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p. 20 of 53 BACK | NEXT Classification of Developing Member Countries in Bank Operations Bank Operations in Pacific Island Developing Member Countries Lending and Relending Policies (Ordinary Capital Resources) Lending and Relending Policies (Asian Development Fund) Sector Lending Program Lending Assistance to Private Enterprises Financial Intermediation Loans/Credit Lines Financing of Interest and Other Charges During Construction Financing of Indirect Foreign Exchange Cost of Projects Lending Foreign Exchange for Local Expenditures on Projects Retroactive Financing Supplementary Financing of Cost Overruns of Bank-Financed Projects Use of Surplus Loan Funds Foreign Exchange Risk in Bank Operations Sector Development Programs Technical Assistance Guarantee and Security Arrangment for Bank Loans Environmental Considerations in Bank Operations Gender and Development in Bank Operations Project Performance Management System The Bank's Cooperation with NGOs Emergency Rehabilitation Assistance Loan for Small DMCs Rehabilitation Assistance After Disasters Cooperation Arrangements with International Organizations and Bilateral Sources Coordination with Aid Agencies Regional Cooperation Cofinancing Japan Special Fund Guarantee Operations Bank's Operational Missions Communication with Members of the Board of Directors Processing of Loan Proposals Project Financial Management Systems, Financial Analysis and Financial Performance Indicators Economic Analysis of Projects Procurement of Goods and Works Use of Consulting Services Formulation and Implementation of Loan Convenants Effectiveness of the Loan Agreement Loan Disbursement and Loan Closing Project Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Auditing Post Evaluation Country Planning and Programming Incorporation of Social Dimensions in Bank Operations Poverty Reduction ADB Accountability Mechanism Involuntary Resettlement Internal Audit Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information Indigenous Peoples Governance Anticorruption Enhancing the Asian Development Bank's Role in Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

Operations Manual

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This OM has been superceded by OM C2

OM Section 21: Issued on 7 January 1997
Gender and Development in Bank Operations

Bank Policies (BP)

Introduction

1. This OM Section describes briefly and selectively salient features of the Bank's policies and procedures in addressing gender and development issues, the effects of Bank projects¹ on women, and the need to enhance the economic and social status of women in the developing member countries (DMCs).

Policies

2. Improving the status of women is one of the five strategic objectives of the Bank. It is the policy of the Bank to explicitly integrate gender considerations into all aspects of Bank operations. This entails addressing gender considerations in the Bank's macroeconomic, sector, and programming work; undertaking gender analysis in projects; and facilitating gender considerations to be addressed at all stages of the project cycle, including identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation, operation and maintenance, and postevaluation.

3. While gender mainstreaming forms the major thrust of the Bank's approach to improving the status of women, exclusively women-targeted projects may be formulated and implemented where special sociocultural circumstances dictate and permit separate resource allocation to improve women's access to and control over project benefits. Stand-alone projects for women may also be formulated and implemented to address glaring inequalities.

4. The key elements of the Bank's approach to addressing its strategic objective of women in development are:

Gender Sensitivity - to observe how Bank operations affect women and take into account their needs and perspectives in planning its operations.

Gender Analysis - to systematically assess the impact of a project on men and women and on the economic and social relationship between them.

Gender Planning - to formulate specific strategies to bring about equal opportunities for men and women.

Mainstreaming - to ensure that gender concerns and women's needs and perspectives are considered in all aspects of Bank operations, and that women participate in the decision-making process in development activities.

5. It is also the Bank's policy to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of a gender dimension in policymaking, planning, and program implementation of DMC governments at all levels, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and community organizations in DMCs.

Operational Procedures (OP)

Introduction

1. This part of the OM Section supplements with certain additional specific Women in Development (WID) requirements, the relevant procedures described in the OM Section 47 on Incorporation of Social Dimensions in Bank Operations, and both the documents should be read together.

Country Operational Strategy Study (COSS)

2. Gender issues should be systematically addressed in the Bank's economic and sector work. Since the country operational strategy sets the stage for future Bank activities in a DMC, the relevant Programs Division should (i) prepare or update the WID Country Briefing Paper concurrently with the COSS, and (ii) formulate and prepare an appropriate WID strategy (to be included as an appendix in the COSS) that specifies how the Bank intends to promote and implement its overall WID objectives in that DMC. The COSS mission to a DMC should collect gender-disaggregated data on social and economic indicators and recent data pertaining to WID in the DMC, identify WID priorities of the DMC, and relate them to the Bank's strategy requirements. The COSS mission should also examine the WID policies and strategies of other relevant agencies and NGOs in the DMC and their implications for the Bank's strategy.

WID Country Briefing Paper

3. The WID Country Briefing Paper forms the basis for formulating the WID strategy in the COSS. The WID Country Briefing Paper should contain (i) a social and economic overview of the situation of women in the DMC; (ii) a description of the DMC government policies and institutions related to women, and policies and programs for WID of other institutions (national organizations as well as international aid agencies); (iii) an assessment of the impact of the Bank's operations in regard to WID, and their implications for possible future Bank assistance; (iv) recommended Bank action; and (v) concrete suggestions for the project pipeline. The WID Country Briefing Paper will be published subsequently as a stand-alone Bank publication and made available for distribution.

WID Strategy

4. The Bank's WID strategy in the DMC will specify how the Bank intends to address the issues highlighted in the WID Country Briefing Paper and how the overall WID objectives will be achieved.

5. The Strategy will indicate the sectors and subsectors for which a WID focus is required, the operational approaches, and the actions required to achieve strategic outcomes for WID. The WID strategy may include policy dialogue, special studies, targeted women-specific investments, strategies for increasing women's participation in the development process, and support to assist the DMC in promoting and enhancing the status of women and in monitoring effectively changes in respect to WID.

Country Assistance Plan (CAP)

6. The means by which the Bank's program will address WID will become more refined and focused in the preparation of the CAP.¹ The economic and social sectors that require gender considerations, key projects that require substantial WID inputs, and the scope for cooperation with other aid agencies will be specified.

WID at the Project Level

7. As with the Bank's economic and sector work, WID and gender considerations will constitute an essential element of project work. The conduct of gender analysis and WID consideration will be undertaken² as a routine, especially in projects that have a significant social dimension, at all stages of the project cycle, namely identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation, operation and maintenance, and postevaluation. A preliminary review will, however, be undertaken during the project identification stage to identify any potential gender issues or differential impact on men and women. A detailed gender analysis will not be required for projects that, prima facie, have no significant gender impact. During project implementation, monitoring of WID concerns and components is equally important.

Initial Social Assessment (ISA)

8. ISA,³ which is necessary for every Bank project, will carry further the preliminary gender analysis by identifying and disaggregating by gender the target population, describing subpopulation characteristics and needs, and assessing their absorptive capacity. Women's organizations and WID-oriented NGOs that could be involved in the design, implementation, benefit monitoring, and evaluation of the project will be identified at this stage. The ISA should be undertaken as early as possible in the project cycle, and preferably by the time of fact-finding for a project preparatory technical assistance (PPTA) or other project preparatory study.

Social Analysis and Design

9. If the ISA indicates that a project has important WID issues, the PPTA or other project preparatory study may call for a detailed Social Analysis. This analysis done will include a gender analysis as an integral part and will provide the basis for including a suitable social design⁴ in the project.

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