GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995

(Republic Act No. 7877), Anti-Violence

The Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act Against Women and their Children Act of
No. 9710) defines Gender and 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262), and the
Development Program (GAD) as the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No.
development perspective and process that is 9710).
participatory and empowering, equitable,
sustainable, free from violence, respectful of The GAD perspective of the CSC vision is:
human rights, supportive of self-determination To become the leading gender responsive
and actualization of human potentials. It HR/OD institution.
seeks to achieve gender equality as a
In order to attain the vision, the CSC’s
fundamental value that should be reflected in
primary GAD mission are:
development choices and contends that To integrate and advocate gender equality
women are active agents of development, not principles and perspectives in all HR/OD
just passive recipients of development. policies, programs, and systems in
GAD focuses on Gender Mainstreaming or a government.
strategy for:
To ensure that every civil servant is gender
 Making women’s as well as men’s responsive through the development and
concerns and experiences an integral enhancement of their capacity to use gender
dimension of the design, lens
in their work toward public service
implementation, monitoring, and
excellence.
evaluation of policies, programs and
projects in all social, political, civil, and
economic spheres so that women and CSC’s GAD goals are:
men benefit equally.
1. To ensure gender sensitive HR/OD
 Assessing the implications for women systems in the government
and men of any planned action,
including legislation, policies or Desired outcomes:
programs in all areas and at all levels
• Equal rights and opportunities for civil
servants, including representation and
CSC Gender and Development (GAD) participation of women in decision-making
Agenda through gender responsive HR/OD policies
As the Philippine Government’s premier HR and programs systems;
institution, the CSC aims to mold a gender • Better and equitable access to work
responsive government through gender opportunities and decent work conditions;
mainstreaming using the Gender and • Civil servants capacitated with gender lens
Development or GAD approach.
2. To develop competent and credible civil
The GAD Agenda of the CSC supports the servants who are gender responsive
thrusts and directions under the CSC
Performance Governance System (PGS). Desired outcome:
Moreoever, the GAD Agenda recognizes the • Gender outlook changes so as to view
various GAD commitments of the CSC under women as men’s equals
various gender-related laws, notably, the
Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive
Development (1995-2025), the Beijing 3. To establish sustainable partnerships and
Platform for Action (the resulting document foster cooperation with networks and allies
from the Fourth World Conference on Women within and outside of the Philippine Civil
in Beijing, China in 1995 adopted by the Service to promote a gender responsive
United Nations), Women in Development and bureaucracy
Nation Building Act (Republic Act No. 7192),
Desired outcome: policies aim to redefine traditional gender role
• Partnership with external stakeholders expectations.
institutionalized
 
WHAT IS GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT IN
(GAD)?
PHILIPPINES
Gender and Development (GAD) – refers to
Philippine Plan for Gender and Development,
the development perspective and process
1995-2025, is a National Plan that addresses,
that is participatory and empowering,
provides and pursues full equality and
equitable, sustainable, free from violence,
development for men and women. Approved
respectful of human rights, supportive of self-
and adopted by former President Fidel V.
determination and actualization of human
Ramos as Executive No. 273, on September
potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality
8, 1995, it is the successor of the Philippine
as a fundamental value that should be
Development Plan for Women, 1989-1992
reflected in development choices and
adopted by Executive No.  348 of February
contends that women are active agents of
17, 1989.
development, not just passive recipients of
development; Three years after, DENR Administrative
Order No. 98 – 15 dated May 27, 1998 came
HOW GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
up as the Revised Guidelines on the
STARTED?
Implementation of Gender and Development
Gender and Development was developed in (GAD) Activities in the Department of
the 1980’s as an alternative to the Women in Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Development (WID) approach. in order to strengthen the DENR GAD Focal
Point System and accomplishing the GAD
Unlike WID, the GAD approach is not vision “Partnership of Empowered Men and
concerned specifically with women, but with Women for Sustainable Development”.
the way in which a society assigns roles,
responsibilities, and expectations to both men Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as
and women. the Magna Carta of Women was approved on
August 14, 2009 which mandates non-
GAD applies gender analysis to uncover the discriminatory and pro-gender equality and
ways in which men and women work equity measures to enable women’s
together, presenting results in neutral terms participation in the formulation,
of economics and competence. implementation and evaluation of policies and
GAD focus primarily on two major plan for national, regional and local
frameworks, Gender Roles and Social development.
Relations Analysis. Gender role focus on A Memorandum Circular No. 2011 – 01 dated
social construction of identities within the October 21, 2011 was released addressing to
household, it also reveals the expectations all Government Departments including their
from ‘maleness and femaleness’ in their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, State
relative access to resources. Social relations Universalities and Colleges (SUCs),
analysis exposes the social dimensions of Government-Owned and Controlled
hierarchical power relations imbedded in Corporations (GOCCs) and all other
social institutions; also it’s determining government instrumentalities as their
influence on ‘the relative position of men and guidelines and procedures for the
women in society. In an attempt to create establishment, strengthening and
gender equality, (denoting women having institutionalization of the GAD Focal Point
same opportunities as men, including ability System (GFPS).
to participate in the public sphere) GAD
What is gender awareness Gender awareness raising intends to change
attitudes, behaviours and beliefs that
raising? reinforce inequalities between women and
men. It is therefore crucial to develop
Gender awareness raising aims at increasing
awareness-raising methods that generate a
general sensitivity, understanding and
favourable space for debate, promote
knowledge about gender (in)equality.
political interest and encourage mobilisation
[5]. In this way, they contribute to gaining
Awareness raising is a process which helps
broad support and political will for
to facilitate the exchange of ideas, improve
implementing gender mainstreaming and
mutual understanding and develop
gender equality policies. GAD OVERVIEW
competencies and skills necessary for
societal change [1]. Gender awareness
WHAT IS GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
raising means providing reliable and
(GAD)
accessible information to build a better
understanding of gender equality as a core
— is a development perspective that
value of democratic societies. As a gender-
recognizes the unequal status and situation
mainstreaming method, gender awareness
of women and men in society.
raising is crucial for integrating a gender
perspective into policies, programmes, — Women and men have different
projects and services that respond to the development needs and interests, which is
different needs of women and men. institutionalized and perpetuated by cultural,
social, economic and political norms,
Definition and purpose systems and structures.
Gender awareness raising aims to promote
GOAL OF GAD
and encourage a general understanding of
gender-related challenges, for instance, — As a development approach, GAD seeks
violence against women and the gender pay to equalize the status and condition of and
gap. It also aims to show how values and relations between women and men by
norms influence our reality, reinforce influencing the process and output of policy-
stereotypes and support the structures that making, planning, budgeting, implementation a
produce inequalities [2]. nd monitoring, and evaluation so that they
would deliberately address the gender issues
Gender awareness raising plays an important
and concerns affecting the full development
role in informing women and men about
of women.
gender equality, the benefits of a more
gender-equal society and the consequences GENDER EQUITY
of gender inequality. For example, raising
awareness about the proven economic — Means giving more opportunities to those
benefits of advancing gender equality, such who have less and those who are historically
as the strong, positive impact on gross and socially disadvantaged based on their
domestic product (GDP) and higher levels of needs for them to operate on a level playing
employment [3], and about the profound field. “Focusing on the needs of women does
negative impact of gender inequalities, for not mean discriminating against men or
instance, the fact that women are at a higher putting them at a disadvantage”
risk of poverty because of lower employment
prospects [4]. — UN–CEDAW (United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women) recognized the need to men’s priorities and needs [6] (Read more on
remove the biases against and provide EIGE’s Gender Equality Training toolkit).
special attention to women through
affirmative action. It is a temporary The purpose of gender awareness raising is
measure that will be discontinued when the threefold:
objectives of equality of opportunity and
treatment have been achieved.  to provide basic facts, evidence and
arguments on various topics relating
GENDER MAINSTREAMING to gender equality to increase
awareness and knowledge about
— Is the Philippine government’s strategy for gender (in)equality;
making agencies work for women’s  to foster communication and
empowerment and gender equality. information exchange so as to improve
mutual understanding and learning
— It is the process of analyzing existing about gender (in)equality;
development paradigms, practices, and goals;  to mobilise communities and society
assessing the implications for women and as  a  whole to bring about the
men of existing legislation policies, programs, necessary changes in attitudes,
projects, and mechanisms. behaviours and beliefs about gender
equality.
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
Providing information and raising awareness
— Is a goal of and an essential process for about gender equality does not, however,
women’s advancement. automatically lead to social change [9].
Gender awareness-raising initiatives may be
— Is a process and condition by which met with obstacles and resistance that need
women mobilize to understand, identify, and to be carefully considered and overcome.
overcome gender discrimination and achieve
equality. Gender awareness raising aims at increasing
general sensitivity, understanding and
— Women become agents of development knowledge about gender (in)equality.
and not just beneficiaries. Awareness raising is a process which helps
to facilitate the exchange of ideas, improve
— A kind of participation in development that mutual understanding and develop
enables women to make decisions based on competencies and skills necessary for
their own views and perspective. societal change. Gender awareness raising
means providing reliable and accessible
— To empower women, access to information to build a better understanding of
information, training, technology, market, and gender equality as a core value of democratic
credit is necessary. societies.
As a gender-mainstreaming method, gender
Gender awareness raising goes hand in hand awareness raising is crucial for integrating a
with gender equality training as a way to gender perspective into policies,
transmit the necessary information and programmes, projects and services that
knowledge to take action. This is especially respond to the different needs of women and
true for the actors involved in policy men.
processes, as it enables them to create
interventions that address women’s and