Keeping it Real: an organizational journey to model and promote gender equality

Theresa Hwang, Gender Director, CARE USA

June 16, 2014

The journey is long and rewarding*…

1993

• Gender Policy developed• Weak buy-in across the organization

1998-

2003

• Recommitment: gender policies, gender audits, action plans, business case, budget

• Local ownership, building champions • Synergies with programmatic shifts to rights-based

approaches• Gender Equity and Diversity (GED) training

curriculum developed and rolled out

The first decade:

* Not always, but most of the time

CARE’s Strategic Impact Inquiry 2004-09

Institutionalized culture &EMPOWERMENT FRAMEWORK

24 countri

es

400 projects

350 staff

EMPOWERMENT FRAMEWORK

Agency

StructureRelations

The journey continues: the second decade

2004-09• Linking organizational efforts with

programming efforts• Strategic Impact Inquiry on women’s

empowerment programming

2010- current

• GED trainings still in high demand • Broadened programming to look at

masculinities and engaging men and boys

• Systematic monitoring of organizational and programmatic progress

Key Lessons

1. People-centered approaches

2. Leadership

3. Organizational & programmatic policies & budgets

4. Measuring success

5. Push/Pull factors (sticks and carrots)

6. Staff capacity building

7. Build a movement

Thank you!thwang@care.org