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Project Examples

Mainstreaming Gender in Trade Policy

Following substantive work in gender and trade over several years, the Commonwealth Secretariat has developed a major capacity building project in gender and trade since 2006 as a means of embedding understanding of gender and trade relevancy at the national level and raising awareness at the regional and international levels. Activities have included the development of key training resources, analytic research, international advocacy and capacity building through training. Regional workshops have so far been conducted in East Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and Southern Africa, and two national level Steering Committees on Trade and Gender – led by Ministries of Trade – have been established in India and Uganda towards the embedding of gender and trade linkages among trade policy makers and negotiators, and within key training institutions in the country. Beneficiaries of the project so far have included representatives from Ministries of Trade and Commerce, Gender Ministries, relevant core sector Ministries such as Agriculture and Tourism, national women’s organisations, export promotion bureaus and private sector organizations; trade, civil society and training organizations, and, bi-lateral and multi-lateral organisations. For more information, a dedicated e-resource has been established as part of the project at the following Commonwealth micro-site: http://www.genderandtrade.org/

Gender Mainstreaming Training for Public Sector through Open Distance Learning

The Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), co-hosted a two-day meeting in July 2008 with representatives from government departments, ministries responsible for the public sector, management development institutions and distance learning universities, to explore the development of online distance learning tools and content to promote gender mainstreaming training for public servants. It is hoped that four pilot countries will take this forward, and that this will then be extended to other Commonwealth countries.

Gender and Education: Shaping gender attitudes in the classroom

One recent Commonwealth project aims to tackle gender stereotypes preventing boys and girls from achieving at school. We brought together teachers and educators at the University of East Anglia, UK, in October 2008 to discuss the first outcomes of a long-term Commonwealth project on gender in schools. The findings showed that gender stereotyping is prevalent among teachers, peers and in homes across a range of socio-economic backgrounds, and in both rural and urban areas. This behaviour is learned and perpetuated through modelling and cultural expectations. We are funding pilot projects in co-educational secondary-level schools in Malaysia, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, India and Mozambique, and the research conducted will identify how school systems question or reinforce dominant, unequal ideas about gender, and what practices are most effective in addressing gender problems in the classroom.

Gender Consultative Forum for Commonwealth National Women’s Machineries and Ministers of Women’s Affairs

An annual Consultation of Commonwealth National Women’s Machineries (NWMs) is held prior to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The meeting provides an opportunity for Commonwealth member countries and partners to caucus, plan jointly, and share experiences on promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality across the Commonwealth. The Consultation is usually preceded by a meeting of the Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action Monitoring Group (CGPMG). This is a unique working group which brings together a ‘rotating’ core of NWMs and Civil Society Organisations from all regions to oversee and track progress on gender equality in the Commonwealth. In addition to the annual consultations in New York, we hold triennial Women’s Affairs Ministers Meetings (WAMMs). The WAMMs bring together all Commonwealth Ministers of Women’s Affairs to discuss progress towards gender equality, examine links between gender and priority issues of CHOGM and make appropriate resolutions and recommendations. The last WAMM took place in Uganda in 2007, and the next WAMM, will take place in Barbados, in 2010.