2. Slide 1
Course objectives
Understand the rationale and principles behind promoting gender equality in humanitarian action, the challenges, the fundamental need to change attitudes and beliefs, and the need to promote a more equal balance of power between women and men.
Participants will:
know the key global standards and approaches that guide good practice on gender in humanitarian action;
be confident in carrying out a gender analysis and using it to shape programming;
have identified how personal beliefs about gender impact on work;
understand the need to transform the attitudes and beliefs of others;
understand what gender leadership in humanitarian action is, and feel inspired to promote it with confidence and authority, both within an organization and in the wider humanitarian community;
have developed a plan for their own role in leading change on gender equality in humanitarian action.

3. Slide 2
Course content Day 1
Setting the scene: why gender equality matters in humanitarian action
Day 2
Gender in humanitarian settings: the need for leadership
Day 3
Good practice (part I): gender analysis and standards in humanitarian action
Day 4
Good practice (part II): participation, dignity, empowerment, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and gender-based violence (GBV)
Day 5
Consolidating a gender leadership model

4. Slide 3
Gender equality
Gender equality, or equality between women and men, refers to the equal enjoyment by females and males – of all ages and regardless of sexual orientation or gender self-identification – of rights, opportunities, resources and rewards. Equality does not mean that they are the same, but that their enjoyment of rights, opportunities and life chances are not governed or limited by whether they are female or male.

5. Slide 4
Women and girls’ rights
Women and girls are entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of all of their human rights and to be free from all forms of discrimination – this is fundamental to achieve human rights, peace and security, and sustainable development. It includes rights to health, education, political participation, economic well-being and freedom from violence. All major international human rights instruments stipulate ending discrimination on the basis of sex. Almost all countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), described as the women’s international bill of rights.

6. Slide 5
Gender inequality
Women often have less access than men to:
material resources;
legal recognition;
public knowledge and information;
decision-making power;
economic power.
They also have little control over their fertility, sexuality and marital choices.

7. Gender, power and intersectionality
Slide 6
Gender, power and intersectionality
Gender inequality is a form of power inequality and is influenced by other factors of identity such as class, ethnicity, (dis)ability, age and sexuality. The intersection of these various identities can result in marginalization and inequality.
Class
Sexuality
Ethnicity
Age
Ability

8. Slide 7
Transforming gendered power relations
At their most basic, humanitarian programmes need to assess gender-differentiated needs, vulnerabilities and capacities and respond accordingly.
But opportunities should also be taken to shift the balance of power between men and women toward greater equality. This is sometimes knows as transformative change.

9. What is a gendered stereotype?
Slide 8
What is a gendered stereotype?
‘A gendered stereotype consists of beliefs about the psychological traits and characteristics of, as well as the activities appropriate to, men or women’.*
Gender roles are defined by behaviours, but gender stereotypes are beliefs and attitudes about masculinity and femininity.
*(Source: Linda Bannon, Gender, Psychological Perspectives, Sixth Addition, 2015)

10. Slide 9
Typical gender stereotypes
Masculine
Feminine
Aggressive
Timid
Dominant
Submissive
Worldly/adventurous
Domestic/home
Independent
Dependent
Strong
Delicate
Logical
Emotional
Analytical
Verbal

11. Slide 10
Leadership reflection: gender in the workplace
We all share responsibility for promoting gender equality in programmes and in the workplace.
We need to be aware of our own personal biases and beliefs about gender and how these affect our interactions with colleagues.
Leadership needs to tackle negative gender stereotyping and discrimination, create safe spaces for discussion, and put safeguards in place.

12. Slide 11
The impact of disasters on women/girls and men/boys
Both genders suffer during emergencies but they do so in different ways.
More women than men die in natural disasters.
More young men than young women die in armed conflict.
Women are almost always disproportionately affected because of discrimination and their subordinate position due to their gender.
Women tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and related disasters.

13. Slide 12
Climate change-related disasters
Women are more vulnerable than men due to their multiple roles as food producers, guardians of health, caregivers and economic actors.
Women depend more directly on natural resources (water, fuel, rain-fed agriculture).
Women have fewer economic assets to rely on than men
Violence against women rises.
Female-headed households are likely to live in more precarious conditions.

14. Slide 13
Impact of conflict on women and men
Both women and men play roles as combatants, war-makers and peace-makers.
Both suffer sexual violence and rape used as a weapon of war, but women experience this disproportionately.
Women’s role in conflict prevention and peace- building is often over-looked.
Growing awareness of gender inequality itself as a driver of conflict.

15. Slide 14
Resilience and social change
Women are not just victims of disasters; they demonstrate enormous resilience and can be powerful agents of change, preparing for and responding to disaster.
Their skills and capacities need to be harnessed within disaster management alongside those of men.
Disaster often opens up opportunities for women’s empowerment and the transformation of gender roles.