SENSE Program:
Supporting environmental civil society organizations in Serbia
Terms of Reference for Gender issue experts
The Regional Environmental Center is implementing project SENSE (Supporting
environmental civil society organizations in Serbia) since december 2012, aimed in
strengthening environmental civil society at local and national level.
The goal of the project is to contribute to better and more inclusive/participatory governance
where decisions on environmental issues are consensus-based.
The four main components of the project are:
1) Project Support Component (Grants),
2) Capacity building,
3) Dialogue and Networking, and
4) Media component (capacity building and public outreach).
Expertise needed:
The gender experts will be contracted to prepare Gender study as well as to prepare and hold
gender training for REC staff.
The activities are part of the inception phase of the project “Supporting environmental civil
society organizations in Serbia- SENSE“ funded by Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
One of the objectives of this programme is to inspire and educate CSOs to integrate right
based approaches (gender equality principles in particular) in their initiatives, and to promote
gender-sensitive solutions for environmental problems.
A gender analysis will be performed in cooperation with the Gender Equality Directorate and
it should cover the questions such as the difference in impacts of the policy/program on
women and men; the advantages and disadvantages; roles and responsibilities; who does
what, who needs what; strategies and approaches in closing the gap between what men and
women need; etc. need to be asked and analyzed in building a comprehensive picture of the
existing situation. Gender analysis is the systematic attempt to identify key issues
contributing to gender inequalities so that they can be properly addressed. Gender analysis
will determine whether specific actions are needed for women or men, in addition to
mainstreaming activities. Gender roles and power relations are tightly related to the specific
cultural and social situation. Gender analysis will identify the different obstacles and
opportunities facing women and men, and help plan possible strategies to overcome them.
A gender analysis will be made at the beginning of the project in order to be incorporated at
key decision-making points throughout the cycle of the project approach. In this task, REC
will cooperate with The Gender Equality Directorate as a state body under the Ministry of
Labor and Social Policy in charge with conducting analysis of situation and recommends
measures related to advancement of gender equality, drafting process of laws and other
regulations in the field, advancement of women’s position and promotion of gender equality
as well as equal opportunity policy.
The result of this activity, expert analysis of gender aspects in environmental protection
sector in Serbia should be used by SENSE project team, CSOs, institutions and interested
public. It will provide guidelines (to both REC and CSOs) on how a gender perspective can
be integrated into the development, management and monitoring of environmental projects.
This will be the first such comprehensive gender study in this field in Serbia, and it will
provide good baseline for further research and development.
Gender study will be the basis for the one day pilot Gender training organized for REC Staff.
In the next phases of SENSE project, when the grants are awarded, CSOs beneficiaries will
have the opportunity to go through this training tailored for their needs, since it will become
an integral part of the Master Class (Component 2).
The Gender analysis will include the following chapters:
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Introduction
o Objective of this study
o Who is this study for
o Relation Between Gender and Environment
Analysis of current situation in Serbia
o Gender issues in general (in different sectors/areas)
o Gender in environmental sector
o Men and women in environment-related decision-making positions
o Difference in impacts of different environmental policies/programs on women
and men. Is their gender impact on lives of targeted women and men taken
into consideration?
o Roles of women and men in the different sectors in relation to environment
(such as forestry, water, agriculture, energy, etc).
o Do men and women have equal opportunity for learning and information
acquisition regarding the environmental issues
o Do women and men have equal access to information?
o Do men and women have equal access to public participation?
o Gender and Civil society in Serbia
o Media and public perception: What is the level of coverage of environment
and gender topics in the media?
Examples of best practices
Recommendation measures related to advancement of gender equality
o How to use gender-neutral language
o Incorporating Gender Issues in Environmental policy
o Integration of gender aspects in environmental initiatives/projects (waste
management, water, land management, chemicals, energy, climate changes…)
o Gender-sensitive approaches and solutions for environmental problems
o How to increase capacities of different stakeholder groups (government, civil
society) to integrate gender equality and promote gender-sensitive approaches
and solutions for environmental problems
Sources for further information
The manual will be approximately 50 pages and should also contain statistic data if available,
and if possible concrete examples to illustrate gender situation in environmental sector in
Serbia.
It is expected that the manual will be ready in electronic version by 31st of January, 2012.
The manuscript should be provided in edited and formatted version electronically to Ms.
Zorica Korac for final comments and approval.
The gender analysis will be available for download via the REC Country Office website and
SENSE project website, and in hard copy format among the project partners and
beneficiaries, CSOs, relevant government institutions, education institutions and media.
In addition, the experts will be in charge of organizing a capacity building training on gender
equality for REC staff. There is a need for raising awareness among men and women
participating the SENSE program about the importance of gender-sensitive approaches and
solutions for environmental problems. This training will be built up on the results of gender
analysis and will be designed in cooperation with Gender Equality Directorate. Training will
contribute to:
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gender-sensitive project activities and results,
gender-sensitive stakeholder/project partner assessment, and
gender-sensitive management arrangements.
Resources available for the activity: