Gender-Disaggregated Data for Effective Water Management
Summary
ORDA Ethiopia's work highlights the critical issue of the absence or inadequacy of gender-disaggregated data in water management, which perpetuates the invisibility of women's contributions and challenges. ORDA Ethiopia's intervention in the Amhara region focuses on systematic data collection and analysis to address this gap.
By utilizing diverse methods such as interviews, focus groups, and key informant consultations, and incorporating gender perspectives into all project stages, ORDA Ethiopia has tailored interventions to enhance gender equality and development outcomes. Positive results include improved sanitation access for women and girls, increased female participation in community decisions, and broader recognition of women's roles. Despite these advancements, budget constraints pose significant challenges to comprehensive data collection. Addressing these challenges through investment in training and technology is crucial for mainstreaming gender considerations in water management and ensuring equitable development.
The issue in the realm of gender-disaggregated data in water management lies in its absence or inadequacy. Despite its critical importance, there are significant gaps in collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data that accounts for gender differences in water access, use, and management. A lack of gender-disaggregated data perpetuates the invisibility of women's contributions to water management and fails to address the unique challenges they face in accessing and utilizing water resources. This lack of comprehensive data hampers efforts to develop evidence-based policies and interventions that address gender disparities in water access and use effectively. Moreover, without training and resources on how to collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data, efforts to mainstream gender considerations in water management may remain superficial or sporadic. Addressing this issue requires a concerted effort to integrate gender perspectives into all aspects of water-related research, policy, and practice, as well as to build the capacity of stakeholders to collect and utilize gender-disaggregated data effectively.
Intervention
ORDA Ethiopia, is a non-profit organization that operates in the Amhara region and dates back to 1984, with the aim to rehabilitate the drought-stricken region and to address the root causes of poverty. ORDA Ethiopia is committed to supporting human rights and equality across programming, ensuring equal value, participation, and decision-making for all, while addressing all forms of violence, discrimination, intimidation, and exploitation. Over time, ORDA Ethiopia has expanded its focus to include various development programs, including gender equality and women's empowerment.
To ensure programming reaches its intended targeted audience, ORDA Ethiopia has developed monitoring tools to support the collection of gender-disaggregated data. Monitoring and data collection tools are similar to those used by other partners and donors and include observation, individual interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews as primary data gathering methods. Document review and communications (telephone/email) are then used as secondary data sources to complement primary data. ORDA Ethiopia has been using these tools to capture gender-disaggregated data since 2012, beginning with practical and evidence-based manuals for annual planning and monitoring and evaluation which are periodically revised, and staff are equipped with the necessary information and materials to perform data collection tasks. Moreover, the organization's standard reporting template also mandates the inclusion of gender-disaggregated data. This data is then used for conducting and applying gender-based analysis to address potential and actual program design barriers and discrimination on the grounds of gender.
When designing a project, ORDA Ethiopia conducts a needs assessment to determine practical and/or strategic gender needs. ORDA Ethiopia then uses a monitoring and evaluation template for collecting and analyzing gender-disaggregated data across programming. This data helps to identify gender-specific patterns, track progress, and inform evidence-based decision-making. For each project and beginning in the early planning stages, ORDA Ethiopia ensures to collect data via a questionnaire through engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, including women's groups, gender experts, and community representatives, to ensure that the project is being executed as expected and is reaching its intended target audience. These participatory methods are essential for raising diverse perspectives from under- or unrepresented groups. The data collected can then be used to make tweaks to project designs, identify gender disparities or biases in future projects, flag levels of service differentials between men and women, monitor and evaluate the equality of opportunities and outcomes for men and women, promote enabling and empowering opportunities for affected groups, and supporting women's participation in leadership positions.
Funding has been received for this work from Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Healing Hands International (HHI), and various development funds.
Challenges
ORDA Ethiopia has faced data collection challenges that are the result of budget constraints, which has further hindered the ability to obtain clear and organized data. Adequate funding can support the implementation of online data collection tools, including training on softwares such as Kobo Toolbox, CommCare, and Akvoflow for baseline data collection, as well as on monitoring and evaluation, and performance tracking. Further, the acquisition of tablets would be useful, particularly for data collection in the field.
Outcomes
ORDA Ethiopia's facilitation of gender-disaggregated data has brought about several positive outcomes: targeted interventions, enhanced gender equality, and improved development outcomes. By understanding the diverse roles, needs, and challenges of women and girls in water access and management, interventions can be tailored or targeted as required. ORDA Ethiopia applies a "men's engagement approach" as a strategy to involve men as supportive fathers and allies in the empowerment of women and girls. Male advocates who are influential figures within the community are selected and are engaged to encourage other men's equitable participation as caregivers in their children's lives, to support their spouses with domestic tasks, and to overall support gender equality. Moreover, with greater awareness of female biological and social needs, there has been an improvement in sanitation access for women/girls, particularly in schools, based on surveys conducted. Finally, there have been broader improvements at the household and community levels in the recognition of women's contributions and participation, with greater opportunities for them to actively participate in community decisions, such as being members of WASH committees (out of 7 members, 3 are women) and Village Economic and Social Association (VESA) leaders (out of 5 members, 2 are women).
References
Gender-Disaggregated Data for Effective Water Management
Summary
ORDA Ethiopia's work highlights the critical issue of the absence or inadequacy of gender-disaggregated data in water management, which perpetuates the invisibility of women's contributions and challenges. ORDA Ethiopia's intervention in the Amhara region focuses on systematic data collection and analysis to address this gap.
By utilizing diverse methods such as interviews, focus groups, and key informant consultations, and incorporating gender perspectives into all project stages, ORDA Ethiopia has tailored interventions to enhance gender equality and development outcomes. Positive results include improved sanitation access for women and girls, increased female participation in community decisions, and broader recognition of women's roles. Despite these advancements, budget constraints pose significant challenges to comprehensive data collection. Addressing these challenges through investment in training and technology is crucial for mainstreaming gender considerations in water management and ensuring equitable development.
The issue in the realm of gender-disaggregated data in water management lies in its absence or inadequacy. Despite its critical importance, there are significant gaps in collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data that accounts for gender differences in water access, use, and management. A lack of gender-disaggregated data perpetuates the invisibility of women's contributions to water management and fails to address the unique challenges they face in accessing and utilizing water resources. This lack of comprehensive data hampers efforts to develop evidence-based policies and interventions that address gender disparities in water access and use effectively. Moreover, without training and resources on how to collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data, efforts to mainstream gender considerations in water management may remain superficial or sporadic. Addressing this issue requires a concerted effort to integrate gender perspectives into all aspects of water-related research, policy, and practice, as well as to build the capacity of stakeholders to collect and utilize gender-disaggregated data effectively.
Issue
Intervention
ORDA Ethiopia, is a non-profit organization that operates in the Amhara region and dates back to 1984, with the aim to rehabilitate the drought-stricken region and to address the root causes of poverty. ORDA Ethiopia is committed to supporting human rights and equality across programming, ensuring equal value, participation, and decision-making for all, while addressing all forms of violence, discrimination, intimidation, and exploitation. Over time, ORDA Ethiopia has expanded its focus to include various development programs, including gender equality and women's empowerment.
To ensure programming reaches its intended targeted audience, ORDA Ethiopia has developed monitoring tools to support the collection of gender-disaggregated data. Monitoring and data collection tools are similar to those used by other partners and donors and include observation, individual interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews as primary data gathering methods. Document review and communications (telephone/email) are then used as secondary data sources to complement primary data. ORDA Ethiopia has been using these tools to capture gender-disaggregated data since 2012, beginning with practical and evidence-based manuals for annual planning and monitoring and evaluation which are periodically revised, and staff are equipped with the necessary information and materials to perform data collection tasks. Moreover, the organization's standard reporting template also mandates the inclusion of gender-disaggregated data. This data is then used for conducting and applying gender-based analysis to address potential and actual program design barriers and discrimination on the grounds of gender.
When designing a project, ORDA Ethiopia conducts a needs assessment to determine practical and/or strategic gender needs. ORDA Ethiopia then uses a monitoring and evaluation template for collecting and analyzing gender-disaggregated data across programming. This data helps to identify gender-specific patterns, track progress, and inform evidence-based decision-making. For each project and beginning in the early planning stages, ORDA Ethiopia ensures to collect data via a questionnaire through engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, including women's groups, gender experts, and community representatives, to ensure that the project is being executed as expected and is reaching its intended target audience. These participatory methods are essential for raising diverse perspectives from under- or unrepresented groups. The data collected can then be used to make tweaks to project designs, identify gender disparities or biases in future projects, flag levels of service differentials between men and women, monitor and evaluate the equality of opportunities and outcomes for men and women, promote enabling and empowering opportunities for affected groups, and supporting women's participation in leadership positions.
Funding has been received for this work from Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Healing Hands International (HHI), and various development funds.
Challenges
ORDA Ethiopia has faced data collection challenges that are the result of budget constraints, which has further hindered the ability to obtain clear and organized data. Adequate funding can support the implementation of online data collection tools, including training on softwares such as Kobo Toolbox, CommCare, and Akvoflow for baseline data collection, as well as on monitoring and evaluation, and performance tracking. Further, the acquisition of tablets would be useful, particularly for data collection in the field.
Outcomes
ORDA Ethiopia's facilitation of gender-disaggregated data has brought about several positive outcomes: targeted interventions, enhanced gender equality, and improved development outcomes. By understanding the diverse roles, needs, and challenges of women and girls in water access and management, interventions can be tailored or targeted as required. ORDA Ethiopia applies a "men's engagement approach" as a strategy to involve men as supportive fathers and allies in the empowerment of women and girls. Male advocates who are influential figures within the community are selected and are engaged to encourage other men's equitable participation as caregivers in their children's lives, to support their spouses with domestic tasks, and to overall support gender equality. Moreover, with greater awareness of female biological and social needs, there has been an improvement in sanitation access for women/girls, particularly in schools, based on surveys conducted. Finally, there have been broader improvements at the household and community levels in the recognition of women's contributions and participation, with greater opportunities for them to actively participate in community decisions, such as being members of WASH committees (out of 7 members, 3 are women) and Village Economic and Social Association (VESA) leaders (out of 5 members, 2 are women).
Issues |
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Workforce and Capacity Building |
Solutions |
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Water Data, Monitoring & ICT Solutions |
References
Citizen-Generated Data Task Team . Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD). (2018). https://www.data4sdgs.org/index.php/initiatives/citizen-generated-data-task-team Gender needs
INEE. (n.d.). https://inee.org/eie-glossary/gender-needs#:~:text=Practical%20needs%20arise%20from%20the,to%20the%20empowerment%20of%20women.