Gender analysis is essential for responsive planning and programming, focusing on sex-disaggregated information to identify differences in access to resources and decision-making between women and men. It aims to address gender inequalities by analyzing underlying causes and helping shape policies that consider the needs of all citizens. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques are highlighted as a cost-effective method for gathering timely data and understanding local priorities.

1. • Gender analysis is the first and most critical step forward towards gender-
responsive
• planning and programming. It involves the collection and analysis of sex-
disaggregated information. It examines the differences, commonalties and
• interactions between women and men. Gender analysis examines womenís and
menís
• specific activities, conditions, needs, access to and control over resources, and
access
• to development benefits and decision-making.

2. Importance and uses
The European Commission defines gender analysis as ‘the study of differences in the
conditions, needs, participation rates, access to resources and development, control of
assets, decision-making powers, etc., between women and men in their assigned gender
roles’ [1].
• The purpose of gender analysis is to identify and address gender inequalities, by
[2]:Looking at the underlying causes of gender inequalities and discrimination can assist in
setting relevant and targeted objectives and measures to eliminate gender inequalities [4].
• In this way, gender analysis contributes to the improved gender responsiveness of
policies and legislation as it provides the basis for ensuring that the needs of all citizens —
women and men — are adequately addressed [5].
• When focused on organisations and institutions, gender analysis is also important in
determining how the nature of their service delivery may affect women and men, or how
institutions themselves are also ‘gendered’, for example, in the workplace in terms of
recruitment practices, the gendered divisions of labour and women’s access to decision-
making positions

3. Steps of gender analysis
• Collecting available data
• Identifying gender differences and the underlying causes of
gender inequalities.
• Informing policies, programmes and projects.

4. Techniques for gender analysis
PRA TECHNIQUES
The need for PRA
1) Sustained change and the need for accurate and timely information
2) It advocates that the people themselves are ìSolution Agentsî for their
problems
3) It cuts down the ìNormal Professional Biasî and anti-poverty basis
towards people
4) Reduces down the normal time consuming long methods of survey
which consumes the much-needed resources and that gives results after
a long time. The method is cost effective, accurate and timely. The Purpose of PRA
i) To use farmers criteria, choices and understand the local environment
with clear local priorities.
• ii) To learn farmersí indigenous technologies
•
• iii) To achieve for triangulation, using different methods and involving
•
• various people to check and re-check the findings
•
• iv) To develop self-critical analysis and direct contact with local needs and
•
• communities.