A study of gender training programs used internationally: A focus on the African experience

Gender training programs have emerged as important tools to be used in the process of gender sensitization and gender-responsiveness in international development and policy. This study aimed to further develop the knowledge base of the field by providing a quantitative analysis of 36 programs (and their supporting materials) and to describe the state of the art of gender training programs on an international scale. In addition, two detailed case studies of gender training program in the African region are presented and analyzed. This qualitative analysis and documents review confirm some of the findings of the quantitative analysis. It also highlights the similarities and differences between the two programs.This study documented several interesting findings, some of which are: (1) that gender training is taking place in many parts of the world, within various institutions; (2) equity and efficiency are parallel themes underlying most training programs; (3) history, tradition, and culture play an important role in the oppression of women in the region and are very significant obstacles to the advancement of women in Africa; (4) collaboration and networking are the keys to progress in the field; (5) starting with a policy commitment for gender responsiveness from people in power is a useful, but not sufficient basis for change; (6) Third World women are active creators of change, but there is a need to develop a critical mass of gender-responsive people in any society if ongoing efforts are going to be sustained; (7) an integrated interactive approach to policy and planning appears to yield a better result as opposed to a linear one; (8) although the objectives of gender sensitivity and empowerment are being achieved by most training efforts, there is still much work to be done regarding the implementation of the training or the skills learned from it.This study concludes by discussing the gender biases of social welfare policy globally, but particularly in the United States. Gender-responsive training is recommended as an alternative tool to address these biases.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio