Latin America/Caribbean

The Men and Gender Equality Policy Project (MGEPP), coordinated by ICRW and Instituto Promundo, was a multiyear effort to build the evidence base on how to change public institutions and policies to better foster gender equality and to raise awareness among policymakers and program planners of the need to involve men in health, development and gender equality issues.

Project activities include:

• What Men Have to Do with It: Public Policies to Promote Gender Equality, a multicountry policy research and analysis
• International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), a quantitative household survey carried out in 2009 with men and women in six countries (additional countries are implementing the survey in 2010 and thereafter)
• Men who Care, an in-depth, five country qualitative study of men involved in gender activisim and/or non-traditional caregiving roles such as day-care workers

Countries that participated in the project include Brazil, Chile, Croatia, India, Mexico, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania.

The project's multiple research components provided policymakers with practical strategies for engaging men in relevant policy areas, particularly in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, fatherhood, maternal and child health, and men's health needs.

Investing in women is recognized not only as the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do. Mounting evidence demonstrates that increases in women’s income lead to improvements in children’s health, nutrition and education. But more rigorous evaluation of projects aimed at women’s economic development is crucial to maintain their support and apply lessons learned to future projects. To address this need, ICRW is working with UNIFEM and the World Bank to demonstrate and measure the impact of women’s economic development programs on women’s empowerment and broader development goals.

The Results-based Initiative is implementing six innovative projects aimed at increasing women’s economic capacity. The projects include providing time-saving technology to bamboo handicraft producers in Laos and Cambodia and business support services to women micro-entrepreneurs in Peru. ICRW, with local partners, will measure the projects’ impact on women’s decision-making capabilities, control over resources, personal security and autonomy. ICRW anticipates that the resulting best practices and lessons learned will generate further action on women’s economic empowerment as a priority area for development programs overall.