Preface

The Ministry of Social Affairs in Lebanon is assuming a leading role in addressing

women's issues within the available human and financial capacities. MOSA different
departments as well as the Social Development Centers all over the country are
playing an active role by offering various women-related programs and services
including rehabilitation, reproductive health and literacy services.
In addition, MOSA has developed a new vision in targeting women and gender
equality issues. MOSA is striving to mainstream gender in its plans and programs in
order to respond optimally to the needs of the society and to make utmost benefit
of the individual and institutional capacities which will ensure active participation in
the development process. Through Promoting Womens Participation in Local
Governance and Development project, a project funded by the Italian Embassy in
Beirut - Italian Cooperation Office for Development, MOSA is enhancing its
capacities in the area of reducing social marginalization of the most vulnerable
groups of the Lebanese society through the pursuit of gender equity.
This gender mainstreaming strategy conducted within the context of the project is
considered a pioneer step which reflects MOSAs commitment towards
international conventions especially CEDAW.
Moreover, this strategy is in line with MOSAs mandate in reducing social gaps and
ensuring social justice. It is a result of high commitment of all MOSA officials at
different levels.
Finally, we would like to thank the Collective for Research and Training on
Development-Action (CRTD.A) for their contribution to realizing this strategy. We
hope that MOSAs pioneer initiative will be an incentive for other governmental
institution to mainstream gender concepts in their plans and programs.

Minister of Social Affairs

Rashid Derbas

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Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Contextual Background................................................................................................................................. 4
Part One: International Framework and Lebanese Political Will and Commitment .................................... 6
Lebanese Political Will and Commitment ................................................................................................. 9
Part Two: MOSA Gender Mainstreaming Strategy ..................................................................................... 11
What will Gender Mainstreaming Offer? ............................................................................................... 11
Goal of the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy .......................................................................................... 11
Outline of the GMS ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Findings of the Gender Audit .............................................................................................................. 12
Scope for the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy .................................................................................. 13
Outcomes ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Strategic Framework ........................................................................................................................... 14
Empowerment Framework ................................................................................................................. 15
Approach ..................................................................................................................................................... 15
Way Forward............................................................................................................................................... 17
Main steps .............................................................................................................................................. 17
The Action Plan for the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy ...................................................................... 21
Monitoring and Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 23
Gender Mainstreaming Strategy - Monitoring Plan ................................................................................... 24
ANNEXES ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
References .................................................................................................................................................. 37
List of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................................... 39

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Introduction
This five-year strategy lays out a framework and sets an action plan to promote gender equality across the
Ministry of Social Affairs. The Gender Mainstreaming Strategy provides MOSA with a binding framework,
which nevertheless it offers some flexibility in the implementation phase. With the political will of the policy
makers and the commitment of the staff members inside MOSA, it is envisioned that this Gender
Mainstreaming Strategy will be implemented in a manner suited to the different sectors of MOSA.
Organization of the GMS: This working document of the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy starts by providing
an overview covering the contextual background subsequently after the introduction section of the report.
This working document consists of two parts along with four attachments in a separate annex:
The first part presents international framework along with the key national commitments reflecting the
State political will. This part presents an overview of the main documents that set out the commitment to
gender mainstreaming and gender equality. This part contains basic background knowledge necessary for
MOSA staff and others to get familiar with the framework of the GMS since it provides an overview of the
global and institutional context in which gender mainstreaming policies and strategies have evolved. The
second section of part one presents the main concepts of gender mainstreaming and main definition as set
out in the international documents.
The second part presents the developed Gender Mainstreaming Strategy. It first presents the outline and
main principles of the Gender Mainstreaming strategy. Then it walks the reader through a realistic plan of
action with appropriate steps to be taken as a guide for active use. The last section of this part presents the
robust monitoring plan with main definitions of Monitoring and Evaluation.

First attachment: provides the main Scope of Work of the proposed Gender committee to be
instituted in MOSA

Second Attachment: provides recommendations, at the level of management and at the

level of Effectiveness of the Gender Committee.

Third attachment: presents the findings of the Gender Audit as extracted from the original
report conducted by CRTDA.

Fourth attachment: presents a succinct of levels of gender mainstreaming

Background: The Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) commissioned the Collective for Research and Training
on Development Action (CRTD.A) to develop a gender equality strategy to address the findings and
recommendations emanated from a gender audit exercise conducted by CRTD.A (April 2011 April 2012).
The main aim of the gender audit exercise was to determine opportunities and challenges of mainstreaming
gender in national policies and programs, due to the impact of gender mainstreaming on womens economic
participation and empowerment. Additionally, the gender audit exercise aimed to explore possibilities for
supporting internal processes for gender mainstreaming and for identifying gaps in capacity building
required to support existing or potential efforts for gender mainstreaming. The gender audit exercise
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targeted MOSAs internal administrative processes regarding gender roles, organizational behavior, and
womens direct economic participation.. Subsequently a report was developed in May 2013 that serves as an
anchor and base of the scope of this strategy.

Ministry of Social Affairs - MOSA

Established in 1993, the Ministry of Social Affairs is the governmental entity in charge of coordinating the
provision of social protection and assistance in Lebanon. It is mandated to develop social policies, to
implement social development projects, and to provide support for the vulnerable groups. It is also
mandated to support social development plans and programs at the community level. According to the law
212/93, the Ministry assumes the following functions1:
Conduct studies and plan for social policies
Provide welfare and social assistance services to certain social under-privileged groups either
directly or through contracts with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs).
Promote local development through a network of social development centers and joint projects with
CSOs and local administrations.

(elderly, children, etc) or specific sectors implemented through parallel projects or joint initiatives
with international organizations or CSOs.

CRTD.A
The Collective for Research and Training on Development Action (CRTD.A) is a Lebanese non-governmental
organization officially registered in 1999 and is located in Beirut. CRTD.As programs and scope of
interventions include working at grassroots, local, regional, and international levels on gender equality and
womens rights with development initiatives targeting women and community groups and on promoting
womens rights and gender equality in Lebanon and in the Middle East and North African region.

Contextual Background
Women in Lebanon
The conditions of Lebanese Women are also fairly unique: a gender analysis of Lebanons development
indicators reveals that Lebanese women experience relatively high levels of health and education, but are
lacking a commensurate presence in the public sphere. Such gains in health and education are not reflected
in womens economic empowerment, advancement in politics or full equality under the law2

United National Development Programme. Country: Lebanon Project Document p.2

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/docs/Poverty/Projects/3159.pdf
.
2
Lebanon: An Overview Context, evolving demographics for women, sexual and reproductive health, poverty and
women, gender and rights, Dejong Jocelyn Meyerson-Knox, AUB, Funded by UNFPA p.1
file:///D:/LEBANON/GENDeR%20MAINSTREAMING/MOSA/unfpa.case_study.lebanon.pdf

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In the National Situation Analysis Womens Human Rights and Gender Equality produced by Europe, states
that the situation of Lebanese women has always been highly two-edged: on the one hand, a wide
emancipation of women, schooling on footing with men, active participation in the various fields of social,
economic and cultural life and on the other hand, a great discrimination in the family codes and a striking
backwardness in political participation. In the public sphere, over 60 years have passed since the law of
1953, which recognized equal rights for men and women in elections, voting and candidacy. However,
womens rate of participation in political life is still very low, including in candidacy. (Euromed 2010: p 8, 9).
This is echoed in CRTD-As report on gender profile of Lebanons equality and economic indicators stating
that:
While Lebanon boasts some of the best gender statistics in health and education in the Arab region,
not to mention the degree of social mobility for women that exist in the country, it is also home to
some of the worst regional rates of gender equality in areas of political representation and
leadership, and is among the countries in the region which have enacted the fewest changes to
discriminatory laws governing personal status and citizenship
The National Social Development Strategy of Lebanon in 2011, developed by MOSA, states that even though
Lebanese women are seen by the world to enjoy a better status than other Arab women due to the
countrys pluralism, many issues hinder their progress in the Lebanese society. A noticeable disparity
remains in womens participation in decision-making positions across various fields and sectors. While
women occupy high levels in the areas of economy and finance, education and social affairs, giving them
power and authority in those sectors, female participation in the political arena is yet to be visible. While
gender is already respected in many policies and rules, a dire need still remains for the government and
society to have a clear vision on how to improve the status of women in all realms.
The Gender Audit Report of May 2013 developed by CRTDA mentioned that according to the Euromed
Gender Equality Program (EGEP) findings, women in Lebanon are still challenged by many legal, social, and
cultural issues. Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations suffer from lack of a system wide government
actions, as well as organizational challenges. These limitations lead to a lack of coordination between actors
regarding their various programs.
The national priorities highlighted subsequent to the Euromed Gender Equality Program (EGEP) findings
included the need to:
Develop the institutional capacities of the Lebanese parties concerned in both public and associative
sectors.
Develop strategic considerations to which the public institutions concerned and the Lebanese nongovernmental organizations and associations should adhere, with the technical support of bilateral
and multilateral agencies. This mainly involves promoting the creation of mechanisms to constantly
renew the national strategy for Lebanese Women through a participatory approach.
Develop a network of actions promoting active participation of women in decision-making in public
life and a network of pressure groups combating violence against women.
As a result, Lebanese women face critical situations because of beliefs and norms of their local communities.
Government and civil society have started to recognize and understand the importance of gender relations,
as well as the essential role of women achieving sustainable development.
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Part One: International Framework and Lebanese Political Will and Commitment
International Framework
The CEDAW Convention the Beijing Platform for Action and the UN
Millennium Declaration
The most important agreement binding governments to promote womens rights is the UN Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that was established in 1979. The
Convention was ratified by Lebanon in 19963and by 2002 it had been ratified by 170 countries. The UN
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors the implementation of the
Convention by means of the periodic reports that every state that has ratified it is obliged to make to the
UN.
CEDAW is the most comprehensive agreement on basic human rights for women, and a critical step in
developing a standard for such rights. The Convention contains 30 articles and is based on three main
principles, as follows:
The Principle of Equality, stating that:
women are entitled to equal opportunities and treatment;
women should have equal access to resources;
women should not just receive formal equality, but laws may need to be changed and enforced so
that results can be seen.
The Principle of Non-discrimination, stating that:
discrimination is socially constructed, exclusionary and not essential to human interaction. It prevents
women from enjoying their rights and fulfilling their potential;
both direct discrimination (where intent exists) and indirect discrimination (the effect of unintentional
actions) need to be actively redressed;
temporary measures (specific actions) can be put in place to correct past discrimination;
discrimination that occurs in the private sphere needs to be addressed, as much as discrimination in
the public sphere.
The Principle of State Obligation, stating that
once a State ratifies CEDAW it becomes party to legally binding obligations
to eliminate discrimination against women. The State will abide by and be
held accountable to the norms and standards mentioned in CEDAW;
the State is responsible for the welfare of its women and therefore must
take measures to protect their rights and redress any inequalities.
Source: Toolkit on Mainstreaming Gender Equality in EC Development Cooperation p.26
http://www.iiav.nl/epublications/2004/toolkit_on_mainstreaming_gender_equality.PDF

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Initial reports of States parties Lebanon - 2004
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/502/59/PDF/N0450259.pdf?OpenElement

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Another important intergovernmental agreement is the Declaration and Platform for Action for improving
the status of women approved at the UNs Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The
Beijing Platform for Action includes goals and steps to be taken in twelve critical areas of life to improve the
position and influence of women and girls. All member countries of the UN are bound by the Platform for
Action, including of course Lebanon.

Critical areas of concern identified at the Beijing World Conference on Women 1995:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women

Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training
Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services.
Violence against women
The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign
occupation
Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in access to
resources
Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision making at all levels.
Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women
Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women
Stereotyping of women and inequality in womens access to and participation in all communication
systems, especially in the media
Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the
environment
Persistent discrimination against and violations of the rights of the girls child

The UN Beijing + 5 Follow-up Conference in 2000 approved a Political Declaration and Outcome Document
committing governments to take effective steps to enhance the implementation of the Beijing Platform for
Action. Governments also affirmed their commitment to new measures during the next five year period to
meet new types of challenges.
From this point onward, gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy for the promotion
of gender equality in the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth United Nations World Conference on
Women in Beijing in 1995. Hence, the ECOSOC agreed conclusions (1997/2) established some important
overall principles for gender mainstreaming4. In July 1997, the United Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
defined the concept of gender mainstreaming as follows:
"Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any
planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making
women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that
women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender
equality.5

Gender Mainstreaming An Overview, United Nations, New York 2002 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/pdf/e65237.pdf

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/pdf/ECOSOCAC1997.2.PDF

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The report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997 (A/52/3. 18 September 1997) on Gender
mainstreaming outlines the main principles for mainstreaming a gender perspective in the United Nations
system. These principles are primarily used as guidelines in most of the gender mainstreaming strategies and
policies.

Principles for mainstreaming a gender perspective in the United Nations system

Issues across all areas of activity should be defined in such a manner that gender differences can be
diagnosed that is, an assumption of gender- should not be made

Responsibility for translating gender mainstreaming into practice is system-wide and rests at the highest
levels. Accountability for outcomes needs to be monitored constantly.

Gender mainstreaming also requires that every effort be made to broaden womens participation at all
level of decision-making.

Gender mainstreaming must be institutionalized through concrete steps, mechanisms and process in all
parts of the United Nations system.

Gender mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, women-specific policies and
programmes or positive legislation, nor does it substitute for gender of focal points.

Clear political will and allocation of adequate and, if need be, additional human and financial resources
for gender mainstreaming from all available funding sources are important for the successful translation
of the concept into practice.

The United Nations Millennium Declaration was approved at the 55th session of the General Assembly in
September 2000. The Millennium Declaration is a comprehensive political statement of international
commitment in which the leaders of countries pledge to work to ensure peace, development, protection of
the environment and human rights. The Declaration also includes concrete development
goals to be attained by 2015.

The Eight Development Goals of the Millennium Declaration:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
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Lebanese Political Will and Commitment

Clear political will and the allocation of adequate human resources and financial resources are the bedrock
for gender mainstreaming. Political will kicks off the journey of successful translation of the concept into
practice i.e. the process of gender mainstreaming. In light of this, three main documents were produced to
exhibit the State political will:

First: A document by Ministry of Social Affairs, Department of Family Affairs Womens Affairs Division on
19 September 2005 stated that Lebanon has signed most of the international treaties which call for the
elimination of violence, including, in particular, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence
against Women. However, it has made some reservations to these treaties regarding the issues of nationality
and personal status. Additionally, in 1995 the State of Lebanon ratified the Convention on the political rights
of women of 1953.
Second: The National ten-year strategy for Womens Affairs 2011 -2021constitutes a public document of a
consultative nature for all parties concerned with the improvement of the status of women in Lebanon, and
with the advancement of human rights in general in the country. It is also a facilitating tool for the formation
of a modern democratic state which seeks to apply good governance. Furthermore, The National Strategy
for Women in Lebanon (2011 2021) developed by National Commission for Lebanese Women and UNFPA
highlights gender equality in all fields and stressing the importance of gender mainstreaming as the right
approach to achieve full equality between men and women.. The National ten- year strategy endorsed
twelve strategic objectives which serve as the main framework of the strategy as follows:

1. Achieving citizenship to its full potential on the basis of equality between men and women in
defacto (fields of practice) rights and duties and dejure (legal texts).
2. Promoting opportunities for girls and women in the areas of education and training.
3. Achieving full equality between men and women in health care through the provision of health
services and care for girls and women, including reproductive-health care.
4. Combating poverty among women, and giving special attention to the eradication of poverty in
general
5. Promoting the participation of women in the economic sector.
6. Achieving equality between men and women in all fields and sectors and in decision-making
positions.
7. Combating all forms of violence affecting girls and women in all areas.
8. Eradicating stereotyping of women in local culture and in such media forms as ratio, television and
advertising.
9. Enhancing the contribution of women to environment protection
10. Strengthening the capacity of institutions concerned with womens issues at the national level,
and reinforcing the partnership NCLW and public-sector departments and institutions, and with
civil society
11. Protecting girls and women in situations of emergency, armed conflict, war and natural disaster
12. Introducing gender mainstreaming in all fields.
Source: The National ten-year strategy for Womens Affairs 2011 -2011

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Third: MOSA developed The National Social Development Strategy of Lebanon in 2011with a clear mission
statement along with a set of five main objectives as follows:
Mission Statement
The National Social Development Strategy leads the way to integrated development and an enhanced
quality of life through better and more equitable provision of social services, and expansion of socioeconomic opportunities.
Main Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Achieve better health

Strengthen social protection mechanisms
Provide quality education
Improve opportunities for equitable and safe employment
Revitalize communities and develop social capital

The National Social Development Strategy of Lebanons a document contains a section on gender
mainstreaming (section 4.4 page 23). The section describes the tasks of the Womens Affairs division at the
Ministry of Social Affairs Department of Family Affairs and calls on the Lebanese government to implement
the following tasks:
Put in place a strategy which would include time-bound targets for a systematic review and revision
of all legislation that is against womens rights.
Strengthen the existing national womens machinery, namely the National Commission for Lebanese
Women and the MOSA Womens division, by providing them with the adequate authority and
resources, both human and financial, to make them more effective in the fulfilment of their
mandates based on an all-encompassing gender equality perspective.
Mainstream a gender perspective in all policies and programs in all sectors including through training
and capacity building measures on gender issues.
Hold consultations among the main actors in this domain, especially NGOs concerned by gender
mainstreaming, for planning and implementing the gender mainstreaming process.
In the same vein, it is worth mentioning that by virtue of conducting the Gender Audit and the development
of this strategy, MOSA has expressed its political will and commitment to gender equality goals and values
that have to be realized through significant organizational change. The fact that a time and effort were
allocated to support the Gender Audit was implemented is a translation of the commitment of MOSA since it
is consistent with the international commitment as articulated by MOSA regarding gender equality.

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Part Two: MOSA Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

What will Gender Mainstreaming Offer?
Gender mainstreaming work is a development work with a long-term perspective and only fully bears fruit
when it is done systematically. Generally mainstreaming is a strategy in which administrative and operating
practices in ministries and authorities are developed to promote gender equality. It is widely recognized that
gender equality is both a development goal in itself and a precondition for the achievement of other
development outcomes; it is both a matter of human rights and a matter
of development or smart economics. Gender equality can enhance economic growth and improve other
development outcomes in three ways: (i) increasing womens access to and control over resources can
generate broad productivity gains, (ii) improving womens and girls status improves many other
development outcomes (health, nutrition, etc.), and (iii) crucially, womens economic gains benefit not only
themselves but also the next generation, thus, magnifying the development impact.
Based on The National Social Development Strategy of MOSA, gender mainstreaming positions women and
men at the heart of policy-making, and leads to better governance ensuring equal opportunities. In that
sense, this strategy aims to incorporate gender into MOSAs core activities and programs. Gender
mainstreaming is a strategy for achieving equality. It implies applying a gender equality perspective
throughout the operation, wherever decisions are made and wherever activities are undertaken. Gender
equality and female empowerment are core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of
human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes. No society can develop
successfully without providing equitable opportunities, resources, and life prospects for males and females
so that they can shape their own lives and contribute to their families and communities6. The aim is
therefore to ensure that the services provided to the general public are equally and of the same benefit to
citizens, whether women or men. Empowerment is very much aligned with gender mainstreaming.
Therefore, this strategy draws on the notion of empowerment and adopts gender mainstreaming as a crucial
approach to achieve MOSAs vision and stated commitment, laying out a focused plan to help MOSA carry
out its mandate and commitment to meet the demands and aspirations of the Lebanese citizens.

Goal of the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

This five-year strategy aims to strengthen gender equality both in the programs and services that MOSA is
mandated to deliver and to be institutionalized at MOSA itself (i.e. at the institutional level
The strategy addresses MOSA staff members first and foremost. It is up to MOSA to put the strategy into
practice. It falls on MOSA to take it further and to strive to create a working environment that not only
respects gender equality internally but also generates and develops engendered programming externally.
Beyond this, this strategy also serves as a basic source of reference and guidance for MOSA partners. This
6

USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy March 2012

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GMS lays out a focused plan to help MOSA in carrying out its mandate and commitment to meet the
demands and aspirations of the Lebanese citizens.

Outline of the GMS

Findings of the Gender Audit7
The CRTD-A Gender Audit exercise resulted in a number of key findings which have been clustered
thematically as follows8:
On MOSAs organizational commitment to gender equality:
Gender equality as an objective is mentioned briefly in recent documents but not in the
fundamental organizational documents.
There is no explicit mention of mechanisms of implementation or lines of responsibility and
accountability for mainstreaming gender.
There is no explicit mention of what MOSAs mandate is in relation to realizing gender equality and
how this mandate relates to fundamental texts such as CEDAW.
On staff commitment and understanding of gender equality:
CRTD-As assessment received a surprisingly high response rate (90%) amongst informants who
were asked to complete a rather long self-assessment questionnaire.
Staff demonstrated an overall an uneven knowledge of gender equality and an uneven
understanding of the organizations role and commitment to gender equality.
Female staff showed better familiarity with and knowledge of key gender concepts and were more
eager to know more
Women scored better when responding to questions about specific areas of knowledge and were
more conversant about the priorities, needs, situation and position of women in the community.
On vision regarding organizational mandate:
Overall, respondents believe that women will automatically benefit from MOSAs programs.
Responses indicated a lack of consensus regarding MOSAs mandate to realize gender equality.
Respondents showed an uneven knowledge of and value given to guiding instruments such as
CEDAW.
Field staff demonstrated a more hands-on understanding of key gender issues.
The process that followed the gender audit exercise was extremely interesting in view of its consultative and
participatory nature. As a first step, the results and findings were shared and validated with a sample of
respondents involved in the gender audit. The latter were asked to validate the findings and contribute to
drafting recommendations. MOSA then endorsed the gender audit in a public event and announced that as a
result, it would proceed with a capacity building program targeting its staff, as well as draft its first ever
gender strategy.
In light of the above findings of the Gender Audit report, the outline of the strategy is developed
encompassing its scope of work along with main areas for strategic direction.

Source: http://www.blog.learningpartnership.org/2013/05/lebanon-gender-audit-ministry-social-affairs/
The findings of the Gender Audit are attached in the Annex part so that the reader relate to the rationale behind the strategy and
its background.
8

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Scope for the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

The scope of the Gender Mainstreaming (GM) strategy highlights areas that require strategic directions for
MOSA to adopt. Three areas/dimensions are considered for institutional adaption and/or change.
The three key levels of emphasis include:

Organizational Level: Addressing MOSAs gender infrastructure requires putting in place gender
policies and establishing a gender balance in the leadership hierarchy. This involves not only
increasing resources for womens programs but also implies that staff are well equipped technically
and have the right knowledge on gender concepts including gender equality and gender justice. This
level encompasses setting out policies, measures, ministerial decrees and enactment of certain
measures aiming at gender equality at the organizational level.

Operational/Development Program Level: Integrating gender at the programmatic level and in

service delivery ensures that services and programs are gender responsive. This entails tailoring
capacity building programs on gender for the MOSA staff, managers and officers. Capacity building
will take the shape of training workshops and discussion seminars to address gender roles and the
dynamics of power relations. Considering social norms, beliefs, attitudes and values will be an area
of concern and a challenge to be integrated in the capacity building program.

Cultural and Social Level: In order to better show impact on development on the ground, it is
important to address the rigid cultural social gender norms and imbalance of power dynamics. This
entails working on two levels;
o First level is to work on developing the learning capacity of women and men at the
community level on gender and social/cultural norms
o Second level is to hone the skills and knowledge of MOSA service providers and staff on
gender and development issues and scholarships

Outcomes
In order to achieve this goal, this strategy is aiming at five overarching outcomes. The shaded box shows the
outcomes with the GE (Gender Equality) results:

Institute a gender mainstreaming committee at the policy level within MOSA

Reduce the gender-gap in perceptions of concepts related to gender roles and gender based division
of labour among MOSA employees

Socially and economically empower women and girls and influence decision-making in households,
communities, and societies.

Develop gender responsive/specific processes in all MOSA services and projects targeting all
citizens.
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Strengthen and consolidate partnerships with other government departments, academia, research
and study centers at universities, with civil society and external agencies

Institute a gender mainstreaming committee at the A gender Committee acting as a gender expert is institutionalized. Such an
organizational body would reflect the stated commitment of the ministry to
policy level within MOSA
gender equality.
Reduce the gender-gap in perceptions of concepts MOSA staff are fully aware of gender concepts and are capable to address GE in their
related to gender roles and gender based division of daily work and conferences/workshops . . . etc
labor among MOSA staff
Socially and economically empower women and
girls and influence decision-making in households,
communities, and societies
Develop gender-responsive/specific processes in all
MOSA services and projects targeting all citizens

Increase in the capability of women and girls to realize their rights, determine, their life
outcomes, and influence decision-making in household, communities, and societies.
Increase in the availability of sex disaggregated data
MOSA officials are well aware of the importance of gender equality in their own
fields/projects/directorates/

GE and women empowerment intiatives are coordinated with civil society and womens

Strengthen and consolidate partnerships with other advocacy organizations.

government departments, with civil society,
MOSA success stories and good practices are shared and disseminated through civil
academia, and external agencies
society and womens advocacy groups . . . etc.

Strategic Framework
Engendering MOSAs structure, system and programs that serves people, is the crux of the gender
mainstreaming. This is not a mission impossible; however, it does require time, commitment and will; along
with resources, investment, and leadership. In order to mainstream gender in the above mentioned levels
(institutional, operational and cultural) the following five complementary strategic areas must be developed:
Figure 4: Strategic Areas for Gender Mainstreaming
Strategic Area
Meaning
Political
Will
and This reflects the commitment and the deep belief of the leadership to mainstream
gender in the structure and system of MOSA. A continuous support for the gender
Accountability
equality and a follow up on its implementation are needed.
Organizational Culture

This reflects how policies and systems are set to promote gender equality, which
is ultimately reflected in patterns of behaviors, attitudes and codes of conduct to
create a gender friendly organizational culture. Gender equality starts at the
institutional level in that sense leadership and top management must set an
example and live the values as this will be an important factor in the
implementation of new policies on gender equality.
Gender Equality within This reflects equal opportunity policies and ensures gender balance across all of
MOSA
MOSAs hierarchical levels and field of responsibilities. Equal opportunities are an
integral aspect for gender equality. The ultimate aim is to ensure that
opportunities and capabilities are met with no discrimination based on sex,
religion, ethnicity, sect, etc. This entails designing and adjusting measures and
procedures to enable women and men alike to find balance between work and
family life.
Gender Competencies
This refers to gender knowledge. How well MOSA staff, including directors,
managers, and officers, are aware of the gender term and its implications as well.
Gender competency goes beyond the knowing what gender means to a deeper
14 | P a g e

Process Adjustment

understanding of knowing why power dynamics and relations between men and
women exist. Competency in gender is not satisfied with gender-sensitive staff
and leadership but it aims at training gender-responsive and transformative staff9
to be able to influence change.
This entails rethinking and revisiting all processes to ensure that all existing
processes and instruments are gender-sensitive. This might require mere
adjustment, total transformative processes and/or designing new tools and
instruments. This would also include process adopted in services and projects of
MOSA so that services are more gender responsive i.e. all services should meet
needs and interests of women and men.

Empowerment Framework
The Gender Audit reveals that in terms of empowerment, the general sentiment was that there is still room
for women in Lebanon to be empowered, though many participants also raised the idea that Lebanese
society as a whole, including both men and women, needed empowerment. The most popular suggestion for
empowering women was to educate and raise awareness of both women and men about gender issues. It
was also suggested that women would be able to attain financial empowerment through the provision of
more jobs.
Departing from this vantage, this GMS adopts the empowerment framework as the overarching component
encompassing the institutional capacity building alongside with empowering communities. The
empowerment framework is focused on empowering the relationship between institutions, actors in order
to improve development outcomes, particularly to serve citizens. Institutional and State reform that
supports investments in people, men and women alike, and their organizations leads to improved
development outcomes, including improved governance, better-functioning and more inclusive services,
more equitable access to markets, strengthened civil society. Institutional reform to support the
empowerment of people means changing the relationship between the state and people and their
organizations. It focuses on investing in peoples assets and capabilities, both individual capabilities and the
collective capacity to organize, to enable them to participate effectively in society and to interact with their
government.

Approach
Gender mainstreaming is a complex process of learning as it requires a transformation of both programming
and organizational practice. Gender mainstreaming is the strategy while gender equality is the goal and the
result. This strategys approach for MOSA recommends focusing on three inter-related strategies:
Technical Capacity Development
Organizational Shift/Change
Forging partnerships with Civil Societies, and External Agencies

Concepts of gender-sensitive and gender-transformative are mentioned in details in the annex to provide the exact definitions.

15 | P a g e

Technical Capacity Development

A capacity building component on gender concepts and other related womens rights issues is essential.
Basically this starts by conducting a gender audit to assess the current level of gender awareness and
based on that work, the capacity building component is designed to best suit the target group. Primarily,
the training component needs to focus on technical workshops on gender concepts and gender equality
that should focus more on knowing why rather than knowing what. In that sense the training goes
beyond the meaning of gender. Thus, it helps to develop the analytical and critical thinking necessary to
create a cadre capable of understanding and analyzing the underlying power structure that permeates
gender inequality and advocating for social change and gender justice. The capacity development program
may take many shapes including workshops, seminars, discussion round tables, field visits, etc.
Basic Gender Awareness: In order to mainstream gender within MOSA, all staff must acquire an
understanding of gender concepts and adopt the gender mainstreaming strategy.
Its worth-noting that in light of the recommendations of the gender audit, and within the context of
Promoting Womens Participation in Local Governance and Development project, a capacity building
program for MOSA staff was implemented on gender mainstreaming. Furthermore, a Training of Trainers
program was implemented for selected MOSA staff to foster their expertise and enable them to replicate
gender sensitization trainings in the future.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Capacity building is needed to enable qualified and relevant personnel to
mentor and monitor the process of gender mainstreaming. Additionally, accountability measures should be
put in place. They should include requiring gender indicators for monitoring and evaluating project
processes and outcomes, ensuring that gender is integrated throughout annual plans and reports, and
requiring that all field requests for funding demonstrate gender integration.

Organizational Shift/Change
It is important to influence and change the current values and views on gender that prevail within MOSA.
These changes can be realized through approaches such as ensuring gender balance on technical and
administrative teams. In another facet, it is essential to involve men as partners not as a cumbersome
participants and obstacles in the process of gender mainstreaming. Changes may take the form of altering
MOSAs structure and personnel policies to create an enabling environment for an egalitarian work place
and culture. These steps should include but not be limited to the development and implementation of
gender policies, planning frameworks and developing technical resources as tools and guidelines.

Forging Partnership
Establish and strengthen partnerships that effectively support the development and implementation of
programs that address gender inequalities and reduce womens and girls vulnerabilities, provide
quality technical assistance, and build capacity of groups
Partnership with civil society is another way to enhance gender mainstreaming. In many instances, civil
society groups are well positioned to understand the critical gender issues in Lebanon and to work
effectively with the government to influence the political agenda and identify gender-responsive
16 | P a g e

actions that are culturally appropriate

Partnership with active womens advocacy groups or womens and gender studies units in research,
will help in developing necessary researches and issuing policy briefs when appropriate.

Way Forward
This section translates the above GMS into an action plan with a coherent monitoring plan. Good models and
best practices show that systematic change work is essential when an organization seeks to build up longterm gender mainstreaming in its core activities, system and operation. Most importantly, a budget should
be allocated to carry out the plan of action. The objective of gender mainstreaming work is to make
operations gender-equal, i.e. to provide services that are equally accessible, of equally high quality and
equally well adapted to all citizens, irrespective of sex. To achieve this, we draw up a plan for how to
improve gender equality. Therefore, this section is divided into three parts:
First part: walks you through the main implementation steps of GMS. It offers a step-by-step guide on the
essential steps on GM. It also provides some checklists to serve as a tracking model.
Second part: presents the plan of action outlining the main goal, main outcomes/objectives, activities and GE
(Gender Equality) results
Third Part: outlines the monitoring and evaluation aspect of the GMS. The monitoring plan is defined for
implementation

Main steps

Step One:
Plan and Organize
Management takes the responsibility for planning and setting targets for gender mainstreaming. The Gender
committee will have to play a vital role in this step too. Directives are to be developed and provided from
the top on how the work is to be organized. This step translates the political will into concrete action and
benchmarks.
A list of guiding questions is developed with a special focus on how the organization can ensure that
development work is improved and has a lasting impact. Also it helps to achieve the National ten- year
strategy endorsed twelve strategic objectives as mentioned in page 5. This guiding checklist also can be used
in a gender equality audit. The questions also provide guidance and inspiration in the initial phase of the GM
work.

17 | P a g e

Aspect of analysis
1

In what way does the management make clear its commitment to developing and introducing gender
mainstreaming?

What are the explicit actions do senior staff take to communicate the work of gender mainstreaming
and ensure that it is understood by MOSA staff?

Identify who is the senior staff responsible for following up and developing the work?

What are the necessary financial conditions for gender mainstreaming? Is there a budget allocation?
Is there a time allocated for this?

What is the current level of competence and gender knowledge of the staff? Does this need to be
improved?

Is there a plan for what skills and knowledge staff need to carry out their assignment/work?

How will the staff be guided and mentored to apply their acquired knowledge and skills?

8
9

Is there a long-term plan for how the organization can supply the knowledge and skills needed for
further development?
Is there a scope of work/TOR (Terms of Reference) for the gender focal points?

10

Is the work of the gender committee defined and visible to all staff?

11

What are the methods and other procedures that MOSA adopt to achieve the expected goals and
results?

12

In what way are the sex-disaggregated data and statistics used in the operational work of the GM
work?

13

How is the gender mainstreaming work coordinated within MOSA?

Step Two:
Building knowledge - Basic Awareness
Before gender mainstreaming work begins, all MOSA staff must acquire a basic understanding of the
National Strategy of Social Development of 2011 and the gender mainstreaming strategy. This form of
capacity building should encompass concepts of gender equality and gender theory. They will then know
more on how to link gender equality into their existing work, tasks and activities. This will lead a heightened
awareness of gender issues and to greater interest in them. Senior management, too, need to be included in
this form of capacity building in order to reach decisions to move the GM work forward.
Training is fundamental to success of the GM work. Both management and staff must be aware of the power
relations and gender concepts. This will motivate MOSA staff to realize the importance of the gender
mainstreaming to ensure equitable access to services and benefits i.e. to provide services that are equally
accessible, of equally high quality and equally well adapted to all citizens, irrespective of gender. Building
peoples knowledge is the bedrock of the success of gender equality in order to understand and use
information and analyses effectively.
18 | P a g e

As such, MOSA has started a training program on gender concepts and gender mainstreaming for its staff
since 2013, around 011 employees have already trained.
Example of questions to be included in such trainings :

What needs to change in your work ( in the Ministry) and operation to make it more
gender equal?

How must I change my own behavior and thinking in order to be part of this process?

New step plan how you will move on. . .

Step Three:
Implementation Phase
MOSA implements activities and undertake certain measures to achieve gender equality. Here are some
guiding questions to walk through the implementation process:

Does the activity affect women and men by its actions?

Are services provided to both women and men equally?

Whose needs and interests are in focus?

What financial conditions are necessary for gender mainstreaming? How much time is needed?

What is the current level of competence for MOSA staff ? Does this need to be improved? What is
the plan for staff performance development?

What are the proposed measures to ensure implementation of the work plan of the GM? Here is a
suggested table to track changes

For example one concrete measure is the development of the Gender committee. Such an organizational
body would reflect the stated commitment of the ministry to gender equality. MOSA should set up a
Gender committee to plan and support the Gender Mainstreaming strategy. It acts as a consultative
body that can make recommendations and proposals to the Leadership body of the Ministry. The
Gender committee also monitors the implementation of the agreed upon work plan. Additionally the
Gender committee coordinates all relevant gender work and activities with other partners including
academia, civil society, and womens organizations, among others. A detailed proposed SOW of the
gender committee is included in attachment two.

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Proposed measures

Starting Point

Measures for achieving the GM Who

policy/operational objectives

is Completed

Responsible?

Step Four:
Evaluate the outcome

This step enables management to evaluate progress from a gender equality point of view. Senior staff makes
sure that the results are followed up, and evaluate the outcome by answering questions such as the
following:
Monitoring and follow-up: What are the results/outcomes? What are the main adopted processes? How far
were these processes successful? How do we assess the quality of the implementation plan?
Evaluation: Have we achieved our main goals/objectives? What are the lessons learned? How do we make
positive change last? What are the next steps?
Disseminate results: how do MOSA disseminate the outcome and the lessons learned throughout the course
of the action plan? How does MOSA make the outcome sustainable? How does MOSA celebrate the success?

An Action Plan
The plan of action: This plan and its implementation strategy are premised on the political will and
commitment of MOSA to take the efforts forward to achieve its ultimate result of the gender equality.
Additionally, its underlying assumption is that a process of change and improvement should happen by
adopting several actions. To be effective, such a process of the gender mainstreaming should be organized
along the lines of widely accepted stages. Realistic goals, objectives and means for implementation and
action need to be established and coordinated in accordance with a countrys context, priorities and capacity
and based on efforts and willingness of the staff of MOSA as well as the policy makers.

20 | P a g e

The Action Plan for the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

GOAL: Strengthen gender equality both in the programs and services that MOSA is mandated to deliver
and within MOSA itself
Outcome

Strategic

Activities

Direction
Outcome One:
Institute a gender
mainstreaming
advisory unit at the
policy level within
MOSA

(Gender

Equality)

Results

Political
will

and
accountability
Organizational
culture
shift/change
Process
Adjustment

Outcome Two:
Gender
Reduce the genderCompetencies
gap in perceptions of
concepts related to
gender roles and
gender based division
of labour among
employees

GE

Establish a gender committee to

act a consultative body on
gender equality in MOSA and to
support for the development of
gender-sensitive policies and
program strategies.
This
committee is to be linked to the
office of the Minister or the
Director General, the mandate of
this committee is to generate
interdepartmental policies and
procedures that pertain to
gender mainstreaming.
Assign a gender focal point post/
task in each of the regional units
and programs in the Ministry.
Integrate
capacity
building
component on gender issues
within the training unit which is
part of the Department of
Planning and Research
Report on gender equality
activities periodically

A gender committee acting as

a gender consultant is
institutionalized. Such an
organizational body would
reflect
the
stated
commitment of the ministry
to gender equality.

Develop a capacity building

program/strategy for MOSA on
gender mainstreaming and how
to effectively and efficiently
operationalize it.
Conduct training throughout
MOSA and its associated
programs and organizations on
gender concepts, and gender
equity; and womens invisible
work
Conduct
training
targeting
employees and stakeholders on

MOSA staff are fully aware of

gender concepts and are
capable to address gender
equality
and
gender
mainstreaming in their daily
work
and
conferences/workshops . . .
etc

21 | P a g e

mechanisms of implementing
gender
mainstreaming
in
programs within the Ministry.

Outcome Three:
Women
Socially
and
Empowerment
economically
empower women and
girls and influence
decision-making
in
households,
communities,
and
societies.

Outcome Four
Advocacy and
Develop gender Policy Change
responsive/specific
processes in all MOSA
services and projects
targeting all citizens.

Outcome Five:
Forging
Strengthen
and
Partnership
consolidate
partnerships
with
other
government
departments,
research and study
centers
at
universities, with civil
society and external
agencies

Hold more awareness-raising and

training sessions including
sessions that specifically target
men.
Provide financial grants to
women wanting to start their
own businesses.
Train MoSA partners and help
them develop gender sensitive
norms and procedures
Coordinate
with
media
institutions to highlight gender
mainstreaming
work
and
activities done and use more
gender sensitive language and
material.
Develop an action plan to ensure
gender
is
taken
into
consideration on every project.
Ensure that all MOSA services
served men and women equally
with no discrimination.
Ensure that all measures and
procedures are gender sensitive
e.g.
human
resources,
management plans . . . etc
Ensure that all publications and
distributed material are gender
sensitive e.g. brochures, training
manuals, videos, etc..
Train
managers,
service
providers on gender, social and
economic rights to get familiar
with the women/human rights
framework
Work
closely
with
National
Commission for Lebanese Women on
GE results and outcomes
Partnership with civil society since
they are well positioned to
understand the critical gender issues
in Lebanon to work effectively with
the government to influence the
political agenda and identify genderresponsive actions
Partnership with active womens
advocacy groups or womens and
gender studies units in research, will

Increase in the capability of

women and girls to realize
their rights, determine, their
life outcomes, and influence
decision-making
in
household, communities, and
societies.

MOSA officials are well aware

of the importance of gender
equality
in
their
own
fields/projects/directorates

Consultations on GE and
women empowerment are
coordinated with civil society
and
womens
advocacy
organizations.
MOSA success stories and
good practices are shared and
disseminated through civil
society
and
womens
advocacy groups . . . etc.

22 | P a g e

help in developing necessary

researches and issuing policy briefs
when appropriate. Also, this includes
developing sex-disaggregated data in
different
areas.
This
gives
information for decision-makers on
the scope of the situation of women
and men, female and male needs and
interests.
Building partnerships with academia
and gender research studies in the
Universities in order to provide latest
scholar researches, gender studies
and statistics/data on recent women
issues.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Monitoring and Evaluation:
Although they are usually placed in one section but they are in fact two separate activities. The following
section presents the monitoring plan for the action plan. In the monitoring plan, it is most likely that
indicators are process indicators and output indicators. Usually process indicators measure the
implementation of the activities according to the set action plan. These indicators are mostly quantitative.
As for the evaluations: it will address the main question: Did we get there and with and what success?
Evaluation is a method of accountability and a means to learn and to improve a possible next phase of
activities.
Figure :
Key Definition:
Monitoring: is an ongoing function that involves data collection and analysis throughout
the life of a project or a plan. Information and learning gleaned from monitoring activities
are used to make adjustments during the life cycle of a project or a plan.
Evaluation: is a one-time (as opposed to ongoing) function that reports on progress of
actual versus expected results. Information and learning from evaluation are used to
inform future projects and organizational learning. .
Source: IRCs Guide to Design, Monitoring and Evaluation, November 2005. IRC (International Rescue
Committee).

23 | P a g e

Gender Mainstreaming Strategy - Monitoring Plan

Outcomes

Major Planned Activities

Illustrative

Means of

Indicators

Verification

Frequency
and
schedule of
data
collection

Strengthen gender equality both in the programs and services that MOSA is mandated to deliver and
within MOSA itself
Outcome One:
Institute a gender
mainstreaming
advisory unit at the
policy level within
MOSA

Outcome Two:
Reduce the gender-
gap in perceptions of
concepts related to
gender roles and
gender
based
division of labour
among employees

Establish a gender committee

to act a consultative body on
gender equality in MOSA and
to
support
for
the
development
of
gendersensitive
policies
and
programme strategies. This
committee is to be linked to
the office of the Minister or
the Director General, the
mandate of this unit is to
generate interdepartmental
policies and procedures that
pertain
to
gender
mainstreaming.
Assign a gender focal point
post/ task in each of the
regional units and programs in
the ministry.
Integrating capacity building
component on gender issues
within the training unit which
is part of the Department of
Planning and Research
Report on gender equality
activities periodically

A Ministerial decree is
issued and approved
indicating
the
establishment of the
Gender committee

Develop a capacity building

program/strategy for MOSA
on gender mainstreaming and
how to effectively and
efficiently operationalize it.
Conduct training throughout
MOSA and its associated
programs and organizations
on gender concepts, and
gender equity; and womens
invisible work
Conduct training targeting
employees and stakeholders
on
mechanisms
of
implementing
gender

Number of MOSA staff

who
participated
effectively in Gender
trainings

A periodic report
reflecting
the
technical activities of
the ministerial decree
is issued and approved

A clear Scope of Work

is developed for the
Gender committee
A budget line is
developed for the gender
committee to ensure
that all its expenses are
covered.
Number of gender
specialists employed in
the gender committee.

Number
workshops/meetings
with MOSA staff
introduce GMS

of
to

Workshops
reports

Pre and post tests

to measure the
level
of
comprehension
of MOSA staff on
gender concepts
and GMS

24 | P a g e

Outcomes

Major Planned Activities

Illustrative

Means of

Indicators

Verification

Frequency
and
schedule of
data
collection

mainstreaming in programs
within the Ministry.

Outcome Three:
Socially
and
economically
empower
women
and
girls
and
influence decisionmaking
in
households,
communities,
and
societies.

Hold more awareness-raising

and training sessions
including
sessions
that
specifically target men.
Provide financial grants to
women wanting to start their
own businesses.
Train MoSA partners and help
them develop gender sensitive
norms and procedures
Coordinate
with
media
institutions
to
highlight
gender mainstreaming work
and activities done and use
more
gender
sensitive
language and material.
Develop an action plan to
ensure gender is taken into
consideration
on
every
project.

Number of financial
grants
provided
to
women to start new
business.
Number of sessions on
gender
concepts
targeting men

MOSA reports
Training reports
Pre and post tests
measuring the level of
comprehension
of
content

Documentation
of
number
of
success
stories (anecdotes) on
women entrepreneurs
who
managed
to
establish
their
own
business
and
demonstrating
their
successful
path
of
managing the financial
grants.
Number of partners
trained

Outcome Four
Develop gender
responsive/specific
processes in all
MOSA services and
projects targeting all
citizens.

Outcome Five:
Strengthen
and
consolidate
partnerships
with

Number of media articles

discussing gender
Ensure that all MOSA services Number of benefits
served men and women and services accessed to
equally
with
no women and men
discrimination.
Ensure that all measures and
of
staff
procedures
are
gender Number
in
the
sensitive
e.g.
human participated
resources, management plans tailored capacity building
workshops
. . . etc
Ensure that all publications
of
gender
and distributed material are Number
material
gender
sensitive
e.g. sensitive
brochures, training manuals, produced
videos, etc..
Train managers, civil servants,
service providers on gender,
social and economic rights to
get
familiar
with
the
women/human
rights
framework

Work closely with National

Commission for Lebanese
Women on GE results and
outcomes

Number
of
joint
reports and documents
produced by MOSA and
other partners

MOSA reports
Training reports
Pre and post test
measuring the change
in comprehension

Documentation
of
reports and events
Number of
consulted

experts

25 | P a g e

Outcomes

Major Planned Activities

other government
departments,
research and study
centers
at
universities,
with
civil society and
external agencies

Partnership with civil society

since they are well positioned
to understand the critical
gender issues in Lebanon to
work effectively with the
government to influence the
political agenda and identify
gender-responsive actions

Building partnerships with

academia and gender research
studies in the Universities in
order to provide latest scholar
researches, gender studies
and statistics/data on recent
women issues.

Illustrative

Means of

Indicators

Verification

Number
supporting

Frequency
and
schedule of
data
collection

of NGOs
MOSA

in

realizing its GMS

Number
of
conferences
and
seminars developed by
civil
societies
and
womens
organizations
Partnership with active womens
sponsored by MOSA
advocacy groups or womens and
gender studies units in research,
will help in developing necessary
researches and issuing policy briefs
when appropriate. Also, this
includes
developing
sexdisaggregated data in different
areas.

26 | P a g e

ANNEXES

Attachment One: Proposed Scope of Work for the Gender committee

MOSA should set up a Gender committee to plan and support the Gender Mainstreaming strategy. It acts as a
consultative body that can make recommendations and proposals to the Leadership body of the Ministry. The
Gender committee also monitors the implementation of the agreed work plan. Additionally the Gender
committee coordinates all relevant gender work and activities with other partners including academia, civil
society, and womens organizations, among others. Main tasks can be summarized as follows:

Acts as a consultative body on gender equality in MOSA

Support for the development of gender-sensitive policies and porgramme strategies

Advice and support of staff in applying gender-sensitive activities, services, programmes, including follow
up to MOSA conferences or workshops

Plans and monitors gender mainstreaming in key areas of MOSA e.g. budgets, performance management,
projects, strategies, etc)

Responsible of development of tools and methodologies for gender mainstreaming

Reports and makes recommendations to the leadership and management body of MOSA

Collects and dissemination of information on gender issues and on best practices.

Participate in Coordinating and liaising all related gender work and activities with other stakeholders and
partners

28 | P a g e

Attachment Two:
The following section suggests recommendations at two levels, at the level of Project and at the level of
Effectiveness of the Gender Committee.
Level of Management:
Based on the above findings, this section suggests
recommendations for the Gender Committee to
mainstream gender across the management cycle:

Planning

Planning
Evaluation
Management
Review existing projects plans and activities and
mainstream gender across results, outcomes,
outputs and activities.
Review all learning material developed by the
different projects and include gender
Implementation
components in all of them adapted to the
different target beneficiaries
Produce a set of creative tools and modules that are flexible to be included in different activities
and shared by the different projects to their targeted beneficiaries and stakeholders (the game
produced by ABAAD promoting gender equity with kids can be a good example for such
products)
Organize planning retreats per project to plan for next year inviting to it staff members from
projects and SDCs, allowing them to voice their concerns, ideas and suggestions to mainstream
gender.
Management
Develop, in a participatory process, an internal gender policy to be adopted by the staff that can
eventually create a gender sensitive management.
Revisit the practice of recruiting contractual employees who do not have enough benefits to
become equally attractive irrespective of gender in areas such as: working hours, career
advancement options, benefits, etc
Design, develop and conduct a capacity building program targeting all staff levels, senior, junior
and field staff, including a coaching and follow up mechanism to ensure that they have the tools
to mainstream gender in their work. Different training modules should target people with
different responsibilities:
a. A gender sensitization project to target all project staff
b. A more advanced training on how to integrate gender sensitivity into the everyday
work of each staff member for selected staff members
c. An executive training for program managers and heads of SDCs and heads of units and
divisions at MOSA to help integrate gender into policy making.
Staff capacity building component and budget needs to be added; this allows integrating a
gender component in all programs.
29 | P a g e

Design a tool to measure gender awareness of potential recruits and develop an orientation
program for new ones that allows them to better grasp the project they are working on and
adopt a gender sensitive attitude.
Design and develop easy to use gender related training modules, and train selected staff to train
on them targeting their beneficiaries and stakeholders.

Implementation

Develop a follow up mechanism to regularly monitor gender indicators and suggest to the staff
corrective measures.
Organize awareness sessions for stakeholders interacting with various projects to raise their
gender sensitivities irrespective of the projects objectives.

Based on the main criteria adopted for the assessment framework and the expected role and
set of functions suggested for the gender committee, the following generic Monitoring and
Evaluation framework is suggested:
The indicators can be divided into process indicators which can be used to plan, measure and assess
the work of the committee (number of tools produced, policies revisited, etc) and output indicators
which can be used to assess the outputs achieved from the committee work and set plans and
objectives (% of gender sensitive services, number of reports including gender specific data, etc)
Indicators on Gender Perception

Number of awareness sessions conducted to introduce the concept of gender sensitivity

% of staff participating in gender mainstreaming trainings
Number of awareness material produced and communicated about the issue of gender sensitivity
Number of program managers knowledgeable about gender sensitivity and how to implement it
within their programs
% of staff knowledgeable about gender sensitivity and its importance in MoSA type of work
% of staff who support having a special focus on gender sensitivity within MOSA (and within each
program for programmatic level)
% of staff knowledgeable about the measures they need to take in their own work to respect
gender sensitivity

Indicators on Gender Sensitive Design:

Number of planning retreats conducted to discuss gender mainstreaming within projects

Number of tools and modules created to help program managers introduce gender into their
activities
Number of revised action plans to include a gender sensitivity component
% of new programs that include a gender equity goal within their design
Number of gender sensitive services within programs emanating from MoSA

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Indicators on Gender Sensitive Staffing:

Number of recruitment policies developed that include a referral to gender sensitivity

% of vacancy notices that refer to gender competencies
Ration of women to men within program staff

Indicators on Gender Sensitive Management:

Number of management procedures and policies revisited to include a gender sensitivity

component
% of women in key management positions within MoSA (heads of units, departments and
programs)

Indicators on Gender Sensitive choice of Beneficiaries:

Number of beneficiary recruitment policies which mention gender equity as a criteria for selection
% of programs which purposefully include men and women as a target
% of male versus female beneficiaries among MoSA programs

Indicators on Gender consecrations in Information and data management

% of programs capable of producing gender segregated reports

% of programs including gender specific qualitative and quantitative indicators in their evaluation
plans
Number of program reports inducing gender specific analysis

Indicators related to Work Environment

Number of measures taken to cater for gender specific needs at work environment
Number of family friendly measures incorporated within programs
% of program managers perceived by staff as creating a gender sensitive environment

Other indicators related to gender sensitive programming (Impact, budget, opportunities,

trainings, publications, etc..)

% of projects having budget allocations for gender mainstreaming activities

% of female consultants requested as short term experts by programs
% of sections within training manuals with gender sensitive material
Number of training sessions with gender sensitive component
Number of training sessions entirely focused on gender sensitivity
Number of MoSA partners trained on gender awareness
% of suppliers (private sector) chosen who have commitment to gender equity within their values

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Attachment Three:
Findings of the Gender Audit
Social Context Perceptions of Gender inequality in Lebanon
In general most respondents among MoSAs employees conceded that there is no justice and
equality among men and women in Lebanon. A higher proportion of women compared to men indicated
that there is no justice or equality among women and men in Lebanon (86.4 percent and 63.6 percent
respectively). (See Table 1)
Table 1 Distribution of survey participants among MOSA employees by their attitude towards gender
equality and justice by gender
Q16 - In your opinion, is
Men
Women
Total
there justice and equality
Num
Per
Numb
Per
Numb
Per
between men and women in
ber
cent
er
cent
er
cent
Lebanon?
Yes
26
18.
67
11.
93
13.
6
7
1
No
89
63.
494
86.
583
81.
6
4
9
No Answer
25
17.
11
1.9
36
5.1
9
Total
140
100
572
10
712
10
.0
0.0
0.0

A higher proportion of women than men answered yes to the questions on norms affecting gender
equality. The difference between women and men narrowed for the question on the influence of the
system of division of labor on controlling women and limiting their freedom. The latter indicates a lack
of awareness among women on the gender perspective as it relates to the division of labor among
women and men in the public and private spheres on the lives of women controlling them and limiting
their freedom. (See table 2)
Table 2 Distribution of survey participants among MOSA employees according to gender perceptions/
attitudes by gender
Number and Percent responding with
Yes
Men
Women
Total
What is your opinion regarding the
following statements?
#
%
#
%
#
%
Q
Does the traditional social system play
9
6
5
9
6
8
7.1
0.0
5.5
20
a role in causing defects in equality 4
15
09
between men and women in Lebanon?
Q
Does the mechanism of division of
6
4
3
6
4
6
7.9
7.5
3.6
21
labor in the public and the private spheres 7
86
53

Q
23

in Lebanon control women and limit their

freedom?
Is there an unequal distribution of
power between men and women in
Lebanon?

9
7

6
9.3

90

8
5.7

87

8
2.4

32 | P a g e

Social norms disempowering women

There was a consensus among various researches of the disempowering role of current social
norms. Such norms include prioritizing the private sphere as the main role of women, are regarded as
impediments to womens empowerment, pose a threat to effective implementation of future
interventions.

A consensus in focus groups was on the existence of gender inequality in Lebanon primarily
related to social traditions. One respondent summarized the situation as follows Women are
prisoners of our traditions and our customs; the services dedicated to women have changed
but the mindsets have not.10 Women have progressed but there are still preconceived ideas
regarding womens roles and characteristics.11
One interviewee indicated that women are prisoners of our traditions and our customs; the
services dedicated to women have changed but the mindsets have not.12
An overwhelmingly larger proportion of women study participants (93 percent) agreed that women
need empowerment in contrast to 63.6 percent of men respondents; also 17.1 percent of men
respondents did not give an answer in contrast to only 1.9 percent among women respondents. (See
table 3)
Table 3 Distribution of survey participants among MOSA employees by their attitude towards the need for
women to be empowered in Lebanon by gender
Men
Women
Total
Q15 - In your opinion, do
women in Lebanon need
Num
Per
Numb
Per
Numb
Per
empowerment?
ber
cent
er
cent
er
cent
Yes
89
63.
532
93.
621
87.
6
0
2
No
27
19.
29
5.1
56
7.9
3
No Answer
24
17.
11
1.9
35
4.9
1
Total
140
100
572
10
712
10
.0
0.0
0.0

The vast majority of women (83 percent) indicated that womens empowerment is considered a
development priority in Lebanon in contrast with 50 percent among men. In addition almost a quarter of
all men (21.4 percent) did not give an answer to that question. (Refer to table 4).

10

Interview with associations, 28 October 2011

Interview with social welfare institutions, 26 October, 2011.
12
Interview with associations, 28 October 2011
11

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Table 4 Distribution of survey participants among MOSA employees by their attitude towards the statement
womens empowerment as a development priority in Lebanon by gender
Q18 - In your opinion, is
Men
Women
Total
womens
empowerment
Num
Per
Numb
Per
Numb
Per
considered a development
ber
cent
er
cent
er
cent
priority in Lebanon?
Yes
70
50.
475
83.
545
76.
0
0
5
No
40
28.
81
14.
121
17.
6
2
0
No Answer
30
21.
16
2.8
46
6.5
4
Total
140
100
572
10
712
10
.0
0.0
0.0

The discussion on gender equality in Lebanon sparked lively debates in the focus groups. Although
several participants asserted that there is equality between men and women in Lebanon, many felt
some jobs were more suitable for men and others for women due to biology and physical anatomy.
Participants who perceived an inequality between men and women felt it existed on many levels due
to the influence of education, religion, social customs, finances and cultural traditions. One person
stated that, Women are prisoners of our traditions and our customs; the services dedicated to
women have changed but the mindsets have not.13 Another common theme participants brought up
was the responsibility a woman has towards her family, though people sensed that this was changing.
As one participant explained, Women have progressed but there are still preconceived ideas
regarding womens roles and characteristics.14
Respondents in focus groups indicated that social attitudes remain an obstacle to womens
economic empowerment as well. Some cited instances of husbands who did not want their wives to
work.
The belief that women were not able to carry out certain types of jobs for physical and mental
reasons was also prevalent among respondents. For example, a participant from the Department of
Equipping and Workers Affairs said, Some posts do not fit women because they are emotional, like
judges. It is true that women are strong but they are also too emotional and subjective.15
Social attitudes such as these form a major obstacle to further economic empowerment. A lack of
political resolve to tackle the problem was also cited as a barrier to change, as were laws that continue
to restrict women. Many respondents added that lack of funds limited MOSAs abilities to do more to
empower women.
Reflections of the in-depth interviews on issues of gender in Lebanese society
Based on the interview responses, gender inequalities clearly still exist in Lebanon, though several
people praised Lebanon for making progress in this area, and said they felt on a day-to-day level, men
and women were largely equal. "We believe differences in beliefs are eventually changing, due to the
13
14

Interview with associations, 28 October 2011

Interview with social welfare institutions, 26 October, 2011.
15
M, Department of Equipping and Workers Affairs

34 | P a g e

evolution of ways of thinking and the increase of peoples awareness," said a participant from the
Authority of Family Affairs.16
Some people believe women are contributing more, and are often better educated and better paid
than men. Others, however, said social and religious customs still held women back. Many referred to
Lebanons patriarchal society, where men are the decision makers, and women lack economic and
political participation. "I believe that Lebanon is a male-dominated society and no one can change this
hypothesis of mine. I also feel that even in our culture and in our way of raising our children, we still
have this mentality of differentiating between a girl and a boy, said an interviewee from the Social
Training Center.17
Lebanese laws such as the nationality laws, which do not allow a Lebanese woman to pass on her
nationality to her children, were singled out as particularly unfavorable to women, as were divorce
laws. Retirement wages were also mentioned several times, whereby a woman's retirement wage does
not pass to her husband if she dies. Several respondents also mentioned the rules banning women from
opening bank accounts for their children. Almost all participants said laws needed to change to make
them equal for women.

Presence of Women in decision-making positions in the Ministry of Social

Affairs
The legacy of women assuming decision making positions in MoSA present an opportunity to build
upon this achievement and strengthen it.
The office of the Minister of Social Affairs has been held by Mrs. Naelya Mouawad during the period
from 2005 to 2008. She is the only woman to have held this post since 1993. A total of nine ministers
held this post during that period.Currently the Minister is Mr. Rachid Derbas, and the office of the
Director General is vacant.
Women are found in other layers of decision-making positions in the Ministry. The office of the director
general was held by Ms. Nehmat Kanaan until her retirement. Ms. Kanaan was the first woman ever to
be assigned the post of Director General in any ministry in Lebanon. She retired in 2005 and since her
retirement the post has been vacant.
Currently, around half the number of posts is occupied (45 of the 91 posts). Of these, the majority
(89%) or 40 out of 45 posts are filled by women and the rest (5posts) are filled by men. In general,
women employees are more prevalent than male employees at MOSA. They head directorates,
authorities, departments, programs, as well as units.
Currently, the most senior post currently held by a woman is the head of the directorate of Social
Services Ms. Randa Bou hamdan.
Seven Heads of departments are women (2 of them are acting chiefs) and three are held by men.

16
17

D, Authority of Family Affairs

R, Social Training Center

35 | P a g e

Attachment Four: Levels of Gender Mainstreaming18

Level 1: Gender-unequal

Perpetuates gender inequality by reinforcing unbalanced norms, roles and relations

Privileges men over women (or vice versa)

Often leads to one sex enjoying more rights or opportunities than the other

Level 2: Gender-blind

Ignores gender norms, roles and relations

Very often reinforces gender-based discrimination

Ignores differences in opportunities and resource allocation for women and men

Often constructed based on the principle of being fair by treating everyone the same

Level 3: Gender-sensitive

Considers gender norms, roles and relations

Does not address inequality generated by unequal norms, roles or relations

Indicates gender awareness, although often no remedial action is taken

Level 4: Gender-specific

Considers gender norms, roles and relations for women and men and how they affect access to and
control over control over resources

Considers womens and mens specific needs

Intentionally targets and benefits a specific group of women or men to achieve certain policy or
program goals to meet certain needs

Makes it easier for women and men to fulfill duties that are ascribed to them based on their gender
roles

Level 5: Gender-transformative

Considers gender norms, roles and relations for women and men and how they affect access to and
control over resources

Considers womens and mens specific needs

Addresses the causes of gender-based health inequities

Includes ways to transform harmful gender norms, roles and relations

Has the objective of promoting gender equality - Includes strategies to foster progressive changes in
power relationships between women and men

18

WHO Gender-Responsive Assessment Scale Guiding Questions (WHO, 2011, Gender Mainstreaming for Health
Managers: A practical approach

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Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Initial reports of States parties
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CRTD-A, Caught in Contradiction: A Profile of Gender Equality and Economy in Lebanon, Beirut:
CTRD-A. 2006 p.7 cited in Lebanon: An Overview Context, evolving demographics for women,
sexual and reproductive health, poverty and women, gender and rights, Dejong Jocelyn MeyersonKnox,
AUB,
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UNFPA
file:///D:/LEBANON/GENDeR%20MAINSTREAMING/MOSA/unfpa.case_study.lebanon.pdf

Euromed (July 2101), National Situation Analysis Report, Womens Human Rights and Gender
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Euromed Gender Equality, (2010). Enhancing equality between men and women in the Euromed
region
(2008-2010).
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http://www.euromedgenderequality.org/image/file/Analyse%20de%20la%20situation/SitAn%20Re
port_LB_EN_.pdf

Europe Aid (2004) Tools for mainstreaming gender equality in EC development Cooperation Ch.6 of
Handbook for concepts and methods for mainstreaming gender equality-Section 1 in Tool kit on
mainstreaming gender equality in EC development cooperation, Brussels: European Communities

Gender in Local Governments A source book for Trainers (2008), UN-Habitat United Nations
Human Settlements Programme.

Gender Mainstreaming Manual, (2007), A book of practical methods from the Swedish Gender
Mainstreaming Support Committee, Swedish Government Official Report.

Gender Equality Strategy, 2008 2011, (2005), United Nations Development Programme.

Gender Strategy, (2012), GIZ

Gender Glasses in Use, A handbook to support gender equality work, Ministry of Sweden

IRC Guide to Design, Monitoring and Evaluation, November 2005. IRC (International Rescue
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Lebanon: An Overview Context, evolving demographics for women, sexual and reproductive
health, poverty and women, gender and rights, Dejong Jocelyn Meyerson-Knox, AUB, Funded by
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file:///D:/LEBANON/GENDeR%20MAINSTREAMING/MOSA/unfpa.case_study.lebanon.pdf

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Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997 (A/52/3, 18 September 1997) Chapter IV, Special
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The National Social Development Strategy of Lebanon 2011, Ministry of Social Affairs, Lebanon.

United
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38 | P a g e

List of Acronyms
CEDAW

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CRTD.A

Collective for Research and Training on Development Action

EGEP

Euromed Gender Equality Program

MOSA

Ministry of Social Affairs

REEW

Regional Economic Empowerment of Women

REEWP

Regional Economic Empowerment of Women Project

UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund

GMS

Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

GE

Gender Equality

GM

Gender Mainstreaming

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