Mali
Evaluation intermédiaire du projet « Féministes en Action » 2021-2023
Description of the document:
L’évaluation intermédiaire du projet « Féministes en Action » intervient près de trois ans après le début du projet et deux après le démarrage effectif des financements aux organisations féministes. Couvrant la période 2021-2023, elle poursuit plusieurs objectifs :
∇ Un objectif d’apprentissage et de capitalisation, alors que Féministes en Action est le premier consortium financé au titre du FSOF, l’un de ceux cherchant à atteindre directement les OSC féministes les plus fragiles et celui ayant le périmètre thématique le plus large (les autres sont construits en général autour d’une thématique d’intervention). Le consortium constitué, avec la présence d’ONG internationales et de fonds des « Suds » est lui aussi inédit.
∇ Un objectif stratégique et prospectif, avec une réflexion portant à la fois sur les changements visés et l’architecture globale du projet alors que le projet devrait disposer de nouveaux fonds à mettre en oeuvre après 2023. L’évaluation doit notamment permettre d’accompagner une réflexion sur les objectifs du cadre logique du Projet dans l’optique d’une redéfinition afin d’assurer la cohérence avec les objectifs réellement visés par le Projet et les indicateurs prévus difficilement renseignables.
∇ Un objectif de redevabilité, tourné avant tout vers les sociétés civiles féministes que Féministes en Action cherche à renforcer. Il s’agit de s’assurer que l’action menée apporte une valeur ajoutée (« do not harm ») et que les conditions de mise en oeuvre sont cohérentes avec les valeurs féministes promues tout en tenant compte des exigences d’un bailleur de fonds publics.
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L’évaluation intermédiaire du projet « Féministes en Action » intervient près de trois ans après le début du projet et deux après le démarrage effectif des financements aux organisations féministes. Couvrant la période 2021-2023, elle poursuit plusieurs objectifs :
∇ Un objectif d’apprentissage et de capitalisation, alors que Féministes en Action est le premier consortium financé au titre du FSOF, l’un de ceux cherchant à atteindre directement les OSC féministes les plus fragiles et celui ayant le périmètre thématique le plus large (les autres sont construits en général autour d’une thématique d’intervention). Le consortium constitué, avec la présence d’ONG internationales et de fonds des « Suds » est lui aussi inédit.
∇ Un objectif stratégique et prospectif, avec une réflexion portant à la fois sur les changements visés et l’architecture globale du projet alors que le projet devrait disposer de nouveaux fonds à mettre en oeuvre après 2023. L’évaluation doit notamment permettre d’accompagner une réflexion sur les objectifs du cadre logique du Projet dans l’optique d’une redéfinition afin d’assurer la cohérence avec les objectifs réellement visés par le Projet et les indicateurs prévus difficilement renseignables.
∇ Un objectif de redevabilité, tourné avant tout vers les sociétés civiles féministes que Féministes en Action cherche à renforcer. Il s’agit de s’assurer que l’action menée apporte une valeur ajoutée (« do not harm ») et que les conditions de mise en oeuvre sont cohérentes avec les valeurs féministes promues tout en tenant compte des exigences d’un bailleur de fonds publics.
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Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Program III (GEWEP III) Midterm Study GLOBAL SYNTHESIS REPORT (PROMEESS III)
Across six countries, this study examines the effect of a men’s and boys’ engagement intervention—aiming to change men’s and boys’ attitudes and behaviors around gender equality, women’s empowerment, and positive masculinities; including participants’ own masculine identity—and the state of civil society’s rights and protections, tracing improvement and erosion since 2020. Importantly, this is not an evaluation, rather this is a midterm study that comes alongside the Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Program III (GEWEP) implemented by CARE International. Instead of evaluating this program, this study focuses narrowly on the attitudinal and behavioral impact of this model intervention for engaging men and boys. GEWEP also sought to contribute to the civil society space, and thus we conclude this study with a discussion of the unique experiences of women’s rights and women-led organizations that did and did not partner with GEWEP teams.
To generate this global report, the Research Team both drew on the six country reports which accompany this study and engaged in entirely new analyses. Analysis for this global report pooled data from all six countries, while using analytical techniques to identify where any one country unduly influenced findings at the global level. To strike this balance between common tendencies across countries, and differences between countries, this study takes care to identify and report country-specific results alongside global findings. This is especially true where we identified countries as unique outliers.
For the section on men’s engagement, the Research Team leveraged an experimental design, advanced statistical methods, and multiple sources and types of data, including a multi-country survey with 3,226 respondents, to investigate the relationship between men’s engagement, including their level of engagement (“treatment saturation”), in program activities and associated changes in their attitudes and behaviors towards women and girls, gender equality, violence against women and girls, and masculinity. Across six countries—Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Niger, and Rwanda—the Research Team explores common factors that influence treatment effect, positively and negatively.
Donor: NORAD Read More...
To generate this global report, the Research Team both drew on the six country reports which accompany this study and engaged in entirely new analyses. Analysis for this global report pooled data from all six countries, while using analytical techniques to identify where any one country unduly influenced findings at the global level. To strike this balance between common tendencies across countries, and differences between countries, this study takes care to identify and report country-specific results alongside global findings. This is especially true where we identified countries as unique outliers.
For the section on men’s engagement, the Research Team leveraged an experimental design, advanced statistical methods, and multiple sources and types of data, including a multi-country survey with 3,226 respondents, to investigate the relationship between men’s engagement, including their level of engagement (“treatment saturation”), in program activities and associated changes in their attitudes and behaviors towards women and girls, gender equality, violence against women and girls, and masculinity. Across six countries—Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Niger, and Rwanda—the Research Team explores common factors that influence treatment effect, positively and negatively.
Donor: NORAD Read More...
Call to Action Field Implementation (CAFI) II
CAFI seeks to catalyze the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (CTA) on the ground. The project works with women-led organizations (WLOs) to drive change and foster Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention, risk mitigation, and response in humanitarian emergencies.
In 2013, governments, donors, and humanitarian organizations launched the CTA, to fundamentally transform how GBV prevention, risk mitigation, and response are addressed. The CTA aims to strengthen accountability in policies, systems, and mechanisms.
The partnership has grown to more than 100 members, but consolidating CTA implementation in the field is a key gap that needs to be addressed. As a result, CAFI was launched to advance the Call to Action 2021- 2025 Road Map on the ground.
What are the main objectives of CAFI?
● Catalyze increased representation and leadership of women and girls, specifically WLOs, in decision making structures and humanitarian assistance
● Amplify GBV expertise: scaling existing capacity of WLOs
● Address GBV root causes and coordinate effective response and risk mitigation
How does CAFI work?
CAFI aims at contributing to WLO strengthening through capacity-sharing approaches between partners. WLOs are engaged from the beginning, allowing them to co-create and adapt the project according to their needs and contexts and ensuring
accountability and women’s voice and leadership throughout the whole project cycle.
CAFI works through a consortium of 10 WLOs across Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, and Europe, who coordinate national networks of WLOs: Arab Women Organization (AWO) of Jordan, Baghdad Women Association (BWA) in Iraq, Center Women’s Perspectives (CWP) in Ukraine, Comité des Jeunes Filles Leaders (COJEFIL) in Niger, Dynamique des Femmes Juristes (DFJ) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fundación
para el Desarrollo en Género y Familia (GENFAMI) in Colombia, Global Media Campaign (GMC) in Mali, Himaya Daeem Aataa (HDA) in Lebanon, and Tinta Violeta in Venezuela. In Iraq, Lebanon, and Venezuela, project activities are co-led by WEO, Sama for Development, and Uniandes, respectively. Read More...
In 2013, governments, donors, and humanitarian organizations launched the CTA, to fundamentally transform how GBV prevention, risk mitigation, and response are addressed. The CTA aims to strengthen accountability in policies, systems, and mechanisms.
The partnership has grown to more than 100 members, but consolidating CTA implementation in the field is a key gap that needs to be addressed. As a result, CAFI was launched to advance the Call to Action 2021- 2025 Road Map on the ground.
What are the main objectives of CAFI?
● Catalyze increased representation and leadership of women and girls, specifically WLOs, in decision making structures and humanitarian assistance
● Amplify GBV expertise: scaling existing capacity of WLOs
● Address GBV root causes and coordinate effective response and risk mitigation
How does CAFI work?
CAFI aims at contributing to WLO strengthening through capacity-sharing approaches between partners. WLOs are engaged from the beginning, allowing them to co-create and adapt the project according to their needs and contexts and ensuring
accountability and women’s voice and leadership throughout the whole project cycle.
CAFI works through a consortium of 10 WLOs across Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, and Europe, who coordinate national networks of WLOs: Arab Women Organization (AWO) of Jordan, Baghdad Women Association (BWA) in Iraq, Center Women’s Perspectives (CWP) in Ukraine, Comité des Jeunes Filles Leaders (COJEFIL) in Niger, Dynamique des Femmes Juristes (DFJ) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fundación
para el Desarrollo en Género y Familia (GENFAMI) in Colombia, Global Media Campaign (GMC) in Mali, Himaya Daeem Aataa (HDA) in Lebanon, and Tinta Violeta in Venezuela. In Iraq, Lebanon, and Venezuela, project activities are co-led by WEO, Sama for Development, and Uniandes, respectively. Read More...
Evaluation finale du projet: Résilience et Cohésion Sociale des communautés transfrontalières du Liptako – Gourma (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger)
Le projet « Résilience et Cohésion Sociale des communautés transfrontalières du Liptako-Gourma (RECOLG) au Burkina Faso, Mali et Niger », a pour objectif global « Améliorer les conditions de vie, la résilience à l’insécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle et face aux conflits et la cohésion sociale des populations vulnérables dans 13 communes de Liptako-Gourma dont 5 au Burkina Faso, 3 au Mali et 5 au Niger. Sa mise en œuvre est assurée par un consortium composé de huit organisations nationales et internationales dont Save the Children (lead), CARE, DRC, CRUS, AREN, RBM, Tassaght et Karkara, pour une durée de 48 mois et couvre la période décembre 2019 à décembre 2023.
En fin de mise en œuvre, le dispositif de suivi-évaluation-apprentissage du projet a prévu une évaluation finale (endline), axée sur le suivi des indicateurs basée sur le cadre de mesure de performance du projet sur les quatre années d’intervention du projet afin de générer des évidences permettant de comprendre dans quelle mesure les stratégies, approches et actions mises en œuvre ont contribué ou pas à l’obtention des effets attendus et inattendus à la lumière des éléments de contexte de la zone d’intervention des trois pays.
Pour mener à bien cette évaluation finale (endline), le cabinet Ingénierie Internationale en Décentralisation et Développement local (2ID) a adopté une démarche méthodologique participative en quatre phases : (i) la phase préparatoire qui a consisté d’abord à l’élaboration du rapport de démarrage (échantillonnage, outils de collecte de données et chronogramme), ensuite à la prise en compte des feedbacks et la validation du rapport de démarrage à travers des échanges par mail. En fin une réunion de cadrage de la mission s’est tenue le 25 octobre 2023 en présentiel dans les locaux de 2ID pour repréciser les attentes du commanditaire et prendre en compte les besoins du cabinet notamment la documentation et l’établissement d’une lettre d’accréditation pour l’équipe de collecte de données sur le terrain ; (ii) la phase de collecte de données sur le terrain, faite de quatre (4) principales étapes : la mobilisation des ressources humaines, la formation des enquêteurs, la collecte des données et la supervision de la collecte des données ; (iii) la phase de traitement et analyse des données collectées et (iv) la phase de rapportage et restitution.
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En fin de mise en œuvre, le dispositif de suivi-évaluation-apprentissage du projet a prévu une évaluation finale (endline), axée sur le suivi des indicateurs basée sur le cadre de mesure de performance du projet sur les quatre années d’intervention du projet afin de générer des évidences permettant de comprendre dans quelle mesure les stratégies, approches et actions mises en œuvre ont contribué ou pas à l’obtention des effets attendus et inattendus à la lumière des éléments de contexte de la zone d’intervention des trois pays.
Pour mener à bien cette évaluation finale (endline), le cabinet Ingénierie Internationale en Décentralisation et Développement local (2ID) a adopté une démarche méthodologique participative en quatre phases : (i) la phase préparatoire qui a consisté d’abord à l’élaboration du rapport de démarrage (échantillonnage, outils de collecte de données et chronogramme), ensuite à la prise en compte des feedbacks et la validation du rapport de démarrage à travers des échanges par mail. En fin une réunion de cadrage de la mission s’est tenue le 25 octobre 2023 en présentiel dans les locaux de 2ID pour repréciser les attentes du commanditaire et prendre en compte les besoins du cabinet notamment la documentation et l’établissement d’une lettre d’accréditation pour l’équipe de collecte de données sur le terrain ; (ii) la phase de collecte de données sur le terrain, faite de quatre (4) principales étapes : la mobilisation des ressources humaines, la formation des enquêteurs, la collecte des données et la supervision de la collecte des données ; (iii) la phase de traitement et analyse des données collectées et (iv) la phase de rapportage et restitution.
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GENRE+ Phase II Project learning brief Strengthening climate resilience, social cohesion & gender equality in Ségou, Mali
The UK FCDO GENRE+ Phase II project is dedicated to promoting the equitable management of natural resources to enhance climate resilience, social cohesion, and peace in the Ségou Region of Mali. Launched in early 2023, the project spans 48 villages, with 24 selected for focused research on community behavior related to natural resource management (NRM) and the factors influencing these behaviors, particularly women’s participation.
In March 2024, over a year into the project, research was initiated to understand the impact of increased women's involvement in NRM decision-making. Key findings reveal improvements in climate adaptation strategies, including initiatives to reduce logging and soil erosion, alongside notable shifts in attitudes toward women’s roles in NRM. While many respondents acknowledge the importance of women’s participation in decision-making, challenges remain, including limited representation and social norms that hinder women's leadership opportunities.
This learning brief compiles the key findings from the research and provides recommendations for project adaptations as it enters its final year.
Page No: 8
Donor: UKaid Read More...
In March 2024, over a year into the project, research was initiated to understand the impact of increased women's involvement in NRM decision-making. Key findings reveal improvements in climate adaptation strategies, including initiatives to reduce logging and soil erosion, alongside notable shifts in attitudes toward women’s roles in NRM. While many respondents acknowledge the importance of women’s participation in decision-making, challenges remain, including limited representation and social norms that hinder women's leadership opportunities.
This learning brief compiles the key findings from the research and provides recommendations for project adaptations as it enters its final year.
Page No: 8
Donor: UKaid Read More...
Conflict and Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CCVCA) Ségou region, Mali (GENRE+II Project))
The Ségou region of Mali is experiencing a steady increase in impacts from climate change, such as more erratic and reduced rainfall, increased temperatures, intensified seasonal flooding when rains do occur, and increased incidence of human and livestock diseases. These impacts interact with population pressures and natural resource management challenges to affect historical land use practices, such as agriculture and pastoralism, in the semi-urban and rural communes within the cercles of Baraouéli, Bla and Ségou. In these communes, women engage in a range of livelihood and subsistence activities related to natural resources, such as market gardening and forest product harvesting, often significantly augmenting household income. Therefore, it is important to include women in conflict resolution mechanisms over land and water, accounting for a scenario where climate impacts are predicted to intensify.
The Genre++ project, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), works with communities to identify and address interrelated causes and impacts of climate vulnerability, conflict and gender inequality. A novel Climate and Conflict Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CCVCA) tool was used to carry out a rapid participatory analysis of vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity with representatives from 12 communes in Ségou region (144 female, 156 male) from 9 to 20 March 2023. This report summarises the results of this analysis, discussing how climate change has interacted with other economic and demographic pressures to create tensions around natural resource management. It also details the community members’ current responses, as well as their recommendations for future action. Read More...
The Genre++ project, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), works with communities to identify and address interrelated causes and impacts of climate vulnerability, conflict and gender inequality. A novel Climate and Conflict Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CCVCA) tool was used to carry out a rapid participatory analysis of vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity with representatives from 12 communes in Ségou region (144 female, 156 male) from 9 to 20 March 2023. This report summarises the results of this analysis, discussing how climate change has interacted with other economic and demographic pressures to create tensions around natural resource management. It also details the community members’ current responses, as well as their recommendations for future action. Read More...
Rapid Gender Analysis on Power and Participation Ségou region, Mali (GENRE+II PROJECT)
This Rapid Gender Analysis on Power and Participation (RGA-P) is part of the GENRE+II project in the cercles of Bla, Ségou and Barouéli in the Ségou region of Mali. The project is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) to build capacity for climate change adaptation, gender equality and social cohesion in the Ségou region.
This RGA-P is the first step in CARE's Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE) model. It summarises the impact of the crisis on gender roles and relations, the capacity of women/girls to cope, participate and influence decision-making in response to the crisis, and offers ideas on how women can strengthen their own participation and leadership. The RGA-P is based on secondary and primary data collection carried out in March 2023 in eight communes in the cercles of Ségou, Bla and Barouéli in the Ségou region. Read More...
This RGA-P is the first step in CARE's Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE) model. It summarises the impact of the crisis on gender roles and relations, the capacity of women/girls to cope, participate and influence decision-making in response to the crisis, and offers ideas on how women can strengthen their own participation and leadership. The RGA-P is based on secondary and primary data collection carried out in March 2023 in eight communes in the cercles of Ségou, Bla and Barouéli in the Ségou region. Read More...
Rapport d’évaluation rapide du marché dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux (Intrants agricoles et produits enrichis)
Ce rapport rend compte des résultats de l’étude d’évaluation rapide du marché réalisée dans les cercles d’intervention (Mopti et Tombouctou) de Sugu Yiriwa. Initiée dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux destinés à l’achat des intrants agricoles et des produits locaux nutritifs, l’étude a pour but de faire un diagnostic rapide des marchés d’intrants et des produits alimentaires transformés, en vue d’identifier les tendances et dégager une stratégie d’intervention adaptée. Les travaux ont été réalisés par une équipe constituée d’agents recrutés, mobilisés et formés sous la supervision de l’équipe MEL de Sugu Yiriwa. Le rapport est structuré en plusieurs parties dont le contexte, les objectifs et l’approche méthodologique utilisée lors de l’étude, suivi des résultats obtenus. Read More...
COVID-19 & Women: Saving for Resilience
The COVID-19 pandemic has not had an equal impact on women and men. Through our data we are seeing a significant increase for women in caregiving duties, household chores and gender-based violence, as well as a devastating and worsening impact on livelihood for everyone. Despite this, small glimmers of hope are where women from VSLAs are increasingly taking on leadership roles within their communities and men are beginning to engage more in household chores.
The Women (in VSLAs) Respond data includes the voices of 4,185 Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA) members (3,266 women and girls) in Burundi, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, and Uganda. This initiative sought to assess how VSLA members, both as individuals and groups, are affected by the pandemic
and how they responded and adapted to cope with the crisis. The data specifically looks at the impact on individuals and their needs, as well as how groups
have been affected, and how they have adapted. Read More...
The Women (in VSLAs) Respond data includes the voices of 4,185 Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA) members (3,266 women and girls) in Burundi, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, and Uganda. This initiative sought to assess how VSLA members, both as individuals and groups, are affected by the pandemic
and how they responded and adapted to cope with the crisis. The data specifically looks at the impact on individuals and their needs, as well as how groups
have been affected, and how they have adapted. Read More...
WOMEN LEAD IN EMERGENCIES Global Learning Evaluation Report
CARE’s Women Lead in Emergencies (Women Lead) model has been developed to operationalise CARE’s commitment to women’s leadership as one of our four focal areas for Gender in Emergencies.1 Women Lead supports women within communities at the frontline of conflict, natural and climate-related hazards, pandemics and other crises to claim their right to a say over the issues that affect them, and to participate in emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
The Women Lead model looks to address fundamental gaps in humanitarian response that result in the exclusion of women from meaningful participation and leadership in the decisions that affect their lives.
Since 2018, CARE has piloted Women Lead in 15 locations in Colombia, Mali, Niger, the Philippines, Tonga and Uganda. In 2020, Women Lead worked directly with 804 women’s groups. Through piloting this approach in diverse locations and within different types of humanitarian crisis, Women Lead has sought to understand challenges, barriers and enablers regarding this kind of programming in different contexts.
Women’s confidence, knowledge and self-efficacy: The evaluation identifies considerable qualitative evidence of increases in confidence, knowledge and capacities. Participants identified the Women Lead model as being relevant to their needs and accessible to them. We can see evidence of women identifying Women Lead as an important enabler of collective action – supporting women to raise their voice, advocate for their needs and engage more effectively with stakeholders. Quantitative surveys support these findings. In Niger, 88% of Women Lead participants feel confident in their knowledge of their rights compared with 58% of non-participants. In Uganda, 58% of Women Lead participants reported ‘confidence in accessing services’ compared with 40% of non-participant women who said the same.
2. Women’s presence and meaningful participation in decision-making: The evaluation finds that Women Lead increases women’s presence, regularity of attendance, and meaningful and effective participation in decision-making community settings. In Niger, 91% of women who participated in Women Lead had attended formal community meetings and almost 60% said they had attended these meetings regularly compared with only 34% of non-Women Lead participants. This had occurred despite men in the community previously challenging women’s presence at these meetings. The Women Lead model appears to normalise women’s presence in decision-making spaces, and we see some evidence of women forming their own decision-making forums and creating opportunities for themselves to make decisions, take action or hold leaders to account. In Uganda, the South Sudanese Refugee Women’s Association has formally registered to become the first recognised women's community-based organisation in Omugo settlement. We also see the incorporation of Women Lead groups in Colombia, where groups have formally registered and started to offer services to other women.
3. Women’s informal and formal leadership: We see strong evidence of women feeling empowered to take up leadership positions within their community, both formally and informally. In Niger, women are significantly more likely to be leaders in their communities than non-participants (31% of Women Lead participants compared with 9% of non-participants). In Uganda, 22% of Women Lead participants hold leadership positions in their communities compared with 14% of non-participants. In Colombia, for which we have pre- and post-comparison data available for this indicator, before Women Lead 21% of members held leadership positions within their community. This had increased to 40% by the time of this evaluation. However, there is scope to enhance this work further and for there to be more consistent promotion of women’s leadership through work around political representation, leadership style and horizontal/inclusive decision-making processes.
September 2022 – Global Evaluation Report vii
4. Women take collective action: The Women Lead approach both helps empower women and serves to address complex barriers to their meaningful participation. Women Lead action plans are a useful tool to mobilise women for collective action to advocate for women’s needs and wants, organise peer support and solidarity activities, and improve their communities by engaging power-holders. Action has also frequently been taken to tackle the preconditions for participation and, in the action plans available for analysis, 42% of actions related to livelihood and income generation. This highlights the importance of women being free to prioritise according to their needs, to ensure they can tackle the preconditions of participation where necessary. We can also see clear qualitative evidence of women taking collective action to make change within their communities. This includes:
• Influencing humanitarian actors and local authorities to address the needs of women and the community: In Uganda, group members successfully advocated for humanitarian response actors to move the food distribution site closer.
• Advocating to address an injustice: In Niger, women had difficulty accessing maternity services owing to high costs. The Women Lead groups advocated to the district medical officer and the head of the hospital – and achieved a considerable reduction in the cost of accessing hospital services.
• Connecting and complementing community actors: In Uganda, Women Lead groups took a lead in addressing community tensions. For instance, when there were tensions around access to land and firewood, women worked with leaders from different communities to put in place agreements on the use of natural resources.
• Direct delivery and problem-solving: We see examples of women working to respond directly to the needs of their peers. In the Read More...
The Women Lead model looks to address fundamental gaps in humanitarian response that result in the exclusion of women from meaningful participation and leadership in the decisions that affect their lives.
Since 2018, CARE has piloted Women Lead in 15 locations in Colombia, Mali, Niger, the Philippines, Tonga and Uganda. In 2020, Women Lead worked directly with 804 women’s groups. Through piloting this approach in diverse locations and within different types of humanitarian crisis, Women Lead has sought to understand challenges, barriers and enablers regarding this kind of programming in different contexts.
Women’s confidence, knowledge and self-efficacy: The evaluation identifies considerable qualitative evidence of increases in confidence, knowledge and capacities. Participants identified the Women Lead model as being relevant to their needs and accessible to them. We can see evidence of women identifying Women Lead as an important enabler of collective action – supporting women to raise their voice, advocate for their needs and engage more effectively with stakeholders. Quantitative surveys support these findings. In Niger, 88% of Women Lead participants feel confident in their knowledge of their rights compared with 58% of non-participants. In Uganda, 58% of Women Lead participants reported ‘confidence in accessing services’ compared with 40% of non-participant women who said the same.
2. Women’s presence and meaningful participation in decision-making: The evaluation finds that Women Lead increases women’s presence, regularity of attendance, and meaningful and effective participation in decision-making community settings. In Niger, 91% of women who participated in Women Lead had attended formal community meetings and almost 60% said they had attended these meetings regularly compared with only 34% of non-Women Lead participants. This had occurred despite men in the community previously challenging women’s presence at these meetings. The Women Lead model appears to normalise women’s presence in decision-making spaces, and we see some evidence of women forming their own decision-making forums and creating opportunities for themselves to make decisions, take action or hold leaders to account. In Uganda, the South Sudanese Refugee Women’s Association has formally registered to become the first recognised women's community-based organisation in Omugo settlement. We also see the incorporation of Women Lead groups in Colombia, where groups have formally registered and started to offer services to other women.
3. Women’s informal and formal leadership: We see strong evidence of women feeling empowered to take up leadership positions within their community, both formally and informally. In Niger, women are significantly more likely to be leaders in their communities than non-participants (31% of Women Lead participants compared with 9% of non-participants). In Uganda, 22% of Women Lead participants hold leadership positions in their communities compared with 14% of non-participants. In Colombia, for which we have pre- and post-comparison data available for this indicator, before Women Lead 21% of members held leadership positions within their community. This had increased to 40% by the time of this evaluation. However, there is scope to enhance this work further and for there to be more consistent promotion of women’s leadership through work around political representation, leadership style and horizontal/inclusive decision-making processes.
September 2022 – Global Evaluation Report vii
4. Women take collective action: The Women Lead approach both helps empower women and serves to address complex barriers to their meaningful participation. Women Lead action plans are a useful tool to mobilise women for collective action to advocate for women’s needs and wants, organise peer support and solidarity activities, and improve their communities by engaging power-holders. Action has also frequently been taken to tackle the preconditions for participation and, in the action plans available for analysis, 42% of actions related to livelihood and income generation. This highlights the importance of women being free to prioritise according to their needs, to ensure they can tackle the preconditions of participation where necessary. We can also see clear qualitative evidence of women taking collective action to make change within their communities. This includes:
• Influencing humanitarian actors and local authorities to address the needs of women and the community: In Uganda, group members successfully advocated for humanitarian response actors to move the food distribution site closer.
• Advocating to address an injustice: In Niger, women had difficulty accessing maternity services owing to high costs. The Women Lead groups advocated to the district medical officer and the head of the hospital – and achieved a considerable reduction in the cost of accessing hospital services.
• Connecting and complementing community actors: In Uganda, Women Lead groups took a lead in addressing community tensions. For instance, when there were tensions around access to land and firewood, women worked with leaders from different communities to put in place agreements on the use of natural resources.
• Direct delivery and problem-solving: We see examples of women working to respond directly to the needs of their peers. In the Read More...