The UNDP Gender Equality Seal is a corporate certification program that recognizes UNDP offices that deliver strong results on gender equality. It provides a standardized assessment of offices across 7 areas of performance. The assessment is designed to incentivize gender mainstreaming and highlight innovations and impacts. An initial pilot with 3 countries was successful, and an extended pilot will further test and refine the methodology. The Kyrgyzstan UNDP office participated in the initial pilot and benefited from recommendations to strengthen their gender work.

1. UNDP Gender Equality Seal
BRC Gender Team Webinar
13 December 2012
Koh Miyaoi
Gender Practice Leader for Europe and CIS

2. Gender Equality Seal
• A corporate certification programme that incentivizes
and recognizes good performance of UNDP offices/units
to deliver transformational gender equality results;
• A tool that allows offices/units to better link institutional
development for gender mainstreaming to development
results;
• A learning platform that will help offices/units to
establish a baseline, fine-tune strategies, identify and
address gaps and challenges, document innovations and
showcase the impact of interventions for gender
equality.

3. Gender Equality Seal
• An standardized assessment tool will be used to
measure progress of offices/units.
• Indicators and benchmarks correspond to standards on
gender mainstreaming derived from UN standards,
international norms and UNDP's own mandates and
guidelines.
• The Seal is designed to connect interventions and create
synergies in different domains of a gender mainstreaming
strategy and assess the overall impact of gender
mainstreaming on development results.

4. Gender Equality Seal
• A holistic appraisal of the gender equality contribution
of the institutional arrangements, going beyond
individual projects
• Objective assessment of the existing institutional
arrangements with external reviewers, adding external
credibility
• Vigorous review process with the engagement of the
entire office/unit
• Time given to prove & improve before the final scoring

5. Seven areas of performance:

6. Indicators for Appraisal
• Management system for gender equality
results
• In house capacities
• Enabling policy environment
• Knowledge and communication
• Programming
• Partnerships
• Gender equality result/Impacts

7. Gender Equality Seal
Feedback from the three pilot countries of the Seal, Global Workshop June 2012
• “Innovative methodology – not just ticking the box, it encourages COs to take
ownership.”
• “More for less – can promote both quality assurance and on-going learning.”
• “More useful than gender audit - engaging and participatory, generates more
practical recommendations.”
• “Successful in shifting the focus from inputs to impacts.”
• “Shows links between workplace policies and development results.”
• “Provides concrete evidence of results – makes innovations visible.”
• “High quality of appraisals and reliability of results – this is what makes it different
from other tools that rely on self-appraisal.”
• “Appraisal process encouraged strategic thinking, helped to identify key
possibilities for action.”
• “The process was like team-building for the entire office – increased general
awareness and understanding of gender issues.”
• “A good reality-check for HQ gender unit and Regional Centres – an opportunity to
build two-way relationships with country offices.”

8. Gender Equality Seal - History
• The First Pilot Phase (Argentina, Bhutan &
Kyrgyzstan) (2011)
• Global Validation Workshop (June 2012)
• Award Ceremony (November 2012)
• The Operations Programme Group, chaired
by the Associate Administrator, full
endorsment (November 2012)
• The extended pilot phase (March 2013)

10. The extended pilot phase
• Purpose: test and refine the tools and methodology
to ensure their organization-wide applicability.
• Applying for certification will be open and voluntary.
• A tailored package of services to support COs/units
will be developed.
• Stages of the process of certification:
Step 1. Online pre-screening to identify gender
gaps of the office/unit
Step 2. Action Plan design and implementation
Step 3. Final assessment to identify level of
certification
Step 4. Certification and award.

11. Thanks and join us in Teamworks!
https://undp.unteamworks.org/node/171196/

12. UNDP KGZ
participation at Gender Equality Seal
Pilot Initiative :
added value and results
Bratislava Regional Center
2012

14. Kyrgyzstan’s development results:
• Constitutional Reform – moving to Parliamentary Republic;
• Strong improvement of electoral process towards
transparency ;
• Court system reform;
• National mechanisms for human rights and public
monitoring;
• Anticorruption actions (moving from 164 in 2010 to 154 in
2011 in Transparency International rating);
• Active and vibrant civil society.

15. Gender Equality Results:
• Well developed National gender legislation and
policy;
• Women’s movement is active, united and involved in
development and discussion of key national policies
and reforms and peace building;
• Women’s representation in decision making;
• Gender expertise institutionalized in the Parliament;
• There is a next generation of “feminists” – young
women and men.

17. UNDP’s contribution to country GE Goals:
• Gender Task Force lead by DRR, Gender
Mainstreaming coordinator at projects level;
• CO Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, Annual Action
plan and joint Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan;
• Mandatory gender screening of all concept notes,
ProDocs, AWPs, TORs, M&E reports;
• Gender briefing for all newcomers, training course on
Gender mainstreaming in UNDP for all programme
staff.

18. What were our expectations about the pilot?
• Assessment of our gender mainstreaming activity
compared to other COs, in sub-region and globally. If
we are on the right path?
• To get recommendations on improving gender
programming and building enabling environment;
• To find solution between bureaucracy and qualitative
mainstreaming.

19. What has our Country Office gained from this experience?
• Accelerate the implementation of the UNDP Global Gender equality and
CO Gender Mainstreaming strategies (Gender marker), CPD and CPAP;
• Better understanding and articulation of institutional development issues
(RBM);
• New ideas for projects and resource mobilization;
• Develop an internal self-reflexion and self-assessment;
• Recognition and motivation, ownership of GE results (Gold Seal);
• Excellent and useful recommendations on all stages of programme cycle –
from planning till M&E, learning and in-house gender expertise (list of
indicators and benchmarks);

20. UNDP KGZ follow up actions:
• Gender Task Force composition improved and includes Programme
and Operation Unit representatives;
• Improved comparatively low score on the Atlas Gender Marker;
• The UNDP budget for gender mainstreaming increased from
118,000 USD in 2007 till more than 5 mln. USD in 2012 (25% of the
total budget of CO).
• Evaluation of implementation of GM strategy and development of
new Strategy.
• Three-step procedure for gender review of projects;
• Increased level of in-house technical expertise on gender.

21. Thank you!
nurgul.asylbekova@undp.org

22. For more information please visit :
http://europeandcis.undp.org/ourwork/gender
Join: https://undp.unteamworks.org/node/171196
Contact :
Koh.Miyaoi@undp.org
nurgul.asylbekova@undp.org