Gender Impact Assessment

Gender impact assessment is a process of estimating the different effects (positive, negative or neutral) of any policy, program or activity on men and women.  The aim of gender impact assessment (GIA) is to get policy makers to think about the different impacts policies have on men and women and to assess whether they will contribute to or help to alleviate gender inequality.   As such, gender impact assessment is a key part of gender mainstreaming. 

Ideally, gender impact assessment should be carried out before implementation begins so that policies and activities can be modified or replaced if negative impacts are identified.  Gender impact assessment can also be carried out once a policy or project has commenced or is complete to assess interim and final outcomes and impacts.  All policies can be subject to GIA - not just those formulated to address men’s or women’s needs – to reveal and examine indirect gendered impacts that may have been overlooked during the formulation of policies.

The first step in GIA involves identifying the issue and examining the goals and objectives of the policy response, paying particular attention to gender-based impacts and the goal of gender equality.  The second step is to collect statistics disaggregated by sex of the target population and other demographic data (such as ethnicity, age, religion, marital status etc.) which will help to inform the development of a range of policy options.  This baseline data is also important for establishing indicators that can assist in measuring the impact of the policy and progress toward policy objectives.  Conducting more detailed forms of gender analysis and qualitative research may also be required to help inform policy or program development. Policy options can then be examined and assessed in terms of possible negative impacts on men and women, unequal benefits or inequity, before a particular course of action is selected.  Involving and communicating with men and women in the target population should be an ongoing part of gender impact assessment and the policy formulation process, as well the ongoing monitoring and evaluating of the policy or program once it has been implemented.

For examples of gender impact assessment methods, the UK Government’s Women and Equality Unit has published a guide for policy makers (http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/equality/gender_impact_assessment.pdf).  Women’s Health Victoria (http://www.whv.org.au/health_policy/gia.htm), a peak policy research group, has produced a GIA template and a series of gender impact assessment papers on a range of health policy areas, as a strategy for gender mainstreaming in policy and planning.  Like social impact assessment, gender impact assessment can be carried out to assess the impact of a range of events, including natural disasters and conflict.  A gender impact assessment on the impacts of Hurricane Ivan on the population of Grenada was carried out by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) with the support of UNIFEM and UNDP, to identify gendered impacts of the disaster and the relief and recovery effort (http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/7/23217/L.48.pdf).

Sources and online resources:

Crawley, M & O’Meara, L (2004) Gender Impact Assessment Handbook, Gender Equality Unit, Office of First Minister & Deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland, (Accessed 15 Jan. 08) http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/handbook1.pdf

European Commission, ‘A Guide to Gender Impact Assessment’, (Accessed 15 Jan. 08)
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/docs/gender/gender_en.pdf

ECLAC, UNDP & UNIFEM, Grenada: A Gender Impact Assessment of Hurricane Ivan – Making the invisible visible (2005), (Accessed 15 Jan. 08) http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/7/23217/L.48.pdf

Johnson, S. (2000) ‘Gender Impact Assessment in Microfinance and Microenterprise: How and Why’, Development in Practice, 10(1): 89-93, (Accessed 15 Jan. 08) http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/display.asp?K=002J0360&sort=SORT_DATE%2FD&sf_01=CTITLE&st_01=microfinance&m=13&dc=22

Overseas Development Institute, ‘Gender Impact Assessment: Framework for Gender Mainstreaming’, (Accessed 19 Dec. 07) http://www.odi.org.uk/rapid/Tools/Toolkits/EBP/Gender_impact.html

Women & Equality Unit, Department of Trade and Industry, Government of the United Kingdom, ‘Gender Mainstreaming Resources: Gender Impact Assessment’, (Accessed 11 Oct. 07)
http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/equality/gender_impact_assessment.pdf

Women’s Health Victoria, ‘Gender Impact Assessment’, (Accessed 11 Oct. 07) http://www.whv.org.au/health_policy/gia.htm