This report is a literature review of gender and power analyses in the provinces of North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was commissioned by CARE DRC. CARE DRC aligns with the CARE 2020 Program Strategy1, which emphasizes that ‘at its root, poverty is caused by unequal power relations that result in the inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities between women and men, between power-holders and marginalized communities, and between countries'. CARE believes that poverty cannot be overcome without addressing those underlying power imbalances.

Incorporating a gender and power analysis3 to inform programming is the first commitment of CARE International Gender Equality Policy4. CARE DRC’s Strategic Plan5 highlights its experience in programming for gender justice and reducing GBV as a strength. Therefore this contextual analysis of gender and power relations in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu aims to ‘provide elements to update the problems, the underlying causes, aspirations and specific potentials for women and men, girls and boys, male and female youth in these two provinces’ so that CARE DRC programs, especially the future GEWEP III and MAWE TATU II programs (see brief description in Box 1) as well as any new proposals, will in the future be more transformative.