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With over a decade of lessons learned and knowledge on how to ensure gender equality is at the heart of development work, the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification programme has now expanded to work with multilateral, aid, and development agencies. Our certification programme provides tailored services to address your organization's needs and ensure efficacy in implementation or adaptation of the Gender Seal certification programme. Special services are offered for organizations working in crisis/post-crisis settings. If you are working with a public institution or the private sector, please see here.
Implementation of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal at your development organization
The UNDP Gender Seal programme will support your organization to identify and establish gender equality standards aligned to your organization's mandate and international framework. As a part of the programme, the Gender Seal puts emphasis on learning with access to tailored trainings, portfolio and programme reviews with a gender lens, as well as Expert Gender consultants on a diverse range of topics. With orientation, custom-designed online platform, and expert assessments, your organization can become UNDP Gender Seal certified.
Adaptation of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for your development organization
The UNDP Gender Seal Team will work with your development organization to adapt the UNDP Gender Equality Seal to meet your organization's needs. In previous partnerships, the UNDP Gender Seal has been adapted to internal "Accreditation programmes" based on advice, lessons learned, and shared expertise with the Gender Seal's 10+ years of experience.
Our clients
Iceland’s Directorate for International Affairs and Development Cooperation (IADC) awarded the Gold Gender Equality Seal
In 2022 UNDP recognized Iceland’s Directorate for International Affairs and Development Cooperation (IADC) with the Gold Gender Equality Seal. This was the first Gender Seal certification awarded to a donor entity as a result of a joint effort started in 2019, for its outstanding commitment to advance gender equality both within its organization and in Iceland development cooperation policies. The Seal recognized the Directorate’s strong leadership, a capable gender architecture, and effective gender mainstreaming in development policies and programs, reaching a 70% budget allocation targeting gender equality. Several examples of innovative working environment practices included the ‘Equal Pay Certification’ and the ‘Better Working hours policy”, and programs such as “Men Engaging Men and Boys’ initiative.
“We are extremely proud to have been awarded the gold certification. The Gender Seal has been a valuable learning process and we walk away equipped with tools and ideas on how to further strengthen our work on gender equality, both through mainstreaming across programmes as well as through targeted and transformative actions,” said Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Thórdís Kolbrún Gylfadóttir Reykfjörd.
Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights
Since 2018, UNDP supported OHCHR to establish the gender incentive programme based on the UNDP Gender Seal methodology. As a part of this collaboration, UNDP supported OHCHR to adapt a combination of standards laid out in its Gender Equality Strategy, the UNDP Gender Equality Seal and indicators all of which are aligned to global standards. As a part of this ongoing collaboration, UNDP advises and shares its lessons and insights from over ten years of implementing the Gender Seal and advancing gender integration and cohesion.
World Food Programme
The Award for Excellence in Gender Equality programme aims to enable the World Food programme to fully integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment into all areas of work in order to achieve food security and nutrition for all, regardless of gender or age. The programme is the outcome of a strategic partnership between UNDP and WFP established in June 2014. UNDP played an advisory role in the design and implementation of the pilot, leveraging expertise from over 5 years of implementing a corporate gender mainstreaming certification programme for its own country offices, called The gender Equality Seal programme.
Three WFP country office (Myanmar, Peru and South Sudan) piloted the initiative in 2016. The pilot process featured three phases: A scoping mission, an improvement period, and a final appraisal mission. A scoping mission established a baseline at each office and explored possibilities for the appraisal methodology and tool. An improvement phase enabled offices to take positive actions to strengthen their work. An appraisal mission determined a final level of achievement at each office and explored the overall efficacy and efficiency of the Award for Excellence in Gender Equality pilot.
Link to blog and knowledge page: gtp.wfp.org/about/
Applying the Seal experience for transformation in the conservation sector
Based on the pioneering work of and guided by the team leading UNDP’s Gender Equality Seal, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an intergovernmental organization comprised of state and non-state members, including Indigenous People’s organizations, worked to develop and test a model for gender equality certification in their programme and management units and regional offices. An innovative approach to propel institutional changes for gender equality across a conservation-specific organization, the development process included building a framework that could be readily understood by and applied to technical teams. The team developed indicators and benchmarks corresponding to minimum acceptable quality standards on gender equality—based on UN and international norms, together with IUCN mandates from the general assembly of the Union's Members. The aim was to build capacities to fill gender gaps, refine and document effective strategies, and showcase achievements, with participating offices benefitting from tailored technical support, institutional tools, a platform for sharing experiences and award ceremonies to recognize leadership in advancing gender equality across environmental sectors.