Outcome TZA_D_1.8

Gender norms and discriminatory behaviours and practices at LGA levels are transformed to promote women’s and girls’ voices, meaningful participation and leadership

Result: A baseline survey for WLER Project was conducted in 2022, to inform the implementation of women’s leadership and economic rights interventions in the selected 18 district councils including identifying strategies and approaches to transform gender norms and promote women’s and girls’ voices, meaningful participation, and leadership. In addition, a comprehensive gender audit of LGA laws, by-laws, policies, guidelines, and processes (both explicit and implicit) to identify gaps, norms and discriminatory behaviours and practices was conducted. Among the key recommendations provided by the gender audit is on institutional strengthening of the existing supportive measures of the local government through a holistic approach (that also addresses the needs of women with physical disabilities) that empowers women to engage in leadership positions with increased agency and voice, and that considers their different interests and concerns (challenges of women with physical disabilities). Another recommendation is on capacity development to promote an innovative, improved and gender responsive service delivery system that addresses the multi-dimensional challenges of local development including individual capacity development of frontline local government officials to adopt a participatory approach, increased transparency and accountability, gender responsive training materials, etc. The need to strengthen gender responsive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanism and the collection of gender-disaggregated data, to be implemented at two levels, i) the Institutional mechanism for gender-sensitive reporting, to mainstream gender and strengthen the existing reporting system (capture the impact on women with disabilities) that has been outlined in the key policy documents of the Improved O&OD and ii) M&E gender responsive mechanisms at the programmatic level, to promote collection of gender-disaggregated data through a gender-responsive M&E mechanism as the different programmes/projects are being implemented and include impact on women with disabilities. As a result, two training manuals for the LGAs, Gender Mainstreaming Manual and Gender Responsive Budgeting Manual has been developed to strengthen the capacity of community facilitators and other actors at the local government level on the importance and effective ways to ensure inclusion of women’s voices and leadership and the community level, including in various committees and decision making structures as well as priority setting/planning and budgeting processes to ensure women’s including girls, and women with disabilities priorities and interests are included in the planning and budgeting. Evidence: Baseline Survey. Draft Gender Audit report and draft GM and GRB Manuals. UN Women contribution: UN Women worked with a team of two consultants to undertake the baseline survey, gender audit and coordinated and led all the discussions with the local government actors.