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Bhutan: Ecommierce for Women Entrepreneurs and Handicraft Producers in Bhutan
Bhutan: "E-commerce for Women Entrepreneurs and Handicraft Producers in Bhutan"

Each project was carefully selected for its innovative approach and strategic importance while being fully anchored in the realities and opportunities for change that each country offered.

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Poverty Reduction and the Achievement of the MDGs
Democratic Governance
Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Find out more about our workshops and symposiums.

"I have been able to overcome the shyness that was limiting my leadership… Now I feel more secure in my beliefs and can defend them firmly."
-- Yolanda Mendez, Ecuador, one of the beneficiaries of the UNDP/JWIDF project, Women's Leadership and Citizenship in Ecuador

Poverty Reduction and the Achievement of the MDGs

Global Projects

Gender and Remittances: Building Gender Responsive Local Development ($260,000) - Ongoing
The hope to find suitable employment to improve their lives is the overwhelming motivation for migration for millions of people. With the number of migrants worldwide now reaching almost 200 million, their productivity and earnings are a powerful force for poverty reduction. Women constitute almost half of all migrants worldwide, an estimated 95 million.

Remittances – money that migrants earn abroad and send home – constitute one of the most visible impacts of migration for the countries of origin. Governments have been actively seeking novel ways of addressing the issues and concerns, and exploring options to harness the development potential of remittances in achieving the MDGs. This project aims to enhance gender-responsive local development by promoting effective utilization of remittances for sustainable livelihoods. Policy recommendations will be made by the Gender and Remittance Steering Committee comprised of governments, UN agencies, World Bank, and NGOs. This project is implemented by INSTRAW in six pilot countries of Albania, Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Morocco, Philippines and Senegal.

The Political and Social Economy of Care ($390,000) - Ongoing
This research project, implemented by UNRISD, examines the combined, interdependent way in which care is provided and allocated between the institutions of family/household, state, market, and community; understands how the provision of care is articulated with the commodity economy, i.e. the variety of ways in which paid work (both formal and informal) and unpaid work are combined and distributed by gender ("the labour/care regime"); and specifies empirically the multiple linkages between the care economy and poverty.

The above areas are explored comparatively across seven countries: Argentina and Nicaragua; South Africa and Tanzania; Republic of Korea, India and Japan. The research will utilize both qualitative and quantitative methods -detailed analyses of Time Use Surveys and interviews with policy makers/care providers; and desk based research of policy documents:

  • Read the reports

    • Gender and MDGs ($286,667)

    This is a multi-donor project funded by the JWIDF, the UNDP Poverty Thematic Trust Fund, and the UK Department of International Development (DFID), and executed by UNIFEM. Its main objective was to build knowledge and experience in engendering MDG processes through five pilot countries – Morocco, Cambodia, Kenya, Peru and Kyrgyzstan – in view of further replication. The projects were implemented with strong partnerships on the ground within the UN system and among government partners, civil society organizations, bi-lateral donors and media. Positive results include:

    Kyrgyzstan:
    Cambodia:
    • Expanded gender indicators on employment in Cambodia's National MDG report
    • Integration of gender into Cambodia's National Strategic Development Plan
    Peru:
    • Increased awareness especially among women's networks, youth, academia, local and regional public officials
    • Development of a study for policy makers at national and local levels on links between MDGs and national commitments to women's human rights.
    Morocco:
    • Launch of the country's first gender responsive national MDG report in October 2005
    • Application of gender responsive MDG costing
    Kenya:
    • Grass-root women's voices fed into government initiatives on PRSPs, the UN Country Team on the Common Country Assessment/United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Millennium Project's costing exercises
    • Development of gender and MDG action plans in Kisumu and Rachuonyo districts

    Gender Sensitive Budgets: Investing in Poor Women to Reach the MDGs ($495,000)
    Gender Sensitive Budgeting (GSB) analyzes how public resources are allocated and benefit men and women differently. It assists governments to utilize its limited resources effectively in poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs, and advocates for participatory budget-making process to ensure that the contributions made by women are accounted for, and their voices are heard. The main achievements of this project include:

    • Capacity Building: Approximately thirty to forty experts from five regions received training at the Regional Training of Trainers' Workshops in Moscow, Manila, Dakar and Cairo.

    • Production of Training Manuals: Training manuals for trainers were produced in English, French, and Arabic.

    • Production of CD-Rom (BRIDGE): In partnership with the University of Sussex, a set of tools, guidelines, concepts, good practices were compiled into a CD-ROM to enable knowledge and tools to be disseminated widely. They were particularly appreciated by country participants with limited internet access.


    • Training manual: "Training Manual for Gender Sensitive Budgeting" (2004)

    • A CD-ROM Compilation of knowledge: "Cutting Edge Pack: Gender and Budgets" (English)

    Regional Projects

    AFRICA

    Creating and Enabling Policy and Institutional Framework for Effective Home Based Care ($267,000) - Ongoing
    The high HIV/AIDS prevalence in Africa has placed tremendous pressure on health care services beyond the capacity of the public sector. The nature of the epidemic, weak public infrastructure, spiraling health costs and the lack of resources has made community home based care (CHBC) a necessity in the field of care in the region. The burden of CHBC, however, has fallen disproportionately on women, due to their responsibility for care work in the household, i.e. the services associated with physical, social and psychological development of family members, as well as "volunteer" activities in the community (the triple role). In many cases, women organized as caregivers are taking on roles and responsibilities of the state and other public institutions, bridging gaps to fill the unmet needs of their communities. This burden is heavier on poor women whose families are unable to access public and private care facilities.

    The important role that home based caregivers play and the enormity of their task and challenges calls for clear recognition in public policy making and resource allocation at local, national and international levels. This project aims to empower caregivers to influence policies and agendas at the local, national and global levels and promote effective support to the care sector in the efforts to combat HIV/AIDS pandemic and its socio-economic and psychological impacts.



    ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

    Creating an Enabling Environment to Reduce Vulnerability of Women and Girls to HIV Infection and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia ($246,000) - Ongoing
    This project aims to create an enabling policy and socioeconomic environment for integrated responses to the reduction of HIV epidemic and human trafficking at the community and country level. Research on the nexus between HIV, mobility and commercial sex among trafficking victims in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia is currently underway.

    The project will ensure stronger integraton of HIV issues into policies, strategies and programmes on the prevention of trafficking and care of trafficking survivors, and the prevention of human trafficking into regional and national HIV/AIDS strategies. Anti-trafficking communities and HIV/AIDS communities are also expected to enhance its collaboration and cooperation to address both issues in an integrated manner.

    The project builds on experiences in strengthening HIV-trafficking responses in South Asia (Read the Report - PDF) funded by the Japan Human Security Trust Fund. Partners include UNIAP, UNODC, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNESP and IOM, NGOs, and academia including Harvard University.


    ARAB STATES

    Joint Initiative on Women's Leadership in the Arab Region's HIV/AIDS Response ($250,000)
    In partnership with UNFPA, this project -HIV/AIDS Regional Programme for the Arab States (HARPAS) - addressed the underlying causes that fuel gender inequality and the sharp increase of HIV/AIDS infection while promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in the HIV/AIDS response.

    The project supports workshops, trainings and regional dialogues for all stakeholders such as Arab women's NGO leaders, religious leaders, media figures, legal experts, and female leaders. It aims at increasing women's role in decision making processes and providing a comprehensive framework that brought leaders from multiple sectors of society to take a committed action towards reducing HIV infection among women and girls while engaging men and boys.

    • Sub-regional Training: Sub-regional trainings were organized for Arab Women's NGOs in Maghreb, Mashrek, Horn of Africa and Gulf Countries to mainstream HIV/AIDS into NGO programming and action plans as well as to develop advocacy and leadership skills.
    • Regional Dialogue: The project brought together media figures, legal experts, female leaders, youth and religious leaders to discuss cultural paradigms which perpetuate harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and to build knowledge and awareness on the roles of religions and traditions in promoting and protecting women's rights.
    • Action Plan: Female religious leaders guided responses to harmful traditional practices such as FGM, and contributed to a debate on linking structural inequalities, violence, gender and the increase of HIV/AIDS vulnerability that led to gender responsive action plans.

    The project led the transformation of attitudes and understandings of 180 representatives from Women rights NGOs, FBOs and governmental bodies on the multifaceted relations of HIV epidemic to women rights.
    LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

    Knowledge Management Platform on Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean ($330,420) - Ongoing

    This project supported the development of an innovative Spanish portal website "America Latina Genera". This portal provides the following services:

    • Knowledge Management: Resources, experiences, information and publications related to gender were collected from 500 institutions in Latin America. The portal disseminates them widely and effectively by hosting online virtual knowledge fairs.
    • Technical Support: Technical supports are provided to governments, CSOs and development agencies online by technical support staffs and by occasional missions. Inquiries come from countries in Latin America and beyond. Support varies from assessment of project reports and national strategy papers, to mainstreaming gender into an institution. One example of the technical support is the development of an online library for CONAMU (National Mechanism for Women in Equador).
    • Capacity Building: The portal hosts a database on academic training programmes provided by over 50 institutions in the region. It also offers on-line courses with tool kits and concept notes: course menus include gender and crisis management, and human development and gender. The resource guide on gender and climate change, and papers on gender and diversity were produced and are available online.
    • Knowledge Share: Members of the portal are able to conduct online discussion, organize discussion forums and share their knowledge and experience by themes, i.e. on violence against women, disaster risk management, institutionalization of gender, and public policy at risk.

    It also hosts a roster of gender experts.

    Similar portal sites will be replicated in Asia, West Africa and Arab States.

    Country Projects



    Ghana
    Ghana: Women making shea butter (Photo: Mr. Yasuyoshi Chiba)
    Ghana: Empowering Rural Women and Alleviating Poverty by Strengthening the Local Shea Butter Industry in Northern Ghana ($245,927)
    Shea butter has been traditionally acknowledged as a women's work in Northern Ghana and important source of livelihood. The project aims to empower rural women in Northern Ghana and alleviate poverty by developing a mechanism for sustainable business for the women.

    In close partnership with JETRO, JICA and Tree of Life, the project supports local women's producers groups in Walewale and Sagnarigu to 1) improve the quality of the shea butter products; 2) provide business management skills ; 3) explore new markets; and 4) provide educational trainings for women in literacy and basic math needed for business management.

    The first independent association run by women, Pagsung Shea Cutter Producers and Shea Nut Pickers Association was also formed through its support.

    The project benefitted from high visibility: the former Prime Minister, Mr. Fukuda introduced the project at the 2008 Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, as Japan's ODA good practice. The project was similary introduced at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) IV in May 2008, where women producers from Northern Ghana were invided.

    The Government of Japan provided additional funds through the Embassy of Japan in Ghana (Grassroots Human Security Projects) to expand the production facility at Sagnarigu and construct a new processing facility in Walewale.



    India
    India:"Building Capacity of Women Micro Entrepreneurs in the Informal Sector Through ICT"

    India: Building Capacity of Women Micro Entrepreneurs in the Informal Sector through ICT ($315,000)
    In partnership with Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), this project aimed to develop a comprehensive programme to empower self-employed grassroots women and develop their capacity through ICT as a tool to improve their quality of lives and become users, controllers and mangers of their business.

    21 Community Learning Centres (CLCs) in nine districts were established to provide grassroots women with ICT trainings to expand their access to diverse information, enhance their capacities in business and life skills and promote sustainability of their livelihoods through ICT. A total of 34,000 women were trained.

    Software for skills trainings was also developed to improve efficiency of SEWA's micro credit business and production management for manufactured foods and crafts. IT training programme was developed to effectively manage micro enterprises and production process. Women who received trainings also became grassroots leaders and managers who trained local women.



    Chile: Gender-Sensitive Employment Policies in Chile ($100,000)
    This project facilitated the inclusion of a gender perspective in public policies and programmes for poverty alleviation and employment generation in Chile. The tripartite Consultative Council was set up in 2003 with the government, labour unions, and businesses, which have promoted knowledge-sharing and debate. A gender-sensitive intervention model was also developed to assist policy makers in designing gender sensitive poverty eradication and/or employment policies and programmes. Other important achievements were: 1) capacity building and raising awareness among key policy makers, programme managers and civil society actors; 2) generation of a knowledge base containing policy-oriented diagnoses and evaluations; 3) dissemination of information on the project's objectives, components, methodological approaches through publications and website; and 4) knowledge sharing and discussion with Argentina.


    Mongolia
    Mongolia: "Capacity Building for Gender Sensitive Budget"

    Mongolia: Capacity Building for Gender Sensitive Budgeting ($126,000)
    In direct partnership with the Ministry of Finance, the project made an impact on national budgetary processes while building technical capacities to conduct GSB. Moreover, it 1) raised awareness on GSB concepts within the Ministry of Finance and among civil society organizations; 2) produced research/analytical papers by national research institutes on gender-specific impact of donor assistance, employment, and social security and welfare. Overall, it succeeded in supporting the country to mainstream gender into its fiscal decentralization efforts.



    China: China's Accession to WTO: Challenges for Women ($315,000)
    The project supported the world's first country-level study on the impact of WTO entry on employment patterns and conditions of poor women who were engaged in agricultural and industrial sectors. The study not only produced remarkable research papers and policy guidelines on socioeconomic impact of China's accession on women and men, but also helped China's researchers and economists to look at the macroeconomic picture from a different angle – that of vulnerable, poor working women. The research findings have served as important baseline data to track changes over time.

    Ukraine: Sustaining Women Farmers in Ukraine ($190,800)
    This project utilized Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to strengthen the capacities of the Women's Farmers Union: it trained them in agricultural business management and marketing through ICT. Access to ICT led women to gain useful and updated knowledge and information, which improved their entrepreneurial and managerial skills. An unexpected positive outcome was increased political participation of project beneficiaries who voiced women's needs in legislative and political arenas, contributing to the adoption of the national plan of action for improving the status of women and achieving gender equality in 2001. The plan of action addressed measures in improving the challenges women face in the rural area.

    Guatemala
    Guatemala: "National Seminar on Education of Girls"

    Guatemala: Support to the Programme on Girls' Education ($310,000)
    This project is an excellent field-level example of multilateral/bilateral cooperation between JWIDF and the Government of Japan. The Peace Accords, signed in 1996 after 36 years of internal armed conflict, expressed the urgent need to reform the educational system of the country and improve equal educational opportunity regardless of ethnicity, gender and geography, in order to build a sustainable culture of peace. It also offered an opportune moment for JWIDF and the Government of Japan to work together on the ground. While this project supported the Ministry of Education at the policy level in the design and development of the National Strategic Plan for Girls' Education 2003-2007 and relevant capacity building initiatives, the Government of Japan dispatched educational experts and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers throughout Guatemala to train teachers on administrative and pedagogical issues. The joint efforts translated to a more comprehensive support extended to Guatemala in its plight to eliminate gender gaps in primary education.


    Democratic Governance

    Albania: Violence Against Women – No Longer a Family Issue ($200,000)
    The project's overall goal was to support lobbying and implementation of the new law against domestic violence. It aimed at providing a broad spectrum of support in the areas of policy reform, law enforcement, capacity building and advocacy for affirmative action, by using innovative ways in targeting the whole society, men and womne alike. The project was designed around three main components as follows:

    • Policy review for a protective legal and social environment for women who suffer violence: This component focused at supporting the formalization National Strategy and Action Plan against domestic violence, development of implementing regulations on the basis and for the implementation of the newly enacted Domescit Violence Law, fostering partnerships between Ministries to respond in a coordinated fashion to domestic violence as well as institutional capacity building of responsible authorities (designated by this law) inimplementing these new provisions, regulations and standard anti-DV procedures.
    • Law enforcement and relief services through community coordination: This component focused on strengthening the capacities of law enforcement institutions such as the Ministry of Interior in changing institutional culture and become responsible on domestic violence issues, supporting the network of specialized NGOs and other government authorities in introducing new forms of assistance to abused women and supporting Community Solving Groups and Community Based organizations at grassroot levels to bring the domestic violence issues on agenda of discussions and problem solving initiatives.
    • Raising awareness to change attitudes: This component focused on prevention and empowerment programmes in schools related to changing the societal attitudes through broad awareness education programmes, improved curricula and teachers training. The project was designed to provide a multidimensional support in the areas involved with anti-domestic violence in both government institutions (such as the Ministry of Labour, Interior, Health, Justice, and the local government) as well as civil society. The project sought to offer a broad spectrum of activities and multilevel cooperation of partners at the national, local and community level to forcefully address issues of domestic violence.


    Key achievements/outputs include:
    • The first national domestic violence survey
    • A professional handbook for health workers with a series of training sessions
    • An anti-domestic violence manual for police officers, coupled with training sessions for a total of 140 police officers of all levels
    • Education and awareness campaigns; talk show and TV/radio programmes; DV documentary video and the broadcast of TV spots with a message "Domestic violence hurts the whole family and society" by a famous Albanian actor and "Silence is another form of violation" by an Albanian Parliamentarian.


    • Professional handbook for health workers: "DHUNA ME BAZË GJINORE. MANUAL PËR PUNONJËSIT E SHËNDETËSISË" (In Albanian)

    • Anti-domestic violence manual for policy members: "DHUNA NË FAMILJE. Përgjegjësitë që ka Policia e Shtetit për parandalimin dhe reduktimin e saj" (Draft, 2008, In Albanian)

    • Anti-Domestic Violence brochure with information on the 16 days international activism against women (Albanian)

    • Student art drawn at the Anti-Domestic Violence Day Campaigns. (2007)

    Uganda: District Development Programme 2: Gender Mainstreaming ($300,000)
    Uganda has made major progress in implementing two gender policies at the central government level. The project was aimed at building on Uganda's progress in implementing two gender policies at the national level and to align them with local development policies and legal frameworks. It developed policy tools for mainstreaming gender in local governance and development processes. It also promoted the application of gender sensitive budgets. The project received additional funds of $15,500 USD from the Royal Netherlands Embassy, UNIFE, UNFPA and UNDP.


    Ecuador: Women's Leadership and Citizenship - Actions for Their Empowerment ($313,760)
    Ecuador saw lack of opportunities and capacities for women to exercise political leadership and act on the issues that affect them. This project supported a women's network to push for the Quota Law and create a cadre of female leaders and candidates to run for office. Through this project, more than 2450 women were trained in different seminars/workshops. Policy and advocacy tools were developed to promote implementation of the laws that encouraged women's participation in political life. Finally, national campaign was conducted to create awareness for women's political participation and to generate a strong movement to voice women's needs and concerns in political and legal frameworks.

    Crisis Prevention and Recovery

    Liberia: Vocational centre for women to learn tailoring
    Liberia: Vocational centre for women to learn tailoring

    Liberia: Economic Empowerment of Women of Liberia ($245,000) - Ongoing
    In a post-conflict and impoverished setting, women in Liberia play crucial roles in the process of reintegration at the family and community level; on the other hand, are excluded from access to local governance structures and formal economic opportunities. Further, women suffer from human rights violation such as sexual and gender based violence. This project aims to promote economic empowerment of women and girls by reducing their poverty and providing them with life skills, and promote social reintegration and reconciliation at community level. It is implemented in close collaboration with an on-going post conflict project "Community-Based Recovery Programme (CBR)".

    In partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Development, NGO Secretariat, District Development Communities and Women's groups, the project is being implemented in two counties of Bong and Nimba through Corporative Credit Unions (CCUs) formed by women at the community level. Training workshops are organized for CCU management committees and women beneficiaries to build capacities of business management and skills. Women and girls who do not have basic literacy skills also receive basic life skills trainings. Those who successfully completed the trainings receive micro credit loans to start economic activities. The project also supports rehabilitation into their local communities by conducting psychosocial counseling of victims of conflict, particularly women and girls who suffered from human rights violation. This is particularly important in order to promote community reintegration and reconciliation in the post-conflict areas.

    • Skill Trainings/Micro Credit Loan: Training workshops on business management skills were organized for CCU management committee and 10 women's groups. All women members of CCUs in 7 districts of the above two counties were provided with micro credit loans after successfully completed their trainings. With the seed money, women who acquired new skills choose their own activities and develop microenterprises, farms and/or micro credit facilities. As such, they become economically independent, building a better community environment for other women to develop their own independency.

    The overall project activities including the provision of microcredit loans are being implemented by CCUs, community-based and community owned credit unions. This approach enables more effective and efficient administrations of micro finance and micro credit schemes, and helps build ownership of the project among the local communities.


    Bosnia and Herzegovina: Partnerships for Promoting Gender Equity in Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina ($275,000)
    In 2003, the Parliament adopted the Gender Equality Law that addresses issues such as education, participation in decision-making, and violence. This project assisted the establishment of effective mechanisms to implement this Law. It built capacities of the state-level gender agency. It also initiated gender budgeting trainings across the country. Furthermore, the project helped 1) prepare guidelines for the implementation of the Gender Equality Law; 2) prepare a strategy and form working groups on the main thematic areas covered by the Law; 3) integrate the Law into legal processes and procedures to ensure actual enforcement; 4) conduct public advocacy to raise awareness on the Law; and 5) support civil society.

     


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