contents abbreviations - asian development bank · abbreviations bme benefit monitoring and...

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AbbreviationsBME benefit monitoring and evaluationCBO community-based organizationDMC developing member countryGAD gender and developmentISA initial social assessmentM&E monitoring and evaluationNGO nongovernment organizationO&M operation and maintenancePPTA project preparatory technical assistanceRRP report and recommendation of the PresidentSA social assessmentSOCD Social Development Division, Office of

Environment and Social DevelopmentTOR terms of referenceWID women in developmentUDH urban development and housingWUG water user group

ContentsPurpose of the checklist 2Why is gender important in urban development andhousing projects? 3Key questions and action points in the project cycle 7

Gender analysis 10Project design 20Policy dialogue 34

Appendix: Terms of reference for gender specialist 36Selected references 37

GENDER CHECKLIST: URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING2

The checklist is meant to assiststaff and consultants in imple-menting the Bank’s policy andstrategic objectives on gender anddevelopment (GAD) (see ADB’sPolicy on Gender and Develop-ment, June 1998). It guides usersthrough all stages of the project/program cycle in determining ac-cess to resources, roles and re-sponsibilities, constraints, and pri-orities according to gender in theurban development and housing(UDH) sector and in designing ap-propriate gender-sensitive strat-egies, components, and indicatorsto respond to gender issues.

ADB staff should use the checklistin identifying gender issues in theinitial social assessment (ISA) dur-ing the fact-finding phase of projectpreparatory technical assistance(PPTA). Consultants should use itin carrying out more detailed socialanalysis during the PPTA. ADB staff,DMC officials, and consultants canalso use it during project implemen-tation and monitoring and evalua-tion (M&E). It should be empha-sized, however, that not all ques-tions are relevant to all projects,and staff and consultants must se-lect the questions that are mostrelevant in the specific context.

Guidelines on the preparation ofgender-sensitive terms of refer-

Purpose of the checklist

ence for the PPTA feasibility studyand for project implementationand M&E are also included, as arecase studies from ADB’s projectportfolio, to demonstrate goodpractices in mainstreaming gen-der in UDH projects.

For project preparation, the check-list may be used together with theBank’s Handbook for Incorporationof Social Dimensions in Projects(1994), Guidelines on BenefitMonitoring and Evaluation, andBriefing Papers on Women in De-velopment series. As the urbandevelopment sector often containsa water supply and sanitationcomponent, the Gender Checklistin Water Supply and Sanitation(2000) may also be a useful ref-erence. Other useful referencesare listed at the back of this bro-chure.

The checklist was drawn up bySonomi Tanaka of the Social De-velopment Division (SOCD), Officeof Environment and Social Devel-opment, using a draft prepared bystaff consultant PenelopeSchoeffel and under the technicalguidance of Shireen Lateef ofSOCD. Mary Ann Asico edited thetext and, with the help of Jun delaCruz, prepared the final layout.Elisa Lacerona provided produc-tion assistance.

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Why is genderimportant in urbandevelopment andhousing projects?1

Urban development and housing (UDH) encom-passes the following subsectors: water supply,waste management, drainage, transportation, elec-trification, housing, land use planning, slum improve-ment, sanitation and hygiene, environmental man-agement, and employment generation. UDH projectsusually take place in socially complex and denselypopulated areas. Gender is only one of many as-pects that need to be taken into account, but it isan extremely important one.

Some earlier experiences in ADB-funded and otherdonor-funded UDH projects have demonstrated thefollowing lessons, which illustrate the centrality ofgender:

Lesson 1. Women and men differ in their roles,needs, and perceptions regarding UDH. Consciousefforts to address their views lead to better projectdesign and performance.

Women are the primary collectors, transporters, us-ers, and managers of domestic water and promot-ers of home and community-based sanitation activi-ties. Women also play a primary role in waste dis-posal and environmental management. As women

1This section draws on ADB (2000), Fong et al. (1996), and Woronluk andSchalkwyk (1998).


bear a primary responsibility in house-hold chores, new or improved housingdesigns, including lighting and ventilation,should reflect their needs.

Furthermore, in some areas, evidenceshows that targeting women as indi-vidual customers could better increasethe number of connections to water andsewage services than a nontargeted ap-proach. This has major implications forthe marketing strategy of service provid-ers, be they public- or private-sector, thathave financial viability problems.2

Yet, in many societies women’s views arenot systematically represented in deci-sion-making bodies. UDH projects providemajor opportunities to close this gap.

Lesson 2. Focus on gender has multiplier effects.

Focusing on gender leads to benefits that go be-yond good UDH project performance, as manifestedin such aspects as better procurement, operation

2In the World Bank–funded Sulawesi and Irian Jaya Urban DevelopmentProject in Indonesia, the regional state-owned water company, PDAM, wasfaced with a problem of financial viability, mainly because of the low numberof customer applications for connections. Two subdistricts in the munici-pality of Palu in Central Sulawesi were selected for pilot marketing of waterconnections, with one subdistrict targeting women as customers and an-other targeting men. For four months there was extensive marketing throughcommunity meetings conducted by marketing staff, brochure distribution,and door-to-door visits. The marketing campaigns targeted to women re-sulted in a far greater number of new connections (30 households out of450 households) than the marketing campaigns targeted to men (5 house-holds out of 450). The sample size may have been too small to permit aquick generalization of the results. Nonetheless, this study shows that amarketing strategy that is focused on women’s roles as customers of cleanwater can help increase the number of connections. This is because ofwomen’s primary role as domestic water managers. On the other hand, thismay not be universally true, as the level of women’s decision-making powerin the household varies in different societies (Haryatiningsih 1997).

Consider buildingwomen’s shelters,

children’s crèches, andworking women’shostels as part of

urban space planning.For transport services,build separate toiletspaces at depots andconsider women-onlybus services or train

sections.

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and maintenance (O&M), cost recovery, and hy-giene awareness. Those other benefits include thefollowing:

•Economic benefit: Better access to urban infra-structure and services provides better living con-ditions for women, improving their health and pro-ductivity. Also, reducing the time spent on watercollection and sanitation management giveswomen more time for income-generating activities,the care of family members, or their own welfareand leisure. The economy, as a whole, thereforealso benefits.

•Benefit to children: Freed from the drudgery ofwater collection and management, children, espe-cially girls, can go to school. Their health will alsoimprove. Hence, the impact can be expected to beintergenerational.

•Empowerment of women: Involvement in UDHprojects empowers women, especially whenproject activities are linked to income-generatingactivities and productive resources such as credit(see box 2).

Lesson 3. Gender can be betteraddressed through an approachthat is responsive to the needs ofthe poor and encourages stake-holder participation.

Whether it is a community-basedapproach or a bigger-scale private-sector approach, the focus on pov-erty reduction and the participationof beneficiaries are two other keydeterminants of the effectivenessand sustainability of UDH manage-ment. A UDH project must focus onthe links between gender and pov-

To promote the activeparticipation of

women in housingdevelopment and

other group activities,include leadershipand management

training for women inthe project.


erty by identifying, for example, households headedby females and those households’ special needs.This is especially critical in slum development, sincemany households in slum areas are headed bywomen. A UDH project must also address the con-straints on women’s participation in project design,construction, O&M), training, and monitoring andevaluation (M&E).

Lesson 4. Where a community-based approach isrelevant, an adaptive, learning, and process-ori-ented approach should be taken; continuous dia-logue between the project authority and thewomen and men beneficiaries is therefore impor-tant.

Project beneficiaries are likely to have a strongersense of ownership when the project gives themenough time, design flexibility, and authority to takecorrective action. In this way, they find it easier toincorporate their earlier learning and negotiate withproject staff and service providers. This is especiallyso in a context where women’s participation is notthe norm. Therefore, a mechanism must be built intothe project to allow such two-way interactions be-tween the beneficiaries and the service providers.

To reach women, use information channels that areaccessible to them, such as community centers, tradeunions, women’s groups, and religious groups. Also,

the media strategy should take into account the type ofmedia and the timing of information campaigns

appropriate to the target group. For women, radio, TV,and billboard campaigns be more effective than

newspaper campaigns. Commercials should be airedwhen women are at home and are less busy.

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Key questions andaction points inthe project cycle

Three major tools areused to identify anddeal with gender is-sues in the projectcycle: gender analysis,project design, andpolicy dialogue.

Gender analysis is anintegral part of the ini-tial social assessment(ISA) in the fact-findingphase of project pre-paratory technical as-sistance (PPTA) andthe social assessment(SA) during PPTA imple-mentation. Gender-re-sponsive project de-signs are based on thegender analysis, andshould be included inthe final report on the PPTA and in the report andrecommendation of the President (RRP). Policy dia-logue with executing and other agencies in the de-veloping member country (DMC) should be an on-going process, applicable to all stages in the projectcycle. The findings and recommendations from thegender analysis during project planning and feed-back from beneficiaries during implementation mustbe discussed thoroughly to determine the need forfurther action.

If consultation meetings areplanned, make sure to

consult with both men andwomen. If gender

segregation is the normconsider meeting separatelywith men and with women.This will allow women toexpress their views more

openly and make their voicesheard. In joint meetings,

seating arrangements shouldbe considered.


Addressing gender in the project cycle: Key action points

Table 1

PROJECT CYCLE

ISA in PPTA fact finding

SA in PPTA Feasibility Study

Drafting and finalization ofRRP and loan agreement

Loan negotiations

Implementation

Benefit monitoring andevaluation (BME)

RESPONSIBILITY

Mission Leader/ Consultant

Consultant in collaboration with SocialDevelopment Division, Office ofEnvironment and Social Development(SOCD) and DMC counterpart

Mission Leader, SOCD

Mission Leader

Projects Department, DMC personnel

Projects Department, DMC personnel

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KEY ACTION POINTS

• Identify key gender and women’s participation issues and furtherinformation needs for PPTA.

• Identify the role of gender in the project objectives.• Prepare terms of reference (TOR) for the PPTA gender specialist or social

scientist.

• Conduct gender analysis as part of overall SA.• Draw up a socioeconomic profile of key stakeholder groups in the target

population and disaggregate data by gender.• Examine gender differences in knowledge, attitudes, practices, roles, status,

well-being, constraints, needs, and priorities, and the factors that affectthose differences.

• Assess men’s and women’s capacity to participate and the factors affectingthat capacity.

• Assess the potential gender-differentiated impact of the project and optionsto maximize benefits and minimize adverse effects.

• Identify government agencies and nongovernment organizations (NGOs),community-based organizations (CBOs), and women’s groups that can beused during PPTA and project implementation. Assess their capacity.

• Review the related policies and laws (e.g., inheritance law, bylaws of wateruser groups), as necessary.

• Identify information gaps related to the above issues.• Involve men and women in project design.• Incorporate gender findings in the project design.

• Ensure that gender concerns are addressed in the relevant sections(including project objectives, scope, poverty and social measures, costestimates, institutional arrangements, social assessment appendix, andconsultant’s TOR for implementation and M&E support).

• Determine the project’s classification in terms of gender and developmentobjectives.

• List major required gender actions in assurances and legal covenants toensure the DMC government’s or client’s actions and compliance.

• List outstanding actions as conditions.

• Review progress reports.• Modify the project design, as required.

• Monitor gender-disaggregated benefit indicators.• Modify the project design, as required.


Gender analysis3

Gender analysis for a project is usually done as partof the overall ISA or SA. One to three person-monthsof consulting services could be required for genderanalysis and preliminary project design during PPTAimplementation, depending on the scale and natureof the project. Attention should also be paid to themethodologies to be used. Key actions to be takenand questions to be asked during the analysis arelisted below:

Methodologies

Desk review

n Review available information (e.g., statistics, pov-erty analysis, gender analysis, documents fromprevious donor-funded UDH projects) on the UDHservices in the project area and the socioeco-nomic profile of the target population.

n Review the relevant legal (e.g., inheritance law,family code, credit regulations), policy (e.g., wa-ter, waste disposal, or housing fee subsidy policy),and institutional framework (e.g., current admin-istrative system for concerned urban infrastruc-ture services) and the gender implications.

Household surveys (see “Data to be collected” formore details)

n Draw up gender-disaggregated socioeconomic pro-files and identify the target population’s UDH prac-tices, constraints, needs, and willingness to pay.

n Collect quantitative information.

3This section heavily draws on Woronluk and Schalkwyk (1998).

T I P

Review the

gender

implications

of laws and

regulations

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Participatory methodologies (e.g., participatoryrapid appraisal, focus group discussions, randominterviews, walking tours)

n Collect qualitative information which cannot becollected through surveys.

n Define ways in which men and women beneficia-ries and other stakeholders, especially poorwomen, can participate in the project.

n Map out the target areas. Which are the mostdisadvantaged areas in terms of access to ser-vices and poverty level?

n Identify major stakeholder groups and theirstake.

Staffingn Ensure adequate gender balance in field teams.

n Select field team members who have genderawareness, local knowledge, and cultural under-standing and are willing to listen.

Data to be collectedMacro institutional framework

n Gender impact of sector policy and legal and in-stitutional framework

n Executing agency’s capacity and commitment togender focus

Socioeconomic profile

n Demographics

• Composition by subregion, gender, ethnicity orcaste, age, etc.

T I P

See to it that

field teams have

gender balance

in their

membership


• Religious affiliations and differences

• In- and out-migration trend (male and female)

• Percentage of households headed by females

• Household size, dependency ratio, and com-position patterns (e.g., extended family vs.nuclear family)

• Age at marriage, by gender

n Poverty and employment

• Household income level and individual sources,by gender and age

• Household expenditure patterns and decisionmaking, by gender

• Poverty profile (e.g., percentage of populationbelow the poverty line, income distribution,geographic distribution of poverty, nature andcauses of poverty, coping strategies of thepoor)

• Gender dimensions of poverty (e.g., link be-tween female-headed households and povertylevel, burden of poverty on women)

• Percentage of women working in the home andthe kind of work performed

• Percentage of women employed outside thehome and, if possible, an analysis of occupa-tional categories

• Unemployment rate, by gender

n Land use and tenancy

• Tenancy or ownership profile (percentage dis-tribution of dwellings owned or rented)

• Community groups based on tenancy or own-ership, if any (e.g., tenants’ association)

T I P

Find out the

proportion of

women working

at home versus

those employed

outside the home

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• Percentage of women owning dwellings or reg-istered as the principal tenant

• Number and location of squatters (male vs. fe-male)

• Length of residence in the current place

n Health

• Population growth rate

• Infant and maternal mortality rates (male vs.female)

• Service availability and geographic coverage

• Fertility level and decision making

• Food allocation and nutrition level withinhouseholds, by gender

• Incidence of domestic violence

n Education and children

• Literacy and school enrollment ratios, by gen-der

• School dropout ratio, by gender

• Incidence of child labor and street children, bygender

n Status of women

• Extent of violence against women (e.g., domes-tic)

• Political representation and awareness

• Sociocultural perceptions and practices of menand women

• Gender-discriminatory policies and laws

• Women’s access to law and justice, especiallyin relation to violence and crimes

T I P

Assess how

women’s status in

the community is

affected by

sociocultural norms

and laws that

discriminate on the

basis of gender


n Gender roles and responsibilities

• Broad gender division of labor in productive(e.g., agriculture, income-generating activities)and reproductive (e.g., household chores, childcare) responsibilities, and time allocated foreach responsibility

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regardingurban utilities and services

n Formal access to UDH infrastructure and services(e.g., water supply, waste water and solid wastemanagement, access roads or paths, electricity,shelter, housing plot, recreation facilities, publiclighting, transport)

• Who provides the services (e.g., local govern-ment, NGO, private company)?

• What percentage of households has an accessto each service?

• Are there gender differences in such access?

n Quality of UDH services (for each type of service)

• Are the services regularly available?

• Are there seasonal differences in availability,quantity, or quality?

• Are the services satisfactory? How are they im-proved?

n Costs and willingness to pay (for each type ofservice)

• Is there a fee for each service?

• Who pays the bills (men or women in the house-hold) to whom (e.g., user committee, local gov-ernment, private company)?

• How much is the fee? Is this fee level satisfac-tory?

T I P

Determine variations

in UDH service

availability and

identify gender

differences in access

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• If the services are improved, would people bewilling to pay? To what extent?

n Private, individual, or illegal access

• Water supply: What are the sources of waterbesides formal services (e.g., public streams,rivers, tanks, privately owned tanks, commu-nal wells)? How far away are these? Who (menor women) collect, transport, and store thewater and how? How much time is spent?

• Waste disposal: What are the informal arrange-ments, if any, for solid waste and sewage dis-posal? Who (men or women) play the primaryrole?

• Electricity: Is there illegal access? How?

• Shelter and housing plot: Is there illegal squat-ting? For how long?

n Gender division of labor in UDH management

• Who in the household (men or women) playthe primary role in managing UDH facilities?

• Who in the household (men or women) decidethe use and allocation of water, electricity, andshelter?

Sanitation and environmental knowledge,attitudes, and practices

n Hygiene and environmental education: Are hy-giene and environmental issues taught in thefamily, at school, or in the communities? Arethere information campaigns? To what extentdo women and men understand the mes-sages?

n Sanitary arrangements

• What are the sanitary/latrine arrangements formen and women?

T I P

Find out how

UDH management

responsibilities

are shared among

women and men


• How is privacy ensured? Are there any tabooson latrine sharing between men and women,and among family members?

n Treatment of solid waste and sewage

• How is solid waste collected and disposed of?By whom?

• Is the waste recycled? If so, who are the wastecollectors (e.g., community, small and mediumrecycling enterprises)?

Constraints on access and control (non-UDH issues)

n Access to productive resources or services

• How do men and women differ in their accessto employment and income-generating oppor-tunities, credit, and markets?

• Is external assistance being provided to im-prove access or control? By whom?

n Availability and accessibility of social services(e.g., health and hygiene, literacy program): Isexternal assistance available?

Needs, priorities, and expectations

n Needs: Do current practices and constraints cre-ate different needs for men, women, the elderly,and children regarding the design and location ofUDH facilities and services? What are those needsand what are the reasons for the differences?

n Priorities: How do women and men differ in thepriorities they set among the various UDH ser-vices? What are the reasons for these differ-ences?

n Expectations from the project, by gender: Howdo women and men differ in their expectationswith respect to the following:

T I P

Explore the

different priorities

of women and men

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• Participation in further planning, designing, con-struction, and M&E

• Employment opportunities in civil works, wastecollection or recycling enterprises, manufactureof building materials, project-related offices,etc. How is labor divided between men andwomen in these activities?

• Credit for housing development and for smalland medium enterprises and other income-gen-erating activities

n Willingness to contribute, by gender: How dowomen and men differ in their willingness to con-tribute the following:

• Labor in construction, bookkeeping, supply in-ventory, meal preparation, periodic mainte-nance, etc.

• Small parcel of land, space, locally available ma-terials

Project impact

n Gender-differentiated effects

• What are the likely positive and negative ef-fects of the project? How differently will womenand men be affected? For example, is it pos-sible that the zoning regulations negativelyaffect women who are running a business intheir homes?

• Are the benefits likely to be distributed equita-bly between women and men?

• How can negative effects be mitigated?

n Disadvantaged or vulnerable groups

• Are there any disadvantaged or vulnerablegroups?

T I P

Determine how the

project will affect

women as well as

men, and find

ways to mitigate

negative effects


• Who are they? Where do they live? What aretheir socioeconomic characteristics?

• How will the project affect these groups?

n Land acquisition/Resettlement

• Is any land acquisition or resettlement ex-pected? To what extent?

• What are the implications specific to womenand to men?

• Do women and men have different preferencesregarding resettlement sites and housing andfacility designs?

• Is additional support for poor female-headedhouseholds necessary?

Neighborhood/Community

n Nature of a community

• Is there a closely knit community in the neigh-borhood? What is the basis for its organiza-tion?

• How old is the community?

• Do beneficiary women and men believe that acommunity-based approach is suitable for thedelivery of the specific UDH service? Why?

n Intracommunity conflicts over the use of UDH ser-vices

• Are there conflicts regarding the distributionof utility services (e.g., water distribution) orthe allocation of responsibility for utility man-agement within the community (e.g., wastecollection responsibility)? If so, are the conflictsbased on differences in gender, income level,ethnicity or caste, etc.? How can these con-flicts be resolved? Do women take part in con-flict resolution?

T I P

Define beneficiary

expectations

regarding project

participation,

employment

opportunities, and

credit facilities

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Participation

n Factors affecting participation

• What factors affect the level of men’s andwomen’s participation?

• What are the incentives and constraints?

n Modes: Which modes of participation in projectactivities do men and women favor (e.g., partici-pation in planning decisions orin infrastructure design, cashcontribution, labor contributionfor construction, training, opera-tion and maintenance, financialmanagement, organizationalmanagement)? Why?

n Community-based organizations(CBOs) and NGOs

• Are there CBOs, formal or in-formal, such as tenants’ asso-ciations, property owners’ as-sociations, water user groups,or waste management neigh-borhood groups? What aretheir roles and responsibili-ties? Are they suitable for theproject activities?

• Are women sufficiently repre-sented in these groups?

• Are there international or national NGOs thatsupport poverty reduction and gender initia-tives? How can the project link up with them?

• What mechanisms can be used to ensurewomen’s active participation in project activi-ties?

• Which organizations can be used to mobilizeand train women in the project activities?

Where possible,consider providingemployment and

income-generatingopportunities for

women toencourage them toparticipate (see box3). Pursue a policyof equal wages for

equal work forwomen and men in

all contracts.


Project design

Specific components4

Design of infrastructure (e.g., water supply, wastemanagement, hygiene, transport, and electricity fa-cilities and housing/shelters)

n Actively involve beneficiary women and men indetermining the number, location, and types ofurban facilities and services, and incorporate theirvarious preferences. For example, where rel-evant:

• Consider a cost-effective public lighting systemto make paths and streets safer for girls andwomen at night.

• Consider a community space that is freely ac-cessible to both women and men.

• Where public transport is part of urban devel-opment, consider access points and schedulesfriendly to women. Where segregation is thenorm, consider a women-only means of trans-port.

• Where separation is the norm, consider creat-ing separate spaces for men and women (e.g.,women’s cars in trains, women-only buses,women’s toilet spaces at bus terminals or trainstations) (see box 1).

• Where there is a need for them, consider build-ing shelters for battered women and children(e.g., transit homes for trafficked girls, crèches

4This section draws on Woroniuk and Schalkwyk (1998), the Habitat IIWebsite (http://www.cedar.ybuvue.ac.at/habitat/gender/gender.html), andvarious ADB project documents.

T I P

Actively involve

women in housing

design and location

decisions; avoid

housing designs

that make women’s

domestic work

more burdensome

21

for street children), or working women’s hos-tels. Such facilities could be operated by pri-vate entities or by NGOs.

• Consider locating urban facilities (e.g., watertaps, latrines) where they are easily accessibleto women.

n Actively involve beneficiary women and men indetermining housing designs and locations andincorporate their various preferences. For ex-ample:

• Avoid a housing design that would unneces-sarily add to women’s domestic work (e.g.,earth floors, overcrowding of different func-tions).

• Consider a housing design that will providewomen with adequate space and facilities, suchas workspaces, storage facilities, and lighting,for home-based income-generating activities(see box 2). Zoning requirements may need tobe considered in the process.

• Consider providing electrical outlets in cookingareas in low-cost housing to allow for the pos-sible use of electrical appliances later on (thismay encourage families to save money for thepurchase of labor-saving devices).

• Design simple house plans that could easily beexpanded as household incomes grow.

• Consider housing locations where women havebetter access to water and hygiene facilities,transport, and security.

n Use technology appropriate to women’s andmen’s needs and management capabilities (e.g.,water supply, latrines, drainage system), as wellas to local materials, traditions, and the envi-ronment.

T I P

Consider

women-only

transport

T I P

Women may have

different time

schedules from

men: they may

use public

transport

services at

different times

and take

different routes.

Consider the

needs of women

as customers.


Timing of UDH operations

n To the extent possible, consider women’s needsin determining the service time and frequency ofurban services (e.g., time and frequency of wa-ter supply, solid waste collection, bus and trainservices).

Financing and credit mechanisms (see box 2)

n Consider providing financial assistance throughgovernment-assisted, private-sector, and NGO fi-nancial institutions that can reach poor womenand men.

n If a community-based approach is adopted, high-light women’s strengths in mobilizing savings andresources.

n Hold consultations to ensure consideration of thepreferences of men and women with respect to:

• financing arrangement (e.g., user fees, cashvs. in-kind or labor contribution)

The Third Rural Infrastructure Project in Bangladesh is a good ex-ample of how physical infrastructure designs can address women’sspecial needs and their participation. The project involves the im-provement of the infrastructure in small towns and rural areas en-

compassing feeder roads, bridges and culverts along rural roads, flash-flood ref-uges, and markets and ghats (boat landing facilities) in growth centers.

Among the many gender-specific features of the project design, the followingtwo aspects should be highlighted here:

Women’s corners (WCs) in growth-center marketsThe project supports the construction of 279 WCs to promote the businesses of

women traders. The specific locations of WCs in each market were decided by thewomen themselves in consultation with the project authorities. Toilet and waterfacilities for women have also been built. Selection criteria and terms and condi-

Box 1

Bangladesh Third Rural Infrastructure Development Project, 1997:Addressing women’s needs in markets and shelters

CASESTUDY

23

• possible preferential treatment for very poor,female-headed, and other disadvantaged fami-lies

• the possibility of linking up with credit or com-munity-based revolving funds for UDH (see box2). The repayment schedules in such a creditarrangement should consider the irregularearning patterns of the urban informal sector.

n Consider allowing the use of personal goods(e.g., vendor licenses) to meet collateral require-ments.

Women’s participation mechanism (see box 3)

n Develop a participation strategy to directly addresswomen’s participation in project implementationand M&E. Avoid overly high expectations ofwomen’s participation and develop a practicalschedule, as women often have time and finan-cial constraints. The strategy should include thefollowing:

tions for women traders who are eligible to use the space have been developed.Such criteria ensure that men do not use women’s names to get additional spacesin the WCs.

With the help of women’s NGOs, women vendors have been trained in shopmanagement, trade licensing, taxes and tolls, and operation and maintenance offacilities. Further, to ensure that there is enough demand for WC services, motiva-tional activities targeted to women and girls as consumers are being carried out toencourage them to use the WCs.

Women’s space at flash-flood refugesWomen have participated in the selection of sites and the design of the refuges.

The refuge design took into account the identified need for private spaces andtoilets for women and for emergency medical-care facilities and services espe-cially for pregnant women.


India has a severe housing shortage: in the urbansector alone, the demand-supply gap is about 17million units. The slums prevalent in many Indiancities manifest this fact. Slum dwellers are increas-

ing in numbers by about 9 percent to 10 percent each year. Womenand children are the most affected by poor living conditions suchas lack of shelter and basic services. In response, the govern-ment has encouraged the establishment of market-oriented hous-ing finance institutions (HFIs) and poverty-targeting community-based finance institutions (CFIs). There are also private housingfinancing companies, which target middle-income households.Moreover, NGOs and CBOs sometimes assist low-income com-munities in organizing thrift and credit societies to provide financeto the poor, usually women.

The Housing Finance Project in India (1997) supports all ofthese diverse housing finance channels. It has tried to promoteonlending by HFIs to more community-based and poverty-target-ing CFIs and NGOs/CBOs. Another innovative approach is the so-called “slum networking” in which a joint effort toward slum im-provement is made by government, private industries responsi-ble for environmental management in communities, and NGOs/CBOs.

In Ahmedabad, for example, the government-assistedAhmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), nearby private indus-tries (such as a milling company), and the communities servedby NGOs/CBOs all contribute to the costs involved. The slumswere grouped into convenient packages, and consortiums of repu-table industries and NGOs were asked to bid for works on behalfof the communities within the design framework established byAMC. Slum communities are represented by neighborhood com-mittees or NGOs/CBOs or both. Before a slum becomes eligiblefor improvement, each family must contribute Rs 2,100. If thehousehold does not have enough savings, credit is made avail-able from such financing NGOs as the Self-employed Women’sAssociation (SEWA) Bank and Friends of Women’s World Banking.As the community agents of such women’s microfinance institu-tions, women from the low-income households play major rolesin mobilizing the resources from individual households.

Box 2

Assistance to community-based financing institutionsand NGOs in India: Meeting poor women’s demands fordecent shelter

CASESTUDY

25

• Organizational setup: Where relevant (espe-cially where a community-based approach isadopted), consider organizing women intoneighborhood groups to increase their bar-gaining power and leadership skills. Wheregroups with both women and men membersare preferred, consider setting a quota forwomen in the executive committees of suchgroups.

• Group rules: Where a formal community groupis being organized, clearly define the rules andresponsibilities of members. Establish grievancemechanisms for the resolution of conflicts re-lated to user rights and responsibilities. Docu-ment the agreements in bylaws.

• Construction: Ensure that work conditions areconducive to women’s participation (e.g., gen-der-equal wage rates, construction season,toilet and child-care facilities).

• Maintenance of facilities: Ensure that bothwomen and men are adequately trained in theoperation and maintenance (O&M) of facilities.

• Sanitation and hygiene: Use women as activeagents but be sure to involve husbands andmale leaders as well.

• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E): Develop afeedback mechanism in which both male andfemale beneficiaries have a voice.

• Women’s NGOs/CBOs: Identify organizationsthat could promote women’s participation dur-ing implementation and M&E.

Employment

n Ensure equal employment opportunities underthe project for women and men (e.g., construc-tion; manufacture of building materials; small- or

T I P

Consider setting

participation

targets for women

in executive

committees;

provide leadership

training for women


medium-scale waste collection, trading, or recy-cling enterprises)

n Ensure that women and men who are runningbusinesses in their homes are not placed at adisadvantage by zoning regulations.

n To the extent possible, consider locating newhousing developments close to markets or manu-facturing centers or both, to give women and menmore employment opportunities

Eligibility considerations for housing applications

n Set up a criterion that does not discriminateagainst women and men with less stable jobs.Otherwise, women, who are generally under-represented in the formal employment sector,may be disproportionately affected. Consider flex-ible income calculations, such as including the ir-regular incomes of all family members instead ofonly the stable income of the head of the house-hold. An alternative would be to consider pro-viding low-income housing for these people.

The Housing Finance Project mentioned in box 2 also provides in-come-generating opportunities for low-income women and men. Itadopts two approaches to this end. The “workshed-cum-shelter”approach supports the poor, mainly women, who operate cottage

industries at home. Hand-loom or handicraft societies or corporations nominatedby the state provide subsidized funds for shelters or worksheds to their female andmale members. The state government provides the land for the shelters orworksheds. To avoid the sale or rental of a given land title to a third party, theproject grants a tenure of at least ten years, which gives slum dwellers enoughtime to find better housing and employment.

Another approach is the “productivity-cum-shelter,” whereby funds are provideddirectly to low-income women to enable them to establish income-generating ac-

Box 3

Housing Finance Project in India, 1997: Support for home-basedfemale workers through shelter improvement and integrated povertyreduction

CASESTUDY

27

n Ensure eligibility for female-headed householdsand couples in consensual unions.

n Consider preferential eligibility criteria for poor,disadvantaged, and female-headed households.Where possible, consider quotas for them

n Minimize paperwork and bureaucratic proceduresto encourage uneducated or illiterate women andmen to apply.

Housing tenure considerations (see also box 3)

n Encourage secure tenancy or ownership for bothwomen and men. Ownership or tenure rightsover the very long term also lead to spontane-ous upgrading. They stimulate the building of ex-tensions where women can operate small en-terprises and earn income.

n When a new housing project is planned in theperiphery of the city, instead of relocating all thepoor households to the new site consider allow-ing some of them to stay by granting land titlesto those with makeshift shelters (joint titles for

tivities outside their homes. As mentioned in box 2, innovative community-basedfinancing institutions such as the Self-employed Women’s Association (SEWA)Bank are being tapped to encourage group lending for income generation. This isespecially important for women because families rarely acquire assets in thename of women family members. The creation of assets such as shops, carts,lands, or houses in women’s name is therefore crucial in empowering them, as isthe acquisition of capital, bank accounts, shares, and savings certificates. Theproductivity-cum-shelter approach also supports the capacity building of borrow-ers through skills development training, assistance in identifying sources of rawmaterials, provision of better tools and equipment, and assistance in establishinglinks to the market.


husbands and wives are recommended) and ex-tending services to the area. This poor could thuscome back to squat in the center of the city wherethey used to live and where they have a sourceof livelihood.

Information dissemination and marketingstrategies (see also footnote 2)

n Direct specific hygiene environmental messagesto the relevant gender group, on the basis ofthe gender division of labor. For example, ifwomen are responsible for disposing of solidwaste, information campaigns should be directedto them and a special communication strategyshould be developed to reach them.

n Where women are the target of information ormarketing campaigns, consider hiring female in-formation officers to reach them more effectively.

n Consider tapping women’s NGOs/CBOs for infor-mation dissemination and marketing companiesfor marketing.

Training considerations

n Where possible, consider combining training inother marketable skills with project-related con-struction training (e.g. brick-laying, carpentry,welding, masonry, etc.) to provide further income-generating opportunities.

n Where possible, consider providing a monthly liv-ing stipend to encourage the poorest groups toparticipate in the training.

n For housing development, consider trainingwomen and men in legal matters regarding landand property laws and regulations.

n Provide gender-awareness training for all projectstaff, male and female.

T I P

If it is not

possible to

provide 24-hour

urban water

supply services,

avoid providing

the water supply

at night, when

women are often

exposed to attack

while collecting

water from

community taps.

29

n Train executing agency officials and project staffin gender-sensitive M&E.

n Consider working closely with NGOs/CBOs intraining beneficiary participants.

Overall project framework

Objective

n Ensure that sector and project goals focus onpoverty reduction, human development, and gen-der equity.

Approach

n Explore a pilot project approach, if there is notenough experience in gender-responsive UDHprojects.

n Determine the practical level of project area cov-erage, on the basis of the assessed capacity ofthe executing agencies and community partici-pants.

Poverty reduction and women’s empowerment

n Identify ways to link up with income-generation,literacy, and other activities to support an inte-grated approach to poverty reduction andwomen’s empowerment (e.g., linking up with on-going or future microcredit projects, disseminat-ing information on available services, as projectcomponents).

Staffing, scheduling, procurement, and budgeting

n Consider women for project overseer positions.

n Hire more female staff for the project office and,to the extent possible, for the executing agency.

T I P

To reach

women more

effectively,

consider

hiring female

information

officers


The Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Man-agement Project, a comprehensive urban development project inIndia, provides for specific measures to promote women’s partici-pation and combat poverty, for which women bear a disproportion-

ate burden.It will invest in urban infrastructure and services required to meet basic hu-

man needs and facilitate policy reforms to strengthen urban management in tenurban towns in west Karnataka. The project has six components: (i) capacitybuilding for local government staff and community participation through a com-munity awareness and participation program (CAPP) and a slum improvementprogram to reduce poverty; (ii) water supply rehabilitation and expansion; (iii)urban environmental improvements through wastewater management, stormwater drainage, and solid waste management; (iv) street and bridge improve-ments; (v) coastal environmental management; and (vi) project managementand logistical support.

The social assessment identified that women and children are especially ad-versely affected by poor living conditions and poor access to basic urban facilities.Women who are exposed to smoky and unsanitary conditions at home and havelow access to medical facilities bear an extra burden and are more prone to dis-ease. Children are highly vulnerable to water- and vector-borne diseases. Women

Box 4

Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal EnvironmentalManagement Project in India, 1999: Focus on women’s participationand poverty reduction

n Conduct gender training for the service deliveryagent at all levels of the organization.

n If appropriate, set a minimum percentage of fe-male laborers and prohibit the use of child labor-ers in the civil works contract.

n Where a community-based approach is adopted,ensure adequate and flexible budgeting to al-low a “learning” approach (e.g., training budget,consulting service budget for women’s organi-zations).

Monitoring and evaluation

n Develop M&E arrangements: (i) internal M&E byproject staff; (ii) external M&E by NGOs or con-

CASESTUDY

31

and girls in households without piped connections spend as much as one hourcollecting water.

Improved hygiene and sanitation through infrastructure investments in the projectis expected to greatly benefit women’s health and productivity. However, the project’sbenefits will not stop there. The CAPP component will allow women and men ben-eficiaries to participate in project design, implementation, operation and mainte-nance (O&M), and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) through awareness raisingand a feedback mechanism. This will be facilitated by a consortium of NGOs ineach district. The CAPP acknowledges that women’s representation in decisionmaking is crucial. A network of women decision-makers, involving female munici-pal council chairpersons and female members of concerned municipal govern-ments, women’s NGOs, and female community representatives, will be formedthrough the CAPP. The CAPP will also provide various training and awarenessactivities, including women-in-development training.

Furthermore, poor women will benefit from the slum improvement program,which will involve not only infrastructure improvement (e.g., potable water, sanita-tion, drainage, adequate pathways) but also group savings and credit activities,skills development and entrepreneurship training, and labor opportunities pro-vided by the project. To ensure that poor women get equal benefits, such activitieswill be monitored by local NGOs and community-based organizations.

sultants, as necessary; and (iii) participatorymonitoring by beneficiary men and women.

n Disaggregate all relevant indicators by gender.

n Suggested indicators:

• Level of UDH infrastructure use and awarenessamong males and females, e.g., level of satis-faction, level of awareness of technical pack-age chosen, patterns of use, access rates, ex-tent of service coverage, awareness of hygienicpractices, time saved in collecting/carryingwater

• Project sustainability, e.g., cost recovery, break-down rates, cleanliness of facilities, number of


user groups and members (by gender), num-ber of meetings held

• Women’s empowerment, e.g., number of womengaining access to credit, increase in women’sincome, career prospects for project-trainedwomen

The Secondary Towns Infrastructure Development Project II was acomprehensive urban development project that supported the gov-ernment’s decentralization policy through the following components:(i) rehabilitation of physical infrastructure (e.g., roads and bridges,

drainage, solid waste management, water supply, sanitation, town center develop-ment); (ii) slum upgrading; (iii) pilot projects for low-income housing, land useplanning, and privatization of solid waste management; and (iv) institutional de-velopment of a pourashava (urban municipality) support unit, the National Insti-tute of Local Government, and regional training centers in four model pourashavas.

Midway through project implementation, it became clear that women’s partici-pation was confined to the activities under the slum improvement component,such as health, education, water supply, environmental training, group formation,and income generation through credit provision. While the component has beeninstrumental in flagging gender issues and women’s participation for the projectstaff, gender as a cross-cutting concern was not mainstreamed into all the othercomponents.

With the assistance of ADB’s Resident Mission GAD Specialist, a project-specificGAD action plan, which included gender mainstreaming activities, was developedto rectify the course of the project and give it an appropriate gender focus beyonda mere “women’s component.” Workshops and consultations between ADB and theexecuting agency, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of theMinistry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives, were held toformulate the plan. The plan had the following features:

• Institutional arrangement to support GAD mainstreaming: appointment of asenior member of the consulting team as a GAD focal point to coordinate allGAD activities, including the preparation of GAD guidelines for LGED

Box 5

Bangladesh Secondary Towns Infrastructure Development Project II,1995: Strategies for gender mainstreaming

CASESTUDY

33

• Support for GAD in local governance: advocacy for the establishment of gen-der and environment committees within pourashavas to be chaired by womenward commissioners; capacity building of women ward commissioners; andrecruitment of women as tax assessors, collectors, and officers

• Infrastructure design modification: design of markets and bus terminals toinclude facilities for women (e.g., waiting room, security measures, toilets,booking counter)

• Employment: advocacy to urge contractors to hire women construction work-ers, and advocacy for the principle of equal wages for equal work betweenmen and women

• Training for women: ward-based training of women and men beneficiariesand women ward commissioners in the environment, sanitation, solid wastemanagement, health and hygiene, and the maintenance of pit latrines,tubewells, and public toilets

• Gender awareness training for senior project staff: training to increaseawareness of ADB’s GAD policy, the national policy for the development ofwomen, the government’s national action plan for GAD, and basic GADconcepts

• Gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation: adoption of gender-disaggregatedindicators; redesign of the household survey questionnaire; updating of thepourashava yearbook to rectify its gender focus

In addition, while the GAD action plan was being prepared, it was learned thatwomen ward commissioners in pourashavas did not have clear terms of referenceand that the recent local government reform bill had bypassed pourashavas. Thisissue was taken up at a higher level between the government and ADB as a policydialogue issue.

Documentation

n Document the gender-responsive design fea-tures in the RRP (preferably as a GAD strategyfor the project) and incorporate them in the loanagreement to ensure gender-sensitive projectdesign mechanisms, which the executing agencymust comply with (see table 1).


Policy dialogueWhat is discussed in the policy dialogue dependsvery much on the executing agencies’ acceptanceof gender issues, their commitment to help resolvethose issues, and the nature and complexity of theissues. In some cases, key gender issues identifiedthrough gender analysis require legal and policyreforms in combination with UDH projects. In othercases, a UDH project can be designed to supportthe implementation of a new policy or law. In anycase, the project design must be compatible withthe law or policy. Continuous policy dialogue withDMC counterparts is important.

The policy dialogue should also confirm that the DMCcounterparts understand the key gender issues andare ready to commit the appropriate implementa-tion arrangements and adequate resources.

Some potential issues to be discussed during theproject- and policy-level dialogue with the DMC coun-terpart are presented in Table 2.

35

Possible agenda for the policy dialogue

Table 2

KEY ISSUES

Gender and participationcapacity building for EA

Government-NGOcollaboration

Staffing

Budgeting

Sector work

Legal and policy reform

SUGGESTED ACTIONS

• Consider a TA for gender and participationtraining for all EA officials and staff, withemphasis on project implementation.

• Obtain the support of the national wom-en’s machinery, including such entities asthe Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Explore opportunities for the EA to work withwomen’s NGOs in service delivery andstrategy building.

Obtain the EA’s commitment to increase thenumber of permanent female staff.

Allocate funds for training in gender aware-ness and training for women, and equalemployment opportunities for women.

Suggest separate sector work or “piggy-back” technical assistance to investigategender-discriminatory or sectoral legal andpolicy issues (e.g., inheritance law or familycode with discriminatory clauses on women’srights to land and property).

Consider incorporating legal and policyreforms in the project to increase theinvolvement of women (see box 5 for anexample of policy issues in gender and localgovernance).


Terms of reference for gender specialist

Appendix

PPTA FEASIBILITY STUDY

n As part of the social analysis, conductparticipatory gender analysis in collabo-ration with other specialists (e.g., socialscientists, hygiene specialist, and com-munity participation specialist).

n Identify the socioeconomic profile of keystakeholder groups in the target popu-lation and disaggregate data by gender.Analyze the link between poverty andgender.

n Examine gender differences in knowl-edge, attitudes, practices, roles, con-straints, needs, and priorities in the ur-ban development and housing sector,and the factors that account for such dif-ferences.

n Assess men’s and women’s capacity toparticipate and the factors affecting it.

n Assess potential gender-differentiatedeffects of the project and options formaximizing benefits and minimizing ad-verse effects.

n Identify government agencies, nongov-ernment and community-based organi-zations, and women’s groups that canbe utilized during PPTA and projectimplementation. Assess their capacity.

n Review the related policy and legalframework (e.g., inheritance law, landlaws, family code, community group by-laws), as necessary.

n On the basis of the analysis, develop agender-responsive and participatoryproject design and any further sectorwork and policy/sector reform required.

n Develop a project gender strategy,which includes specific measures to pro-mote, facilitate, and ensure women’sactive participation and to address theirspecial concerns in all project activities.

n Develop a gender-responsive M&Emechanism and indicators.

n Prepare terms of reference for the imple-mentation and M&E consultants.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ANDM&E ASSISTANCE

n Develop or, if one already exists, re-fine the gender strategy for theproject and review the implementa-tion plan.

n Assist the project office in recruitingstaff to ensure women’s equal rep-resentation and gender focus. Con-duct gender awareness training forproject staff at all levels. Maintainthe desired level of gender aware-ness.

n Help recruit female communitymobilizers, if required. Conduct gen-der training for them. Assess thetraining needs of beneficiary womenin urban development and housing.Supervise community-level trainingfor these women to ensure adequatetechnical and skills training in urbandevelopment and housing suited totheir needs.

n Assist the project office in monitor-ing the implementation of the project.Pay particular attention to potentialresistance to women’s participationand facilitate conflict resolution, asrequired.

n Assess other needs of beneficiarywomen (e.g., credit, literacy pro-gram, skills training for income gen-eration) as these emerge, and pro-pose to the project office practicalways of addressing these needs inthe project.

n Assist the benefit monitoring andevaluation (BME) consultant in col-lecting gender-disaggregated andwomen-specific data. Assist femalecommunity mobilizers (if they exist)in mobilizing beneficiary women forparticipatory monitoring and evalua-tion. From the findings, propose therequired corrective measures to theproject office.

37

Asian Development Bank. 2000. Gender Checklist onWater Supply and Sanitation Projects. Manila: ADB.

Chant, S. 1996. Gender, Urban Development andHousing. Publication Series for Habitat II, Volume2. United Nations Development Programme.

Fong, Monica, Wendy Wakeman, and Anjana Bhushan.1996. Toolkit on Gender in Water and Sanitation.Gender Toolkit Series No. 2. Washington, D.C.:World Bank.

Habitat II Website. Decent Shelter: A Women’s Right.http://www.cedar.ybuvue.ac.at/habitat/gender/

gender.htmlHaryantiningsih. 1997. Urban Water Supply: Experi-

ment to Investigate Women’s Roles as Custom-ers. Final Report to the World Bank. Jakarta,December.

Woronluk, B., and J. Schalkwyk. 1998. SIDA EqualityPrompt Sheets #1–17. Stockholm: SIDA, Novem-ber.

Selected references

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