Gender and Development

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p. 12 of 21 BACK | NEXT Gender Thematic RETAs Gender and Institutional Support RETAs Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Mainstreaming Gender into Poverty Reduction Strategies in Four Central Asia Republics External Forum II Enhancing GAD Capacity II Enhancing GAD Capacity External Forum GAD Initiatives Gender and Legal RETAs

Gender and Institutional Support RETAs

Mainstreaming Gender into Poverty Reduction Strategies in Four Central Asia Republics, RETA 6177, 2004

The rapid economic transition in the Central Asian Republics (CARs) has resulted in a significant decline in the living standards of the population. While both women and men have experienced growing poverty, unemployment, reduced social services, and weakening social support, the economic and social costs of transition weigh heavily on women. Aside from the economic impacts, major consequences for women include increased alcoholism leading to domestic violence against women, worsening heath status, increased incidence of HIV/AIDs, out-migration, commercial sexual activities, and human trafficking leading to social fragmentation and social exclusion.

To prevent further deterioration of women's social and economic status, this TA aims to contribute to the poverty reduction efforts of the four selected CARS (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan) by supporting the governments to identify key gender issues for poverty reduction. The objectives are to improve the quality of NPRS by identifying and implementing policies and programs that will benefit both men and women and maximize potential benefits for the poor.

The RETA will assist the DMCs to integrate and address gender issues more consistently and systematically in planning and/or implementing the respective NPRS and country strategy and programs, develop entry points for dealing with gender equity concerns and strengthen the institutional capacity of the government women's machinery for addressing GAD issues.

The key outputs are

1. DMCs assessment of the gender dimensions of poverty and development of strategic interventions to address those dimensions
2. interventions for potential ADB financing to address the gender dimensions of poverty
3. strategic papers on gender
4. strengthened capacity of governments of the DMCs to monitor and evaluate gender impacts and ADB's poverty reduction strategy

Assessing the gender dimensions of poverty will be conducted through Country Gender Assessments (CGAs). The CGAs will identify gender-responsive policies, strategies and actions for integration into DMCs' strategy for poverty reduction.

Activities of the TA include:

• Participatory gender assessment to provide a profile of
1. the different roles of women and men and their participation in the market and household economies
2. gender disparities in access and control over and use of assets and productive resources
3. gender disparities in human development indicators
4. inequalities between women and men in decision making at local and national levels
5. laws, institutional frameworks, norms and other societal practices that contribute to gender discrimination and/or gender inequality
• Policies and institutional analysis to provide a set of suggested gender-responsive policies and operational intervention for ADB's country strategy and program (CSP)
• National Workshops to provide an opportunity for dialogue between the government and stakeholders to identify policies and interventions for mainstreaming gender into the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS)
• A Regional Workshop for dialogue, cross-country sharing of experiences and lessons, and exchange of strategies in main-streaming gender in the NPRS

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