NECC Gender Equality Policy 

 Contents:

1. Introduction.

2. Definitions.

3. Goal and objectives of gender policy.

4. NECC Gender policy principles.

5. Monitoring and evaluation of the policy. 

1. Introduction

 Gender equality and female empowerment are now universally recognized as core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of human rights, and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes.  NECC-Gaza considers gender equality as a cross cutting issue and over the years members have endeavored to promote gender sensitive approaches to development and humanitarian assistance. 

The term gender is often used as if it is synonymous and interchangeable with the word women. This is not the case. The reason why gender approaches often address women and girls is because of the acknowledged discrimination and exclusion which most women and girls still face in a great number of countries.

No society can develop sustainably without increasing and transforming the distribution of opportunities, resources, and choices for males and females so that they have equal power to shape their own lives and contribute to their communities. Empowering women to participate in and lead public and private institutions makes these institutions more representative and effective. Increasing girls’ and women’s education and access to resources improves the health and education of the next generation. 

2.Definitions

Gender equality concerns women and men, and it involves working with men and boys, women and girls to bring about changes in attitudes, behaviors, roles and responsibilities at home, in the workplace, and in the community. Genuine equality means more than parity in numbers or laws on the books; it means expanding freedoms and improving overall quality of life so that equality is achieved without sacrificing gains for males or females.

Female empowerment   is achieved when women and girls acquire the power to act freely, exercise their rights, and fulfill their potential as full and equal members of society. While empowerment often comes from within, and individuals empower themselves, cultures, societies, and institutions create conditions that facilitate or undermine the possibilities for empowerment.

Gender integration involves identifying, and then addressing, gender inequalities during strategy and project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Since the roles and power relations between men and women affect how an activity is implemented, it is essential that project managers address these issues on an ongoing basis.

Gender Equity: Gender equity means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different but considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities. In the development context, a gender equity goal often requires built-in measures to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages of women.

3.Goal and objectives of Gender policy:

The goal of this policy is to contribute to better services for both women and men,

through  policies and programmes which give more attention to gender considerations and promote equity and equality between women and men. NECC will analyze and address gender issues in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes, projects in order to achieve the following objectives: 

1.       To  increase coverage, effectiveness and efficiency of interventions.

2.       To promote equity and equality between women and men, throughout the life course, and ensure that interventions do not                    promote inequitable gender roles relations;

3.       To support NECC staff, volunteers, partners and community on how to undertake gender-responsive planning,                                implementation and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects.

4.       To provide a clear vision on gender equality in program work.

5.       To outline strategies and approaches to achieve gender sensitivity in programming;

6.       To promote gender balance in NECC  governance, management, overall staffing and representation in meetings and trainings;

7.       To promote economic and educational empowerment to enable women and men to have equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from profitable economic activities and educational opportunities

8.       To enable women and men to have equal voice and influence in shaping our work and policies as an organization and to initiate specific programes and activities as implementers.

These objectives will be achieved through the incorporation of gender equality in

the work of NECC . 

4.NECC gender policy principles 

NECC is committed to the equality of men and women in all aspects of the human endeavor. We are guided in this by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that there can be no distinction or discrimination on the basis of gender (Articles 2 and 23). We are specifically committed to the ACT Alliance Gender Dimension in Disaster Relief as it applies in emergency situations and throughout our work activities. Like ACT we seek to promote gender equality as a common value, including gender mainstreaming. NECC commits itself, like other members of ACT, to the five key principles for mainstreaming and gender-sensitive programming in humanitarian work: 

Principle 1: Promote gender balance in staffing and representation

 NECC members shall respect the promotion of gender balance at all levels and in all human resources requirements.

Gender balance is a human resource issue and it is about equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

All staff are treated equally and offered equal opportunities for promotion etc… 

Principle 2: Promote gender equality through gender mainstreaming and rights-based tools at the programme level, for contextual analysis, needs assessments, planning, implementation and evaluation 

A gender equality approach to programming promotes human dignity and ensures fair access to development or humanitarian assistance. It recognises that women and men differ in terms of both sex and gender and require appropriate interventions that meet their distinct needs. At a minimum, a gender equality approach should ensure that:

§  Assistance provided is based on a thorough gender analysis ensuring that all initiatives examine the relationship between women and men and their access to and control over resources and benefits, their roles and the constraints they face relative to each other.

§  Need and capacities assessments take into consideration the different needs and interests of women and men, girls and boys, in relation to their basic needs, like food, shelter, water, sanitation, health, education, and prevention and response to gender-based violence;

§  Assistance benefits women and men equally.

§  Women and men have full participation, including women being empowered in decision-making, in all areas of work from planning through to final programme evaluation;

§  Women’s rights are promoted as human rights especially in the area of gender-based violence

§  Men are empowered to support the promotion of gender equality;

§  Reporting and accountability mechanisms for monitoring gender mainstreaming are put in place; and

§  Advocacy efforts recognize that gender equality is essential for socio-economic recovery and growth.

Gender sensitive programming always includes consultations with and participation of both women and men, building upon their own capacities and resources to cope with the crisis. This includes the identification of barriers to women’s or men’s participation during all phases of the programme cycle. 

Principle 3: Promote gender equality in the delivery of the health system level 

• Ensure that women have access to and are encouraged to participate in the planning and management of health services including decision making processes.
• Assist the institute in taking action to increase the number of female health service providers by recruiting and training women for all areas of health delivery.
• Provide medical training to health programs staff.
• Ensure a broad focus on women’s health and not a limited focus on motherhood.
• Ensure that women identify their own health needs, by involving them in the design of the project.
• Design messages about development, health and fertility that are acceptable to both women and men. 

Principle 4: Promote gender equality in the delivery of the socio-economic empowerment  level 

Promote economic and educational empowerment to enable women and men to have equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, profitable economic activities and educational opportunities.

Principle 5: Adhering to ACT’s Code of Conduct on sexual exploitation, abuse of power and corruption 

ACT members, together with their partners including NECC, support or implement humanitarian and development programs in more than 140 countries around the world. NECC staff are responsible for upholding and promoting the highest ethical and professional standards in their work.

Sexual exploitation and abuse is one form of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). NECC  recognizes that Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) can occur in any development or humanitarian setting. In humanitarian crises, however, the dependency of affected populations on humanitarian agencies for their basic needs creates an additional ethical responsibility and duty of care on the part of all NECC staff. Also NECC staff shall never take advantage of their position when working with communities, partners or other NECC stakeholders. 

Monitoring and evaluation of the policy

DSPR is committed to have a monitoring and evaluation process that would follow up on the Gender Equality policy and its implementation within the Organization and in all of our activities and programs being implemented.