Dialogues between Participatory Evaluation and the Gender Perspective
The panellists explored various aspects of participation in evaluations, including gender and human rights perspectives, how these intersect, and the challenges that arise.
The panel members were Claudia Olavarría, consultant from the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI); Andrea Meneses, evaluator from DEval’s Focelac+ project; Maritza Conch, who teaches at the University of Florida; and Shantal Aragón, Use of Evidence Manager at Clear-LAC. The webinar was moderated by Vanessa Castro, teaching and research staff member at the National University of San Juan, Argentina.
Participatory evaluation ensures that diverse voices, particularly those from historically vulnerable groups, are included and that everyone has an active role in the evaluation process.
The gender perspective provides tools to identify, analyse, and address gender-based inequalities, while also examining how evaluated interventions impact different groups in diverse ways. It goes beyond technical analysis to offer a deeply political perspective that questions and examines the power dynamics underlying these inequalities. By revealing how gender norms, roles, and dynamics reinforce privileges and exclusions, the approach not only highlights inequalities but also suggests ways to transform them.
Combining these two approaches not only strengthens the legitimacy of evaluations but also transforms them into effective tools for social change. As Claudia Olavarría indicated during the webinar: ‘From my experience and practice, these approaches are complementary and inseparable if our intention is to implement transformational evaluations that contribute to gender equality and social justice.’
In the second part of the webinar, participants divided into smaller groups to discuss strategies for promoting evaluations that consider these factors. We highlight the following points:
1. Incorporation of gender perspective in every stage
- Incorporate a feminist perspective in all stages of the evaluation process.
- Guarantee specific spaces for the voices of women and children so they are heard and taken into account throughout the process.
- Ensure that the people responsible for managing and implementing evaluations receive updated training in gender and human rights.
- Offer ongoing training and awareness-raising sessions, recognising that change involves unlearning certain ideas and gaining insight from people’s lived experiences.
- Base evaluations on prior participatory diagnostic processes.
- Tailor the timeframe of an evaluation process to the activities and needs of the community and groups evaluated.
2. Inclusive participation
- Analyse the real conditions of participation affecting women, adolescents and children prior to the evaluation. For example, ask women individually about the best ways, times and places to ensure effective participation.
- Go beyond meeting quotas for female participation, bearing in mind gaps in access, and care responsibilities.
- Foster the active and meaningful participation of children, ensuring that their opinions are taken into account and are not requested for merely symbolic reasons.
- Provide incentives for men and young people to participate (in order to counteract low levels of participation caused by work schedules) through context-based strategies.
- Strengthen community capacities so that participation processes are less hierarchical and more self-directed.
3. Inclusive methodologies
- Design methodologies that promote inclusive spaces for dialogue where everyone feels safe to express themselves.
- Adapt methodologies to local characteristics and context-based inequalities, prioritising qualitative strategies that favour the participation of women and less-represented groups.
- Guarantee that enough time is set aside for each activity so that each participant can express themselves properly.
- Incorporate a cross-cutting gender focus in the evaluation questions.
- Develop gender indicators as part of the evaluation that can be incorporated into future planning.
4. Training in participatory and gender approaches
- Improve training in participatory and gender approaches at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, thereby challenging resistance in the field of formal education.
- Strengthen capacities in order to carry out reciprocal evaluations or evaluations led by communities and local territories, for example, social audits.
We encourage you to share your thoughts and engage in this important dialogue for the evaluation community. Your comments and ideas are vital for advancing our thinking and practice on the complementarity of participatory and gender approaches in evaluations, helping us contribute to the creation of more equitable societies.
In the following video (only in Spanish), you will be able to access all the presentations and highlights of the webinar.
