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Republic of the Fiji Islands, Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the Women’s Plan of Action: September 2001–January 2003

Purpose

To assist the Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation and the Task Force on Gender Mainstreaming to begin to assess and systematically analyze national and sectoral policies/programs for their responsiveness to gender, based on the Women’s Plan of Action.

Challenge

There was limited support for gender mainstreaming initiatives because of destabilizing political events prior to the project’s implementation (the ministers and senior officials who had endorsed the technical assistance (TA) and “owned” the Women’s Plan of Action were no longer in office). The operational focus and human resources in the Ministry for Women were oriented to implementing programs for women rather than being policy oriented.

Approach

Agriteam’s team of international and domestic consultants provided technical assistance to increase the capacity among gender focal points and officials in the planning units of each ministry to undertake gender-responsive policy, planning and program development.  The team shared models and international experience of gender assessment processes. and worked with a cross-section of staff from government ministries to devise a “made-in-Fiji” gender assessment/audit methodology and framework based on local policy and planning processes. The team documented the processes undertaken and results and lessons learned throughout the implementation period so the process could be effectively replicated in other ministries.

Project Description

The TA team assisted the Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation (MWSWPA) and the Task Force on Mainstreaming Gender to assess and analyze the gender responsiveness of national and sector policies and programs in health and agriculture. Activities included:

• implementing gender audits of two selected ministries
• formulating appropriate mechanisms, systems and strategies for institutionalizing gender-responsive planning, programming and activities
• preparing action plans for two ministries to implement gender-responsive planning and program implementation
• building the gender analysis capacity of sector planning units and gender focal points in the two ministries to use the gender and development framework

Strategic entry points for gender assessments in two pilot ministries—Agriculture (MOA) and Health (MOH)—were identified during in-depth meetings with officials in the target ministries to gain a thorough understanding of:

• the mainstream system for policy development, planning and implementation
• the budget cycle
• the roles of central government oversight agencies
• the role of consultation with civil society in policy and planning processes

The team also assisted officials in examining the potential roles of central agencies (e.g., Public Service Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Planning, Bureau of Statistics) in supporting the goals of gender mainstreaming.

Using criteria developed with key stakeholders, 30 government staff were selected and organized into two core teams (agriculture and health) and a support team from central agencies and MWSWPA. These teams remained constant throughout the TA process to facilitate incremental learning. They participated in selecting policies to be assessed, gathering sex-disaggregated data, assessing findings and developing gendered policy/program objectives, activities and gender indicators. An initial four-day workshop with both teams was held to develop a draft framework and methodology for undertaking gender assessments/audits in MOA and MOH and to increase understanding of gender mainstreaming and commitment to its application.

Gender audits of the ministries of Agriculture and Health included:

• a review of sector issues and best practices internationally
• an assessment of the enabling environment for gender mainstreaming within the government of Fiji
• the analysis of the policy development process within each ministry
• an organizational analysis, including an assessment of staff capacity to undertake gender mainstreaming
• an analysis of sectoral macro-policies
• recommendations for future action to incorporate gender in the policies, plans and practices within each ministry

Case studies tracked the assessment of one policy area in each ministry—food security (MOA) and family health (MOH)—as well as the process of transforming general policy into gender responsive policy.

Results

• The development of a framework for formulating appropriate mechanisms, systems, and strategies for institutionalizing gender-responsive planning, programming, and activities in government ministries
• The publication of two informative technical publications on the gender audits in Agriculture and Health
• The publication and distribution throughout government ministries of a manual, A Practical Guide for Gender Mainstreaming (ADB 2002)
• An increase in the skills of staff in the Ministries of Health and Agriculture to perform gender analysis and auditing
• The development of a strategic plan for institutionalizing gender mainstreaming with the MOA and MOH

Project Director

Lenore Rogers
lrogers@agriteam.ca

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