The Gender Evaluation Methodology for ICTs is an innovative evaluation guide for ICT practitioners seeking an appropriate gender framework and ICT interventions.  GEM integrates gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that uses ICTs for social change and provides a means for determining whether ICTs are really improving women’s lives and gender relations as well as promoting empowering change at individual, institutional, community and broader social levels.

The Gender Evaluation Methodology for ICTs is an innovative evaluation guide for ICT practitioners seeking an appropriate gender framework and ICT interventions.  GEM integrates gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that uses ICTs for social change and provides a means for determining whether ICTs are really improving women’s lives and gender relations as well as promoting empowering change at individual, institutional, community and broader social levels.

The guide provides users with an overview of the evaluation process (including links to general evaluation resources) and outlines suggested strategies and methodologies for incorporating a gender analysis throughout the evaluation process. GEM does not contain step-by-step instructions to conducting evaluations.

GEM is not simply an evaluation tool. It can also be used to ensure that a gender concerns are integrated into a project planning process.

Why was GEM developed?

The GEM Tool was developed by the Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Networking Support Programme, a global network of women who support women’s networking for social change and women’s empowerment through the use of ICTs, to facilitate the process of learning about the gender dynamics of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance gender and social justice.

ICT use is increasing everywhere. In particular, women are using ICTs to strengthen their organization and movement building at the local, regional and global levels. ICTs, however, can also pose a potential threat to women. ICTs can be used in ways that replicate or perpetuate gender stereotypes and biases, and can have unintended negative impacts. Gender evaluation methodologies, therefore, can be used to investigate whether ICTs are being used in ways that change gender biases and roles and do not simply reproduce and replicate existing ones. As more and more of today's development work and money is channeled into projects that employ ICTs, their effects on women are of great importance.

The GEM is intended to increase chances that ICT projects have to include gender in policy formulation and implementation. Gender can be included in monitoring and evaluation as well. GEM can also be used as a tool for measuring national policies and tools.

GEM is intended to meet the needs of APC WNSP members seeking appropriate gender analysis tools and frameworks for their own information and communication technology (ICT) interventions, as well as other practitioners who share a common commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in ICTs, including:

* ICT initiatives for social change

* Project managers and project staff using ICT in projects without a specific gender or women's focus

* Evaluators working in the IT field

* Donors and development agency staff working in the IT field

* Gender focal points that support women's and IT issues

* Policy makers ICT planners

* Consultants in the area of gender and ICTs.

WOUGNET’s experience in using the GEM tool

WOUGNET's participation in the development and use of the GEM Tool started in the year 2002. As a member of the APC, Women of Uganda Network participated in testing of the GEM tool in Zanzibar, came up with the action plan on how WOUGNET could use the GEM evaluate its program. In 2003 the GEM tool was used to evaluate WOUGNET activities including; the mailing list, electronic newsletter and the website to get gender disparities in the WOUGNET program. The findings of the evaluation showed that both men and women access but men more.

The GEM tool was also used as a major guiding tool in the assessment of the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) with a main objective finding out the extent to which the fund has provided universal access to rural communities and whether the implementation process has taken into consideration any gender concerns for the equitable benefit of women and men. The assessment generated a report that highlights gender issues in the RCDF policy and implementation and has been used for policy advocacy and urging the case for mainstreaming gender in ICT programme implementation.

Efforts have also been made to build the Uganda Women Caucus on ICTs (UWCI) and gender experts with skills in using the GEM Tool to effectively evaluate ICT policy processes and programs in Uganda. Some policy makers, ICT experts and Journalists, participants were given an overview of how the GEM tool can be used to evaluate ICT projects in addition to other Gender analysis approaches during a training that was organized to equip them with skills on how to analyze and incorporate gender in ICT policies and projects.

The GEM tool has been adopted by WOUGNET in exploring and documenting the ways in which women and women organisations are using and applying ICTs for sustainable development. GEM led documentation is a core component of the Gender and ICT policy advocacy program whose aim is to building capacity of network members to effectively influence the formulation and implementation of gender sensitive ICT policies and programs.

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