UNITED NATIONS
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Inter-agency and Expert Group Meeting on Gender and MDGs in the Arab Region
Cairo, 10-11 September 2007
Background Document
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Table of Contents
BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION: GENDER AND MDGS ......................................................................................................................... 6
A- BACKGROUND ON THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) ........ 6
B- LINKAGES BETWEEN GENDER INSTRUMENTS AND MDGS ............................................................................................. 7
C- IMPORTANCE OF ENGENDERING MDGS MONITORING AND REPORTING FOR EVIDENCE BASED POLICY- MAKING ..... 9
SECTION I: CURRENT PRACTICES IN ENGENDERING MDG MONITORING AND REPORTING ................. 10
A- STRATEGIES FOR GENDER RESPONSIVE MDG MONITORING AND REPORTING ........................................................... 11
Key Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................................... 11
Harmonization with other instruments: CEDAW and BPFA ..................................................................................... 12
B- PARAMETERS FOR GAUGING THE EXTENT TO WHICH MDG REPORTS ARE GENDER SENSITIVE ................................ 16
SECTION II: GENDER IN MDG AND MDG RELATED REPORTS ........................................................................... 20
A- GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN MDGS ................................................................................................................................ 20
B- AVAILABILITY OF SEX DISAGGREGATED DATA AND GENDER SENSITIVE INDICATORS, (QUANTITATIVE AND
QUALITATIVE) .................................................................................................................................................................... 22
SECTION III: PROPOSED GENDER ISSUES AND GENDER SENSITIVE INDICATORS ..................................... 24
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger ........................................................................................................ 25
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education ............................................................................................................ 27
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women ........................................................................................... 28
Goals 4: Reduce Child Mortality .................................................................................................................................. 32
Goals 5: Improve Maternal Health............................................................................................................................... 32
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases ........................................................................................... 33
Goals 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability ............................................................................................................ 34
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development ............................................................................................. 34
SECTION IV: GUIDELINES FOR MORE GENDER-RESPONSIVE MONITORING AND REPORTING ............ 36
A- KEY PARTNERS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MONITORING AND REPORTING PROCESSES ................................................. 37
B- EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND COOPERATION MECHANISMS ............................................................................... 37
C- DATA SOURCES AND METHODOLOGIES ......................................................................................................................... 39
D - GENDER-SENSITIVE ANALYSIS AND REPORTING .......................................................................................................... 40
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................................................................ 44
APPENDIX I: MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND TARGETS ........................................................................ 44
APPENDIX VI: LIST OF REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 44
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List of Acronyms
AGFUND, Arab Gulf Fund for Development)
AHDR, Arab Human Development Report
ALDCs, Arab Least Developed Countries namely: Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan
and Yemen
BPFA Beijing Platform for Action
British ODA, Oversees Development Agency
C2015-AS, Capacity 2015 for the Arab States
CAWTAR, Center for Arab Women Training and Research
CCA, Common Country Assessment
CCTs, Common Country Teams
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CIDA, Canadian International Development Agency
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child
CSW, Commission on the Status of Women
DAW, The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW
DevInfo, Development Information database system
DFID, Development Fund for International development
ECOSOC, Economic and Social Council
EFA Education For All
ESCWA , Economic and Social Council for Western Asia
FGM/C, Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting
GA, General Assembly
GAP, Gender Achievements and Prospects in education
GDI, Gender Development Index
GEM, Gender Empowerment Measure
GNP Gross national product
GTZ, German acronym for “German development agency”
HDI, Human Development Index
HDR, Human Development Report
HIV/AIDS, Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
ICPD, Conference on Population and Development
IDPs, Internally displaced people
IDPs, Internally Displaced People
ILO, International Labor Organization
ISDB, Islamic Development Bank
ISESCO, Islamic Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization
KAP, Knowledge Attitudes and Practices
M&E, Monitoring and Evaluation
MD, Millennium Declaration
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MTF, Millennium Task Force
NGOs, Non-governmental Organizations
ODA, Official Development Assistance
PIMS, Policy Information Marker System
PRAs, Participatory Rapid Appraisals
PRISM, Program Performance Information for Strategic Management
SC, Save the Children
SIDA, Swedish International Development Agency
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STDs, Sexually Transmitted Diseases
UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UNAIDS Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
UNCTs UN Country Teams
UNDG, United Nations Development Group
UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund
UNGEI, UN Girls’ Education Initiative
UNICEF, United Nations Children’s Fund
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNSG, United Nations Secretary General
USAID, United States Agency for International Development
WB, World Bank
WFP, World Food program
WHO, World Health Organization
ZOPP, German acronym for “objectives oriented project planning”
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Background
SCWA in cooperation with UN agencies in the region is undertaking the project “Toward MoreGender Responsive MDG Monitoring and Reporting,” which aims to forge a common understanding
among stakeholders in the Arab Region on ways to engender monitoring and reporting on the Goals,
particularly in the development of gender-sensitive indicators. A comprehensive literature review will serve
as the backbone of the main activity and output of the project.
E
The main output of this project which will be a booklet, is expected to equip statisticians and gender
experts in Governments, international development organizations and other stakeholders from civil society,
with a conceptual tool and opportunities for future cooperation to facilitate more gender-responsive MDG
monitoring and reporting, as it identifies a core set of gender-sensitive indicators corresponding to priority
gender issues in the region, in line with those identified at the global and regional levels.
The cornerstone activity of the project is the convening of an expert meeting among representatives of
UN agencies, national statistical offices and women’s nongovernmental organizations to review the
background document, discuss modalities for engendering MDG monitoring and reporting, and agree to a list
of goal-specific gender priorities and corresponding list of gender-sensitive indicators. The outcomes of the
meeting, - namely consensus on the a common set of gender issues and indicators, and recommendations for
more gender-responsive MDG monitoring and reporting in the Arab Region, will be used to prepare the final
booklet.
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Introduction
Gender and MDGs
T
hroughout past decades, there has been ample proof that development efforts are hindered by
gender inequalities. It became increasingly evident that genuine sustainable development can
not be achieved if the gender component is not properly addressed. This conviction was
confirmed by similar evidence which shows that investing in women and girls has a “multiplier
effect” on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth, and that investing in girls’
education, health and empowerment is the single most important investment which developing
countries can make toward building a healthy society, and improving the quality of life1.
a- Background on the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)
The Millennium Declaration is a UN resolution adopted by the General Assembly at the
Millennium Summit in September 20002. A total of 191 countries (among which were the Arab
countries), adopted the Millennium Declaration, thereby affirming their commitment to peace and
security and to promoting democracy, good governance and respect for internationally agreed upon
human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to equitable and sustainable
development. Based on the principles and commitments outlined in the Declaration (and those
outlined in previous development and human rights conferences and summits), the MDGs3 were
adopted as a set of eight “time-bound, measurable” goals with 18 corresponding targets (Appendix
I) that Member States of the United Nations have committed to achieving by the year 2015 4. These
goals aim mainly at eradicating extreme poverty and improving living conditions for men and
women alike5.
“ We recognize that the Arab States have it in their power to give effect to the MILLENNIUM
DECLARATION, to face up to the challenges of achieving the targets of the MDGs by 2015 and that the
pursuit of the implementation of that process will require the incorporation of the MDGs in overall
national strategies, plans, targets and policies, and the formulation of a comprehensive development
policy”.
(Arab Declaration on the pursuit of the implementation of the MDGs Cairo, 30 June 2005)
The commitment of the Arab States to the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs., was
reiterated through the Arab Declaration pledged by the League of Arab States in 2005 in pursuit of
the implementation of the MDGs:
Nevertheless, and after seven years of monitoring the MDGs in the Arab Region, progress
towards meeting the goals has been less than the desired to say the least. The 2005 Report on
MDGs in the Arab region recognized the significant advances made in the region since 1990 in
health and education of women; however, these achievements were not at the same level in the
workplace & political area which are among the lowest in the World. It is expected that improving
women education will subsequently improve their access to remunerative productive work. In
addition, empowering women will enable them to play a greater role in decision-making. In fact,
most countries are still quite far from reaching the set goals by 2015. Progress made was not
translated into equal opportunities in economic and political participation. As such, and like many
developing countries elsewhere in the world, the picture in the Arab countries is still grim.
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The 2007 Report on MDGs in the Arab Region, anticipates a possible failure in meeting the
poverty related targets by 2015 where some Arab countries are concerned,. Unless serious
improvements are made by the Arab governments, on the political and economic fronts, it is not
likely that any will meet the Goals by the set time. The Arab Least Developed Countries (ALDCs6),
are at the highest risk, along with Iraq and Palestine (for valid political reasons). This bleak
projection is based on a number of recurring problems region wise which hinder the achievement of
the MDGs. One major problem being the failure of conventional economic growth processes to
relieve long-term poverty. As such, and as long as budget allocation by Arab governments and
spending on health, education and social welfare remain inadequate, extreme regional and gender
disparities cannot but persist.
Major challenges for achieving the MDGs differ between Arab countries due to the diversity
in the region. They vary between the following as identified through a number of regional and
national workshops and meetings during the past decade:
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lack of peace and security
extreme poverty and underdevelopment (in some countries)
neglect and lack of respect for human rights
lack of democracy and good governance
environmental degradation
population growth
debt burden
arid nature of the region
scarcity of water resources and limited agricultural land
weak participation by the civil society in the process of development
weak political and economic reforms and institutional infrastructures
obsolete legal and educational systems
centralized administration and management
political instability, conflict and crisis in Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, Somalia and Lebanon
with their reservations on a number of articles of CEDAW, countries encumbered the
treaty and thus striped it of its substance”,
Realizing the ideals of the Millennium Declaration and achieving the MDGs in the Arab
Region requires at the very least a serious shift in political will and reallocation of resources, both
domestically and internationally, and demands collective action in terms of implementing as well as
following up on policy reforms and decisions that have been informed by a consensus on key issues
and challenges (MDG in Arab Region 2005, Capacity 2015 Arab States Program Annual Report
2006).
b- Linkages between gender instruments and MDGs
“ Gender equality and human rights for all are essential to advancing development, peace
and security in the world at large. Hence, linkages with existing Rights’ Instruments and
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Frameworks mainly CEDAW and BPFA are crucial for tracking progress toward gender
equality and women’s empowerment.”
Reiterated by the World Leaders at the 2005 World Summit
Mandates for gender equality and women’s empowerment were the results of commitments
made by Member States and the UN World Conference on Women since 1975 in Mexico, 1980 in
Copenhagen and 1985 in Nairobi, and others that were made in UN global summits and conferences
during 1990s. These commitments were reaffirmed by the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing
Platform for Action (BPFA), adopted by consensus by 189 Member States of UN in the Beijing
Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. . The platform provides a significant and
comprehensive mandate for governments to ensure that gender equality and women empowerment
are actively addressed as core development concerns. The (BPFA clearly states that the
advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men are the only
ways to build a sustainable, just and developed society7
Moreover, the BPFA complements the Convention on Elimination of all kinds of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which is one of the most important international human
rights instruments. CEDAW which was ratified by 179 Member States , set up the global agenda for
national action to end discrimination against women which it defines as "any distinction, exclusion
or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying
the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis
of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."8
CEDAW which affirms the principle of equality in 30 articles, covering several areas of
women development, namely the political, civil, legal, social and cultural, as well as the sexual and
reproductive ones, It falls therefore, directly into the mandate of the Millennium Declaration, which
pledged to achieve gender equality, halve poverty by 2015, and affirms the right of every human
being to development while promising to uphold equal rights without distinction to race, sex,
language or religion. The Governments which endorsed the Convention committed themselves also
to eliminate violence against women and to promote the CEDAW through their various
development programs and national plans of action.
Consequently, a number of global and regional initiatives were launched to promote gender
mainstreaming in poverty reduction strategies and development programs at large. In addition, a
number of key entry points were adopted to ensure linkages between the BPFA and the Millennium
Declaration to engage effectively in the monitoring and implementation of the MDGs. This process
was guided by the UN Development Group (UNDG), which was established specifically for this
purpose. It focuses on country reporting and monitoring processes which are coordinated by the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and which measure and evaluate the progress of
countries towards the MDGs.
The Common Country Assessments (CCAs) and UN Common Country Teams (CCTs), are
useful tools in guiding national governments in implementing policies and programs tailored to
achieving the MDGs. These processes are also guided by global initiatives such as the Millennium
Project9 and the Millennium Campaign, which mobilize governments, parliaments and civil society
at the national and global levels to enhance linkages between CEDAW and BPFA on one hand and
Millennium Declaration and MDGs on the other. Such coordinated efforts are very active and have
proven very effective in the Arab countries through the joint and multi-sectoral UN country teams,
which resulted in many successful initiatives geared towards mainstreaming gender in MDG related
national plans of action and strategies such as poverty reduction, youth, health and education.
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The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995 resulted in the Beijing
Declaration and its Platform for Action listing 12 critical areas:
A. Women and poverty
B. Education and training of women
C. Women and health
D. Violence against women
E. Women and armed conflict
F. Women and the economy
G. Women in power and decision-making
H. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
I. Human rights of women
J. Women and the media
K. Women and the environment
L. The girl-child
c- Importance of engendering MDGs monitoring and reporting for evidence based policymaking
The diversity and multiplicity of gender issues and concerns in the Arab region require a
diverse selection of indicators liable to address the many gender priority issues. They must
take into consideration the vast discrepancy between one country and another or one group
of countries and another, and even within the one country itself.
The MDGs has an established and independent goal on gender equality and the
empowerment of women; however gender equality is a cross-cutting theme that cuts across all the
other goals. In order to have a comprehensive implementation and monitoring of all the other
MDGs, it is imperative that gender perspectives were fully integrated in the other goals
Women are the most vulnerable and at high risk of health hazards due to their lack of
information, knowledge and awareness, and while not forgetting that rural women suffer most from
environmental degradation due to their close relationship with the environment. Furthermore,
women are the huge group of invisible labor force, the poorest of the poor, and the bulk of the
illiterate population, and considering they are the “have nots” in terms of ownership of assets,
control of resources and decision making power, attempting to achieve the MDGs without aiming at
the genuine advancement of women through promoting gender equality across the board, will both
raise the cost and minimize the likelihood of achieving the MDGs.
Evidence shows that in a low income country, where high rate of illiteracy among women
prevails, and where they have limited access to reproductive health services and information,
population growth is high and results in a negative impact on human development indicators10. In
fact it is a vicious cause/effect relationship, as high population growth means increasing need for
services therefore higher maintenance costs which impoverishes the country further. Empowering
the underutilized half of the society – meaning women- will therefore contribute to slowing down
population growth, and reduce poverty. In addition to the economic value of women development,
empowered women are more capable of controlling their lives, and their bodies, and of protecting
themselves from unwanted pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and sexual harassment and
abuse, and demanding their legitimate rights for education and employment opportunities.
In fact the positive correlation between gender equality and the eradication of poverty and
hunger, and the strong relationship between gender equality on one side and democracy, good
governance, and sustainable development on the other, was recognized more than a decade before
the MDGs, Since then substantial efforts have been exerted to engender statistics, monitoring and
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evaluation of national plans of action, policies and strategies, and tofollow up on progress towards
gender equality.
Engendering the MDG process requires the partnership of many actors, which includes
governments, UN, development banks, women’ organizations at the national, regional and global
level. It requires the full integration of gender perspectives in program planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of national programs, policies and strategies
International and regional gender-goal are imperative in reaching a common framework of
issues which allows for cross-national comparisons of gender equality and hence provide a
measurement on the achievement an gaps in gender equality. Reflecting gender-related changes in
society over time requires the use of gender sensitive indicators measures. These indicators can
make visible the gaps between the commitments made and their actual implementation and impact.
It can be used to hold commitment makers accountable and also to measure the outcome of nongender specific goals on gender related inequalities.
In the Arab countries, national machineries for women were established to ensure that
national bodies across all sectors abide by the outcome of the different international conventions on
women, and work towards achieving gender equality and eliminating discrimination against women
in all areas and at different levels, and to report on the progress of the different government sectors
towards this end.
By engendering the education goal, the quality dimension should be addressed as well as
identifying causes which deter girls from going to school. This will ensure that the
education goal is comprehensive in addressing all gender dimensions of empowering
education. It has to touch on gender sensitive curricula and curricula contents in terms of
life-skills, sexual and reproductive health, public health, teaching methodologies (girls’
empowering methodologies), teacher training, school premises, text books, language
(sexist verses non-sexist language), class and school management (seating of boys and girls
in the classroom, school hours, sports activities, class responsibilities) , and very
significantly, community awareness and social attitudes towards girls’ education
Section I
Current Practices in Engendering MDG Monitoring and Reporting
A
number of global and, regional initiatives have been launched and effective strategies are
being implemented by many development actors globally, regionally and nationally in
support of gender sensitive monitoring and reporting on the MDGs. Specifically, the BPFA
and the proceedings of the Beijing +5 conference, underscore the importance of mainstreaming
gender statistics into national, regional and international policies and programs. They also
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emphasize the role of governmental organizations in the generation and dissemination of genderbased statistics for planning and evaluation purposes.
a- Strategies for gender responsive MDG monitoring and reporting
International bodies, such as the United Nations, have a major role to play in this regard.
According to objective H3 of the Platform, international agencies should assist in the production of
disaggregated gender data, improvement of concepts and methods of data collection, as well as
strengthening vital statistical systems and the incorporation of gender analysis into publications and
research work.
As such, much of the UN focus has been on promoting gender responsive monitoring and
reporting across all eight goals for bringing about sustainable, equitable and just change This entails
enhancing cross-sectoral collaboration and building strong partnerships at multiple levels among all
stakeholders and with partners, for building the capacity of national counterparts in monitoring and
reporting on gender mainstreaming efforts. This also entailed linking all the international
frameworks particularly CEDAW, BPFA and the CRC, with institutional reforms at the national
level, to bring concrete social and economic change on the ground. Inter linkages between all eight
goals is also crucial in addressing gender inequalities in all areas and across all sectors of
development processes.
Key Partnerships
“For aid agencies and governments gender indicators are a key tool for accountability,
telling us whether our programmes are working”
Teresa Gambaro, Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australia 2006
In one of his addresses, the UN Secretary General emphasized the need for regional and
global partnerships in which states, civil society, the private sector and intergovernmental
institutions work together to mobilize resources and coordinate efforts to advance the causes of
security, development and human rights, which are inseparable and interlinked.11
Goal 8 calls specifically for forging partnerships between developed countries on one hand,
and developing and poor nations on the other, to enable the latter to meet the MDG targets fully and
on time. Partnership building and expansion for gender sensitive MDG monitoring has been an
effective strategy at the international level, building on all the global conventions and charters.
These global partnerships soon trickled down to the regional and the national levels and
mushroomed with similar agenda, encompassing all UN organizations, other multi and bi-lateral
donors and partners and involving the public sector, the private sector and the civil society.
“Collaborative processes at high level reaffirmed that gender equality is a necessary
condition for:
 building healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous societies,
 promoting a common understanding that, the full empowerment and engagement of
women in development process at all levels and in all areas, would benefit all of society
 guaranteeing success in confronting the enormous challenges that modern developing
societies face, from conflict resolution, peace-building, and fighting AIDS, to the
eradication of poverty and other issues challenging the achievement of the MDG”
Speech of the Secretary General to the Security Council in 2007
In the Arab Region, regional partnerships have been enhanced among regional development
entities working on gender, child and education issues. These include but are not limited to
CAWTAR12 (Center for Arab Women Training and Research), AGFUND (Arab Gulf Fund for
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Development), ISDB (Islamic Development Bank), ISESCO (Islamic Scientific, Educational and
Cultural Organization), and the Center for Women Studies in Lebanon. Furthermore, all regional
and country UN offices, international organizations and bilateral donors such as CIDA, (Canadian
International Development Agency), DFID, (Development Fund for International Development),
USAID, (United States Agency for International Development), SC, (Save the Children) , SIDA,
(Swedish International Development Agency), Caritas, and others, are partnering to consolidate
their efforts and unifying their agendas to support national governments and the civil societies in
countries, to combat poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination and meet the MDGs. for achieving
sustainable and equitable development. Among other areas of intervention, their support focused
mainly on funding for capacity building in strategic planning, rights based programming, gender
mainstreaming and gender sensitive design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
programs and projects. These enhanced regional partnerships have resulted in strengthening
regional networks, and consensus building on common issues and challenges for joint action, as
well as on opportunities for consolidation of resources and efforts for more effective programming
towards achieving the MDGs.
On the other hand, and for the last decade or so, Arab countries themselves have been
forging key partnerships for implementing a number of gender sensitive strategies through their
national plans of action to achieve the MDGs, in the fields of poverty reduction, universal primary
education, girls’ education, women, youth, health and environment, economic and political
participation. There has been a number of successful multi-sectoral efforts in a number of Arab
countries through their national women machineries and national strategies on women. Tangible
efforts at proper gender mainstreaming initiatives by some countries, have placed gender issues
higher on national agendas, and in strategic planning, Partnership building with the various
stakeholders -both producers and users of gender statistics- is valuable when it is translated into
national strategies, and policies, in various sectors and in all program cycle stages from the
inception of the plans of action and program planning, design and management, to collection,
analysis and dissemination of data, going through monitoring and evaluation of projects and
programs within bigger plans.
Different partners include (but are not limited to) the high- and mid-level staff of
government units/departments responsible for incorporating gender issues in national
development plans, specialized national offices of the UN, bilateral donors, civil society
(mainly non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field of gender and
development, tertiary institutions, the media and information networks, religious
entities/institutions, learning , knowledge and information management systems, and the
private sector. In addition, some of the most important partners are the statisticians from
national statistical offices who collect, analyze and disseminate statistics on gender issues
in the participating countries. It is crucial that all these players work according to unified
vision and common criteria, and always involve the targeted population at the local
community level.
Another current practice in engendering MDG monitoring and reporting is boosting the role
of the women’s state machineries. This is accomplished though various program planning processes
and support in establishing mechanisms for them to coordinate with line ministries, and through
capacity building for implementing partners and counterparts in gender mainstreaming focusing on
gender analysis, and gender disaggregated data, research methodologies, tools and indicators.
Harmonization with other instruments: CEDAW and BPFA
Coordination among UN organizations on supporting governments to develop holistic
gender sensitive strategies, resulted in strategies such as forging agreements and partnerships
among governments, civil societies and the media, using the different rights frameworks such as
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CEDAW, BPFA and the CRC, to guide national dialogues and discussions on ways and means to
engender the MDGs. Multi-stakeholder meetings along these lines, focused on identifying the
gender dimensions of poverty as they relate to the impact of trade reform on women’s economic
security, to the impoverishing effect of environmental degradation on women and the family
livelihood, welfare and health. Attention was also geared toward the effect of women illiteracy not
only on women’s health and economic status, but also on the average age of marriage, early
pregnancies, lack of access to health information and services, maternal and child health and
mortality HIV/AIDS and STDs prevalence, and on economic growth at large. Even at the level of
the donors themselves, gender analysis was adopted by a number of them as the new analytical
framework for strategic program planning in all sectors, in an effort to harmonize their
programming processes with CEDAW and BPFA. In some cases this would be a condition for
international aid allocation. The UN, and its specialized agencies including the World Bank (WB),
the International Labor Organization (ILO) the Governments of New Zealand, Norway, Canada13,
all have issued gender analysis guidelines.
The aspired outcome of all these coordination and dialogue efforts was mainstreaming
gender at the level of national programming mechanisms, and localizing the MDGs by encouraging
the development of local gender sensitive MDG action plans and corresponding indicators of
success. Moreover, it was hoped that among other, effective monitoring and reporting tools, such
collaboration, would lead to developing common agreed upon gender-sensitive indicators for
harmonizing monitoring on the progress of the MDGs with the BPFA, and CEDAW14, with the
unified vision of achieving equitable and sustainable development and long-lasting peace.
A good example of global initiatives initiated to support the gender mainstreaming efforts, is
the UN Development Group Task Force (UNDG TF)15, on Gender Equality. This Task group was
established with a mission also to coordinate actions on mainstreaming gender equality and
women’s empowerment among 16 member agencies.
The UN Millennium Project16 is another global initiative established to identify practical
strategies to eradicate poverty through promoting gender equality as a means to increase human
capital, and improve environmental sustainability17. Other global conventions, such as Education
for All (EFA)18, also promote initiatives like the UNICEF led UNGEI (United Nations Girls’
Education Initiative), which adopts strategies to reduce gender gaps in education.
The World Food Program’s (WFP) Food for Education program in Yemen and other
countries in the region, take-home food rations are distributed to families in rural Yemen, as an
incentive to send their girls to school. This initiative has achieved positive impact where three
MDGs are concerned namely; Goal 2 on the achievement of universal primary education where this
project increased enrolment and attendance of girls in schools; Goal 1 on the eradication of poverty
and hunger by increasing nutritional share of poor families, and Goal 3 on the promotion of gender
equality and women’s empowerment, by reducing gender disparity in education19.
Capacity building in monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and gender sensitive budgeting is
another strategy which is reinforced through regional workshops and seminars to facilitate the
measurement and articulation of the progress (or lack thereof!) made in recent years, and boost
renewed enthusiasm and motivation to continue the work on mainstreaming gender in poverty
reduction and other major national strategies
In its capacity as the regional arm of the UN, ESCWA continues to play an important role in
gender monitoring and reporting on the MDGs. This was manifested in the several efforts made in
this regard, to support member countries in improving existing indicators and developing additional
ones. This was reflected in regional seminars and workshops, country support missions, as well as
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the production of a number of resource materials and guidebooks on gender sensitive monitoring.
All of these efforts aimed at providing technical guidance and capacity-building to member
countries in the areas of gender mainstreaming and gender sensitive data and research. Between
1997 and 2007, five regional and 16 national workshops were held by ESCWA on the issue of
gender sensitive indicators.
Moreover, some of ESCWA’s regional projects on gender statistics were launched to impact
more effective strategies and policies promoting change at regional and national levels, through
providing policy makers with additional targets and indicators for better gender sensitive MDG
monitoring. One of these is the ‘Development of Gender Statistics Programs in the Arab
Countries”(GSP), which was launched in 1997 in twelve Arab countries, and aims to enhance
national capabilities in the production, use and dissemination of gender statistics. Other projects are
the “Development of Gender Statistics in Iraq” and the Inter-Agency project on “Toward More
Gender Responsive MDG Monitoring and Reporting in the Arab Region”, the Inter-regional Project
on “Interregional cooperation to strengthen social inclusion, gender equality and health promotion
in the MDGs ESCWA also supported a series of publications on Women and Men in some Arab
countries20 which assesses the situation of women compared to men, in addition, to many other
gender based statistical documents .
The United Nations Girl Education Initiative (UNGEI), which was launched to achieve
parity in education, is presently being implemented in three Arab countries namely, Sudan, Djibouti
and Yemen. Gender inequality in the classroom as well as in society, is a gender issue that restrict
girls’ access to education. This discrepancy is relayed to many factors namely social, financial,
cultural, institutional, geographical and physical. UNGEI adopts strategies to reduce gender gaps in
education, in an attempt to achieve the MDG. In doing so, UNGEI adopts strategies that address all
these areas and which are mainly multi-sectoral and involve many stake holders
Although UNGEI directly supports the achievement of Goal 2 and Goal 3 of the MDGs, it
also contributes to achieving the three health related goals, namely reduction of child and maternal
mortality, and prevention of HIV/AIDS and STDs. This is because in addition to enhancing access
to education, UNGEI advocates for quality education. This is a form of relevant education which in
principle, should produce healthier girls and future women who are empowered enough to make
good decisions about their own health and socio-economic wellbeing, and that of their families
which would lead to healthier communities. Furthermore, health education and proper water and
sanitation facilities help to retain girls in schools, thus contributing to delaying the age of marriage
for girls and early pregnancies and reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS and STDs infections and other
contagious diseases through raising health awareness in the community through schools.
.











Successful strategies in engendering MDG monitoring and reporting
UN Development Group Task Force (UNDG TF)
UN Millennium Project
Food for Education
ILO Decent Work Agenda
WHO’s En-gendering’ the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Health
WB’s "Engendering Development - Through Gender Equality in Rights,
Resources, and Voice" Policy Research
The United Nations Girl Education Initiative (UNGEI),
Capacity 2015 for the Arab States” (C2015-AS)
Development of Gender Statistics Programs in the Arab Countries”(GSP)
(ESCWA)
Development of Gender Statistics in Iraq
Toward More Gender Responsive MDG Monitoring and Reporting in the Arab
Region”
14



Series on Women and Men in some Arab Countries
DevInfo: MDG based information management system tool
UNICEF’s Gender Achievements and Parity in Education
The International Labor Organization (ILO), launched the “Decent Work Agenda” which
focuses on informal employment, its changing pattern, and the links between being informally
employed, being a woman or a man and being poor. This project regards gender sensitive indicators
and sex disaggregated data as a main component in program analysis, and in addressing gender
inequalities particularly those related to women’s /men’s representation in decision making. In
addition to this, ILO undertook many studies in a number of Arab countries on the situation of
migrant domestic workers, which highlighted major issues which demanded immediate action by
governments.
The WHO’s concern about the MDGs is that many do not systematically analyze the health
situation of poor people and the barriers that prevent poor women in particular from accessing
reproductive health care21. Although this could be relayed to insufficient health spending, much is
also relayed to low education and lack of awareness and to preferential treatment to boys within
families. Therefore, WHO’s “En-gendering’ the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on
Health 2003”, was launched in an attempt to engender the health related Goals, namely 1, 4, 5 6 and
7.
The World Bank’s policy research "Engendering Development - Through Gender Equality
in Rights, Resources, and Voice" focuses on gender issues and their broad economic and social
implications on development in developing countries, through linking gender to development from
the conceptual and empirical point of view.
UNDP's Capacity 2015 for the Arab States” (C2015-AS) is one of five regional programs
established to localize the efforts of the Global Capacity 2015 program, which was initiated at UN
Headquarters Headquarters to support countries in achieving the MDGs. For localizing the MDGs
in countries, C2015-AS coordinates with UNDP country offices, regional and local partners and
external experts, to identify appropriate tools and methodologies for capacity development (C2015AS website). The role of C2015- AS has been crucial in developing guidelines and proposing local
governance indicators for gender sensitive MDG monitoring and reporting.
The UN’s DevInfo22 initiative is another example of a successful practice for engendering
the MDGs. Its regional workshop in 2006 is an illustration of coordinated UN capacity building
efforts which endeavor to support national governments in the region in MDG monitoring. Their
training focused on incorporating gender into national statistical machineries, and supported the
establishment of a pool of regional trainers who can facilitate in-country training at the national
level. Another mission for DevInfo was to familiarize stakeholders with gender issues in relevant
policy areas; and to enable them to identify critical gender issues of priority. Most importantly, for
monitoring purposes, DevInfo is extremely useful in specifying statistics and indicators which are
needed to assess and monitor the status and conditions of women and men in relation to various
policy areas, and in selecting effective ways to present and disseminate data.
The UN continues to focus on three major strategies aimed at assisting countries to
deliver on gender equality and women’s empowerment, which will at the same time
enable them to make real progress in achieving all of the MDGs. These are:
 Strengthening a coherent and integrated approach across the UN system,
 Strengthening gender equality in national development strategies, and;
 Strengthening monitoring and accountability by women on the ground.
(Noeleen Heyzer/UNIFEM speech 2006)
15
As such, and although global goals, regional and national commitments by donors and
national governments exist on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and although successful
initiatives are in fact being implemented globally, regionally and nationally, yet there is still a big
need for more effective gender integration in the implementation and measurement at all levels in
all areas of development. Arab countries still regard women’s issues as “add women and stir”,
rather than an integral component of national development. In this context, the work of the UN
organizations is extremely important in spearheading efforts for supporting national governments to
achieve gender sensitive MDGs. It is important for the UN and other multi and bilateral donors and
development partners to re-steer efforts towards proper gender mainstreaming in national programs.
There is a great need to support governments in conceptualizing new innovative initiatives, while
revising old policies and laws to make them gender sensitive for achieving gender equality and
women’s human rights in all spheres of the society.
Specifically at the country level, the role of the UN partners is useful in building
institutional capacity and allocating sufficient resources, for establishing accountability mechanisms
towards ensuring the implementation of gender sensitive policies and national plans. The UN and
its partners also work towards identifying goodwill ambassadors, strengthening advocates and
mobilizing constituencies, to promote gender equality and track progress of programs, to bring
about genuine change and end harmful practices and attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality.
Gender theme groups are therefore established within the UN Country Teams (UNCTs), which
influence national planning frameworks including the Common Country Assessments (CCAs).
A major initiative of current practices is being undertaken by the Economic Commission for Africa,
in engendering MDG monitoring and reporting is “African Gender and Development Index"
(AGDI). It is a composite index made of two parts: a Gender Status Index (GSI) and an African
Women's Progress Scoreboard (AWPS). The first measures relative gender inequalities based on
quantitative indicators on education, health, income time use, employment, access to resources, and
formal and informal political representation. The second measures progress made in women's
empowerment and advancement. The AGDI is therefore a combination of quantitative and
qualitative measures. It incorporates time use and ownership of rural/urban plots, houses, and land.
It is in line with BPFA, CEDAW, and other conventions on women. A full document on this index
can be found at: http://www.uneca.org/eca_programmes/acgd/publications/agdi_book_final.pdf.
Parameters for gauging the extent to which MDG reports are gender sensitive
UNDP’s Proposed Parameters for Gauging Gender Mainstreaming in MDG Monitoring
and Reporting
 Gender inequality as a key determinant in the fulfillment of any/all Goals.
 Visibility of gender equality and/or women’s rights issues in the text of the report.
 Effectiveness of presentation and usage of sex disaggregated data
 Visibility and data substantiation of gender dimensions of poverty, education,
infant mortality, maternal mortality, health, environmental sustainability and
development
 Commitment to and clear identification of strategies and/or resources for
addressing gender inequality..
 Incorporation of additional gender targets/indicators relevant to the specific
country situation , in the reports
 Flagging of strategic priorities for gender equality identified by the Millennium
Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality.
To support countries in monitoring their progress towards achieving the goals of the MDGs,
several efforts by donors and UN organizations were made to inspect the default parameters used in
16
MDG monitoring and reporting. One of these is an inter-agency expert group was established to
review the gender aspects of the MDGs’ indicators and to highlight any shortcomings in the
indicators used23.
Another is UNDP’s gender review of national MDG reports, in 2005 (En Route to Equality: A
Gender Review of National MDG Reports), which is a follow-up to a previous pilot UNDP/WB
initiative undertaken in 2003). This review highlights the strong relationship between gender and
the MDGs, and emphasizes the need for appropriate parameters to assess progress towards meeting
the goals in an equitable and sustainable manner, which involves and benefits both women and men
equally.
In principle, gender-responsive reporting on all Goals should include data which highlight
differences in roles, resources, power, norms and values, in all different areas, but particularly
where Goals 1 and 3 are concerned.
With regard to gender sensitive reporting on the labor sector, for example, it is insufficient
to look only at paid work in the formal sector. It is important to know who does what in terms of
decision-making and who gets what in terms of wages and benefits across the board in terms on
productive and reproductive work. This includes the household level, agricultural activity, family
enterprise activity/project (home workers), or other individual income earning activities. It is also
important to know how has this division of labor changed throughout the years, with the changing
income factor. Outside the household, it is necessary to identify wage laborers in regulated as well
as unregulated work environment, where they might be invisible and unacknowledged. Street
children and child laborers who are considered “illegal” are also important groups to consider
because, in their own way, they also contribute to the labor market.
17
Equal access for women to basic transport and energy infrastructure (such as
clean cooking fuels) can lead to greater economic activity.
Gender equality in capabilities and access to opportunities can accelerate
economic growth
Equal investment in women’s health & nutritional status reduces chronic
hunger and malnourishment, which increases productivity and well-being.
Gender equality in farm inputs helps increase agricultural production &
reduces poverty because women farmers form a significant proportion of the
rural poor.
A mother’s education is a strong and consistent determinant of her children’s
school enrolment and attainment and their health & nutrition outcomes.
A mother’s education, income, and empowerment have a significant impact on
lowering child and maternal mortality.
Women’s economic independence, increased ability to negotiate safe sex,
awareness of the need to alter traditional gender roles, better access to
treatment, and support for the care function that women perform are essential
for halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other epidemics
Goal 8
Develop
a
Global
Partnership
for
Development
Goal 7
Ensure
Environme
ntal
Sustainabil
ity
Goal 4 &5
Reduce
Child
Mortality &
Improve
Maternal
Health
Educated girls and women have greater control over their fertility and
participate more in public life.
Goal 6
Combat
HIV/AIDS
, Malaria,
and Other
Diseases
Goal 2
Achieve
Universal
Primary
Education
Goal 1
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and
Hunger
Important linkages between Goal 3 and Goals 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are summarized in
the following table:
Gender-equitable property and resource ownership policies enable women
(often as primary users of these resources) to manage them in a more
sustainable manner.
Greater gender equality in the political sphere may lead to higher investments
in development cooperation.
UNDP’s. En Route to Equality: A Gender Review of National MDG Reports quoting: Taking Action:
Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women Task Force on Education and Gender Equality. UN
Millennium Project 2005
18
Furthermore, in reporting on the agriculture sector, it is important to acknowledge that home
extension services do not reach female farmers as well as they do males, and to highlight the need
to identify the barriers behind this reality, be they cultural, logistical, administrative, legal, or other.
Similarly for Goal 2 on education, where low enrollment and retention of girls in school are
not the responsibility of the education system only, but may require multi-sectoral efforts on other
fronts such as social, economic, financial and infra-structure in addition to policy development.
The same is also applicable for Goal 7. In gender sensitive monitoring of environmental
sustainability issues, criteria should be able to assess to which degree gender issues are being
mainstreamed in programs and policies for the preservation of the environment, and improving
access to safe water. Indicators also should look into environmental health, water and sanitation and
the impact of air and water pollution and poisonous fumes from factories on women and children’s
health, and to which extent are members of the local community, particularly women, participating
in planning and decision making regarding rural development and environmental programs.. As
with all goals and their subsequent indicators, it would be ideal (through community-based
consultations), to include the women themselves in the identification and measurement of suitable
indicators.
Likewise the exclusion of women from benefiting from international aid, and from the
decision making process on partnerships for development and the impact of international loans on
the economy, is an issue of concern. Goal 8 on partnership and development should therefore assess
the degree to which poor women are benefiting from international aid and partnerships in terms of
loans, grants and revolving funds, training and capacity building. Indicators should also be defined
to assess whether specific measures and policies are put in place for wavering taxes on time saving
modern technology that helps reduce the work burden of rural and poor women at home, and to
which extent policies support women’s professional development and promote their economic role
through reducing their traditional family responsibilities. It is crucial to report on whether women
have equal access to secure tenure, land ownership training and credit, to benefit rural women. In
the case of rural development, reports should recommend that poverty reduction interventions
should include the provision of clean cooking fuels, electricity, water and sanitation supply within
or nearby the household to reduce the time women and girls spend on firewood and water
collection.
In reporting on any given situation related to an MDG goal or target therefore, it is
important to highlight the indirect causes of an obvious obstacle or issue, and describe their nature
and roots while recommending future appropriate interventions to eliminate them. Likewise, it is
necessary to suggest alternative solutions and strategies which are liable to accelerate and facilitate
the achievement of the different MDGs. Once this is done, proposals for needed funds should also
be included in the report.
However, since data on all these required determinants are not always available, the quality
of existing reports from Arab countries has not been up to the required standard where their gender
sensitivity is concerned.
19
Section II
Gender in MDG and MDG Related Reports
D
espite the fact that most countries around the globe endorsed CEDAW, some countries did
so with a number of reservations, many of which were Arab countries in the Arab Region.
Nevertheless, all endorsing countries committed themselves to the implementation of the
CEDAW, and to measuring and reporting on the progress of these goals. Regardless of any
reservations some countries might have concerning certain articles of the CEDAW, it is crucial for
the gender component to be an integral part of implementation and monitoring of and reporting on
the progress of all other MDGs to ensure gender sensitive MDGs. It is for this reason that the
linkage between Goal 3 on achieving gender equality and the other MDGs with CEDAW and the
BPFA becomes imperative. Only through such a linkage could gender sensitivity of all the other
goals be achieved, and gaps and challenges properly identified.
a- Gender perspectives in MDGs
Although two of the 8 goals address gender issues and women specific concerns directly,
(namely goal 3 on gender equality and women empowerment, and goal 5 on maternal health), all of
the 8 goals and their 18 targets, involve women to a large extent, both as beneficiaries and potential
contributors. It follows that the achievement of these goals in a comprehensive, equitable and
sustainable manner is impossible without integrating the gender perspective fully into all of them,
i.e. engendering the MDGs.
In monitoring Goal 1 on poverty and hunger, it is noticed that it does not address the issue of
home-working and domestic work, nor child labor, women unpaid agricultural and house work , nor
does it address women’s lack of negotiation skills in the market and low (or nonexistent )
representation in labor unions and political participation. It furthermore does not address obstacles
and abuse where access to paid employment is concerned, time use of house work and access of
women to resources, credit and decision making.
Goal 2 for example, evidence shows that universal primary education will be a big challenge
by 2015. However, not much is being said about quality of education which is a bigger and more
complex challenge. Even if governments manage to avail access to all school age children including
girls to primary school, the quality of the education these children will be receiving is questionable.
The five major indisputable educational realities are:

None of the MDGs will likely be met unless there is significant progress in girls’
education.

Illiteracy is a catastrophe for any child, but particularly devastating for girls

Educating girls has cascading benefits

Educating girls benefits both boys and girls,

Gender parity in education will lead to gender equality in society
Daniela Zapata. Counting invisible workers: Girls in domestic activities within their homes
It is crucial that reporting on Goal 8, reflects the degree that women are involved in decision
making processes on international loans and their impact on the economy. Similarly, reporting on
Goal 7, should assess to which extent are women involved in environmental management and
planning programs, and if not, what are the repercussions of their exclusion, on themselves and
20
their families. Therefore Goal 7, which aims to ensure environmental sustainability should be able
to report on women’s -particularly rural women- and their important contribution/benefit in matters
related to water and sanitation, personal hygiene, access to natural energy resources, and preserving
agricultural land. reporting on the MDGs should reflect the degree and type of women’s
involvement in environmental planning, access to credit and modern technology to women farmers
and their role with respect to issues of bio-sustainable pest management, cash crops, caring for
animals and education on animal related industry, helps improve their farming skills, increasing
their income, and reducing the risk hazards on them and their families.
Partnership for development and environment goals 7 and 8 ignore women both as
beneficiaries from international aid and environmental sustainability, as well as contributors and
benefactors to these two domains. Making effective use of natural resources reduces household
expenditure, and improves family health conditions, just as partnering with women on these issues
would reduce environmental degradation. Addressing women’s needs in international aid, would
promote family welfare through improving family’s economic condition and reducing work load on
women through the provision of modern equipment and technology, and finance small scale
business enterprises for women, thus making more effective use of international aid and economic
growth.
Global partnership for development was initially meant for international cooperation and
resource allocation, with no consideration for any kind of participation by the civil society therefore
no provision was made neither for men nor women organizations.
The Expert Group Meeting held in Baku/ Azerbaijan in 2005, underscored the fact that “the
BPFA provides the most important comprehensive mandate for governments to ensure that gender
equality and women’s empowerment are actively addressed as core development concerns.24
However, and despite efforts made so far to engender the MDGs’ monitoring and reporting through
linking them to the BPFA, it remains to be seen to which extent MDGs’ monitoring and reporting
are covering gender dimensions which would unveil otherwise hidden gender concerns.
More specifically, to which extent do these monitoring systems rely on genderdisaggregated data in their analysis (both quantitatively and qualitatively), and to which extent do
they use gender sensitive tools and methodologies to collect it and analyze these data in a way that
identifies gender priorities and concerns. It also is imperative that these tools cover all areas and all
sectors of development for fully engendered MDG monitoring. Only then will policy makers notice
gaps as in the case of Bahrain, which has an excellent Gender Parity Index (GPI)25 ratio for female
enrolment in school, but a low GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure)26 rating of 66 on the scale of
78 countries world wide in the UNDP’s Human Development report, “which means that the gains
for gender parity in literacy and education have not been translating into greater women’s
empowerment in the workforce or political participation”27.
The Millennium Task Force (MTF)28 on the other hand, has recommended adopting
additional indicators which it has developed. It also recommended using gender disaggregated data,
statistics and tools for each and every MDG not only Goal 3. The Task Force also recommended
focusing on vulnerable and marginalized groups, youth, the disabled and others. They also called
for a proper situation analysis which follows a gender analysis framework and to rely on qualitative
data in support of quantitative data, to look at root causes of the problems arising. Furthermore,
both task forces strongly recommended aligning the MDGs to Rights instruments such as CEDAW,
BPFA and CRC and localizing targets after redefining them. Two other important criteria were
recommended to be used in MDG monitoring and reporting, these are: 1) tracking investment in
resource allocation to monitor gender sensitive implementation of the MDGs, and 2) establishing
linkages between all Goals.
21
In short, these recommendations emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral monitoring and
reporting approach to achieve gender equality and ultimately reach lasting and equitable
development.29
In order to be able to engender all MDGs however, efforts should be made to adopt a gender
analysis pattern for identifying gender issues and concerns within each and every goal, so that they
are appropriately identified and addressed.
b- Availability of sex disaggregated data and gender sensitive indicators, (quantitative
and qualitative)
In a further attempt to harmonize the MDGs with gender instruments at the global level,
global reporting mechanisms for bilateral and multilateral donors including the UN bodies, have
been developing their own gender sensitive indicators to enhance linkages between the global
human indicators and gender specific indicators.
One of these bodies is the World Bank which expanded its “Key Development Indicators”
and developed a series of sectoral indicators on population, education, agriculture, poverty and
housing, as a part of its “Next Steps” indicator program. USAID on the other hand, under its
“Program Performance Information for Strategic Management (PRISM)”, developed a
methodology for the use of gender sensitive indicators, though it was somewhat weak on qualitative
indicators30. The British NATIONAL BUDGET ALLOCATION as been developing a gendered
“Policy Information Marker System (PIMS)” for evaluating their project objectives. GTZ has
developed ZOPP (German acronym for “objectives oriented project planning”. CIDA developed
their “Guide to Gender Sensitive Indicators”.
The Human Development Report (1995) addressed gender issues as development issues and
associated them with basic human rights. Through doing so it thus created the three composite
measures namely the Human Development Index (HDI)31, and the “Gender Development Index
(GDI)” at country level, which compares women’s and men’s life expectancy, educational
attainment and income, and the “Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)” also at country level ,
which concentrates on gender differences in income, employment and political participation.
ESCWA and UNESCO have developed a set of social, human and economic indicators focusing on
women which were used in the Arab Women Human Development Report. Furthermore, World
Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study surveys include infra-structure and time-use modules
to capture the division of labor within households.. ILO has also laid the groundwork for a
comprehensive program to develop sex-disaggregated data on informal employment. Similarly, the
World Health organization, (WHO), has been collaborating with the Economic Commission of
Latin America and the Caribbean, the European Women’s Lobby, and the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control to strengthen data collection on the dimensions, health consequences, and the risk and
protective factors of violence against women.32.
Furthermore, governments who seek to identify priority gender issues and concerns in their
countries also need to come up with the appropriate country specific identification criteria,
measurement indicators, research methodologies and tools to do so. These are important for
capturing the different needs and gaps from the different perspectives, for all age groups, and
covering all socio-economic sectors and geographical locations, without missing on the
marginalized, the un-reached, the disabled and the minorities. Gender issues and concerns differ
according to sex, age group, educational and socio-economic background, geographical location,
ethnicity, and vulnerability. In order to reach the un-reached and marginalized groups, the
22
specificity of each group thus necessitate the collection of specific statistics and indicators broken
down by sex, age, poverty level and to the lowest possible geographical level..
MDGs monitoring and reporting processes also have to consider using qualitative indicators
to capture the different perceptions (before and after a specific intervention), around a priority issue,
as well as its indirect and direct impact / outcome in terms of changes in practices and behaviors
(positive and negative), in addition to quantitative indicators to measure outputs and rates.
Qualitative indicators are effective in identifying root causes of problems. Indicators related to
poverty and violence should look into prevailing social perceptions and cultural practices and
traditions, and religious misconceptions that lie behind low figures in girls’ education, harmful
traditional practices such as FGM and “honor” crimes, early marriages, and others reflecting big
gender gaps in literacy rates , economic and political participation and health.
Currently, no income measures or composite development indices capture the {girl} child
poverty and mortality either in terms of the number of children living in poverty or the
deprivation of their right to survival; health and nutrition, including access to water and
sanitation; education and information, including access to radio, TV and other news
media; and protection, including shelter and participation
Cawtar The Arab Women Development Report 2003: Arab Adolescent Girl: Reality and Prospects
Economic productivity assessments have to look into unpaid housework and family
responsibilities from baby and child care to care of the elderly and the sick to water fetching and
wood gathering and animal rearing. Commitments by governments to reduce gender inequalities
should be reflected in appropriate allocation of public funds to design programs capable of
changing stereotypes and people’s perceptions/attitudes towards girls and women and their role in
society. It should also be reflected in acknowledging the economic value of women’s traditional
“unpaid” family and reproductive responsibilities, which usually go unaccounted for in terms of
Gross National product, and under-rewarded in terms of material benefits, and access to basic
services to say the least.
Some of the challenges that pose concerns in the process of implementation of gender
sensitive policies and programs are related to lack of gender statistics. This is due to a number of
reasons. One of which is the weak understanding of gender concepts, second is the lack of statistical
systems/programs and trained staff to define, collect, tabulate and analyze data in a gender sensitive
manner. This is due to the major fact that gender issues are not yet considered as priorities in Arab
countries, hence not enough efforts are being made to clarify gender concepts and design special
data systems and train staff accordingly, nor allocate the needed budgets towards this end. There is
a clear shortage of data on Arab women and adolescent girls specifically33. The lack of gender
sensitive indicators and tools is highlighted in the Arab Human Development Report 2004 and
2005. Cross-country data are still lacking on many topics that are important for assessing
inequalities between women and men within and across countries. Similarly The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank’s Human
Development Network have data on sex-disaggregated completion rates in primary school.
However, secondary completion rates are not being tracked or reported regularly by countries, so
there are no comprehensive cross-country data for secondary completion rates34.
23
Section III
Proposed Gender Issues and Gender Sensitive Indicators
The diversity and multiplicity of gender issues and concerns in the Arab Region require a diverse
selection of indicators liable to address the many gender priority issues. They must take into
consideration the vast discrepancy between one country and another or one group of countries
and another, and even within the one country itself.
L
ike many patriarchal societies, the Arab society has lived through generations of
discrimination against women. Dismantling these centuries old traditional structures in the
process of
developing the Arab society at large, requires a complete societal reform which entails a wideranging and effective collaborative movement by the civil society, national governments, as well as
the donor and developmental community, that engages both women and men in the process35.
Specific gender issues to be addressed through the MDGs and relevant indicators have been
devised at the global level by International Conventions. The Arab countries have prioritized the
Platform areas of concern and identified other issues following Beijing +10 which are specific to
the region and not covered by the 18 targets of the MDGs. Therefore, it becomes crucial to expand
on the existing MDG indicators to cover the specificity of the region which includes among others
serious issues such as unpaid domestic work, gender pay gap, and violence against women
manifested in a number of harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, and
“honor” crimes, many of which are considered taboos such as sexual abuse (in terms of incest, rape,
molestation of small girls, and sexual harassment in society and in the work place), sex workers
(local and migrant), HIV/AIDS victims, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and others.
Although some of these issues are country/sub-region specific, yet others are common to all
Arab countries such, low civil participation, low participation in political activities and decision
making, marginalization and exclusion in politics and productive activities, exclusion from male
dominated professions and unequal access to employment, unequal pay by occupation, patronizing
legislation and laws which are issued under the pretext of preserving women’s safety, and which
deny women equal access to job opportunities36, unpaid family work, preference for boys,
difficulties in accessing and benefiting from health services and information, economic dependence,
discrimination in nationality and political rights, abuse of domestic workers high malnutrition
among women and young girls, adult female illiteracy, unequal or lack of access to education, weak
retention in the education system, and the quality of education.
24
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Economic Issues
Income and Poverty









under-valuing of women’s work in the household and in subsistence family production
(rearing animals, farming and working in the field, fetching water and fuel, cooking, care for
the sick and elderly by society and by women themselves
excluding women’s reproductive work from GDP by the State
women as the major victims of high poverty rates leading to high rate of mal-nutrition
among children specifically girls
poor infrastructure and heavy workload on rural women and girls
high school dropout among girls
risk of drug addiction and sexual exploitation among street children
high rate of women headed families amidst lack of sufficient social welfare system
high poverty rates and malnourishment among children under 16
a culture which is tolerant to child labor and not too child rights friendly
Above said, it is important to acknowledge that although child labor is not tolerated by
any international “rights” standards, yet child labor may be the only coping strategy for
the economic survival of some families. Therefore it is important to provide these children
with the appropriate support and means which are liable to help them organize their time
in such a way to empower with the necessary life skills, education and knowledge for
successful future and allow them time to enjoy their childhood and adolescence, while
offering the sufficient training and financial support for them to enable them earn a
living
Property rights

Goals
inability of women to own land and assets poses an obstacle for receiving loans
Area
Data set/Indicator
25
Income and poverty
sex disaggregated poverty rate
Poverty gap ratio for headed hh by sex of head
% of women's share of poorest quintile in national consumption
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Percentages of women and men who carry out unpaid domestic work
Percentages of women and men with access to credit
Proportion of children under age 5 underweight by sex
Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy
consumption by sex
Percentage of poverty in households with a single-adult/parent by sex
of the adult/parent
Dependency ratio among families with a female head of household
compared to families headed by a man
% of girl child aged 10-14 working
% national budget allocation for projects for vulnerable groups
(women headed households, women home workers, refuges/IDPs,
disabled , in the form of grants, loans revolving funds etc
% national budget allocation for improving infra-structure for rural
women
Property rights
Land ownership by male, female, or jointly held
Housing title, disaggregated by male, female, jointly held
26
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
44,000,000 women in the Arab Region are illiterate. This figure constitutes almost half the
female Arab population. The picture among Arab youth gender is even grimmer where the
gender gap in youth literacy rates is wider than that in adult rates, and 8,500,000 of the
13,000,000 illiterate young people are females.
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region: Progress Report 2005
As such, particularly where Goal 2 is concerned, it requires a strong gender component in
order to be realized fully. Unlike boys’ education which is more of a mere economic investment,
girls’ education is also a health and economic investment for the family and an asset for the society
at large. The benefits of educating girls do not reflect only on them, but on the next generation as
well, through their role as future mothers and wives. Women’s education can improve health and
survival rates for infants and children, and can have an impact on delaying the age of marriage,
reducing fertility rates, and enhancing school enrollment and retention rates37. In fact, according to
the UNICEF GAP report Part 1: “None of the Millennium Development Goals will likely be met
unless there is significant progress in girls’ education”.
Failure to achieve universal education and gender parity in education has tragic results the
least of which is underdevelopment. Achieving gender parity in education is instrumental to
achieving of the rest of the MDGs, and as such this goal was set to be achieved a full 10 years
before the other goals. Taking into account the particularly high illiteracy rates in some Arab
countries among women and girls, achieving gender parity in education is not only a necessary step
to the achievement of the rest of the goals in the region, but is the key to the success of development
efforts as a whole.
Education and training of women


high female literacy rates in some countries is not matched with an equally high female
employment rates.
high female literacy rates in some countries is not matched with an equally high female political
participation
marginalization from certain educational domains and specializations






gender gaps in education and literacy
high drop-out and low retention rates
high illiteracy
bad infra-structure and lack of girl friendly / close to home schools ,
obsolete traditional , sex biased curricula (not girl friendly nor girl empowering)
high rural urban disparities



unequal access to educational opportunities at all levels
obsolete curricula which reinforces traditional gender roles, and lack relevant life skills
components liable to improve the woman’s sexual and reproductive and general health status ,
and enhance her economic and decision-making roles.
educational system not very girl-friendly, timing and methodology and school proximity wise
insufficient public spending to achieve gender parity in primary education
religious misconceptions on the role and rights of women and girls in the society


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27
Goals
Area
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary
Education
Data set/Indicator
Education and
training of women
Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
Ratio of literate females to males at ages 15-24
Youth literacy rate
Youth literacy rate, women and men
Net primary enrolment ratio
% reaching grade 5/completion of grade 4
Ratio of female to male completion rates in primary, secondary and
tertiary education
Women's share of teachers %
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Gender stereotyping is another major issue in the Arab world, as it restricts women’s
mobility and limits their access to opportunities. Goal 3 focuses specifically on gender in principle,
but falls short of changing stereotype roles. Men’s involvement in the process is minimal. Changing
gender roles and enhancing better access for women to traditionally men’s domain, requires the
understanding and support of men, and their active and effective involvement in programs and
projects
Economic Activity

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marginalization of women in the labor market
high unemployment of young women
low women’s share of nonagricultural wage employment.
lower paid jobs in non-decision making
positions dictated by the traditional role stereotyping
biased employment market
unequal access to employment opportunities, credit, and labor saving equipment
machinery
flexibility of working hours for nursing mothers,
exploitation and abuse in the work environment.
unequal access to economic opportunities (employment in the formal sector, loans
training in the non-formal sector, support in in machinery and equipment, land tenure
ownership of assets, representation in decision-making bodies , access to resources
infra-structure among others)
inequitable time use /who does what and for how many hours /day
women lack of control of resources (income, land tenure, agricultural equipment),
lack of decision making in agricultural planning and rural development programs,
unequal benefit from basic health and education services, good infrastructure, training
and
and
and
and
28
Women and media
For the MDG Goal 3 is to be met by 2015, concerted efforts must be exerted to remove formal and
informal discriminatory practices and replace disempowering gender stereotypes with more positive
images of women in the media, in school books, and training of staff and managers in decision
making positions. It has also been suggested that it is necessary to revise legislation in accordance
with international declarations on women’s rights, and work on eliminating obstacles preventing
women from owning land, owning their own businesses or obtaining credit. Moreover, laws must
be carefully constructed to ensure that rights legislated to women, for example, marriage and
maternity leave, do not become a disincentive from hiring them38.
Women in positions of authority


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




unfair civil and family legislations and biased/ patronizing legal systems
discrimination in citizenship giving and legal status of her family in her country, if different
than her husband
lack of women-friendly legislative system and legal protection
marginalization of women from the positions of political and administrative responsibility
lack of political awareness and participation
male political culture as a barrier to women’s political participation
under-representation in political councils and lack of participation in political processes and
councils
low presence in senior managerial and major decision-making positions.
Human security and social justice/Women and violence


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
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










stereotyping in cultural norms and social traditions
religious misconceptions leading to harmful practices (such as FGM, early marriages,
“honor” crimes) and undermining women status in the society
early marriages
sexual violation (including rape and incest), violence and abuse
honor crimes
sexual harassment in the work place
severe marginalization from the social life
domestic violence
gender inequality/ son preference and discrimination in health care for baby girls
recent revival of anti-women traditions
women image in the media and reinforcement of stereo-type roles
religious misconceptions which exclude women from educational and economic processes
and other developmental and productive processes and marginalize them in society withing
their reproductive role.
early marriages).
sexual abuse of little and adolescent girls within the family (incest- an issue under the table
the lack of a sufficient institutional response and support for victims of violence silence the
victims and perpetuate the violence 39
lack of a sufficient institutional response and support for victims of violence silence the
victims and perpetuation of the violence.” 40
sexual harassment at the workplace
women and girls ejected from their family homes after suffering physical and sexual attacks
by husbands or other relatives, forces them to practice sexual acts by force or try to survive
on the streets where they are often subjected to further violence and sexual harassment.
obscure undocumented abuses
invisible occupations and hidden labor exploitation
29


individualized and unregulated work environments within families and in closed homes
exposure to robbery, violation of physical integrity, physical punishment, intimidation,
ridicule and humiliation and sexual harassment
lack of protective measures and legislation and insufficient tracking and records on domestic
migrant workers
increased illegal sexual activity and exploitation/ trafficking


Goals
Area
Data set/Indicator
Economic activity
Unemployment rate % by sex
Gap in unemployment rates between women and men
Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
Share of women in employment, both wage and self-employment by
type
Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and
total
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equaity and Empower Women
Gender gap in earnings in wage and self-employment - gender pay
gap by occupation
Number of women with access to credit and the extent of that credit
Percentage of women by sector to that of men- manufacturing
% of wages paid in covered maternity leave period
% female to male domestic workers working in “unregulated”
environment to total foreign labor (migrant / foreign workers
working for families at home)
Women and media
Percentage of women who occupy decision-making positions in the
media
Percentage of all media programmes devoted to gender-related issues
Percentage of women graduating from media institutes
Unemployment rates among media institute graduates by sex
Percentage of those working in the media who have received training
in gender-related issues, disaggregated by sex
Women in positions
of authority
Share of seats held by women in national parliaments
Percentage of women in the judiciary
Percentage of women lawyers
Percentage of women at ministerial level
Percentage of women at ambassadorial level
Percentage of local government positions occupied by women/
Percentage of seats held by women in local government bodies (MTF
on Gender Equality)
30
Systems to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender in
employment
Human security and
social justice/Women
and violence
No. of women victims of violence per 1, 000 people
No. of women persons in prison per 1,000 people
Prevalence of domestic violence
Percentage of girls and women subjected to physical violence (in past
year)
Death among women and girls caused by domestic violence
Number of annual human rights awareness activities which are
related to the issue of domestic violence
Legal punishment imposed on those guilty of domestic violence
Expenditure on programmes to protect women from domestic
violence
Prevalence of FGM
Number of crimes of Honor
% physically or otherwise abused/ sexually harassed female domestic
workers of the total domestic workers
Institutional
mechanisms to
improve the status of
women
Number of ministries, departments and institutions in which special
sections for women have been established
Total allocations for the support of women as a percentage of the
budgets of those Ministries and departments
% national budget allocation earmarked for gender mainstreaming
and monitoring
new / revised existing labor laws, and effective management of
migration laws laws to provide coverage and regulation of domestic
work for the protection of the rights of domestic workers
Women, conflict and
war
Number of programmes which provide relief for refugees, with the
focus on women
Total amount of relief assistance allocated to women
Percentage of women and men in conflict-resolution committees by
qualifications, degrees and experience/percentage of men
Extent of legislation and legal procedures in place to protect women
victims
Extent to which countries have ratified international human rights
agreements and the Geneva Convention
Advocacy organizations in place as a percentage of the total number
of organizations
Percentage of women in decision-making positions in advocacy
organizations (legal and humanitarian)
Rate of decline in human rights violations
Women and human
rights
Allocations to women’s education programmes as a percentage of
total allocations to education
31
Percentage of laws which have been amended in order to become
compatible with human rights instruments and, in particular, those
related to the rights of women
Number of annual activities for training women in and raising their
awareness of their human rights
Number of annual activities for training men and raising their
awareness of women’s human rights
Goals 4: Reduce Child Mortality
Lack of access of women to health information, services and family planning education, is
also an issue which has serious repercussions on population growth, maternal and child health and
women’s ability to participate in development processes. To achieve Goals 4, 5 and 6, it is crucial
to avail equal access for women to health education, and to information and health services as well
as to protective methods against sexually transmitted diseases and for family planning counseling
and support.
Girl Child Health





Goals
absence of sex disaggregated data for children immunized against measles
absence of sex disaggregated data on infant and under 5 mortality
high malnutrition rates of children under 5 years of age
high rate of anemia among adolescent girls
early and frequent pregnancies
Area
Goal 4: Reduce
child mortality
Data set/Indicator
Girl child
Life expectancy at birth by sex
Infant mortality rate by sex
U5 mortality rate by sex
Proportion of 1 year old children immunized against measles by sex
childbearing among girls ages 15-19 years
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Reproductive health and women's health
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lack of knowledge and awareness on sexual and reproductive health and insufficient access to
services and information on contraceptives and AIDS/HIV
high fertility rates among illiterate female population
early and consecutive pregnancies
high mal nutrition and anemia among young and adolescent girls among
low health awareness and unhealthy lifestyles among adolescent girls
inadequate spending on health
gender discrepancies in public health, nutritional security, maternal health, and
contagious diseases particularly sexually transmitted diseases
breast cancer
high fertility rates
32




Goals
early marriage
inability to say no and inability to make decisions on their sexuality
lack of laws and legislation for protection of women against rape
lack of policies for promoting maternal and child health,
Area
Data set/Indicator
Reproductive health
and women's health
issues
Maternal mortality rate
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Proportion of contraceptive demand satisfied
Unmet need for family planning
Condom use at last high-risk sex
% of births attended by trained health personnel
HIV prevalence in 15-24 year old pregnant women
% women who attend health centers during pregnancy- prenatal care
Adolescent fertility rate
Total fertility rate
Mean at marriage among women and men-Singulate mean age
@marriage by sex
Average age of women at first marriage
Average age at first pregnancy
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
General health issues

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
lack of access to testing and counseling services, RSH Reproductive and sexual health
education and information.
HIV/AIDS and STDs and drug addiction among street children
increasing rate of HV/AIDS infections among Arab women and girls
poor school curricula when it comes to school health education and life skills,
Women living under foreign occupation, as well as migrant workers, both Arab and nonArab are particularly subject to different invisible kinds of violence and sexual abuse which
they normally suffer in silence, and are therefore vulnerable to HIV/AIDS .
Women’s economic independence, increased ability to negotiate safe sex, awareness of the need
to alter traditional gender roles, better access to treatment, and support for the care function that
women perform are essential for halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other
epidemics
33
Goals
Area
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases
Data set/Indicator
General health issues
Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive
correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS by sex
Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria by sex
Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria
prevention and treatment measures by sex
Prevalence and death rates associated with Tuberculosis by sex
Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on
a sustainable basis by sex
Attitudes and perceptions towards HIV positive people, by sex
Level of knowledge and awareness of STDs and HIV/AIDS among
school children, by sex
Goals 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Women, housing and environment



unequal access to safe water and adequate sanitation
heavy burden on rural girls and women due to lack of/ poor infra-structure
neglect to and marginalization of rural areas and rural women and girls
Goals
Area
Goal 7: Ensure
environmental
sustainability
Data set/Indicator
Women, housing and
environment
% population with access to adequate sanitation by sex
% of population with access to safe drinking water by sex
Proportion of population using solid fuels by sex
Hours per day (or year) that women and men spend fetching water
and collecting fuel
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Information and communication technologies

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low use of information and technology
unequal access to computer training
unequal access to internet services
preference of sons over girls in acquiring latest technologies
34
Goals
Area
Goal 8: Develop a
global partnership
for development
Data set/Indicator
Information and
communication
technologies
Cellular subscriptions per 100 population, by sex
Personal computers in use per 100 population , by sex
Internet users per 100 population, by sex
Legend:
MDGs gender sensitive indicators
UN MTF on Education and Gender Equality Proposed Gender Indicators 2005
IAEG on MDG Indicators Proposal 2007
Proposed by both the UN MTF on Education and Gender Equality and IAEG on MDG
Indicators
Proposed additional indicators for selection or replacement
Common priority areas of concern among Platform, Arab Beijing+10, AHDR, Task Force3
35
Section IV
Guidelines for More Gender-Responsive Monitoring and Reporting
An effective engendered monitoring system therefore, is capable of furbishing solid
evidence for policy makers, which is likely to result in better policies. “Evidence-based
policy making is an approach to policy development and implementation which uses
rigorous techniques to develop and maintain a robust evidence base from which to develop
policy options”
“Defra, Evidence-based policy making” website
G
ender sensitive-sector-specific indicators need to be used to give the proper gender
perspective. Indicators should be designed to assess if men take on a greater role in
household and family care, if discriminatory traditions and customs, stereotypes, violence
and harmful practices that stand in the way of women and girls are challenged, and if sufficient
investing in infrastructure is being allocated to reduce time burdens for women and girls, in addition
to monitoring if women and girls have equal access to education and health care, property and land,
to men and boys41.
Moreover, gender-specific interventions in agriculture, rural development, urban
development, water and sanitation, environment, trade, and science and technology are needed to
reduce gender inequality and empower women.42
However, it is important to note that certain MDG indicators could be misleading in certain
gender related contexts. For example, incidence of child labor in the case of female-headed
households is more of a coping strategy to supplement incomes and therefore it is important to take
this into consideration when considering child labor as a poverty indicator. Another example of
engendering indicators is that women’s participation in agriculture is not sufficient if not associated
and reflected in their participation in decision making in the agricultural sector. Similarly, women’s
education as an absolute number is inadequate to inform about their ability to make personal and
family decisions and how their increased educational level reflected in paid employment and
political participation.
Some of the key global recommendations for making MDG reporting gender-sensitive focus
on integrating additional indicators to reflect the real situation. A number of additional indicators
have already been suggested by the Millennium Task Force on gender Equality (MTFGE). One
strong recommendation made by this group was that gender disaggregated data should
systematically be used to monitor progress towards all MDGs. Indicators should also reflect the
situation of vulnerable groups, youth, disabled and other marginalized and un-reached groups
(using qualitative data when possible). Using these indicators should be done within rights and
gender frameworks like CEDAW and the CRC and EFA etc, and should emphasize frequent crossreferencing between Goals, and ensure visible cross-linkages between all MDGs43. Furthermore,
efforts should aim at localizing and adapting indicators to national and sub-national levels targets
and realities. Last but not least it is important to focus on resource and budgetary allocation 44. .
36
All Data, to the most feasible degree must be gender sensitive (qualitatively solid in addressing
gender issues), disaggregated by sex, age, family status (married/single/divorced), vulnerability
(disability, refugee/IDP, single head of the family, HIV +, living under poverty level,) and to
the lowest geographical location (urban/rural, sub-urban/slum, nomad, un-reached).
a- Key partners to be included in the monitoring and reporting processes
Effective partnerships between all actors and key partners at different levels, and their active
involvement are crucial in the analysis, monitoring and reporting processes. These include:
governments, all parts of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations, including
bilateral organizations, NGOs and civil society, academia and the media.
The development of quantitative and qualitative statistics and indicators on gender issues,
require working closely with the national statistical offices in countries. Any effort to
improve the availability of data must start with their active participation, and involvement as main
actors in the project activities, due to their central role in providing official statistics at national level
which in turn feed into providing official statistics at regional and global levels.
Furthermore, it is important to encourage the participation of high-level government officials
from the different ministries and national institutions and women organizations to ensure government
support and raise awareness among policy makers and planners through establishing networks and
country profiles and compilation and dissemination of information and statistics on gender issues etc.
all of which will lead to mainstream gender issues and concerns into national development plans.45
Therefore, the development of new statistical series requires a lengthy process of discussion
between producers and users of statistics, pilot work and testing, and review of this experience.
Country statistical agencies need an infusion of resources to strengthen their capacity and efforts to do
all that is necessary to collect and prepare sex-disaggregated data. Work at the country level also
requires technical support from key international statistical agencies to develop methodological
guidelines and undertake new data collection efforts. Substantial funding is required to coordinate these
activities within the appropriate international and regional organizations46.
b- Effective implementation and cooperation mechanisms
While global goals and commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment have been
articulated, these are still far from being fully implemented, from school enrolment to women’s
economic independence and representation in decision-making bodies. Achieving these goals requires
a genuine change in values and attitudes, in transforming relations between the two genders, working in
partnership and in coordination with governments, international organizations, civil society and the
private sector to ensure that women and girls enjoy their full rights and take up their rightful place in
society47.
The issue of accountability in implementation is paramount. It is therefore crucial to identify
concrete analytical and operational activities to address gender issues within the framework of the
MDGs, and to identify processes and tools that will encourage greater accountability for gender
equality in MDG implementation strategies. It is therefore imperative to develop practical strategies,
methodologies and tools, and to identify lessons learnt and promising approaches, that can be used to
support the integration of gender perspectives into these policies and programs.
37

The Five Steps of the costing strategy are:
 a list of basic gender interventions based on accurate data for well defined interventions,
 concrete targets within the CEDAW and BPFA frameworks,
 investment model set and additional resources identified,
 opportunity cost savings in terms of care work and unpaid work, and finally
developing the appropriate financing strategy based on the above, taking into account transferring
budgets from public economy to household economy in the process.
At the regional level, strategies focus on enhancing exchange of experiences, and discussions
on the significance of incorporating gender-sensitive indicators in the implementation of national plans
of action for achieving the MDGs, and for improving understanding of priority gender-related policies.
Cross country experience-sharing opens the possibility for new opportunities and proposals in other
countries. One effective example of this implementation mechanism is the regional platform for
localizing the MDGs. This mechanism plays a crucial role in supporting governments to decentralize
reforms, strengthening capacities at the sub-national and local communities and civil societies’ levels,
and in formulating MDG-based local plans in strategic planning, program formulation, and
implementation and monitoring to achieve the MDGs48.
This results in lack of gender sensitive budgeting. “Achieving MDG3 and gender equality
investment in other goals costs money -a fact often overlooked by governments in rich and poor
countries alike”49. It follows that one major quantitative indicator would be the amount of budget
increase attached to any MDG to achieve gender equality within the set goal Gender-sensitive
budgeting is not simply to assign separate budgets for women and men. It is an attempt to break down,
or disaggregate, the government’s mainstream budget according to its impact on the different groups of
women and men, based on appropriate gender analysis and identification of gender priorities in the
country. Disaggregated data is therefore needed to demystify the apparent gender neutrality50 in
programs, and more specifically, the gender neutrality of the budget.51
Other effective implementation and cooperation mechanisms for more gender responsive
monitoring and reporting include mainstreaming the engendered MDGs into national strategic planning
processes and policy frameworks, while scaling up successful piloted interventions and best practices at
local level, building capacity using MDG How-to-Guides, tool-kits on MDG-localizing, and gender
economic/political empowerment and other tools. Another effective mechanism is forging regional
partnership platforms in support of local governance, gender political and economic empowerment,
effective public service delivery, integration of youth, promoting leadership skills, and reinforcing
regional learning and sharing of knowledge by working with local, national and regional actors to
promote an enabling environment for the growth of a system of national, regional and international
linkages among individuals, institutions and communities through knowledge sharing of best practices
and lessons learned and the promotion of cross-regional interactions52.
Since the rate of additional funds allocated to engender MDGs is an important indicator in
monitoring and reporting on MDGs, it is also crucial to allocate sufficient budgets. “Achieving MDG3
and gender equality investment in other goals costs money -a fact often overlooked by governments in
rich and poor countries alike”53. It follows that one major quantitative indicator would be the amount of
budget increase attached to any MDG to achieve gender equality within the set goal. A financial
indicator would therefore be the percentage of the MDG cost allocated to gender mainstreaming
interventions, within the 8 Goals (ideal situation is between 6-11 percent), and the percentage of
allocated to specific interventions to achieve MDG3 within the other 7 goals (ideal situation is 3 percent
of MDG costs). Budget allocation increase should be in terms of external resources to promote and
38
finance gender equality interventions. Increased domestic resource commitments should also be
dedicated to support these interventions54.
Several studies have estimated the financing requirements to achieve gender equality in
education and health, and to provide reproductive health services. The World Bank for instance,
estimates that achieving gender equality in primary education through universal enrollment would
require an increase of slightly more than 3 percent a year in public spending on primary education in the
Middle East,55
The UN Millennium Project on the other hand, recommended to follow a five step costing
process which incorporates gender in all of them56.
c- Data sources and methodologies
Well selected criteria and indicators for gender sensitive programming are crucial not only for
progress monitoring and outcome evaluation, but also in the initial conceptualization of the project.
Criteria define the essential dimensions of gender mainstreaming against which the gender sensitivity of
the intervention may later be assessed. Thus, the agreed upon criteria will be liable to provide an
explicit definition for the concept of gender sensitive programming. Each criterion should relate to a
key element in a gender responsive program, and may be characterized by one or more quantitative,
qualitative, or descriptive indicators. Furthermore, data gathering and strengthening statistical systems
are two important elements of gender sensitive monitoring. Therefore, reliable data are a critical tool for
accountability. A lack of sex-disaggregated data impedes efforts to address the MDGs and progress
their in implementation57.
The UN Millennium Project has developed a detailed gender sensitive methodology for
quantifying the human, financial, and infrastructure resources needed to meet the MDGs. In
collaboration with the UN Millennium Project Secretariat, the Task Force on Education and Gender
Equality adapted a general needs assessment methodology for estimating financing requirements for
gender-related interventions designed to meet the gender equality Goal.58.
This needs assessment is best meaningful when used at the country level and as part of a
national poverty reduction strategy in which all stakeholders participate, and if undertaken in
conjunction with a similar exercise in education, health, transport and energy infrastructure, water and
sanitation, agriculture, nutrition, urban development, and environment. Finally, any assessment of needs
has to be an iterative process that is refined on the basis of experience. To be credible, the analysis
needs the inputs of all key stakeholders, including government officials at national, regional, and local
levels, members of women’s and other civil society organizations, and donors.59
One challenge faced where gender sensitive MDG monitoring is concerned, is the lack of gender
sensitive data in countries, particularly qualitative data which entails measuring people’s perceptions
about a certain subject, and assessing the impact of gender programs and projects in terms of changed
practices and attitudes towards a gender issue.
Even in cases where the data are collected based on new initiatives aiming at encouraging
collection of gender sensitive data, these data once available, are not tabulated and analyzed in the
appropriate manner, nor systematically reported to the international agencies . To obtain data
qualitative and quantitative data for more countries, major efforts in technical cooperation are needed to
39
assist those countries in the collection and/or processing of the quantitative as well as qualitative
information60
Quantitative indicators are usually drawn from censuses, enumerations and administrative
records, while qualitative data are drawn from KAP studies (knowledge, attitudes and practices),
interviews and opinion surveys, PRAs (Participatory Rapid Appraisals), observation, and other
anthropological studies. Household Surveys as a complement to data from administrative records when
the latter are not appropriate, was also recommended to be used as a source of data 61
An important issue to consider is the difficulty to collect data on “taboo” issues which involve
marginalized, vulnerable and un-reached girls and women. It follows that gender sensitive out-reach
methodologies and tools must be designed to collect data on marginalized and vulnerable groups who
need to be identified and approached so they don’t fall through the cracks. These are the women who
are most needy of development interventions and direct aid, and they are mainly the single female
headed households, refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), disabled women, abused domestic
workers (migrant and local), exploited home workers , street, orphaned and homeless girls, unwed
mothers, young/underage wives, underage mothers (both legal and out of wedlock), female delinquents
(in custody/ prison and in the streets), drug addicts and HIV positive females, sex workers and , young
divorcees and domestic violence among other taboo issues..
Data collection methodologies and tools vary from survey questionnaires, census, and official
archives, mapping documents and statistics for quantitative indicators, to individual interviews focus
groups, informal discussions, literature review, PRA, and direct observation for qualitative indicators.
Countries are then responsible for reviewing and testing means of measuring and monitoring specific
indicators at field level...
d - Gender-sensitive analysis and reporting
Prior developmental evidence indicates that assuming a household as one homogeneous unit
where everybody in it benefits from resources equally and contributes to its development equally, is not
an accurate assumption. Same applies to the community. Gender analysis enables us to understand who
does what, with what and for how long. It is used to identify the roles and responsibilities of men and
women in a given situation It provides guidelines on how to use the results for effective and equitable
programming both at the level of a local community project as well as at the level of national strategies.
Gender sensitive analysis – an analytical tool which aims at identifying sexual division of labor
and gender based differences, and highlights challenges as well as opportunities to reduce
gender gaps in project/ program situation and in everyday real life.62.
This analysis involves looking at four basic ‘explanatory factors” namely division of labo (who
does what, when and for how long), income, expenditure and access to and control of resources (land,
credit, equipment and machinery, decision making power, educational and health services, employment
opportunities and others). and it leads to two “conclusion-drawing” factors, the first of which is on
gender differentiated constraints to participation in, contribution to and benefiting from the intended
interventions. The second factor identifies existing opportunities within these gender based roles and
responsibilities to contribute to the success of this intervention.
For the reporting process, and in line with efforts to support countries in the implementation of
programs at national levels to achieve the MDGs, it is crucial for the mid-term reviews, annual and
40
progress reports as well as the national reports of countries concerned, and of the United Nations ,
bilateral and other multilateral donors involved in those countries, to sufficiently reflect the gender
differentials qualitative as well as quantitative, be it in terms of gender disaggregated statistical data,
graphs and tables, or description of change in attitudes, perceptions and behaviors in the narrative
throughout the body text of these documents. They need to highlight gender sensitive strategies,
demonstrate how successful piloted interventions were integrated and share information on the lessons
learnt in the different functions and activities of the MDG related program, be it in an emergency or a
normal situations. This can not be achieved unless through a gender analysis framework.
The needs assessment for specific sectors includes actions to address three of the seven strategic
priorities for achieving gender equality and empowering women. Post primary education for girls is
costed within the education needs assessment methodology, the provision of sexual and reproductive
health services is costed within the health sector needs assessment methodology, and infrastructure to
reduce women’s time burdens is costed within the infrastructure needs assessment methodology63
In an economic gender analysis, three elements are necessary namely identification,
acknowledgment and accreditation of women’s substantial contribution in more “invisible” 64and
“uncalculated” sectors of the economy such as nomadic activities and subsistence production in rural
areas (agriculture, animal rearing and diary production, weaving, and firewood and water fetching etc
for family sustenance).
Despite the fact that gender disaggregated data is reported in some reporting modalities at the
different levels, it is not consistently so across the board. It is crucial for example to break down data by
sex and age and geographical location and vulnerability when talking about child mortality data, to be
able to pinpoint health and nutrition discrepancies between boys and girls, and at which age are these
discrepancies most severe, in which geographical areas, and which socio-economic background they
belong to. Only then can we design appropriate programs to reach the neediest and fill any gaps.
In the gender analysis process, “the goals, targets and indicators established in the Millennium
Declaration framework need to be “unpacked” in terms of their gender equality implications; clear
strategies should be developed for ensuring that all activities planned to support the implementation of
these development goals and targets take gender perspectives into account; and effective mechanisms
need to be established for monitoring progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of
women, including through gender-sensitive indicators”65.
“The basic strategy with gender sensitive indicators is one of using quantitative and qualitative methods
in combination to measure gender related changes in society over time.
CIDA, Guide to Gender Sensitive Indicators, August 1997
In the same token, the analysis of and reporting on progress of these Goals in the context of
reviewing the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, should also fully integrate gender
perspectives, and establish clear links with the review of outcomes of the Platform for Action.
Gender sensitive analytical approaches to poverty reduction should consider access of women to
legal system, and identify any discrimination and loopholes in laws which discriminate against women
farmers, and producers, domestic workers, home workers, and those employed in the formal and
informal sectors, and which restrict their ability to own and access assets and resources., and limiting
their right to travel and to political participation and representation. Improving women’s legal literacy,
their access to the legal system and to credit will improve their productivity and ability to negotiate and
41
position themselves better in the market. Only through a gender analysis will we be able to identify the
nature of and solutions to the obstacles and challenges encountered in the process of implementing all
the MDGs.
Where child labor is concerned, the definition of child labor includes excessive demands made
on some girls for unpaid work in their household. Therefore, suggestions for additional indicators
should aim to classify activities for time-use statistics that is sensitive to the differences between
women and men in remunerated and unremunerated work and collect data, disaggregated by gender66.
Zapta argues that “by not taking into account household tasks the participation of girls in child labor is
underestimated and that the lack of visibility of the intensity and hazardousness of this type of work
keeps an important group of girls out of the scope of policies oriented towards reducing child labor”67.
e- Guidelines / checklist for gender responsive monitoring and reporting
Question
Answer
Who is doing what on MDG monitoring Do an environmental scan of gender responsive MDG monitoring
and reporting nation wide
and reporting endeavors initiated by other partners/ stakeholders
nation wide
What do we have to look for in ensuring Develop criteria including –but not limited togender responsive monitoring and
 Ensuring efforts are made to put gender on the agenda of
reporting at the level of national policies
policy dialogue at national and local level to support
and programs
women and achieve gender equity in all areas of the MDGs
 Incorporating gender in all MDGs, cross-sectoraly at
national and local levels rather than limiting it to Goal 3.
 Ensuring gender sensitivity of budgets
 Timely allocation of adequate funds
 Developing
guidelines
for
gender
responsive
program/project reporting
 Ensuring women are actively involved and take an equal
part in decision making where all of the above processes,
activities, functions are concerned
 Building
capacity
and
sensitization
of
partners/counterparts, in the areas of gender, MDGs, and
gender mainstreaming in programs (engendering
programs), in light of rights instruments like CEDAW and
BPFA and the CRC)
What do we have to look for in ensuring Develop criteria including –but not limited to
gender responsive monitoring and
 Enabling environment for women (physical, professional,
reporting at the level of in house
psychological)
administration and recruitment
 Equal treatment for women & men
 Chapter on gender on the staff manual
 Separate toilets, child care for work in office,
42







maternity/paternity , code of conduct against harassment
Building capacity and sensitization of in-house staff in the
areas of gender, MDGs, and gender mainstreaming in
programs (engendering programs), in light of rights
instruments like CEDAW and BPFA and the CRC
Ensuring gender sensitive recruitment:
Mixed recruitment panels composition
Gender sensitive interview style
Women in decision making positions
aim towards a balanced women/men distribution in all
areas, sectors, and at all levels
Ensuring women take an equal part in decision making
where all of the above processes, activities, functions are
concerned

How can we decide what needs to be After defining the gender dimensions of all MDGs and setting
done in terms of programs, policies, and relevant parameters for interventions, follow-up monitoring and
other functions, and what are the reporting the following needs to be done:
priorities for action
 Undertaking gender sensitive research/ assessment namely:
 Adopting gender analysis as the backbone for program
planning processes
 Conducting an initial gender analysis of the situation to
assess needs, gaps, challenges and identify potentials for
the sake of obtaining baseline data
 Defining appropriate criteria based on the above and
developing corresponding reliable and measurable gender
sensitive indicators which are common agreed upon (for
program planning , focusing on M&E)
 Developing guidelines for collecting and analyzing sex
disaggregated data (both qualitative and quantitative), and
appropriate gender sensitive tools and methodologies, and
suggesting possible data sources, for the different goals of
the MDGs
 Assigning gender focal points at sectoral level, and putting
in place thematic Inter-agency /multi-sectoral gender
groups at national and local levels (to localize the MDGs),
Establishment and training of gender focal points at
ministry/ organization level and women machineries at
country level.
 Developing an institutional assessment system to assess the
outcome of the gender mainstreaming process (assessment
should involve staff performance as well program/ policies
impact and outcomes/outputs in terms of localizing the
MDGs
 Timely availability and readiness of data and information
gathered, in due time for reporting on the impact of
implemented programs and results of research and data
gathering -throughout the monitoring period - on all
43


indicators of the 8 MDGs.
Availability and readiness of data and information
gathered, for reporting on the impact of implemented
programs and results of research and data gathering throughout the monitoring period - on all indicators of the 8
MDGs.
Gender appropriately mainstreamed in emergency
programs as well as in normal situations to be able to
assess the emergency preparedness of the organization/
government
How to ensure reporting is gender Criteria to ensure gender sensitive reporting is:
sensitive
 The extent to which country reporting mechanisms reflect a
thorough gender analysis in all areas related to the MDGs
 The extent to which budget analysis reporting reflect
additional funds allocated and their impact on achieving the
MDGs, as well as on any shortage of funds needed and the
consequent repercussions on achieving the MDGs. as
country reporting mechanisms reflect a thorough gender
analysis in all areas related
 The degree to which additional financial and human
resources are allocated for gender mainstreaming purposes
in general at national level
 The extent to which reporting is in line with rights
instruments such as CEDAW and BPFA and CRC The
effectiveness of innovative approaches piloted , which
incorporate gender considerations into national policy
frameworks, legislation and MDG processes
Appendices


Appendix I: Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Appendix II: List of References
44
End Notes
1
2
Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education: The GAP Report , Part One , UNICEF, Nov 2005
Millennium Declaration site
The MDGs are the world’s targets for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its
many dimensions by 2015—income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure and shelter—while promoting
gender equality, education, health, and environmental sustainability.
3
4
Millennium Development Goals and Statistical Literacy. E/ESCWA/SCU/2006/IG.1/6. Paper presented at the Seventh
Session of the ESCWA Statistical Committee (Beirut, 7-9 November 2006). http://www.escwa.org.lb/divisions/scu/events/79nov06/itempercentage206-MDGs.doc.
5
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region 2005. E/ESCWA/SCU/2005/3/Rev.1.
http://www.escwa.org.lb/information/publications/edit/upload/scu-05-3-rev1.pdf
6
Arab Least Developed Countries as adopted by the report on the Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region 2007,
namely: Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen
7
ESCWA. Regional Workshop on the Development of National Gender Statistics Programs in the Arab Countries Tunis, 914 June 1997
8
United Nations Women Watch. Information and Resources on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. 2007
The Millennium project is n independent advisory body that provides analysis for an overall operational framework and
issued its report on 17 January 2005
9
10
Human development indicators here refer to social, heath, economic and education criteria
11
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region 2005. E/ESCWA/SCU/2005/3/Rev.1.
http://www.escwa.org.lb/information/publications/edit/upload/scu-05-3-rev1.pdf
12
ESCWA. Regional Workshop on the Development of National Gender Statistics Programmes in the Arab Countries Tunis,
9-14 June 1997
13
In its Federal Plan for Gender Equality (1995), the Government of Canada committed itself 'to ensuring that all future
legislation and policies include, where appropriate, an analysis of the potential for different impacts on women and men' (the
university of Adelaid website)
14
Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director: Speech : Gender Equality Key to Achieving the MDGs, 2006 Speech on the 61st
Session of the United Nations General Assembly
15
UN Development Group was established specifically to oversee the monitoring and reporting processes of the MDGs
16
The UN Millennium Project is an independent advisory body commissioned by the UN Secretary-General to propose the
best strategies for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
17
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN
Millennium Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005.
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gender-complete.pdf
18
Reducing gender disparities in education is one of the six EFA goals adopted at the World Education Forum in Dakar,
Senegal, in April 2000.
19
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region 2005. E/ESCWA/SCU/2005/3/Rev.1.
http://www.escwa.org.lb/information/publications/edit/upload/scu-05-3-rev1.pdf
45
20
Please refer to the List of References for more detailed titles in this series.
World Health Organization (WHO): Who’s got the power? Transforming health systems for women and children,
Report of the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health, 2005
21
22
DevInfo is an MDG based information management system tool designed to support governments in MDG monitoring,
and can be adapted to include additional user-defined indicators that are linked to key national monitoring frameworks
23
Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches
for overcoming them. Expert Group Meeting, Geneva, 11-14 April 2005. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vawstat-2005/index.html.
24
Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches
for overcoming them. Expert Group Meeting, Geneva, 11-14 April 2005. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vawstat-2005/index.html.
25
A Gender Development-related Index (GDI) measuring gender inequalities in life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment
and earned income,
26
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) which measures inequalities in economic participation and related decisionmaking, political participation and related decision-making, and power over economic resources
27
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region: Progress Report 2004. E/ESCWA/SCU/2004/3
28
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
29
SURF-AS Jocelyne Talbot, Policy Advisor on Gender, Summary of guidelines for MDGs reporting, January 2007
30
CIDA, Guide to Gender Sensitive Indicators, August 1997
31
HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standard of living for countries worldwide.
32
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
33
Cawtar The Arab Women Development Report 2003: Arab Adolescent Girl: Reality and Prospects
34
Braveman 1998 as quoted by Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and
Empowering Women. UN Millennium Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005.
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gender-complete.pdf
36
Some of these are early retirement laws, ban on women from night jobs, compulsory long-term detention of sexually
violated women (to protect them from being killed by their male family members)
37
Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education: The GAP Report , Part One , UNICEF, Nov 2005
38
The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region: Progress Report 2004. E/ESCWA/SCU/2004/3
According to a statement by Yakin Ertürk, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on violence against
women, issued, after completing a 10-day fact-finding visit to Algeria
39
40
Violence against Algerian women hidden because of social taboos – UN expert report 1 February 2007
46
Speech of the UN Secretary General to the genral Assembly March 6 2007 : Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s
Empowerment a Condition for Building Healthier, More Peaceful Societies,
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sgsm10898.doc.htm
41
42
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
43
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). En Route to Equality: A Gender Review of National MDG
Reports. Bureau of Development Policy, 2005.
44
SURF-AS Jocelyne Talbot, Policy Advisor on Gender, Summary of guidelines for MDGs reporting, January 2007
45
ESCWA. Regional Workshop on the Development of National Gender Statistics Programmes in the Arab Countries Tunis,
9-14 June 1997
46
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
Speech of the UN Secretary General to the genral Assembly March 6 2007 : Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s
Empowerment a Condition for Building Healthier, More Peaceful Societies,
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sgsm10898.doc.htm
47
48
UNDP Capacity 2015-Arab States Programme Annual Report 2006
49
Caren Grown. Achieving Gender Equality: How to Hasten Prgoress and How Much Does it Cost. May 2006.
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2006/Gender-Equality/achieving-gender-equality.pdf
50
Gender neutrality is the wrong assumption that women and men are a homogeneous group in society and benefit equally
from development programs and services offered.
51
Debbie Budlender & Rhonda Sharp with Kerri Allen: How to do a gender-sensitive budget analysis: Contemporary
research and practice, 2007
52
Ditto
53
Caren Grown. Achieving Gender Equality: How to Hasten Prgoress and How Much Does it Cost. May 2006.
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2006/Gender-Equality/achieving-gender-equality.pdf
54
Ditto
55
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
56
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). En Route to Equality: A Gender Review of National MDG
Reports. Bureau of Development Policy, 2005. Accessible at
http://www.undp.org.cn/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&catid=18&topic=33&sid=154&
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
57
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
58
Ditto
47
59
Ditto
60
United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators , 6th Gender Indicators Sub-group meeting, New
York, 26 September, 2005
61
Recommended by UNICEF during the United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators , 6th Gender
Indicators Sub-group meeting, New York, 26 September, 2005
Maya tech corporation: A trainers’ Manual Vol 1, How to conduct a workshop to integrate gender considerations into
development programming , June 1991
62
63
Caren Grown and Geeta Rao Gupta. Taking Action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. UN Millennium
Project Taskforce on Education and Gender Equality 2005. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/Gendercomplete.pdf
Speech of the UN Secretary General to the genral Assembly March 6 2007 : Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s
Empowerment a Condition for Building Healthier, More Peaceful Societies,
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sgsm10898.doc.htm
64
65
Carolyn Hannan Director Division for the Advancement of Women , Opening Address during the International Workshop
on Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals , World Bank, Washington, D.C. 19-20 November 2003
66
Daniela Zapata. Counting invisible workers: Girls in domestic activities within their homes.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/elim-disc-viol-girlchild/ExpertPapers/EP.9percentage20Zapata.pdf
67
Ditto
48