1. Developing Gender-
Sensitive M&E Systems
A review of guidelines on how to integrate
gender into an M&E framework and
assessment
Samantha Herrera and Debra Prosnitz
MEASURE Evaluation
ICF
August 3, 2017

2. • Background
• Development of guidelines for integrating gender into a
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework and system
assessment
• Review of guidelines
• Planning a gender-integrated M&E system assessment
• Group discussion
Outline of Presentation

3. • Increased recognition of the important role gender plays in
health and overall development over the past decade
• Development of several global and US policies and
strategies that now guide international health and
development planning with a focused aim on addressing
gender inequities to improve health outcomes
• Increased recognition of the need to align our M&E
systems to capture data to measure and monitor
differential health status, healthcare utilization and access,
health outcomes, and gender inequalities.
Background

4. Gender
Gender is a culturally defined set of economic, social, and political
roles, responsibilities, rights, entitlements, and obligations associated
with being female and male, as well as the power relations between
and among women and men, and boys and girls. The definition and
expectations of what it means to be a woman or girl and a man or
boy, and sanctions for not adhering to those expectations, vary
across cultures and over time, and often intersect with other factors,
such as race, class, age, and sexual orientation. (World Health
Organization, 2009)
Gender-sensitive describes policies, programs, or interventions that
more explicitly address the culturally defined roles, duties, rights,
responsibilities, and accepted behaviors that are associated with
being male and female. It also describes policies and programs that
consider the power relations among women and men, boys and
girls. (Interagency Gender Working Group)

5. • Ensures gender is addressed in programs in a measurable way
• Captures data from key populations that helps address the
needs of those populations
• Provides evidence
o To raise awareness about differential health status, utilization,
outcomes, and gender inequities
o To advocate for change
o To address gender dimensions of health
o To demonstrate program progress and impact
Rationale for Gender-Integrated M&E Systems

6. • MEASURE Evaluation began development of guidelines in 2015
• Guidelines were piloted in Zambia with the National
HIV/AIDS/TB/STI Council
• Guidelines describe how to:
o Explicitly and comprehensively integrate gender into an M&E
system
o Make each component of an M&E system gender-sensitive
o Assess an M&E system to ensure gender is integrated into the
system for appropriate collection, analysis, reporting, dissemination
and use of gender data for decision making
• Final guidelines available now in English and French
Development of Guidelines

7. • Developed for use by national health program and M&E
managers, subnational health program staff with M&E
responsibilities, agency and organization M&E officers, and
partners that provide M&E support to national and
subnational M&E systems
Development of Guidelines
• Based on the
UNAIDS 12
Components
Organizing
Framework for a
Functional M&E
System

8. Overview of 12 Components M&E
Framework
Three levels of the Framework:
1st – Focuses on the human
resources, partnerships and
planning required to support
data collection and use.
2nd – Focuses on the
mechanisms through which data
are collected, verified, and
analyzed into useful information
for decision making.
3rd – Focuses on the
dissemination and use of data for
decision making.

9. Review of Guidelines
Gender should be considered from multiple dimensions at
the organizational level—from human resources to
organizational policies.
For example:
• Balanced representation of men/women in organization
• Staff are treated equally and enjoy same benefits
• Organization should have gender responsive policies in
place
• Organization should have gender M&E expertise/
gender focal point
Component 1: Organizational structures with
M&E

10. Review of Guidelines
• M&E workforce should have gender expertise and broadly
understand the importance of considering gender in their
work.
• Gender M&E should be a required skill set within the
institution.
• Standard national M&E training curriculum should
incorporate gender considerations.
• Workforce development and capacity-building plans
should include gender M&E.
Component 2: Human capacity for M&E

11. Review of Guidelines
Include gender experts and other key gender
stakeholders as members in the national
M&E technical working group(s) to ensure a
gender lens is used to plan, coordinate, and
manage the national M&E system.
Component 3: M&E partnerships

12. Review of Guidelines
Gender expert(s) and/or other key gender
stakeholders participate in the development
of the national M&E plan to ensure that they
have input into what data is collected and to
ensure their information needs are met.
Component 4: National M&E plan

13. Review of Guidelines
• Resources are committed for the collection,
compilation, analysis, and dissemination of
gender data.
• National work plan should be developed in
consultation with gender experts and key
gender stakeholders.
Component 5: Costed M&E work plan

14. Review of Guidelines
• National health strategic plans describe the relationship
and importance of gender and health and discuss
strategies and interventions that are being implemented
to improve gender inequities.
• National communication strategy(ies) explicitly reference
how gender data related to health will be disseminated
and used.
• Gender M&E champions should be identified and used
to advocate for the inclusion of gender in strategic plans
and the collection and use of gender data.
Component 6: M&E advocacy, communication,
and culture

15. Review of Guidelines
• Routine health information system (HIS)
collects data that provides information on
gender differentials in the demand for,
access to, and use of health services.
• Data collection tools, data analysis, and
dissemination and reporting mechanisms
include gender data.
Component 7: Routine program monitoring

16. Review of Guidelines
Surveys and surveillance are used to gather
information from and about populations that
don’t access routine services or who have
specific characteristics or needs that are not
captured in routine reporting.
Component 8: Surveys and surveillance

17. Review of Guidelines
National and subnational databases should
be set up/adapted to capture data
disaggregated by sex and age and other
gender data.
Sex- and age-disaggregated data should be
able to be aggregated up through each
administrative level of the data collection
system.
Component 9: M&E databases

18. Review of Guidelines
• Supervisors at the different administrative levels
(e.g., district, regional, national) should have an
understanding of what gender data are captured
through the routine data system, the importance
of this data, and how to use it for decision
making.
• Review of appropriate data disaggregation is
included in audits of routine health data.
Component 10: Supervision and data auditing

19. Review of Guidelines
• A gender lens should be applied to all research
and evaluation—ensuring appropriate ethical
approval procedures, use of gender-sensitive
methods, and capture of data that provides
information about gender.
• Gender experts and key gender stakeholders are
consulted in the development of the national
research agenda and/or review of
evaluation/research studies.
Component 11: Evaluation and research

20. Review of Guidelines
• Important to work with key data users, including
beneficiaries and gender stakeholders to understand their
data needs and ensure all data users understand the
importance of how gender influences or affects health
outcomes.
• Use of standard format(s) to report gender data, including
sex- and age-disaggregated data.
• Ensure data users understand how to interpret gender
data and the kinds of conclusions or actions that can be
drawn from the data.
Component 12: Data dissemination and use

21. Review of Guidelines
• At least one staff member within the M&E unit is a
gender expert or appointed gender focal point
• Gender M&E is among the M&E skills and competencies
required of M&E unit staff
• National TWG includes at least one gender expert
• Gender experts/key gender stakeholders are consulted in
the development of the national M&E plan
• Standardized reporting forms collect sex, age, and other
gender data
• National and subnational databases are updated to
capture gender indicators in the national M&E plan
• Key gender stakeholders are consulted in the
development of the national research agenda
Illustrative assessment questions:

22. Planning an M&E system assessment
• Recommend using a participatory workshop with key
stakeholders from the focus health sector(s), M&E
stakeholders, and gender stakeholders
• Plan workshop to coincide with the national strategic
planning process
• Include an introductory session on gender, to ensure a
shared understanding of the concept of gender, the
importance of addressing gender inequities in health
programs, and the requirements for gender-sensitive
M&E.
• Include a session focused on prioritizing key gaps
identified from the assessment and development of an
action plan.

23. Q&A and Share Your Thoughts
Do you have other ideas on how to think about gender in an M&E
system?
Do you have any experiences integrating gender in an M&E system
to share?
measure@measureevaluation.org
https://www.measureevaluation.org/our-work/gender

24. This presentation was produced with the support of the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the
terms of MEASURE Evaluation cooperative agreement AID-OAA-L-
14-00004. MEASURE Evaluation is implemented by the Carolina
Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in
partnership with ICF International; John Snow, Inc.; Management
Sciences for Health; Palladium; and Tulane University. Views
expressed are not necessarily those of USAID or the United States
government.
www.measureevaluation.org