Employees of the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, the Housing Arm of the BARMM, reviewed, assessed and evaluated the ministry’s gender mainstreaming on its Programs, Activities, and Projects (PAPs) during the Training-Workshop on Gender Analysis at the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel, Davao City on November 3-4, 2022.

Raiza A. Abas, RN, Certified GAD Resource Pool Member by the Philippine Commission on Women, led the workshops and lecture sessions throughout the two-day activity, beginning with an orientation on Basic Gender and Development (GAD), and followed by Gender Mainstreaming; Gender Analysis and Gender Analysis Tools; Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) tool, and; the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines (HGDG) tool.

“The Ministry believes that mainstreaming GAD has a significant impact on improving the quality of service it provides, thus, the activity aims to understand deeply the components of GAD, especially in the implementation of its programs and projects for the delivery of services to its clients,” shared Zuhaira U. Ebrahim, RN, MHSD’s GAD Focal Person.

Participants used the GMEF tool, a self-assessment tool used to help government agencies and instrumentalities in understanding the processes and context of gender mainstreaming within an organization, to evaluate the Ministry based on Policy, People, Enabling Mechanisms, and PAPs.

Also during the workshop, participants were given concept notes to evaluate based on the HGDG, a set of analytical concepts and tools developed for integrating gender concerns into development programs and projects, which ensures gender equality and women’s empowerment results in PAPs.

The activity formally opened with message from Salem C. Demuna, Director II for Operations and Management, and ended with closing message from Esmael W. Ebrahim, Bangsamoro Director General.

Also presented during the activity was award-winning animated video titled “The Impossible Dream” which takes a “wry humorous look” at a problem faced by women everywhere: the double-workload of a full-time job and being a housewife, featuring an average family with a baby and two school-age children.

Gender Mainstreaming or GAD mainstreaming is the major global strategy for ensuring that the government pursues gender equality in all aspects of the development process to achieve the vision of a gender-responsive society where women and men equally contribute to, and benefit from, development.