CANADA NEPAL GENDER IN ORGANIZATIONS

Section 3: Reference Materials

Reference #7: Analyzing Situations and Problems Through a Gender Lens

Situations and Problems

A “situation” is a state of affairs. Whereas a problem is a state of affairs that has a negative impact on individuals, organizations or communities, a situation can be positive, negative, or neutral. All problems are situations, but not all situations are problems.

Purpose of Situational and Problem Analysis

The objective of situational analysis is to build a foundation for good decisions about project objectives, strategies and activities.

Elements of Situational/Problem Analysis

Situational and problem analysis involves analyzing needs and assets, diagnosing causes and effects, and examining relevant research, knowledge and experience.

Components of Good Situational and Problem Analysis

Situational and problem analyses should be 1) clear and focused; 2) participatory; and 3) conducted from a gender perspective.

Situational analysis should have a clear focus and purpose. It should be directed toward a specific subject, clientele, time, or perceived need. If the focus is not clearly defined, the analysis may be unnecessarily broad and costly, or it may miss critical information that is needed to accurately acces s needs and develop successful projects. For example, if an NGO wishes to develop projects aimed at achieving greater gender equality, then a situational analysis of gender relationships in the community would be appropriate. If, on the other hand, the NGO wants to address a perceived problem related to prenatal nutrition, the situational analysis should be specifically focused on obtaining information relevant to expectant mothers, e.g., their living standards, traditional eating habits, educational levels, and other factors that can be of value in identifying specific needs on the subject of prenatal nutrition.
All situational analyses should be participatory. Involving others helps to build better understanding of the situation. Involvement leads to a greater sense of ownership, and to a stronger commitment to the priorities that are identified.
A gender perspective can and should be applied to all situational and problem analyses. This simply means that the situation or problem is analyzed through a gender lens. There are four basic “gender” questions that can be applied to any situation. These are:
1. What do men and women do, and where and when do these activities take place?
2. Who has access to and control over resources, services and decision-making?
3. What are the social and economic factors that shape activities (point a above), and access/control (point b above)?
4. What could/should the proposed project do to incorporate gender considerations?
Bringing a gender perspective to situational and problem analysis is important to ensure sustainability, equity and project effectiveness.

If the situation is not analyzed from a gender perspective, the project might not be successful. One example of this occurred in a project in which extension workers were planning to train people on how to improve horticultural production. But they did not know that women were responsible for almost all horticultural activities in the village where the training took place. Most of the people who received training were men because they expressed an interest in getting improved access to fruits and vegetables. As a result, the wrong people were trained and the lack of fruits and vegetables continued to be a problem for the villagers. The project was not sustainable, there was no equity as women did not benefit from the training, and the training was ineffective as horticultural production continued to be low.

Lack of gender analysis can also lead to adverse effects upon men, women or both. For example, an agricultural project aimed at clearing forested land to create arable land for farming neglected to consider the role of women in gathering firewood from the forested area. When the land was cleared, the source of firewood and cooking fuel was destroyed, negatively affecting the ability of women to perform their traditional roles, and also affecting their families. This could have been avoided if the situation had been analyzed from a gender perspective during the planning stage.

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