Using a Gender Lens:

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Using a Gender Lens A Gender Perspective in
Urban Environmental Management
(UEM) by Sylvia H. Guerrero, Ph.D.
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A MEDICAL METAPHOR
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Lens is that part of the eye behind the pupil
that enables us to focus. It focuses light rays
on the retina, which with light sensitive cells,
transmits the images to the brain through the
optic nerves.
Source of Illustration http//www.stlukeseye.com/
Anatomy.asp
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CATARACT is a disease of the eye that causes
opacity of the crystalline lens or its capsule
thus, this can impair or destroy ones vision and
MUST BE REMOVED.
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Using a gender lens to focus on development
issues, like UEM, may also require a greater
sensitivity and consciousness of some blinders
and covers (like cataracts and opacities) that
impair our view of the world and social
relations. Traditional/patriarchal and
stereotypical views of society and gender
relations have to be changed, and new
perspectives and strategies employed.
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QUESTIONS
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• What is a gender perspective applied to UEM?
• Why is gender an important concern in
  environmental protection and management?
• What are the consequences of using or not using a
  gender perspective?

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Defining CONCEPTS
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Sex and Gender How do they differ? SEX
biological characteristics of a person that
indicate whether one is male or female GENDER
socially constructed roles and socially learned
behaviors and expectations associated with
females and males. These roles and behaviors are

Changeable over time
Have wide variations within and between cultures
LEARNED
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Women and men are BOXED into situations, which
constrain their capacity TO DO and TO BE and
hinder their potential to attain a full and
satisfying life
GENDER ISSUES refer to problems that women and
men experience as a result of societies
definitions an expectations about feminine and
masculine roles, rights and capacities.
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Missing Masculinity Bringing Men into Gender
and Development
If gender is to be everybodys issue, then we
need to find constructive ways of working with
men as well as with women to build the confidence
to do things differentlyit is time to move
behind the old fixed ideas about gender roles and
about universal male domination. Time to find
ways of thinking and analyzing gender that makes
sense of the complexity of peoples lives
(Cornwall 1997).
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Why a GENDER LENS?
The realities of patriarchymale dominance.
Although there are considerable variations in
the respective roles of women and men in
different cultures, there is no known instance of
a society in which females are more powerful than
men (Anthony Giddens 1989).
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Gender inequality has undermined the
effectiveness of development policies in
fundamental ways.
But why has the gender issue remained marginal in
policy dialogue and decision-making?
In part the neglect comes from the policymakers
reluctance to deal with what they deem
inextricably associated with societal norms,
religion or cultural traditions.
 The belief is that these should be addressed by
advocacy not policy.  But part comes from real
(or feigned) ignorance about the nature of gender
disparities and the costs of these disparities to
peoples well-being and countries prospects for
development.
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• Takes into serious account the existing belief
  system, roles and responsibilities of men and
  women.
• Men and women do not necessarily have the same
  access to resources.
• Open-mindedness is needed.
• Aim is to ensure the fullest possible
  participation of both men and women.

A GENDER Perspective
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A Recap Highlights of the Struggle for Gender
Equality
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1995 UNDP Human Development Report
One of the defining movements of the 20th
century has been the relentless struggle for
gender equality, led mostly by women, but
supported by growing numbers of men. When this
struggle finally succeeds as it must it
will mark a great milestone in human progress
Human development, if not engendered, is
endangered.
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1995 Beijing Platform for Action (PFA)
EQUALITY between women and men is a matter of
human rights and a condition for social justice
and is also a necessary and fundamental
prerequisite for EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT and
PEACE.
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Women and the Environment
Human beings are at the center for sustainable
development. They are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature

• Involve women actively in environmental
  decision-making at all levels
• Integrate gender concerns and perspectives in
  policies and programs for sustainable development
• Strengthen or establish mechanisms at the
  national, regional and international levels to
  assess the impact of development and
  environmental policies on women

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Beijing 10 Celebrating Gains, Facing New
Challenges A Report of Philippine NGOs (2005)
There is still a need to research on the
implications of genetically modified organisms
(GMOs), fertilizers, and pesticides in farmers
fields and plantations for the environment and
health, in general, and for women, in
particular.
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Clean Air and Womens Health
Women are particularly vulnerable to chemical
pollutants Most of these chemicals are toxic,
non-biodegradable, and bioaccumulative They have
been proven more harmful to women, as they
accumulate in fatty tissues which are more
abundant in womens bodies. They also have grave
effects on pregnant women, as they can be passed
on to the unborn (Allsopp, Costner, and Johnson
2000).
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Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
By year 2015, all 191 UN member states have
pledged to

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

• Integrate the principles of sustainable
  development into country policies and programs
  reverse loss of environmental resources
• Reduce by half the proportion of people without
  sustainable access to safe drinking water
• Achieve significant improvement in the lives of
  at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020

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Agenda 21 (1992 UNCED Earth Summit and
Conference) Principle 20 of the Rio Declaration
Women have a vital role in environmental
management, their full participation is
essential to achieve sustainable development
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World Bank update (1994) on Mainstreaming Gender
in their projects showed encouraging findings,
namely

• Projects with gender-related actions achieved
  their overall objectives more often than similar
  projects without gender actions approved in the
  same years.
• Projects that explicitly incorporated gender
  goals into the main project objectives were the
  most likely to achieve their gender objectives.
• The design quality of gender-related actions in
  projects approved in fiscal year (FY) 1994-95
  showed a significant improvement over the design
  quality of gender-related activities in completed
  projects approved FY 1987-1991.

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Design features associated with successful
implementation

• Borrower involvement with and commitment to both
  gender-related actions and the project as a whole
• Analysis of the roles, activities, and
  constraints specific to men and women pertinent
  to project concerns (gender analysis followed by
  clear integration of gender-related objectives
  with overall project objectives).
• Inputs from staff experienced in addressing
  gender issues
• Attention to gender-related interventions during
  supervision

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Gender in Urban Environmental Management (UEM)
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• There is a need to collect information on the
  factors that facilitate or constrain women and
  mens participation.
• Analyze womens access to support services in
  each sector (e.g., training, credit, extension
  services, day care, transportation).
• Assess sector projects outlining factors, which
  lead to success or failure.

Earlier guidelines have highlighted

• Gender advisor/support services
• Institutional mechanisms
• Financial resources
• Communication packages
• Monitoring

Resources and program mechanisms needed
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• Exclusion of poor women from access
• Special needs of women not met
• Location, design of facilities
• Bathing and laundry provisions
• Service operating hours
• Involvement of women limited to
• Physical labor
• Passive audiences for health education
• Introduction of new technology and systems has
  led to
• Reduced control of women over water and
  sanitation conditions
• Workload of women increased
• Loss of employment for women in water collection
  and waste recycling
• Wealthier household heads (HHs) benefit most from
  better access

Checklists developed to show how water and
sanitation projects have worsened womens position
(Source C. Van Wijk-Sijbesma and E. Bolt)
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Focus on Some Realities Selected Field
Experience
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Some gender concerns and gaps found in the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)
environmental impact studies (EIS) for proponents
applying for Environmental Compliance Certificate
(ECC)

• Survey samples to determine potential impacts of
  project on the community
• Household heads interviewed predominantly males
• Impacts on women not specified
• Community consultations were gender-neutral

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These concerns were later addressed ensuring that
women and mens perspectives were incorporated
data were sex-disaggregated, a gender focal
person designated and the Gender and Development
(GAD) budget allocated, etc.
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Mainstreaming Gender in Development Planning
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National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women
(NCRFW) 2002 Manual asks basic questions in
What is the gender impact of past policies and
programs?
Assessment of performance Goals and
objectives Target-setting Policies and
strategies Legislative agenda
Is gender equality explicitly stated as a goal of
the sector?
Are targets specified through use of
sex-disaggregated data?
Do they address specific gender equality concerns?
What legislation is needed to promote gender
equality?
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GENDER REVIEW of the WORLD BANK PHILIPPINE
PORTFOLIO STUDY (2003)
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Guiding the review process were five questions

• Are gender issues and concerns/dimensions of the
  development problem identified and discussed?
• Are there enabling policies and mechanisms as
  well as advocates to push for gender in the
  project?
• Can the project objectives, as stated address the
  gender issues even if they have not been
  explicitly identified in the document?
• Has the document explicitly stated how the gender
  issues would be addressed?
• Are data sex-disaggregated? Are there gender
  indicators in the monitoring and evaluation
  design?

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ENGENDERED
Gender issues identified and discussed in project
appraisal document (PAD) and other project
documents
LEVEL 5 LEVEL 4 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1
Gender issues and programs analyzed and addressed
with a gender perspective
Gender strategies are specified
Gender clearly integrated in all aspects and
phases of the project cycle
Womens participation explicitly stated in
documents and agency reports
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EMERGENT
LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1
Concerns not explicitly stated BUT gender issues
are being addressed in some components
Gender concerns are not specified BUT benefits to
women are now being acknowledged
Gender advocates/focal persons beginning to
mainstream gender into some components (e.g.,
ME) in program implementation
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INVISIBLE
Gender concerns are NOT specified and benefits
are NOT gender-based.
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Examples

• Local Government Unit (LGU) Urban Water and
  Sanitation Project
• Gender is not explicitly mentioned in the
  document, but womens participation is
  well-documented, i.e., in household head surveys,
  consultation meetings and water connection.
• The Department has a gender-focal person LGUs
  also have gender focal persons. Its Methodology
  for Participatory Assessment is gender and
  poverty-sensitive this is a recommended
  assessment methodology project.

Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration
Project The project document has no mention of
gender beneficiaries are not seen as women and
men with different needs, but rather as
pedestrians or public transport passengers. No
gender-sensitivity training Reports use
gender-insensitive language and encourage
stereotyping (e.g., his resources, manpower,
etc.)
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GOOD PRACTICES
Presence of a Gender Focal Person
Support for Gender Training and Advocacy from
NGOs and Local Agencies
Use of a Community-based Participatory Strategy
Sex-Disaggregation of data
Identification of Gender Issues or Gender
Dimensions of the Development Issues in the
Project Inception Stage
Inclusion of Gender Questions in Supervision and
Monitoring Visits
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THE END Maraming Salamat!