1. UNDP Gender Equality Seal
BRC Gender Team Webinar
13 December 2012
Koh Miyaoi
Gender Practice Leader for Europe and CIS

2. Gender Equality Seal
• A corporate certification programme that incentivizes
and recognizes good performance of UNDP offices/units
to deliver transformational gender equality results;
• A tool that allows offices/units to better link institutional
development for gender mainstreaming to development
results;
• A learning platform that will help offices/units to
establish a baseline, fine-tune strategies, identify and
address gaps and challenges, document innovations and
showcase the impact of interventions for gender
equality.

3. Gender Equality Seal
• An standardized assessment tool will be used to
measure progress of offices/units.
• Indicators and benchmarks correspond to standards on
gender mainstreaming derived from UN standards,
international norms and UNDP's own mandates and
guidelines.
• The Seal is designed to connect interventions and create
synergies in different domains of a gender mainstreaming
strategy and assess the overall impact of gender
mainstreaming on development results.

4. Gender Equality Seal
• A holistic appraisal of the gender equality contribution
of the institutional arrangements, going beyond
individual projects
• Objective assessment of the existing institutional
arrangements with external reviewers, adding external
credibility
• Vigorous review process with the engagement of the
entire office/unit
• Time given to prove & improve before the final scoring

5. Seven areas of performance:

6. Indicators for Appraisal
• Management system for gender equality
results
• In house capacities
• Enabling policy environment
• Knowledge and communication
• Programming
• Partnerships
• Gender equality result/Impacts

7. Gender Equality Seal
Feedback from the three pilot countries of the Seal, Global Workshop June 2012
• “Innovative methodology – not just ticking the box, it encourages COs to take
ownership.”
• “More for less – can promote both quality assurance and on-going learning.”
• “More useful than gender audit - engaging and participatory, generates more
practical recommendations.”
• “Successful in shifting the focus from inputs to impacts.”
• “Shows links between workplace policies and development results.”
• “Provides concrete evidence of results – makes innovations visible.”
• “High quality of appraisals and reliability of results – this is what makes it different
from other tools that rely on self-appraisal.”
• “Appraisal process encouraged strategic thinking, helped to identify key
possibilities for action.”
• “The process was like team-building for the entire office – increased general
awareness and understanding of gender issues.”
• “A good reality-check for HQ gender unit and Regional Centres – an opportunity to
build two-way relationships with country offices.”

8. Gender Equality Seal - History
• The First Pilot Phase (Argentina, Bhutan &
Kyrgyzstan) (2011)
• Global Validation Workshop (June 2012)
• Award Ceremony (November 2012)
• The Operations Programme Group, chaired
by the Associate Administrator, full
endorsment (November 2012)
• The extended pilot phase (March 2013)

10. The extended pilot phase
• Purpose: test and refine the tools and methodology
to ensure their organization-wide applicability.
• Applying for certification will be open and voluntary.
• A tailored package of services to support COs/units
will be developed.
• Stages of the process of certification:
Step 1. Online pre-screening to identify gender
gaps of the office/unit
Step 2. Action Plan design and implementation
Step 3. Final assessment to identify level of
certification
Step 4. Certification and award.

11. Thanks and join us in Teamworks!
https://undp.unteamworks.org/node/171196/

12. UNDP KGZ
participation at Gender Equality Seal
Pilot Initiative :
added value and results
Bratislava Regional Center
2012

14. Kyrgyzstan’s development results:
• Constitutional Reform – moving to Parliamentary Republic;
• Strong improvement of electoral process towards
transparency ;
• Court system reform;
• National mechanisms for human rights and public
monitoring;
• Anticorruption actions (moving from 164 in 2010 to 154 in
2011 in Transparency International rating);
• Active and vibrant civil society.

15. Gender Equality Results:
• Well developed National gender legislation and
policy;
• Women’s movement is active, united and involved in
development and discussion of key national policies
and reforms and peace building;
• Women’s representation in decision making;
• Gender expertise institutionalized in the Parliament;
• There is a next generation of “feminists” – young
women and men.

17. UNDP’s contribution to country GE Goals:
• Gender Task Force lead by DRR, Gender
Mainstreaming coordinator at projects level;
• CO Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, Annual Action
plan and joint Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan;
• Mandatory gender screening of all concept notes,
ProDocs, AWPs, TORs, M&E reports;
• Gender briefing for all newcomers, training course on
Gender mainstreaming in UNDP for all programme
staff.

18. What were our expectations about the pilot?
• Assessment of our gender mainstreaming activity
compared to other COs, in sub-region and globally. If
we are on the right path?
• To get recommendations on improving gender
programming and building enabling environment;
• To find solution between bureaucracy and qualitative
mainstreaming.

19. What has our Country Office gained from this experience?
• Accelerate the implementation of the UNDP Global Gender equality and
CO Gender Mainstreaming strategies (Gender marker), CPD and CPAP;
• Better understanding and articulation of institutional development issues
(RBM);
• New ideas for projects and resource mobilization;
• Develop an internal self-reflexion and self-assessment;
• Recognition and motivation, ownership of GE results (Gold Seal);
• Excellent and useful recommendations on all stages of programme cycle –
from planning till M&E, learning and in-house gender expertise (list of
indicators and benchmarks);

20. UNDP KGZ follow up actions:
• Gender Task Force composition improved and includes Programme
and Operation Unit representatives;
• Improved comparatively low score on the Atlas Gender Marker;
• The UNDP budget for gender mainstreaming increased from
118,000 USD in 2007 till more than 5 mln. USD in 2012 (25% of the
total budget of CO).
• Evaluation of implementation of GM strategy and development of
new Strategy.
• Three-step procedure for gender review of projects;
• Increased level of in-house technical expertise on gender.

21. Thank you!
nurgul.asylbekova@undp.org

22. For more information please visit :
http://europeandcis.undp.org/ourwork/gender
Join: https://undp.unteamworks.org/node/171196
Contact :
Koh.Miyaoi@undp.org
nurgul.asylbekova@undp.org