Gender, Voice, and Agency: Multilateral Development Bank-Sponsored Workshop
2 to 4 June 2014

Philippines

This workshop focused on women's and girls' "agency"—the ability to make decisions about their life, voice out their needs, and act upon them.

It discussed and shared key conceptual frameworks, research findings, and promising approaches in the following five expressions of voice and agency:

  • freedom from violence;
  • access to and control over productive assets and resources;
  • freedom of movement;
  • voice and participation in national and local governance structure, and decision-making processes; and
  • decision making over family formation.

The event also explored the overarching legal frameworks and institutions, including civil registration and legal identity to enhance women's agency.

Program and Learning Materials
Session / Activity Title Speaker(s)
Welcome and Opening Remarks Welcome Michaela Bergman
Welcome and Opening Remarks Opening Remarks - Gender, Voice, and Agency Workshop
While Asia and the Pacific region has made impressive strides in improving the lives of women and girls over the last decade, much remains to be done…
Stephen Groff
Welcome and Opening Remarks Welcome Address Corazon Soliman
Session 1 - Gender, Voice, and Agency Voice and Agency: Constraints and Pathways to Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity
This presentation clarifies the key concepts of "Voice" and "Agency" and describes the global situation of women subjected to violence. It provides a…
Lucia Hanmer
Session 1 - Gender, Voice, and Agency Social Norms and Transformative Change: Lessons Learned from the Social Institution and Gender Index (SIGI) 2012 and Next Steps for SIGI 2014
This presentation examines the drivers of discriminatory social institutions. It discusses the Social Institutions and Gender Index Framework…
Keiko Nowacka
Session 1 - Gender, Voice, and Agency Strategies for Legislative Reform for Women's Increased Participation in Politics
This presentation notes positive and negative global gender trends in legislative reform, with a recommendation to remove women’s exclusion. It…
Session 2 - Legal Frameworks and Institutions Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment in European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Operations: Women's Voice, Agency, and Participation
This presentation gives an overview of the study on Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment in European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)…
Jacques Charmes
Session 2 - Legal Frameworks and Institutions Supporting Legislative Reforms and Access to Justice: ADB's Experiences
This presentation discusses ADB's programs and policy-based loans to support legal reforms and access to justice for women, particularly in Pakistan…
Shireen Lateef
Session 2 - Legal Frameworks and Institutions Legal Frameworks and Women's Voice and Agency: African Development Bank
This presentation provides a background on the study of Africa’s legal frameworks for identification of more in-depth studies and entry points for…
Gisela Geisler
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence Freedom from Violence
This presentation emphasizes gender-based violence (GBV) as a development challenge, with particular focus on Intimate Partner Violence. It explains…
Lucia Hanmer
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence Integrated Services and Prevention Programs: Design and Impact Evaluation Issues
This presentation covers the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s approach to addressing violence against women (VAW). It shares the findings and…
Andrew Morrison
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls: A Resource Guide
This presentation shares global statistics on the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence and non-partner sexual assault, and the risk factors for…
Mary Ellsberg
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence The United Nations Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific: Implications for Gender-Based Violence Programming
This presentation focuses on prevalent patterns of men, violence against women, and known risk factors. It argues for the use of research, theory,…
James Lang
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence Fiji Women's Crisis Centre: Programs, Challenges, and Milestones
This presentation provides an overview of violence against women (VAW) in Fiji and the Pacific, noting that the rates of VAW in the Pacific are among…
Shamima Ali
Session 3 - Freedom from Violence Emerging from Conflict: Addressing Gender-Based Violence through a Multi-Sector Support Project in Cote D’Ivoire
This presentation explains the design, approach, benefits, impact and monitoring, and evaluation findings of the Project on Emerging from Conflict…
May Ali Babiker
Session / Activity Title Speaker(s)
Session 5 - Freedom of Movement Survival of the Fittest: Constraints to Freedom of Movement Using Public Transport in Kathmandu
This presentation shares the findings of a study on the problems of public transport in Nepal's Kathmandu City conducted from October to November…
Dee Jupp
Session 5 - Freedom of Movement Promoting Safe and Secure Movement and Mobility of Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh: ADB’s Bus Rapid Transit Project
This presentation features the Dhaka Rapid Bus Transport Project as part of the ADB-supported Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project …
David Margonsztern, Ferdousi Sultana
Session 5 - Freedom of Movement Freedom of Movement and Safe Transport
This presentation emphasizes the importance of freedom of movement and safe transport, especially for fostering gender sensitivity. The European Bank…
Elena Ferreras Carreras
Session 5 - Freedom of Movement Pilot Initiatives on Sexual Harassment on Public Transport in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Pakistan
This presentation describes the perils of taking public transport, particularly occurrences of sexual harassment in the countries of Azerbaijan,…
Shanny Campbell
Session 6 - Women's Access and Control of Land and Productive Resources Facilitating Equal Opportunities and Access to Finance
This presentation provides examples of equal opportunity practices in companies. It describes programs of the European Bank for Reconstruction and…
Michaela Bergman
Session 6 - Women's Access and Control of Land and Productive Resources Gender and Land: Lessons from an Inclusive Business Model in Uganda
This presentation features the Vegetable Oil Development Program (VODP) as an inclusive business model for smallholder farmers in Uganda. VODP…
Maria Hartl
Session 6 - Women's Access and Control of Land and Productive Resources Gendered Impacts of Caribbean Trade Agreements: Enhancing Women's Access to Export Markets and Trade Facilitation
This presentation provides an overview of the Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB) gender programs and initiatives in CDB borrowing member countries…
Marsha Caddle
Session 6 - Women's Access and Control of Land and Productive Resources Transforming the Family Structure into a Productive Resource for Women
This presentation gives an overview of the Productive Families Economic Empowerment Program for Palestinian women and the empowerment measures of the…
Samar Samara
Session 7 - Identity and Civil Registration Civil Registration in Asia and the Pacific: Ensuring Rights for Women and Girls
This presentation emphasizes the importance of civil registration—birth registration—in enabling access to health care, education, or financial…
Kristen Wenz
Session 7 - Identity and Civil Registration National Identity Cards for Poor Women: Benazir Income Support Programme
This presentation describes the poverty profile of Pakistan. It also explains the objectives, approach, and outcomes of the Benazir Income Support…
Shazi Toor
Session 7 - Identity and Civil Registration Linking Civil Registration and Identification with Vital Statistics in Uruguay
This presentation highlights the importance of identity chain and vital statistics. It explains the virtuous relations between civil registry, vital…
Maria del Carmen Tamargo
Session 8 - Women's Voices in Governance Structures Voice and Agency Matter: Evidence on the Impact of Women’s Political Empowerment Projects
This presentation tackles the state of women’s political participation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the Inter-American Development…
Gabriela Vega
Session 8 - Women's Voices in Governance Structures Giving Locally Elected Women Voice in Local Governance Structures: Bangladesh
This presentation provides background information on the second Bangladesh Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project. It…
Md. Shafiqul Islam Akand
Session 8 - Women's Voices in Governance Structures Building Women’s Leadership for Participation in Commune/Sangkat Councils in Cambodia
This presentation covers the governance structure at the commune/sangkat level in Cambodia. It describes support provided to local women leaders…
Pok Nanda
Session 9 - Women's Voices in Community-based Governance Structures Gender-Responsive Stakeholder Engagement
This presentation emphasizes the importance of a gender-responsive stakeholder engagement process. It also shares an example of a gender-responsive…
Elena Ferreras Carreras
Session 9 - Women's Voices in Community-based Governance Structures Giving Women a Voice in Producer and Farmers’ Organizations in the International Fund for Agricultural Development: Farmers’ Forum and Rural Women’s Leadership Programme
This presentation introduces the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s Farmers’ Forum, and describes how it has changed the way…
Maria Hartl, Ma. Victoria Hilario
Session 9 - Women's Voices in Community-based Governance Structures Giving Voice to Pastoralist Maasai Women: A Case Study of Monduli Water and Sanitation Project in Tanzania
This presentation describes the context, location, and objectives of the Monduli Water and Sanitation Project in Tanzania. It shares the solutions…
Alice Omesa
Session / Activity Title Speaker(s)
Session 10 - Decision-Making over Family Formation Marrying Too Young: Policy Options for Actions to Address Child Marriage in Asia
This presentation examines the global and regional realities with respect to child marriages. It discusses key challenges such as harmful practices…
Kiran Bhatia
Session 10 - Decision-Making over Family Formation Building a Social Movement to End Child Marriage: Plan’s Programs in Asia
This presentation explains why child marriage is a global problem and enumerates its key drivers. It also discusses the objectives and strategy of…
Sofia Naveed
Session 10 - Decision-Making over Family Formation Education for the Most Disadvantaged Communities in Viet Nam: Strategy for Delayed Marriage?
This presentation describes the Viet Nam Lower Secondary Education for the Most Disadvantaged Regions Project (LSEMDP) as a strategy that…
Samantha Hung
Workshop Closing

Disclaimer

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Event Coordinator/s

  • Sonomi Tanaka

ADB Organizer/s

  • Gender Equality Division

Partner Organization/s

  • World Bank, IDB, OECD, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Topics

  • Capacity Development
  • Gender Equality
  • Social Development and Protection