognition, protection, fulfillment, and promotion of the rights of Filipino
 women, especially those belonging in the marginalized sectors of the society. It
conveys a framework of rights for women based directly on international law.

The MCW establishes the Philippine government’s pledge of commitment to

the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women’s
(CEDAW) Committee in its 36th Session in 2006 and to the UN Human Rights
Council on its first Universal Periodic Review in 2009. It is the local translation of
the provisions of the CEDAW, particularly in defining gender discrimination, state
obligations, substantive equality, and temporary special measures. It also
recognizes human rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Salient features of the law include:

 Increasing the number of women in third level positions in government to achieve
a fifty-fifty (50-50) gender balance within the next five years while the
composition of women in all levels of development planning and program
implementation will be at least 40 percent;
 Leave benefits of two (2) months with full pay based on gross monthly
compensation for women employees who undergo surgery caused by
gynecological disorders, provided that they have rendered continuous aggregate
employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months;
 Non-discrimination in employment in the field of military, police and other similar
services that include according the same promotional privileges and
opportunities as their men counterpart, including pay increases, additional
benefits, and awards, based on competency and quality of performance.
 Provision for equal access and elimination of discrimination in education,
scholarships, and training. Thus, “expulsion, non-readmission, prohibiting
enrollment, and other related discrimination of women students and faculty due
to pregnancy out of marriage shall be outlawed.
 Non-discriminatory and non-derogatory portrayal of women in media and film to
raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of women
and the role and contribution of women in family, community, and the society
through the strategic use of mass media;
 Equal status given to men and women on the titling of the land and issuance of
stewardship contracts and patents.

In addition to guaranteeing substantive rights, the MCW establishes the

responsibility of the government to take actions in order to end discrimination against
women. It provides that the Philippines government must “ensure the substantive
equality of men and women” and mandates the State to take steps to review, amend or
repeal existing laws that are discriminatory towards women.
 The Government, in its entirety, shall fulfill these duties through the development
and implementation of laws, policies, regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines,
and other appropriate measures. It shall also establish mechanisms to promote the
coherent and integrated implementation of the MCW and other related laws and policies
to effectively stop discrimination against Filipino women.
The MCW mandates all government offices, including government-owned and
controlled corporations and local government units to adopt gender mainstreaming as a
strategy for implementing the law and attaining its objectives. It also mandates (a)
planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for gender and development, (b) the
creation and/or strengthening of gender and development focal points, and (c) the
generation and maintenance of gender statistics and sex-disaggregated databases to
aid in planning, programming and policy formulation.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7192. An Act Promoting the Integration of Women As

Full and Equal Partners Of Men in Development and Nation Building and For
Other Purposes
SECTION 1. Title -- This Act shall be cited as the "Women in Development and
Nation Building Act."
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. -- The State recognizes the role of women in
nation building and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and
men. The State shall provide women rights and opportunities equal to that of men.
To attain the foregoing policy:
(1) A substantial portion of official development assistance funds received from
foreign governments and multilateral agencies and organizations shall be set aside and
utilized by the agencies concerned to support programs and activities for women;
(2) All government departments shall ensure that women benefit equally and
participate directly in the development programs and projects of said department,
specifically those funded under official foreign development assistance, to ensure the
full participation and involvement of women in the development process; and
(3) All government departments and agencies shall review and revise all their
regulations, circulars, issuances and procedures to remove gender bias therein

The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (1995-2025)

signed on September 8, 1995, through Executive Order 273 by then President Fidel V.
Ramos, contains the long-term vision of women’s empowerment and gender equality
and translates the Beijing Platform for Action into policies and strategies and programs
and projects for Filipino women.

The PPGD is designed:

(a) To promote gender equity and equality and to help women and men actualize
their potentials, the PPGD pursues efforts to mainstream gender and development
(GAD) in government and foster cooperation between government and NGOs;
encourage gender-sensitive industry and employment planning, including equal
opportunities for training in informatics and other fields; adopt gender-sensitive laws;
and promote the value of effective parenting and shared roles.
(b) Its advocacy for democratic participation, women's empowerment and self-
determination is supported by strategies to protect women's rights under and
participation in, agrarian reform and other structural changes for rural development;
increase women's political involvement; promote women's legal and political education;
and reform media messages and public's image of women.
(c) Respect for human rights and desire for peace and social justice underlie the
strategies of protecting women overseas contract workers, setting up shelters and crisis
center for women, adopting laws dealing with violence against women and the like, and
monitoring human rights violations.
(d) Sustainable development that equally benefits women and men rests on a
sustainable environment, which constitutes part of the strategy for rural structural
changes.
In addition, the PPGD relates the gender issues and strategies to macro forces
and trends -- globalization, trade and market liberalization and the international division
of labor, information revolution and interactive TV and the like -- the promise misery as
they do a good life. Thus, it likewise posits broad courses of action, such as: adherence
to a type of economic development that is less dependent on foreign debt, and one that
recognizes both the positive effects of economic liberalization and the need to protect
vulnerable groups, such as women workers and small farmers; streaming women into
innovative high-technology levels of knowledge and employment; gaining some control
over key aspects of both computer software and hardware development, thus
generating employment for women and men not only in the lower-end but also in the
better-paying end of the informatics job market, and creating an environment within
which women could control their fertility and sexuality with informed choice and
minimum health problems, achieve safe motherhood; and gain access to health
services. The PPGD recognizes that development strategies can exacerbate both the
benefits and the ill effects of macro and supranational forces. In response, it offers an
alternative view of development, one that is gender-responsive and revolves
around a humane and people-centered definition and practice of development.

The Framework for Action, the Framework Plan for Women, 2001-2004
envisions development as equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of
human rights, supportive of self-determination and the actualization of human
potentials, and participatory and empowering (NCRFW, 2000). Development is defined
as the sustained capacity of women and men to achieve a better and more satisfying
life. For women, this means realizing their full capacity as individuals and overcoming
socio-cultural, economic and political barriers that deter them from attaining an
improved quality of life. The Plan is about breaching these barriers. Regardless of class
or origin, the plan ensures that women and men will equitably benefit from development.
The Plan focuses primarily on three areas of concern: (1) promotion of women’s
economic empowerment; (2) protection and fulfillment of women’s human rights; and (3)
promotion of gender-responsive governance. These three areas of concern emphasize
the importance placed by the present administration on eradicating the structural
causes of poverty as well as transforming it into one that is good, effective and efficient
governance. Moreover, the Plan incorporates the innovative strategies and interventions
put forward by the PPGD; it also provides the standards and mechanisms to fulfill the
country’s commitments to international agreements such as the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing
Platform for Action and the Beijing +5 Outcome document.

Activity:
Write in the circle which international GAD mandate is referred to in each
statement below and write in the square the national mandate that translate each of the
international mandate and write one specific area of concern for each of the mandate:
(20pts.)

-requires State parties to take "all appropriate measures, including

legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women,
for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with
men"

Specific Area of Concern:

____________________________________________

-conveys a framework of rights for women based directly on

international law

Specific Area of Concern:

____________________________________________
 -flagged 12 key areas where urgent action was needed to ensure
greater equality and opportunities for women and men, girls and boys;
and laid out concrete ways for countries to bring about change.

Specific Area of Concern:

____________________________________________

-contains the long-term vision of women’s empowerment and gender

equality and translates an international GAD mandate into policies and
strategies and programs and projects for Filipino women.

Specific Area of Concern:

____________________________________________

End-Term Lesson 2:

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

INSTITUTIONALIZING GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT:

A. GAD Agenda Policy Framework

In accordance with the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) and the Philippines’
commitment to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), the
Guidelines for the Preparation of Annual GAD Plans and Budgets (GPBs) and GAD
Accomplishment Reports (ARs) was issued by the Philippine Commission on Women,
the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM). The guidelines provide the procedures for the
formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of GAD plans and budgets of
agencies and identify the setting of the GAD agenda as one of the steps in formulating
the GAD plan.

The GAD agenda shall be the basis for the annual formulation of programs,
activities and projects (PAPs) to be included in the GPBs of agencies. It will provide
agencies with direction in setting and monitoring their GAD initiatives towards the
achievement of their GEWE goals.

The development of the GAD Agenda shall be guided by the desired GEWE
outcomes and goals embodied in the MCW and other women or gender-related laws
relevant to the agency’s mandates; the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive
Development (PPGD) 1995-2025 and term plans on GEWE; and various
international GAD-related commitments such as the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN CEDAW), the
 Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It shall also be anchored on the priorities and thrusts of the government as
expressed in the Philippine Development Plan and various sectoral plans.

The GAD Agenda is a two-part document consisting of the GAD Strategic

Framework (GADSF) and the GAD Strategic Plan (GADSP). The GADSF
outlines the agency’s GAD Vision, Mission and Goals anchored on the mandate
of the agency, while GADSP defines the strategic interventions, indicators, and
targets to be pursued to achieve GAD goals over a period of time. The timeframe
of the GAD Agenda is six years.

PART 1: GAD STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (GADSF)

Step 1: Organizing the Planning Team
The Head of Agency or GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) Chairperson shall
issue, if necessary, an office memorandum for the preparation of the GAD
Agenda

Step 2: Conducting Gender Analysis

The agency, led by the GFPS, shall conduct gender analysis based on the
following:
-Results of the application of gender analysis tools such as the Gender
Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF), Harmonized Gender and
Development Guidelines (HGDG), Participatory Gender Audit (PGA) and other
gender analysis tools;
- Analysis of sex-dis aggregated data and/or relevant information;
-Review of GAD-related mandates and policies (international and local);-Review
of sectoral and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) plans and
GAD-related indicators; and
-Issues and recommendations gathered from consultations with women’s
groups/organizations working on the sector and other concerned stakeholders.
-After collating the results of the gender analysis, the agency should be able to
come up with a summary list of gender issues.
-The gender issue could be client-and/or organization-focused.
- A client-focused gender issue refers to gap/s arising from the unequal status of
women and men stakeholders (customers, clients, beneficiaries) of a particular
agency including the extent of their disparity over access to benefits from and
contribution to a policy, program, projects and/or services of the agency.
-An organization-focused gender issue, on the other hand, points to the gap/s in
the capacity of the organization to integrate a gender dimension in its programs,
systems or structure.

Step 3: Setting the Agency’s Gad Vision & Mission

The GAD vision shall be formulated to reflect the agency’s projected direction to
achieve its gender equality and women’s empowerment based on its mandate,
 priorities and thrusts. The GAD Mission should articulate the agency’s purpose
based on its mandate in relation to achieving gender equality and women’s
empowerment.

Step 4: Formulating the Gad Goals

Based on the results of gender analysis, the agency shall set 3-5 GAD goals that
it can achieve during the timeframe set.

PART 2: GAD STRATEGIC PLAN (GADSP)

Step 5: Prioritizing Gender Issues and/or Gad Mandates Per Gad Goal
The gender issues shall be prioritized according to what the agency can achieve
within the timeframe of the GAD Agenda.
In prioritizing the gender issues to be addressed, the agency may consider the
following criteria:
-Strategic– aligned with the priorities of the administration and sectoral plans;
- Relevant – aligned with the agency’s mandate under the MCW and other GAD-
related policies and plans; affects a significant number of stakeholders;
-Urgent – immediate action or attention is necessary to respond to a pressing
gender issue/concern
Aside from priority gender issues, the agency may directly cite specific GAD
mandates emanating from GAD-related laws or plans that it needs to implement.

Step 6: Outlining the Gad Outcomes, Indicators, Baseline Data, and Targets per
Gad Goal
Based on the priority gender issues/GAD mandates, formulate the GAD
Outcomes/Result Statements to be achieved within the timeframe of the GAD
Agenda. The statement should provide a sense of progress toward reaching the
goal.
Identify the indicators to measure the progress towards the attainment of the
GAD outcome/result. An indicator can be qualitative or quantitative, and is
composed of a unit of measure, a unit of analysis and a context.
Provide the baseline data.
Set annual targets for each indicator

Step 7: Translating the Gad Outcomes into Gad Programs, Projects, and/or
Activities
Identify/ Develop specific GAD programs, projects, and/or activities aligned with
identified strategies with corresponding estimated budget, to achieve the desired
GAD outcomes.
STEPS IN ACCOMPLISHING THE PROGRESS AND END-OF-TERM REPORTS:
PROGRESS REPORT:
1. From the completed GAD agenda, reflect the GAD goal, outcome, indicators, and
targets for the period in the appropriate columns of the mid-term report template;
2. Provide the baseline value and the year of the data;
3. In column 5, enter the actual accomplishments for the monitoring period and reflect
the percentage of accomplishment;
4. Provide the actual cost and percent utilization in column 6;
5. If deviations were made, cite the reason/s for deviations and if there are unintended
results in column 7;
6. Identify recommendations and adjustments that the agency intends to do to ensure
that the targets set for the remaining years of the GAD agenda will be met

ENDTERM REPORT:
1. From the completed GAD agenda, reflect the GAD goal, outcome, indicators, targets
and baseline identified in the appropriate columns of the end-of term report template;
2. In column 5, enter the accomplishments/achievements;
3. Reflect in column 6; actual cost and percent utilization
4. If there are deviations and unintended results provide it in column 7.

A. GAD Mainstreaming Assessments

B.1. Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF)

The Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) is a tool to measure
the extent of the gender mainstreaming efforts of organizations, both national
government agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs). Its also meant to
assist the Gender and Development Focal Point System (GFPS) members in measuring
gains and successes, as well as pinpoint areas for improvement in the way they
mainstream the gender and development (GAD) perspective in their respective
organizations.

Gender Mainstreaming in the context of implementing the Magna Carta of Women

With the milestone passage of Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women
(MCW), gender mainstreaming as a strategy became an integral part of the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs of government
agencies and local government units alike. The Philippine Commission on Women
(PCW), as the national machinery on Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality is
mandated by the MCW to: 1) “lead in ensuring that government agencies are
capacitated on the effective implementation of the Act”; and 2) “influence the systems,
processes, and procedures of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of
government vis-à-vis GAD”. Section 37 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations
(IRR) of the law mandates all government agencies, offices, bureaus, instrumentalities,
State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Government-Owned and Controlled
Corporations (GOCCs) and LGUs to “pursue the adoption of gender mainstreaming as
a strategy to promote and fulfill women’s human rights and eliminate gender
discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and
procedures”. In order to effectively pursue gender mainstreaming, agencies and LGUs
are required to ensure that the following essential elements are available:
a. GAD Planning and Budgeting;
b. GAD Focal Point System;
c. Sex-Disaggregated Database; and
d. Conduct of Gender Audit

The Gender and Development (GAD) Approach is a development perspective

anchored on rights- based and people-centered development. It recognizes the
legitimacy of gender equality as a fundamental value that should be reflected in
developmental choices. This approach focuses on social, economic, political and
cultural factors that determine how differently women and men participate in, benefit
from, and control resources and activities. GAD shifts the focus from the need to include
women in development to the examination of socially determined relations between
women and men. Gender Mainstreaming as National Agency
Integral to the GAD approach is Gender Mainstreaming (GM), identified as a
strategy to integrate gender perspectives in institutional policy, programs and activities.
It is operationalized through building GAD capacities and sharing accountability in all
areas, and at all levels, of program and project implementation. Gender mainstreaming
recognizes that development activities may ignore gender biases that lead to unequal
impacts among men and women beneficiaries. It also moved from inclusion of women
per se in the development agenda to changing or transforming the agenda in order to
respond adequately to the realities and needs of both women and men. Essentially, the
process of gender mainstreaming entails the transformation of institutional structures,
culture and practices wherein gender concerns become central instead of remaining as
peripheral issues and concerns. GAD Mainstreaming begins with an analysis of the
existing situation and locating gender specific barriers while examining the social,
political, economic and environmental factors which influence women and men’s roles
and decision-making capacities. This process entails a more holistic approach to
governance in which the interests and needs of beneficiaries are taken into account. It
recognizes and appropriately values the contribution of both women and men.
Moreover, it also develops appropriate policies and programs towards greater
sustainability of gender equality development outcomes.

What Gender Mainstreaming IS... and what it ISN’T...

• GM is focused on the substantive work of organizations – it is not just about achieving
a gender balance in those organizations
• GM is about identifying concrete actions to promote gender equality – it is not just
about doing gender analysis
• GM makes gender perspectives and the goal of gender equality explicit in all
processes and documents – it does not and cannot make these invisible
• GM is a complementary strategy to women’s empowerment – it does not eliminate the
need for targeted activities for women and activities targeted to promote gender equality
• GM requires specialist/catalyst resources to support management in the fulfillment of
their responsibilities – it does not eliminate the need for gender units and gender focal
points
(Adapted from Concept to Action: Gender Mainstreaming in Operational Activities,
Carolyn Hannan, OSAGI, 2000.)

Entry Points of Gender Mainstreaming:

GAD mainstreaming requires interventions from different stages of development
planning processes, from planning to programming, budgeting, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation. There are four critical entry points to GAD mainstreaming,
namely: policies, programs and projects, people, and enabling mechanisms. These are
not in any order of importance. A government agency has the option on what entry point
to use first. They may opt to adopt strategies that characterize more than one entry
point:

Policies
This refers to the official statements and pronouncements of support for gender
mainstreaming issued by the organization. These may be in the form of department
orders, special orders, administrative orders, memoranda, and executive orders that
spell out the commitment of an organization to pursue gender mainstreaming. It also
includes national and sectoral plans, specific guidelines, manual of implementation and
the GAD Framework/Strategic Plan. Through these issuances, the organization
expresses its recognition and acceptance of gender mainstreaming as a critical and
legitimate concern, even in broad or general terms.6

Programs and Projects (PAPs)

This refer to the flagship programs or activities and projects that serve as a
strategic entry point to gender mainstreaming in an organization. It is the most practical
entry point since it involves the actual implementation of the mandate of an
organization. PAPs can be review and issuance of revised GAD policies, application of
gender analysis tools, and conduct of GAD advocacy and regular updating of GAD
mechanisms such as the GAD database.

Enabling Mechanisms
This refer to the systems and mechanisms installed in the organization and the
funds allocated for GAD activities such as the GAD Focal Point System and Knowledge
Management System.
The success of any gender mainstreaming efforts depend, to a large extent, on the
resources allocated and the mechanisms that are institutionalized to implement it.
Enabling mechanisms can be GAD Funds Audit of the Commission on Audit, which
greatly helped in ensuring the institutional compliance to the minimum 5% utilization of
the GAD budgets of government agencies and local government units.

People
This refers to the relevant stakeholders who assume the task of gender
mainstreaming. The following are critical to the success of gender mainstreaming: GAD
champions among top management who actively support the gender mainstreaming
program; recognition of GAD Focal Point System and staff members as GAD experts;
internal and external clients who are able to participate in the planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of programs, activities and projects. As an entry
point, people shares four complementary and distinct roles:

The Sponsor. “The individual or group who has the power to sanction or
legitimize change.” Sponsors consider the potential changes facing an organization and
assess the changes and opportunities. They decide which changes will happen,
communicate the new priorities to the organization, and provide the proper
reinforcement to assure success. They are also “responsible for creating an
environment that enables these changes to be made on time and within budget.”
In gender mainstreaming, the sponsors are the heads of the organizations. They
express support to gender mainstreaming by issuing policies or installing the necessary
enabling mechanisms such as approving the organization’s GAD Plan and Budget.
They also set the direction of the overall gender mainstreaming efforts of the
organization

The Change Agent. “The individual or group who is responsible for actually
making the change. The agent’s success depends on the ability to diagnose potential
problems, develop a plan to deal with these issues, and execute the change effectively.”
The primary change agents are usually the GAD Focal Point System Members because
they facilitate the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the organization.

The Target. “The individual or group who must actually change or those who will
benefit from. development”. The term “target” is used because these people are the
focus of the change effort and play a crucial role in the short- and long-term success of
an organization’s gender mainstreaming efforts. To increase the likelihood of success,
they must be educated to understand the changes that are expected to accommodate.
They must also be involved in the implementation process. The targets of gender
mainstreaming are people in the bureaucracy, the field workers and the clients of the
different organizations. The officials and members of the bureaucracy are given GAD
capability programs to engage in the gender mainstreaming efforts.

The Advocate. “The individual or group who wants to achieve change but lacks
the power to sanction it.” The presence of GAD advocates determines the success rate
of sustaining GAD mainstreaming initiatives. The presence of GAD advocates helps lay
a solid foundation built on appreciation of GAD as a rights-based approach to
development. Rights-based approach means achieving a positive transformation of
power relations among the different development actors.

Levels of Gender Mainstreaming

 In the course of implementing gender mainstreaming, an organization may
progress through the following levels:
Level 1: Foundation Formation
This is the initial stage, where the level of gender awareness of an organization is
heightened through raising people’s awareness and generating support for gender
mainstreaming. The challenge at the onset of any change effort is getting people to
understand, appreciate and imbibe the need for change. This level also sets the tone for
appreciating value-added in committing to GAD as one of the priority thrusts of the
organization.

Level 2: Installation of Strategic Mechanisms

This marks the transition of the organization toward gender mainstreaming.
Some of the enabling conditions created and established by top management to support
GAD are:
• Putting key people, necessary policies, support structures, systems and mechanisms
in place to facilitate and sustain gender mainstreaming
• Initial application of GAD concepts and tools

Level 3: GAD Application

This is the period where GAD-related activities are already institutionalized within
the organization. Interventions are usually based on a strategic GAD agenda that
guides GAD planning and budgeting implementation. The GAD planning and budgeting
have become more strategic in terms of applying gender analysis in regular programs
that result in either increased attribution of the GAD budget and/or more gender
responsive programs.

Level 4: Commitment Enhancement and Institutionalization

In this level, the organization has already institutionalized gender mainstreaming
and is focused on sustaining its efforts. It also challenges other organizations to
continuously evaluate and improve their efforts. After all, the long-term goal is to
improve the government’s ability to respond to gender issues and concerns on a
sustained basis.

Level 5: Replication and Innovation

 When an organization reached this level, it means that GAD has been fully
mainstreamed into its mandate and is being recognized by others as a model in gender
mainstreaming. The GAD Focal Person System members of the organization do not
only serve as internal experts but are also invited by other organizations as GAD
technical assistance providers. GAD-related mechanisms established by the
organization are also certified as learning hubs by national and/or international
organizations.

The GMEF Descriptor Matrix

The Enhanced GMEF still retained the Descriptor Matrix, also known as “banig” (Filipino
translation for matrix). It shows the visual progression of the gender mainstreaming
efforts of an organization from Level 1 to Level 5. Compared to the old descriptor matrix,
the Enhanced GMEF descriptor matrix has one descriptor corresponding to each of the
questions in the four organizational assessment questionnaires instead of multiple
descriptors per question. It also shows not only the over-all progression of the gender
mainstreaming efforts of an organization, but also its progression per entry point (e.g.
improvement of gender mainstreaming from Level 1 to Level 2 in the Policy entry point).
The Enhanced GMEF descriptor matrix consists of 93 descriptors in total representing
the four GMEF entry points: Policies, People, Enabling Mechanisms and PAPs.

C.2. Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines

In 2004, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) formulated
the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines for Project Development,
Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, in collaboration with the National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) and the Official Development
Assistance-Gender and Development (ODA-GAD) Network, with funding support from
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank
(ADB). The set of guidelines serves as a common instrument among the NEDA,
proponent/ implementing agencies and donor organizations for ensuring the gender
responsiveness of programs and projects in their various stages.

In 1993 the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), in conjunction with various
Philippine government agencies, produced the Guidelines for Developing and
Implementing Gender-Responsive Programs and Projects.

Since the mid-1990s, most official development assistance (ODA) donors have also
crafted their own GAD guidelines to assist their officers, contractors, and local partners
in incorporating GAD concerns in the design and implementation of their programs and
projects. By early 2003, or ten years after the Philippine government issued its GAD
guidelines, Philippine government agencies had been contending with often overlapping
GAD checklists.
 In mid-2003, NEDA and the Official Development Assistance Gender and
Development
Network (ODA-GAD Network) agreed to harmonize GAD requirements after reviewing
the existing checklists for project development, implementation, and monitoring and
evaluation
(M&E). This initiative aimed to produce a common set of guidelines for the Philippine
government agencies and donors while allowing variations in priorities among them.1
The new GAD guidelines reflect the evolution of assistance framework from Women in
Development (WID) to GAD and the current focus on women’s rights. The current
version of the guidelines also incorporates the suggestions of many groups in the
Philippine government that have tried the original set of guidelines.

The harmonized GAD guidelines seek to promote the twin goals of gender equality
and women’s empowerment. Specifically, these aim to:
1. provide NEDA, ODA donors, Philippine government agencies, and
development practitioners with a common set of analytical concepts and tools for
integrating gender concerns into development programs and projects; and
2. help achieve gender equality in, and empower women through, projects and
programs.

The guidelines consist of three parts.

Part I focuses on a core set of requirements, in the form of questions, that
applies to project development in general, regardless of sector or project type.

Part II deals with GAD guidelines for the development of certain types of
projects, or projects in particular sectors.

Part III presents GAD checklists for the management, implementation, and
monitoring and evaluation of development projects.

The guidelines focus on (1) the process, (2) strategies, and (3) the development
and management results of integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment
concerns in various stages of the project cycle, including (a) project identification and
design and assessment of projects for funding; (b) project implementation; and (c)
monitoring and evaluation. To aid users of the guidelines, a Glossary of Terms included.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are conceived to occur

progressively at different levels. Thus, gender equality and women’s empowerment
outputs and outcomes may be viewed and measured in terms of the following
indicators:
 Improved physical welfare of women and girls; lower incidence of malnutrition,
morbidity, and mortality among girls and boys; lower maternal morbidity and
mortality; improved functional literacy of various groups of women, particularly
among the older age groups in rural areas and among indigenous peoples
groups; and improved school participation of girls and boys at various levels;
  Equal access of women and men to development opportunities (including
employment generated by the project), resources, and benefits, which implies the
removal of constraints, barriers, and various forms of gender-based
discrimination with respect to women’s access;
 Greater understanding of women’s human rights among women and men;
commitment of the State to recognizing, protecting, and fulfilling human rights,
particularly of women and girls; or changes in attitudes and beliefs concerning
gender relations, as indicated by a reduction in the incidence of violence against
women and a more equal gender division of labor;
 Equal participation of women in bodies or organizations created by development
programs or projects; and higher representation of women in various decision-
making bodies and leadership positions; and
 Equal control of women and men over resources and processes and outcomes of
development.

Principles
This set of GAD guidelines subscribes to the idea that development involves the
expansion of freedoms and strengthening of capabilities. In this connection, it
recognizes that

 equality between women and men is a key women’s human right;

 participation in development is crucial to the empowerment of women and men;
 gender equality means promoting the equal participation of women as agents of
economic, social, and political change; and
 achieving equality between women and men may involve the introduction of
specific measures designed to eliminate prevailing gender inequalities and
inequities.

The GAD guidelines are designed for the use of those involved in developing,
implementing, managing, and monitoring and evaluating development programs and
projects in the Philippines. These are supposed to help NEDA evaluate or assess
projects for funding. The guidelines are also expected to assist government agencies
and local government units (LGUs) not just in designing but also in implementing,
managing, and monitoring and evaluating development interventions. The guidelines
are likewise useful to ODA donors and their consultants for developing, managing, and
monitoring and evaluating projects. A guide to the administration of the checklists is
included in its manual.

Levels of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

WELFARE: Addressing the material and physical well-being of women and men,
girls and boys. Empowerment here refers to improvement in the physical condition of
women and girls.
 ACCESS: Ensuring that resources, services, and facilities are made available to
women and men. Access is related to the concept of entitlements that are conferred by
the state, market, kinship, and other systems. Because women’s entitlements are
generally more limited, empowerment here means greater access of women to
resources, services, and facilities, and making available to women appropriate and
effective means
to secure resources, services, and facilities.

CONSCIENTIZATION: Challenging the existing gender division of labor or

questioning the beliefs that women’s lower socioeconomic position and the traditional
gender division of labor are part of the natural order, or is “God-given”; and
acknowledging the equality between women and men. Empowerment means sensitizing
women and men to sexist beliefs and recognizing that women’s subordination is not part
of the natural order of things, but is imposed by a system of discrimination that is
socially constructed, one that can be altered.

PARTICIPATION: Addressing the most visible and obvious phenomenon of

inequality between women and men—small proportions of women are found in the
legislative assembly or in the management of public organizations and the private
sector. When development is confined to the levels of welfare and access, women are
treated as passive beneficiaries. Empowering women means making them equal with
men, who are agents actively involved in the development process.

CONTROL: Confronting the unequal power relations between women and men.
Women’s increased participation at the decision-making level will lead to their increased
development and empowerment when this participation is used to achieve increased
control over the factors of production, ensuring women’s equal access to resources and
the distribution of benefits. Equality of control means a balance of power between
women and men, so that neither is in a position of dominance.

Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines apply to all types of programs

and projects, supporting:
- the identification and design of projects and programs;
-implementation and management; and
-monitoring and evaluation

The harmonized GAD guidelines are compatible with the GAD checklists of ODA
donors and the GAD strategies of Philippine government agencies. These are
formulated as minimum requirements for development projects, including those
supported by ODA funds. ODA donors and government agencies may want to introduce
additional requirements to fit their priorities and policies.

In accordance with Section 5 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for RA

7192, government agencies and LGUs are encouraged to prepare and use more
detailed checklists to address relevant issues or factors in their regions and sectors.
These expanded checklists, however, should observe the core requirements contained
in the harmonized GAD guidelines

Activity:
A. Make a process flowchart indicating in details the steps in the preparation of the GAD
Agenda until the preparation of reports on the review after three years and an end-term
evaluation of the GADSF and GADSP to be conducted by the GFPS (45pts.)

B. What level of Gender Mainstreaming would you like NONESCOST to realize? Suggests ways
for NONESCOST to achieve that level(15pts.) You may follow the format below:
To achieve Level___of gender mainstreaming, NONESCOST has to
__________________________________

C. Cite one indicator of gender equality and women’s empowerment outputs and outcomes you
want your local government unit to realize to address a gender issue in your community.
Indicate
what level of gender equality and women’s empowerment does it belong and suggest
program/project or activities your local government unit should undertake to achieve it.(30pts.)