Taking a Closer Look - Reflections on Methodology of Gender Evaluations with a View to African Realities and Practices of Sida's Development Cooperation

This Annex is a basic critique of how the global strategy for mainstreaming gender equality has been adopted by donors and partner countries as universalised goals without the necessary context sensitivity. It contributes to the debate on gender mainstreaming, reflecting on the implications for the evaluation of gender equality. The Annex raises several issues in need of further research and in depth study which all gender equality evaluations may not be able to address, but which would deepen the understanding of opportunities and constraints on changes towards gender equality and their evaluation. These issues include taking into account the stakeholder whose interests are ultimately served when key concepts and approaches in gender mainstreaming (e.g., gender, gender equality, women's rights) are applied; balancing the need for context-specific versus universalised goals of gender equality and women's rights; and understanding the relationship between donor agencies and partner organisations.