GENDER

WHY GENDER MATTERS

Disaster and crisis situations impact women, men and children differently. Each group has different reactions, needs,
vulnerabilities and recovery capacities. In disasters and crisis situations, the traditional roles of women, girls, boys and
men are often disrupted, existing inequalities may worsen, and new inequalities can arise. Humanitarian workers need
to ensure that the assistance and protection provided meet the needs of the entire population and that those most
affected by a crisis receive the support they need.

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1 Women

Women may face challenges in becoming the sole provider of the family and maintaining their caregiver role,
and they may face an increased risk of being subjected to gender-based violence (GBV).

2 Men
Men may suffer loss of livelihood and status. Young men are especially at risk of being coerced into conflict.

3 Children

Children face greater risk of disease, loss of education, gender-based violence, child marriage, or, in conflict
situations, being used to shield combatants.

© 2017 All In Diary - www.allindiary.org

FRAMEWORK FOR GENDER EQUALITY PROGRAMMING
Gender equality programming is about making humanitarian action more effective. All deliverers of humanitarian
protection and assistance must consider the different needs, capacities and contributions of women, girls, boys
and men.

The ADAPT and ACT Collectively framework is a tool to help humanitarian workers ensure that all groups get the
support they need.

ADAPT AND ACT COLLECTIVELY

A Analyse gender differences. A Address GBV in sector programmes.

In an emergency, a proper gender analysis is crucial To save lives and maximise protection, programmes
to designing an effective response. This should be must rapidly undertake a minimum set of activities in
done during the needs assessment. It is also critical to a coordinated manner to prevent and respond to
include gender issues in the information-gathering gender-based violence from the earliest stage of an
and analysis phases and to understand power emergency.
relations, gender roles, decision-making, and differing
needs and capacities. Also ensure that women, girls, Collect, analyse and report sex- and
C
boys and men are consulted in the assessment, age-disaggregated data.
monitoring and evaluation processes. Unless we know who is affected and who is the most
at risk, the services provided may be off target. Sex-
D Design services to meet the needs of all. and age-disaggregated data should be collected
routinely to know who is receiving assistance and
Services must meet the needs of women and men who is not.
equally. Each sector should review the way it
addresses gender in each programme and make T Target actions based on gender analysis.
sure women and men can benefit equally from the
services. For example, ensure the provision of Based on the gender analysis, programmes must
separate lavatories for women and men, and set ensure that specific actions aid women, girls, boys
hours for training and the distribution of food and/or and men when appropriate. Where one group is
non-food items so everyone can attend. more at risk than others, special measures should be
taken to protect that group. Examples would be
A Provide access for women, girls, boys and men. creating safe spaces for women or enacting
measures to protect boys from forced recruitment
Make sure that women and men can access services into armed groups.
equally. Sectors should continuously monitor who is
using the services and consult with the community to
Collectively
ensure that everyone is accessing the services they
need.
Coordinate actions with all partners.
For programmes to increase the effectiveness of
P Participate equally.
humanitarian action, they must coordinate with
It is crucial to allow both men and women to partners. It is also important that the gender
participate equally in the design, implementation, dimension is integrated, rather than isolated, through
monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian response. all activities, in all sectors and by all partners.
A clear and accurate picture of the situation cannot
be obtained if 50 percent or more of the population
has not been consulted.

T Train men and women equally.

Women and men should have equal opportunities to

rebuild their lives and benefit equally from training or
other capacity-building initiatives.

© 2017 All In Diary - www.allindiary.org

IASC GENDER AND AGE MARKER
The IASC Gender and Age Marker is a simple, practical tool for assessing humanitarian projects coherently and
consistently to address the needs of ages.

How it works

The IASC Gender and Age Marker provides tips based on

the ADAPT and ACT Collectively framework.

If a project has the potential to contribute to gender

equality, the marker predicts whether the results are likely
to be limited or significant.

The marker encourages targeted action against

gender-based discrimination.

Rating Scale

The tool rates whether a humanitarian project is designed to ensure that women, girls, boys and men of different ages
will benefit equally from it and wether it will advance gender equality in another way. This is done using a rating scale
of 0 to 2.

Code 2: The project consistently addresses gender and age needs.

For example, the location and design of water points and latrines are based on preferences expressed by women,
girls, boys and men, including adolescents and older people. Indicators and targets measure safe and equal access
to facilities.

Code 1: The project addresses gender and age needs in a limited way.
For example, adolescent boys are not attending school because they have family-income-generating responsibilities.
The project identifies the problem but does not address ways to help boys attend school.

Code 0: Gender and age are not reflected anywhere in the project.
For example, psychosocial services are provided with no mention of the specific concerns and protection needs of
women, girls, boys and men.

© 2017 All In Diary - www.allindiary.org