Outcome BRB_O_1

Business Transformation

The majority of the programmes being implemented by the MCO Caribbean are joint programmes (9 in total) either with UN Women as the Lead/co-Lead/Technical coherence lead (4) or as a participating UN organisation (PUNO) with other UN agencies as leads (5). All the JPs which UN Women is leading or serving as technical coherence lead are fully gender responsive. However, it should be noted that the others, as assessed by the Gender Marker, are rated as "meeting requirements". The following are the UN joint programmes that are fully gender responsive. 1. The Caribbean Regional Spotlight Progamme (UN Women is Technical Coherence Lead with UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF as Recipient UN Organisations): The Regional Caribbean Spotlight Programme addresses specific regional barriers/challenges/bottlenecks that inhibit progress on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls. The programme supports and catalyses regional approaches that will cascade to the national levels, for the development of standardised approaches to essential services; prevention programming; and data collection and analysis. It aims to expand the influence of the women’s movement and civil society to participate in, influence and monitor the implementation of regional strategies; and it provides resources to regional, national and community-based organisations to scale up their work and to innovate evidence-based prevention programming. 2. Build Back Equal (Lead in partnership with UNFPA) This project contributes to women’s economic resilience in the Eastern Caribbean by taking a comprehensive approach to addressing the barriers women face to economic empowerment and providing increased sustainable opportunities for women’s economic growth. Government and the private sector in four Eastern Caribbean countries will benefit from strengthened capacity and access to financing to sustainably alleviate women’s unpaid care work burden through subsidized quality childcare. Women’s livelihoods will be made more resilient, as women owned MSMEs in the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will benefit from increased access to reliable financing and strengthened abilities to ensure they have the skill-set to effectively use the financing to grow their businesses through environmentally friendly, climate and shock resilient innovation. The most marginalized women, including VAW survivors and elderly women will have their livelihoods strengthened through increased access to comprehensive social protection packages, and reliable referral pathways which are shock responsive and include sexual and reproductive health services. Capacities will be strengthened across health care systems to ensure the availability of quality SRH services to women and youth. 3. Building Back Equal through Innovative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women is Lead Agency with UNDP, FAO and UNESCO as PUNOs):This multi-country project is intended to pilot innovative financing for gender equality to enable The Bahamas and Bermuda to not only build back equal post COVID-19 but to also be best practice examples to showcase how innovative financing vehicles, digital platforms, and the tools and frameworks of the Women’s Empowerment Principles can be leveraged to close the financing gaps that women and youth face in sectors such as agriculture, sustainable tourism, and creative and cultural industries. 4. Building Effective Resilience for Human Security in Caribbean Countries: The Imperative of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in a Strengthened Agric Sector: The project aims, through a combination of policy reform advocacy, technical support, and services to contribute to human security for farmers and small agro-and fisheries business entrepreneurs, many of whom are women. The Caribbean Spotlight Programme and the Build Back Equal Programmes were not assessed using the gender marker. However the project project "Building Back Equal through Innovative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment" was assessed as "exceeding minimum targets". The following are JPs that were assessed using the Gender Marker, but were rated as "meeting requirements" but not fully gender responsive. 5. EnGenDer (PUNO with UNDP as the Lead) : The EnGenDer project aims to ensure that climate change and disaster risk reduction actions are better informed by an analysis of gender inequalities, and decisions are taken to ensure the inequalities are alleviated rather4than exacerbated and that minimum standards are being met in doing so. The ultimate outcome of the project is to support improved climate resilience of women and girls and key vulnerable populations and future generations in the Caribbean. The project responds to several of the intended outcomes of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Framework 2014 – 2024 promoted and facilitated by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). 6. Universal Adaptive Social Protection in the Eastern Caribbean (PUNO with UNICEF and WFP as Co-Leads) : The Joint Programme aimed to contribute to create an enabling environment for poor and vulnerable people to have predictable access to universal and adaptive social protection, with the ultimate goal of reducing structural inequality, reducing poverty and building resilience. At the national level, the Joint Programme was designed to strengthen national social protection systems to support integrated service delivery by improving institutional capacities and through evidence-based, gender-responsive social and disaster risk management policies and legislation. 7. Modernization of the Social Protection Systems in Jamaica, Towards an Adaptive, Shock Responsive, Inclusive System (UNICEF is the Lead with UN Women and WFP as PUNOs): This Joint Programme “Modernizing the Social Protection System in Jamaica”, will lead to the strengthening of Jamaica’s social protection system, enabling it to be shock and gender responsive which will be key to accelerating efforts to end poverty and vulnerability, reducing people's and communities’ exposure to risks, recognizing the multi-hazard environment that citizens are exposed to, towards enhancing their capacity to manage economic and social risks, as well as environmental and other natural hazard risks. This joint proposal also will lead to acceleration of multiple SDGs, in support of adaptable, inclusive shock responsive services, leaving no one behind. 8. Leaving No One Behind, Building Resilience, and Improving Livelihoods of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ITPs) in Suriname (UNDP is the Lead with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF and FAO as PUNOs): The JP aims to develop an integrated policy that can safeguard equal development opportunities for ITPs including a good spreading of income distribution; accessible, vocational and affordable education; access to proper housing; resources and a lifestyle that promotes good and optimal health care etc). Further, through integration of the Social Protection Policy with explicit ITP targeting, the JP aims to enable the social security system to better identify and serve the ITPs marginalized social groups and assess and reduce their vulnerability (through poverty alleviation, creation of employment etc). 9. Integrated Population Data and Policy Solutions to Accelerate SDGs Achievement in Barbados and Montserrat (2022 - 2024): This JP, supported by the UN SDG Fund, aims to contribute to the acceleration of several SDGs. One of the SDGs directly impacted is SDG 3 (target 3.7), geared towards ensuring universal access of SRH services. SDG 5 (specifically target 5.4 and 5.6) is also directly impacted as it seeks to acheive gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with as it seeks to empower women and girls through improvements in social protection and services, shared responsibility in the family and household and enhanced sexual and reproductive health and rights. Lead agency: UNFPA. Collaborating UN organisation: UN Women

Business Transformation

No Progress to report.

Business Transformation

The MCO Caribbean was able to integrate aspects of the India MCO approach to integrating the WEPs into the upcoming BWP and in the more specific women's economic empowerment projects. The MCO Caribbean will build on the WEPs programme to integrate private sector partnerships into programming by engaging them directly in advocacy and cost sharing where possible and relevant. This is reflected in the Biannual Work Plan.