Outcome JOR_D_1.1

Enhanced accountability and responsiveness of Jordanian institutions and their partners, and, especially women youth are increasingly and meaningfully involved in policy choices and decisions that affect their lives

Progress towards the achievement of the outcome is on track. The Government of Jordan and official institutions demonstrated increased accountability to gender responsive policies and plans. This has been evident through their endorsement of a number of national plans and mechanisms that were developed in a participatory approach. Women from different governorates, young females and women with disabilities participated in the development of these plans and mechanisms and ensured that their needs were reflected. This included the IMC's endorsement of the Jordanian National Action Plan on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women Peace and Security, the GBD's endorsement of the gender responsive budgeting approach, methodology and tools which reflects increased commitment to utilize efficient financial allocations to better adhere to GEWE obligations and priorities, in addition to the IEC's increased accountability and commitment to the principles of inclusive electoral processes with specific attention to creating an enabling environment for women’s effective engagement in elections and political parties. UN Women intends to leverage its support to national partners in the field of gender-responsive governance, especially after the institutionalization of this program through successful resource mobilization efforts of JCO.

Enhanced accountability and responsiveness of Jordanian institutions and their partners, and, especially women youth are increasingly and meaningfully involved in policy choices and decisions that affect their lives

The accountability and gender responsiveness of Jordanian institutions, including the General Budget Department, the Independant Election Commission, and Security Sector agencies was significantly enhanced to better serve the needs of women and girls. To advance this, the Prime Minister's Budget Circular No. (17) for 2025 mandated that government entities integrate gender considerations into budget submissions and prioritize programs addressing gender equality. As a result, four pilot ministries—the Ministry of Labour (MoL), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Education (MoE), and the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs (MoPPA)—successfully embedded gender-sensitive performance indicators in their budget chapters. This marked a significant milestone in institutionalizing Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), reinforcing Jordan’s commitment to gender-inclusive resource allocation and governance. This progress was achieved through the institutionalization of GRB within the General Budget Department (GBD). UN Women played a critical role by providing technical assistance to GBD in designing and implementing GRB methodologies, refining budget circulars, and developing standardized tools and frameworks to support government entities in applying gender-responsive budgeting practices. Additionally, UN Women facilitated specialized training sessions for government staff to enhance their understanding of gender analysis, performance-based budgeting, and gender-sensitive expenditure tracking. Strategic partnerships with the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) further contributed to this success by ensuring alignment between GRB efforts and national gender equality strategies. JNCW supported the advocacy and policy dialogue necessary to embed gender-responsive approaches in budgetary planning, as well as facilitating coordination among key stakeholders to institutionalize gender mainstreaming within fiscal policies. Additionally, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) institutionalized gender equality and women’s empowerment priorities in election management by the development of The Framework to empower women in Elections and political parties. This framework, created through consultations with 140 diverse stakeholders, serves as a replicable model for promoting gender balance in decision-making institutions. UN Women provided technical and financial assistance to support this achievement by facilitating consultation sessions, reviewing the draft framework and providing inputs, and sharing knowledge products, including UN Women’s Inclusive Electoral Processes Guide. These efforts ensured that the framework reflects international best practices and effectively integrates gender-responsive principles into election management processes. Significant milestones towards a more gender responsive security and justice sectors were also achieved to translate their committments to mainstream gender and advance women's participation. The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) upgraded the Military Women Department to a Directorate, reinforcing long-term efforts to promote gender equality and empower women. The Public Security Directorate (PSD) formally established a Gender Unit, which now oversees the Gender Advisors, Gender Focal Points Network, Gender Office, and the Gender Capacity Building Center. Both also renewed their commitment to nominate Gender Champions from high-ranking officials to enhance gender mainstreaming and women’s effective participation. With the current gender mainstreaming strategies within the Security Sector agencies coming to an end soon, UN Women built capacities of security sector agencies to conduct gender audits and assess the gaps in their implementation. Furthermore, UN Women continued equipping women in JAF, PSD and the Judicial council with leadership skills. This initiative will result in a nationwide leadership training manual, ensuring the institutionalization of gender-responsive leadership training across security and justice sectors. Steps to ensure women’s meaningful participation in the decision-making frameworks for prevention and response to crises were also taken. The National Council for Security and Crises Management (NCSCM) developped a gender-responsive crisis management plan as a concrete step for the operationalization of NCSCM’s first gender-responsive crisis management strategy. Additionally, and to ensure women’s voices are represented, UN Women continued working with CBOs, with the aim of strengthening women’s capacities to engage in crises response and management.

Enhanced accountability and responsiveness of Jordanian institutions and their partners, and, especially women youth are increasingly and meaningfully involved in policy choices and decisions that affect their lives

In 2025, Jordan achieved measurable progress toward gender-responsive governance and women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in leadership and decision-making through the institutionalization of gender equality commitments across legislative, policy, and governance systems, including in the security apparatus. Jordan's civil society and organizations (CSOs) also contributed towards women's participation and governance through the establishment of unique mission-driven CSO networks for coordination and collaboration with relevant state institutions, enhancing the government’s accountability to its citizens. As the Government of Jordan advances its reforms in alignment with the Political Modernization Vision, UN Women has continued working with key institutions to continue and strengthen the integration of gender-responsive reforms at the national level. This has been achieved by enhancing institutional capacities of key stakeholders who contribute to national legislature and political representation, including the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Ministry of Local Administration, the Ministry of Government Communication (MoGC), the Independent Election Commission (IEC), and Parliament, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through gender mainstreaming policies, gender-responsive media and communication plans, and inclusive governance structures. UN Women supported and advocated for the enactment of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Law and supported the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment (IMC) in proposing gender-responsive amendments for the Local Administration Law , reinforcing national ownership and accountability for advancing women’s rights and leadership at both national and local levels. UN Women continued its support of the Political School, strengthening the leadership, governance and decision-making capacities of 395 women for participation in public life and leadership. Gender-responsive budgeting initiatives, including the adoption of the 2026 Budget Law and the operationalization of the Gender Tagging Platform, have further strengthened governance systems by ensuring that public resources increasingly respond to the differentiated needs of women and men, children, youth, and persons with disabilities. These measures, led by the General Budget Department (GBD) with technical support from UN Women, have enhanced the integration of gender-sensitive and sex-disaggregated indicators within ministerial budget frameworks, strengthening evidence-based planning, transparency, and accountability in public resource allocation. UN Women strengthened the capacity of line ministries—the primary actors responsible for drafting, implementing, and executing budget-related legislation—to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations into planning, budgeting, and performance frameworks. This ministerial-level support was complemented by targeted engagement with and capacity building of Parliament Members and the Parliament Secretariat, recognizing its critical role in budget scrutiny, oversight, and accountability to citizens. Within the electoral governance domain, the Independent Election Commission endorsed official Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the development of the Gender Mainstreaming Policy (GMP), which was developed with the support of UN Women. The SoPs map the approaches and methods the Commission will adopt to ensure gender mainstreaming across its internal policies, procedures, and election management functions. Jordan's security sector became more gender-responsive, increasing women’s participation and representation, institutionalizing gender-mainstreaming and promoting women-led advocacy towards achieving the Women Peace and Security agenda. UN Women supported the implementation of the Jordanian National Plan for the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 (JONAP II), which is guided by principles of national ownership, gender-responsive institutional capacity, and inclusive participation. To achieve this, the Security and Justice Sectors (the Public Security Directorate (PSD), the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), and the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM), and Judicial Council (JC) strengthened their institutional framework and enhanced their capacity to align their policies and practices with gender equality principles. In 2025, PSD piloted the region’s first Guideline for Gender-Responsive Policing, developed by PSD Gender Champions, to equip frontline officers in their delivery of survivor-centered responses to violence against women and girls. In parallel, UN Women and the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) initiated childcare integration within JAF and PSD, initiating the process of establishing nurseries and delivering caregiver training to enable women’s retention in non-traditional roles. UN Women continued to deliver gender mainstreaming training for JAF and PSD Focal Points and personnel, augmented by language, psychosocial support and other customized trainings to encourage female participation in less traditional roles. Moreover, UN Women supported the completion of gender audits by JAF, PSD, and NCSCM, informing second-generation Gender Mainstreaming Strategies, laying a robust foundation for policy reform. UN Women enhanced accountability by engaging Jordan’s active and broad network of civil society organizations (CSOs) with each intervention. In 2025, UN Women supported the establishment of NEBRAS, a national women-led advocacy platform bringing together Jordanian women-led CSOs for collective advocacy working towards achieving the modernization agenda. NEBRAS provides a sustainable mechanism for women’s leadership and meaningful engagement in gender-sensitive policymaking and resource allocation, ensuring equitable representation across all governorates. Under the GRB Programme, UN Women advanced the development of a national CSO Network on GRB, to be launched in 2026, aiming to strengthen civil society’s role in supporting a gender-based approach to the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of public budgets in coordination with relevant ministries participating in the GRB programme. Additionally, UN Women provided capacity building for 20 women-led CSOs through the Tawasol network, which brings together CSOs to engage women, including young women and women with disabilities, in social cohesion and peacebuilding activities especially in the south of Jordan.