Water

Gender in Water Partnership
Gender Scan of ADB Water Operations

The Gender in Water Partnership between ADB and the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) was launched during the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan in March 2003.

In October 2003, ADB and GWA signed a letter of agreement to co-sponsor a program of activities to put this partnership into operation. The first of these activities is a Gender-Scan of ADB Water Operations.

• Examine the extent to which gender responsive practice is currently promoted and practiced in ADB water-related policies and programs
• Provide an opportunity to reflect on experiences to date
• Formulate strategies for building on and enhancing current gender responsive practice

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The methodology for the review was structured into 4 areas of activity:

• review of key ADB policies, reports and other relevant documentation
• review of a 25% sample of projects/loans that have become effective since January 1997 (21 loans) and interviews with associated Project Officers (Pos)
• interviews with and questions to key informants
• field visits to 2 projects each in Sri Lanka and Viet Nam

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The following provides the ADB policy context for gender in water operations:

• 1998 Gender Policy, through which ADB adopted mainstreaming in all projects and programs as the key strategy for promoting gender equity
• 1998 Poverty Strategy, which states that women's participation is a key contributing factor to effective poverty reduction
• 2001 Water Policy, which states that gender will be integrated in all water-related policies, plans, programmes and projects.

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This study examined a 25% sample of water-related projects with effective dates from 1997-2003 - a total of 21 projects. The findings of the study include:

• There are more projects with "significant gender mainstreaming" or "some gender elements" than those with no "gender elements"

• The gender elements of ADB water-related projects are part of community level, participatory activities. This approach is promoted and reinforced by the Water Policy.

• Water-related projects focusing exclusively on infrastructure hardware either had "no gender elements", or had gender elements that were confined to very small community-related components.

• Many executing agencies accept the need for gender mainstreaming as an ADB loan requirement, but have little motivation or capacity to implement.

• Gender analytical information (GAI) provides important base-line data for effective gender mainstreaming. All of the 21 projects reviewed have some GAI, but quality and relevance of the information varies considerably.

• POs have little information on the implementation of gender plans. Gender does not often come up in project review discussions, and POs do not necessarily know what to ask about or look for.

• Few water-related POs have received gender training either in ADB or elsewhere. Interestingly, POs who demonstrated the most commitment to gender issues had learned not from gender training courses but from experience.

• There is a clear link between gender mainstreaming and poverty-focused participatory planning and implementation processes. Recognizing this link and incorporating it in capacity building, support and exchange programs will yield positive results.

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• Staff from ADB's Gender Group and the Water Group should work together to improve the adaptation of gender procedures to fit the circumstances of different projects, executing agencies and cultures.

• Discuss how and whether gender is an issue in major infrastructure projects with no community participatory elements.

• During policy dialogue processes, enable Eas to understand how gender mainstreaming will assist them in achieving national water policy objectives.

• Identify practical and realistic ways of overcoming budgetary and time constraints for generating gender analytical information.

• Identify ways of more effectively using the planning process to spearhead, promote and support gender mainstreaming in implementation.

• Build the capacity of EAs and POs to implement gender-related activities.

• Develop and document joint pilot initiatives on poverty, participation and gender mainstreaming to ensure that staff working on these areas benefit from each other's expertise and experience.

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View the document [ PDF: 564kb | 102 pages ]. To read, you need Acrobat.

Download the report.

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Gender Scan Methodology
  • Structure of the Report
• Policy and Institutional Framework
  • Policy Context
  • Institutional Framework
  • Gender and Water Initiatives To Date
• Gender Scan Findings
  • Review of 25% Sampling of Water Related Documents
  • Field Visits to Sri Lanka and Viet Nam
  • Interviews with Project Officers and Key Informants
• Analysis
  • Consistency with the Gender Policy
  • Quality Improvements: Gender in the Project Cycle
  • Gender Capacity Development
• Recommendations
• Endnotes
• Appendixes
  • Terms of Reference
  • Policies and Documents Reviewed
  • List of 21 Selected Loan Projects
  • Interviews and Meetings – ADB Resident Mission and Field Staff
  • Field Study Checklist
  • Interview and Meetings – ADB HQ Staff
  • Project Officer Interview Checklist
  • Checklist for Questions to the Water Committee
  • Analysis of Gender Elements of 21 Water Sector Loans