M4P and WEE: field-testing the WEE guidelines

Maja Rüegg

Advisor Market Development

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation

SDC e+i F2F, 15/05/2013

Content 1.  Background to the process on M4P and Women‘s

Economic Empowerment (WEE) 2.  The draft and the revised guidelines 3.  Introduction to the field test 4.  Overall usefulness and most useful questions 5.  Priorisation of key success factors 6.  Suggestions for next steps and discussion

M4P and WEE: the process so far

Jan 2012

•  Discussion paper by Linda Jones

March 2012

•  E-discussion within SDC‘s private sector development dgroup

May 2012

•  SDC e+i network‘s Public seminar and internal workshop

June 2012

•  Draft WEE guidelines

Nov 12 -

May 13

•  Revision of the guidelines

e+i Shareweb Making markets work Transversal Themes in M4P

The draft WEE guidelines and SDC‘s feedback

•  Generally good and useful •  Integrate into M4P

operational guide and/or publish as real guidelines (only part B)

•  Revise definitions and certain statements

•  Reduce and rephrase questions

•  Structure key success factors

The revised WEE guidelines Content reduced to •  Guiding questions •  16 Key factors for success •  Glossary

Testing the draft WEE guidelines

Objectives of the field test: 1. Narrow down list of questions 2. Reflect on key success factors 3. Identify gaps Project staff with support from HO advisors Synthesis report

RLDP Tanzania

•  Sunflower sector; contract farming

•  Desk analysis and field work

•  Questions sections 3-5

Samriddhi Bangladesh

•  Considering all 12 Value Chains

•  Workshop and field validation

•  Questions section 4

Overall usefulness

• Both RLDP and Samriddhi teams found the guidelines – and the process – helpful

• Actions and new insights

• From setting numerical targets towards addressing women‘s strategic needs

• Frustration with the length and repetitiveness

This helped us to widen the knowledge on gender issues which will help us improving strategies to achieve gender equality with partners

- RLDP staff

Some of the most useful questions – section 3

• What is the goal for women of the specific intervention? •  Is there a need to target women specifically? - Based on constraints analysis - Thinking “women-specific”

• What are the risks women, or men, will be harmed?

it brought us to reason whether gender is really mainstreamed into this intervention. The “consider this” section asks you to go beyond attendance or outreach issues. - RLDP staff

“Of course our daily work has increased, but this is not a burden to us. We are happy to be making money and to be able to decide what to spend it on.... For example, household utensils, educational materials for our children, even a sari for ourselves.” - Lila Begum, Committee Secretary, Nilphamari District

Some of the most useful questions – section 4

• What is the impact of the initial intervention on women? - More income? Higher return on labour? - More time? Less unpaid work? Better quality of work? - More decision making authority? A change in women’s roles? - Etc.

we were able to understand the dynamics around income earned and collaboration within the households. - RLDP staff

when taken to its full extent, it covers all the important issues that we considered for women’s engagement in a value chain. - Samriddhi staff

Some of the most useful questions – section 5 •  All questions are considered important

(mainstream WEE in impact logics, indicators, baseline, projections of change, measurement plan, analysis and feedback loop)

Through our gender-disaggregated M&E system, we can track if things are going well, and identify where there are problems in good time to react.

- Samriddhi team

Prioritizing the key success factors

1. Mainstream WEE from the start 2. Conduct good background research on gender

roles 3.  Investigate women’s other roles 4. Make a business case for women 5. Consider the gender-responsiveness of partners 6.  Build capacity and systems for gender

mainstreaming 7.  Ensure potential for up-scaling

Suggestion to restructure the guidelines • Use key success factors as guiding structure of the guidelines

•  Selected number of key questions •  Sub-questions (“consider this”) in text boxes with short, specific

examples

Some discussion questions

Have you made any experience with the WEE guidelines so far?

Do you see a need to apply the guidelines in the projects and programmes you are familiar with?

What needs to be done in your view to encourage the application of guidelines?

Thank you!