ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Organizational development is a continuous process for smooth running of an organization, some system and values are needed .The Gender policy of ESHO JATI GORHI (EJAG) is within ESHO JATI GORHI (EJAG)’s values and systems. It is our pleasure that we have a Gender Policy for our organization and we are working for gender equalization. We have sixty percent female staffs. The policy has been developed for sustainable development and social welfare.

We are thankful to our staff members for their inspiration for taking up this task.

The Gender Policy of NGO is one of the most important tools to address the gender issues for development restructuring and planning for the region. The local NGOs have been playing vital role in the development fields so this policy is crucial. The principles of equal opportunity both for women and men need to be institutionalized in the CHT region. This includes equal opportunity in terms of access, use of resources and benefits and gender balance in all positions (not only in numbers), especially at strategic levels, whereby all staff male and female, are considered equal. The NGOs recognize that gender quality can be a significant freedom to economic growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh. EJAG has been committed to gender equality in its work in Faridpur and other districts.

The objectives of this policy are- 1) To guide and direct the planning, resources allocation and implementation of EJAG’s development programs and projects in a gender responsive manner, and to provide direction to staffs at all levels; and 2) to ensure a gender sensitive work environment for all staff.

These new rules come into operation from 1st day of month June and year 2007

• The Gender Policy is designed in line with the vision of MDGs Statements. It reinforces the Government of Bangladesh’s declared commitments to the promotion of gender equity, the elimination of sex discrimination and the advancement of women.
• The policy emphasizes the cross cutting nature of gender and seeks to integrate and mainstream gender concern in all program efforts and institutional arrangements, as well as the organization’s operating environment.
• The policy completes EJAG’s service rules and regulations and all sectoral policies and programs and defines institutional arrangements and key target areas required to ensure that gender concerns are routinely addressed in all planning activities as well as in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of program/project activities.

The policy objectives shall be achieved through the following strategies:

• Sensitization of staff on gender issues at all levels.
• Ensuring the translation and dissemination of the policy to all persons employed in EJAG.
• Promoting appropriate education, sensitization and creation of awareness on the responsibilities of management, Gender policy team, Gender Management Team, Gender Coordination Team and individual staff members to address gender concerns in their daily work relations as well as in program/project implementation.
• Adopting an explicit advocacy role in promoting gender equity.

The gender policy will be effective in the following fragments of the organizations:

1. Recruitment:

• of female staff:

The ultimate goal of EJAG in recruitment is that the organization will ensure equal numbers of staff for its project. So, female candidates are highly encouraged to offer their competency in accordance with the recruitment notice for ensuring recruitment of equal female staffs even more.

• Ratio of male-female staffs:

Despite the fact that EJAG’s has not yet ensure equal ratio of staffs but we have developed plan to ensure equal ratio of male and female staffs of the organization by 2019.

• Nature of recruitment advertisement:

The recruitment will be women friendly in order to ensure participation of the female candidates.

• Written test and viva voce:

The written and viva voce should respect the limitations of female candidates. 15% of marks to be reserved on gender issues. 5% of marks will be added with the female candidates in the written test.

• Nature of viva voce board:

Equal numbers of women should be included in the viva voce board.

2. Posting

All staffs are entitled to enjoy equal rights regarding posting and posting related affairs. While female staffs will gets reference if there are any options choosing..

3. Workload

All staffs should enjoy equal rights in order to ensure equal workload. But female staffs will get specially consideration during menstruation, pregnancy and breast feeding period.

4. Promotion

All staffs are entitled getting equal opportunity for promotion. Female staffs will get priority if there are any options of choosing considering the staff performance evaluation.

5. Even HRM policy

The HRM policy of the organization must equal rights. Zero tolerance must be showed in case of physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape.

6. Financial & other benefits

Every staff will enjoy equal right of getting financial benefits along with the usage of office transport.

7. Transfer

The female staffs will get priority in the suitable place for transfer. These rules will also effects during pregnancy period of female staff.

8. Leave

Through every staffs should enjoy equal opportunity for leave purpose but female staffs will enjoy 4 months maternity leave with salary and male staffs will enjoy 20 days paternity leave. For details see the leave policy.

9. Infrastructure facilities and other benefits

The physical environment of the office will ensure proper space, light and air for the staffs. The organization will also provide Guest Room and Toilet and Washroom for the staffs. Even day care center may be establishes with the office.

10. Staff development

Training and other type of capacity building tools for staffs must ensure equal opportunity (internal & external). Even special program for female staffs will be offered.

11. Personal safety

The organization will ensure safety measure during office, travel and field activities of the staffs. Special measures will be taken for solving specific problems of the female staffs.

1. Designing of Projects
2. a) Analysis

• Identify and address differences between women and men in needs, priorities, access and control while designing projects (e.g. review exiting knowledge of gender dynamics in target communities).
• Carry out participatory needs assessments with both women and men.
• Ensure that at least one member of project design term has gender analysis skills.
• Assess whether the project will address women’s practical needs or strategic interests of both (transform Tory potentials).
• Analyses and clearly state various assumptions made regarding gender.

1. b) Planning Tools:

• Include gender equity in EJAG’s programming principles.
• Incorporate objectives and targets related to gender.
• Incorporate gender questions and perspectives into all projects design documents and tools, including project-planning guidelines.

1. c) Goals/Objectives:

• Programs and project should seek to contribute towards the empowerment of the disadvantaged people, especially women.
• Project goals should seek to promote gender equity by being gender redistribute.
• Goal and objectives should make explicit references to gender wherever appropriate, and explicitly address women and men’s interests and concerns.
• Goal/objectives should seek to challenge those gender stereotypes that impede the achievement of equality between women and men.

1. Implementation Strategies

• Ensure that explicit strategies are articulated to address the gender issues identified in the design phase.
• Ensure that implementation strategies are revised according to information collected periodically on gender related impact and also according to new information gained through research on women’s condition and position.
• Promotion of equal participation of women in all activities.
• Devise mechanisms for promoting women’s participation in decision making process at all levels and in all spheres- projects, programs community and family.
• Identify and work to overcome women’s and men’s constraints to participation, whether they be physical, social, religious or otherwise.
• Special emphasis should be given to create women’s access to information as it promotes participation, facilitates involvement in decision-making and contributes to empowerment.
• Ensure women’s equal access to technology-related activities and roles and increase their technical competency.
• Provide information to women participants to develop capacity to identify and address gender-stereotyped roles of women, gender discrimination and deal with violence against women (where appropriate).

2. Program Administration/Management

• Ensure programs and project have considered and incorporated gender policy.
• Guidelines into programs/activities development process and operational guidelines.
• Staffing should be designed to ensure adequate numbers of women with a gender balance at all levels.

3. Recognizing women’s multiple rules

• While promoting women’s participation in program activities, women’s other reproductive responsibilities must be taken into account and if necessary support provided e.g. childcare.
• Men’s roles and responsibilities in reproduction, the family and child rearing should be emphasized to counterbalance the traditional emphasis giver to women’s reproductive, domestic and mothering roles and thus challenging existing sexual division of labor.

5. Information, Education and Communication (IEO)

• Materials and campaigns should seek to specially target women and the messages should address women’s as well as men’s interests and cancers.

6. Results

• Ensure project/program result benefit women and men equally of benefit women more in order to overcome existing gender gaps and inequalities.
• Ensure that women and men both have control over recourses of benefits generated by the project/programs.
• Acknowledge women’s workload and responsibilities and their contribution to the family and community.

7. Partnerships

• Integrate gender policy principles into partnership guidelines.
• Guidelines will apply to NGO, Community and Government partnership.
• The partner’s degree of gender awareness will be one criterion for partner selection.
• Partners will be supported to develop, address and ensure gender equity in their programming and management.
• EJAG will seek to establish partnerships and network with organizations having gender expertise for project implementation, training or technical assistance.

8. Network/Advocacy

• Establish and promote issue based networks with other NGOs, including international NGOs, women’s organization, human rights organization, education institutions, etc.
• In line with program/project objectives, undertake policy advocacy on gender issues.
• Contribute to raising awareness on issues of women’s lager rights, reproductive right, discrimination, inequality, inheritance right, guardianship right, violence against woman etc.

9. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Review and revise on- going projects as necessary, in the light of the gender policy guidelines.
• Involve women and men participants of projects in project and program monitoring and evaluation.
• Ensure that monitoring tools and processes are made gender sensitive.
• Ensure that that project /program information is collected in a sex disaggregated manner so as to provide gender specific information.
• Ensure that indicators selected are gender sensitizes i.e. are relevant to measuring the participation results and changes for both women and men.
• Ensure that all project and programs analyze direct and indirect impact (including control of resources) on women and men.

1. Implementation

 Responsibilities

The responsibility for the successful implementation of the policy rests with each of EJAG’s sections and programs and all the staff of EJAG. In order to ensure that gender equity is a priority within EJAG, solid and tangible support is required form top-level management. Management at all levels within EJAG are expected to develop strategies for providing leadership, setting standards, demanding management bodies will have to play an active role in steering the process.

• The gender policy Team led by the Gender Advisor
• The Gender management Team led by the Executive Director
• The Gender coordination Team led by the Project Coordinators

The ultimate responsibility for implementation of Gender policy will lie with the executive. All staff within EJAG is expected to have the professional competencies to promote equality between women and man in relation to whatever issues they are working on. Methods to ensure accountability have been outlined in the polity.

1. Special Structures

While the responsibility for promoting equality is shared throughout the organization, there is continued need for specialist resources and organizational Structures to facilitate the work. These include the following:

• The Executive Director reporting to the Executive Committee.
• The Project Coordinators accountable to the Executive Director.
• Field based staffs and officer are accountable to the respective Project.

2. Monitoring

A performance measurement framework including indicators against which to assess the implementation of the Gender policy will development by the Gender advisor in collaboration with the ED and PCs. The framework will address such as:

• The collaboration and analysis of data disaggregated by sex, as well as by age and socio-economic groups.
• Analysis of information on constraints to the achievement of Gender equality and on progress in the reduction gender inequalities and the promotion of gender equality.
• Collection of information on non-project activities such as advocacy and networking.
• EJAG organizational capacity to deal with gender issues in the program and internally.
• Availability and use of resources.

The annual plans will also be reviewed. The next year’s plan will be prepared on the basis of the review. Performance review of the implementation of the policy is the responsibility of Gender policy Team both organizational issues and programmatic issues.