This page discusses basic concepts of gender and introduces key resources for deeper guidance on undertaking a gender analysis.

What is Gender Analysis?

What is Gender?

Gender is not only about the biological differences between men and women, boys and girls. Gender defines what it means to be a man or woman, boy or girl in a given society – it carries specific roles, status and expectations within households, communities and cultures. The traits and characteristics associated with gender differ from culture to culture, may vary within cultures, and evolve over time. These differences mean that: individuals face different situations as to what economic, social and political opportunities are open and accessible to them, and what status they hold within economic, social and political institutions.

Examples include:

• Cultural norms concerning women’s mobility or women’s reproductive (care-giving, household maintenance) roles may limit their ability to take part in the workforce or
  participate equally in decision-making processes at the community or broader levels;
• Men often face community pressures/expectations that prevent them from breaking harmful gender norms, and sharing roles or responsibilities more equitably within
  the household; and
• Where marriage norms mean women and girls lose membership of their natal kin to join that of their husbands, parents may prioritize investment in sons who are expected
  to remain with and support the family.

Men, women, boys and girls are affected in different ways by policies, interventions and changing environments, based on their unique experiences, priorities, social norms and their relationships with others. Examples include:

• Deteriorating natural resources may disproportionately affect women and girls who must then travel farther to gather firewood or water, not only adding to their
  workloads but also increasing their risk of assault;
• Economic development programs that only target women and girls to the exclusion of men can aggravate gender tensions within households, especially where men are
  expected to provide for the family and have been unable to fulfill these duties in difficult economic environments; and
• Enrollment campaigns designed to increase girls’ participation in school can set girls up for failure if they don’t address discriminatory practices in schools,
  communities and domestic workload issues at home.

The What and Why of Gender Analysis

Gender analysis is the systematic attempt to identify key issues contributing to gender inequalities, many of which also contribute to poor development outcomes. This process explores how gendered power relations give rise to discrimination, subordination and exclusion in society, particularly when overlaid across other areas of marginalization due to class, ethnicity, caste, age, disability status, sexuality, etc. CIDA describes gender analysis as:

“The variety of methods used to understand the relationships between men and women, their access to resources, their activities, and the constraints they face relative to each other. Gender analysis provides information that recognizes that gender, and its relationship with race, ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, and/or other status, is important in understanding the different patterns of involvement, behaviour and activities that women and men have in economic, social and legal structures.”

The gender analysis process seeks to collect, identify, examine and analyze information on the different roles of women and men. Gender analysis primarily seeks to understand these three questions:

1. What are gendered-related rights denials in a given context? How do unequal gender relations, gendered discrimination, subordination and exclusion influence rights denials? How do these rights abuses intersect with other areas of discrimination – based on ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, etc.?
2. How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? For example, if the project’s sustainable result is increased productivity among female smallholder farmers, then gendered norms in household divisions of labor and workloads may greatly influence production outcomes.
3. How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? Will it exacerbate or reduce inequalities?

Gender analysis examines gender roles and relations from inter-personal, household, community, provincial and national levels. It looks at both the public and private spheres of people’s lived experiences. It seeks to understand the differing priorities, needs, activities and responsibilities of men and women, boys and girls across different life stages, and in the various roles they play (as sons and daughters, lovers, mothers and fathers, citizens, neighbors, laborers, etc.). An analysis of gender issues must also recognize other diversity factors that affect all members of society, such as age, ethnicity, class, caste and other socioeconomic conditions.

Analyzing gender is essential for CARE across the program cycle to:

• Design, innovate and adapt programming that aims to transform gender dynamics and power in ways that promote social justice, inclusiveness and equality;
• Remain accountable to those in whose lives we hope to see positive change, and minimize unintended harm;
• Assess how program initiatives and broader trends have contributed to change for groups of people across genders, including monitoring expected and unexpected results; and
• Build an evidence base that facilitates documentation and contributes to broader advocacy and social movements in favor of equal human rights for all genders.