Partnership for Gender Equity

Purpose of Project

Partnership for Gender Equity aims to develop sustainable capacity within the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) and other line ministries for overcoming the disparities between
men and women across Cambodian society. The integration of gender concerns into national development is achieved through improving the information and knowledge base for mainstreaming gender issues into national and sectoral policies and plans, strengthening women’s leadership and decision-making skills, changing prevailing gender values and perceptions, and supporting women’s economic empowerment. The partnership also supports MoWA in strengthening effective aid coordination through the Technical Working Group on Gender.

Main Activities

• Improve the information and knowledge base for gender mainstreaming, including capacity development of MoWA and key line ministries, for gender-responsive national policies and advocacy for, and monitoring of, achievements under the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals.
• Promote organizational development and aid effectiveness by facilitating and strengthening the joint government-donor Technical Working Group on Gender.
• Strengthen women’s leadership and decision-making roles. This includes providing training in leadership and management skills for women civil servants, and capacity development and forums for female electoral candidates.
• Improve knowledge and skills of key state and non-state actors to advocate for change in traditional perceptions of women’s status in the family, community and society.
• Improve the enabling environment, skills training and business development services for women entrepreneurs, with the overall aim of contributing to the economic
  empowerment of women.

Key Results

• Gender equality considerations were integrated into the National Strategic Development Plan (2006-2010), the Mid-Term Review of NSDP (2008) and the NSDP Update (2009-2013), the 2008 Law on Administrative Management of the Capital, Province, Municipality, District and Khan (the Organic Law on sub-national administration) and the National Program for Sub-National Democratic Development (2010-2019).
• The State Secretariat of Civil Service in 2008 issued and widely disseminated an affirmative action guideline stating that 20-50 percent of new recruits in line ministries should be women. In 2009, 34 percent of all civil servants were women, up from 32 percent in 2008.
• The Royal School of Administration incorporated gender equality in its curriculum, and gender training session at the school reached 300 government officials and 50 new students in 2009.
• Gender equality statements have been integrated into the Public Financial Management Reform programme.
• The Public Administration Reform process addressed gender concerns as a result of cooperation with the Council of Administrative Reform. A manual, Making Governance
  Gender Responsive, was developed for capacity development of civil servants.
• Almost all 27 line ministries and state secretariats have set up Gender Mainstreaming Action Groups and 16 have developed Gender Mainstreaming Action Plans.
• A Women Civil Servants Association has been set up as an official forum to protect their rights and interests.
• The 2008 Cambodia Gender Assessment: A Fair Share for Women, a major piece of evidence-based gender research with detailed policy recommendations for all sectors, was developed and disseminated widely at national and regional levels and has informed national policies and strategies. A specific youth campaign was carried out to promote a dialogue and disseminate the assessment among young people.
• Capacity of MoWA and the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) regarding gender and statistics has been strengthened. Gender equality considerations were integrated in the questionnaires and training of NIS enumerators for the Cambodia Socio Economic Survey 2009.
• UNDP supported MoWA in the review of the Neary Rattanak II (Women are Precious Gems 2), MoWA’s five-year strategic plan to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, and provided advice and support in the development of Neary Rattanak III (2009-2013).
• The Technical Working Group on Gender and the Secretariat at MoWA have been strengthened and have implemented the joint action plan and achieved the targets identified in the annual joint monitoring indicators. Commitments have been made for a programme based approach to gender mainstreaming.
• The project helped to strengthen leadership capacity of women in the civil service through training and study tours for women in middle management.
• The project supported capacity building training for female candidates and public forums were held before the Commune Council elections in 2007, contributing to an
  increase of women in elected bodies at sub-national level.
• A communication and advocacy strategy has been developed for MoWA and training in communication for behavioral impact for MoWA and line ministries has been conducted.
• The Women’s Development Centre in Kampong Speu Province, a pilot economic empowerment initiative supported by UNDP and MoWA in cooperation with the International Trade Center, carried out Market Opportunity Studies on weaving cotton kramas (traditional scarves), making doormats from garment waste fabric, and producing palm sugar.

Background

Cambodian women generally have lower status than men in the family, the economy and at all levels of society. They have poorer access to education and health care, and limited employment and business opportunities. Women are under-represented in Cambodia’s labour markets, politics and decision-making forums, and poverty is greater among women than men across all economic groups. They are also disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and human trafficking. Mechanisms to supportthe integration of gender concerns into national development are improving, but many challenges remain. UNDP provides advocacy, research, training, coaching, mentoring, and policy and technical advice to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and line ministries.