Deconstructing gender: evidence on how programmes address gender inequalities to improve health

ABSTRACT

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that incorporating approaches to address gender inequality in programmes can lead to improved health outcomes. This article aims to deconstruct the various dimensions of gender and identify how programmes address these domains to improve health. This study draws on a broader systematic review examining the impact of gender-integrated programmes on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We identified 68 programmes meeting our criteria for inclusion. Our analysis found considerable variation in gender domains addressed across programmes, suggesting that more evidence is needed to understand the pathways through which gender-integrated programmes influence health.

De plus en plus de données démontrent que l'adoption par les programmes d'approches de riposte à l'inégalité entre les genres peut avoir pour conséquence une amélioration des résultats dans le domaine de la santé. Cet article se donne pour objectif de déconstruire les diverses dimensions du genre et décrit comment les programmes prennent en compte ces thèmes en vue d'améliorer la santé. Cette étude s'appuie sur une revue systématique plus large qui a examiné l'impact des programmes intégrant les questions de genre sur la santé dans les pays à revenus faibles et à revenus intermédiaires. Nous avons identifié 68 programmes répondant à nos critères d'inclusion. Notre analyse révèle une variation considérable des approches du genre d'un programme à l'autre, suggérant de ce fait la nécessité d'obtenir des données supplémentaires afin de comprendre les voies par lesquelles les programmes intégrant les questions de genre ont une influence sur la santé.

Un creciente conjunto de evidencias indica que la incorporación de enfoques orientados a abordar la desigualdad de género en distintos programas puede mejorar los resultados sanitarios. El presente artículo propone deconstruir las distintas dimensiones de género e identificar cómo los programas abordan estas temáticas con el propósito de mejorar la salud. El estudio se basa en una revisión sistemática amplia enfocada en el impacto que la aplicación de programas en los que se ha integrado el género ha tenido en los resultados sanitarios de países de ingresos bajos y medianos. Con este objetivo se identificaron e incluyeron en el estudio 68 programas con base en los criterios establecidos por los autores. El análisis realizado detectó que los programas difieren mucho en cuanto a las temáticas de género abordadas, lo cual sugiere que es necesario contar con más información a fin de comprender qué incidencia tienen en la salud aquellos programas que han incorporado el género.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender and diversity
• Social sector - Health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Elisabeth Rottach is a Senior Gender Advisor on the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus Project. She has expertise in gender analysis, gender integration, gender-based violence prevention, and qualitative research.

Sara Pappa is a Gender Analyst on the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus Project. She has experience in gender analysis, research on best practices for gender integration, and capacity building for gender.

Radhika Dayal is a Research Associate at the Public Health Foundation of India. She has experience in multi-disciplinary research initiatives in the fields of public health nutrition, monitoring and evaluation, gender integration, and qualitative assessment tools.

Madhumita Das is a Senior Technical Specialist at ICRW’s Asia Regional Office. A research and evaluation specialist, she leads and provides technical support on gender, men and masculinity, sports-based adolescent programming, water, sanitation, and menstrual health and hygiene programmes across South Asia and in South Africa.

Notes

1. According to the Interagency Gender Working Group’s Gender Equality Continuum, gender transformative programmes try to transform unequal gender relations and achieve programme goals, while gender accommodating programmes work around gender inequalities. Exploitative programmes take advantage of gender inequalities to achieve programme goals. We do not endorse the use of exploitative strategies.

2. The journal's strict guidelines on article word limits prevents the inclusion of detailed information on all 68 programmes considered by this research. For the full list of studies that met the inclusion criteria, please contact the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the United States Agency for International Development [grant number AID-OAA-A-10-00067].