Embracing Gender Equity

1
Embracing Gender Equity Diversity At CARE means
Valuing
Respecting
And Fully benefiting from each individuals uniq
ue qualities and abilities in order to fulfill o
ur vision
and mission
2
CARE Who We Are

• We are an international relief and development
  organization working in over seventy countries
  around the world.
  
• Our vision is to seek a world of hope, tolerance
  and social justice, where poverty has been
  overcome and people live in dignity and
  security.
• We have about 12,000 staff most of whom are
  nationals of the countries where we work.
  Approximately, 300 staff work in the U.S.
  

3
Why Gender Equity and Diversity?

• To advance our new vision and mission, and
  promote social justice, it is inherent that we
  advance gender equity and diversity both
  internally within CARE and within our programs
• Stories from the field that build this case
• Afghanistan We cannot ignore gender issues
• Burundi Ethnicity is at the heart of our lives
  and work

4
What Does Diversity Mean?

• Collectively, CARE's partners and staff embody
  the richness of diversity found in the
  socioeconomic and cultural environments in which
  we work. Embracing diversity at CARE means
  valuing, respecting and fully benefiting from
  each individual's unique qualities and abilities
  in order to fulfill and strengthen our vision and
  mission.
• Among other characteristics, diversity includes
  gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion,
  sexual orientation, age, disability, as well as
  diverse perspectives that uphold CARE's core
  values.
• We strive to create and maintain a work
  environment that promotes diversity in everything
  we do.

5
Highlights of CAREs Gender and Diversity Journey

• 1995-96 First Diversity Initiative
• 1997-98 Gender Equity Initiative launched with
  Gender Audit across CARE Country Offices HQ
  
• 1999 Executive Leadership and Board allocate
  resources and expand initiative to include
  diversity and to build linkages between program
  and organizational efforts
• 2000 Defined a shared framework for Action and
  revised policy
  
• 2001-2002 Implemented Diversity Gap Analysis
  Diversity Curriculum Reinforced linkages with
  Rights work
  
• 2003 Programming Principles Developed and
  endorsed
  
• 2004 Convergence of rights, advocacy, gender and
  diversity work

6
CAREs Diversity Framework for Action 4 Key
Leverage Areas
Representation
Trust
Learning

Accountability
7
What were components of our strategy?

• Building Analysis and Awareness
• Diversity Gap Analysis against 4 leverage areas
  was mandated
  
• 90 of our Country Offices participated
• Impact included
• Created the platform for dialogue around
  difficult issues and expanded sensitivity to our
  differences (exemplified by dialogues on race in
  Atlanta, religion in Egypt, caste in India and
  Nepal, ethnicity in Burundi)
• Reviewed Senior Management Team Composition
  (process is now underway to develop guidelines on
  our senior management team role and composition
  in Country offices)

8
What were components of our strategy?

• Building Capacity and Skill
• Implemented a three-part diversity curriculum (
  77 of US-based staff and over 100 Country office
  staff have participated in first course)
  
• Country Offices also implemented their own
  designs (Burundi, Bangladesh,Honduras)
  
• Implemented 3 Global Conferences to establish a
  network of global champions
  
• Developed a Gender Toolkit and in process of
  finalizing a Diversity Training manual
  
• Integrated into management and leadership
  programs
  

9
What were components of our strategy?

• Integration into our Policies, Systems and
  Management Structures
  
• Incorporated Diversity competencies into
  recruitment and performance management and
  reviewed HR policies. As a result
  
• Women in international senior positions are now
  29 up from 21 in 1999
  
• Staff from developing countries in senior
  international positions are now 13 up from 3 in
  1999
  
• US minorities in senior US based positions are
  now 35 up from 18 in 1999
  
• Integrated gender and diversity into Programming
  Frameworks and strategies. As a result
  
• Programming Principles now include empowerment
  and discrimination Underlying Causes Framework
  includes gender equity as a component)
  
• East Africa Region has included discrimination
  and diversity in governance as a regional
  strategy
  
• Latin America has included diversity in its
  regional management framework
  

10
What were the conditions that sustained this
initiative?

• New vision spoke to the need to evolve and
  change created the business rationale
  
• Leadership for the initiative came from the
  Board, the CEO, the Executive Team and Key Staff
  at different levels
  
• Resources both financial and human were
  committed to support the Initiative
  
• Initiative was not housed in Human Resources but
  owned by the Executive Team. This meant each
  Division had to be involved. And a
  cross-organizational group of staff was put
  together to advise the Executives and to keep the
  Executives on task.
• Involved a global organizational dialogue on
  diversity and CAREs Vision.
  

11
What Challenges do we have ahead?

• How can our staff where ever they are located
  benefit from the knowledge and expertise arising
  in the organization for handling deeply-rooted
  power dynamics?
• How can we hold our leadership at all levels
  accountable to support the GED initiative, and
  our frontline champions?
  
• How can we address the structural blocks that
  hinder our progress in creating true equity and
  partnerships?
  
• How can we measure the full impact of this work?

12
What have we learned?

• This is a long-term process that involves change
  at the individual, organizational and
  programmatic levels
  
• The central issue in all GED work is, ultimately,
  the dynamics between those with power and those
  without power and we need to work at both
  levels and manage the risks involved
• Need to manage perceptions of compromising on
  excellence
  
• Diversity goes beyond representation to address
  an organizations culture, way of learning, and
  its effectiveness
  

13
Resources Contacts

• Organizational Gap Analysis Guidelines
• Gender Building Blocks Toolkit
• Facilitators Manual for Implementing Diversity
  Training
  
• Policy Documents
• Case Studies/Stories from Country Offices
• For more information Contact
• Joy Shiferaw, Diversity Manager, Human Resources,
  shiferaw_at_care.org based in Atlanta
  
• Madhuri Narayanan, Senior Country Office Advisor
  for Gender Equity and Diversity, madhuri_at_care.org
  based in India
  
• Elisa Martinez, Senior Program Advisor for Impact
  Evaluation and Gender Equity, emartinez_at_care.org
  based in Boston