2021 Interagency Gender Working Group Plenary: Exploring Gender Transformative Approaches: Lessons Learned and New Opportunities in Health Programming

The event aimed to advance debate and consensus on definitions of and criteria for gender transformative programming, as well as highlight the potential definitional gaps or limitations. The IGWG defines gender transformative policies and programs as those that seek to transform gender relations to promote equality and achieve program objectives. This approach involves fostering critical examination of inequalities and gender roles, recognizing and strengthening positive norms that support equality, promoting the relative position of women, girls, and marginalized groups, and transforming the underlying social structures, policies, and broadly held social norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. Despite the growing popularity of gender transformative programming, inconsistencies in how the term is defined can lead to confusion about how these programs are implemented, approaches are applied, and outcomes are measured. A lack of clarity about these definitions further means that gender transformative approaches and outcomes are often conflated, and implementers, donors, policymakers, and researchers must go beyond thinking solely about gender transformative approaches but consider outcomes as well. The discussion at the IGWG Plenary highlighted the need for greater clarity about these definitions, which could lead to wider consistency of application of terminology across contexts and institutions, stronger rationale for allocation of adequate resources and approaches, and greater accountability of donors and implementers to monitor and report gender transformative outcomes. Recommendations from the discussion for improving the clarity of definitions for gender transformative programming include considering both gender transformative approaches and outcomes in programming, and the theory of change between the two. Additionally, the nuance, overlap, and differences between the terms gender transformative, gender integration, and gender mainstreaming need clarification. The event also explored the current state of gender transformative programming in global health, with a focus on family planning and reproductive health. The discussion addressed ongoing gaps and challenges related to gender transformative programming, as well as lessons learned and insights based on participants' collective experiences. These key takeaways are summarized below and each is accompanied with a set of recommendations. The IGWG Plenary served as a springboard for stakeholder dialogue in exploring gender experts' and advocates' collective understanding of gender transformative programming, with the goal of coalescing on key findings and areas for future action. This meeting report synthesizes the key discussion points that emerged during the event and provides actionable recommendations for donors, decisionmakers, researchers, and program implementers to advance the utilization and integration of gender transformative programming. The event began with a panel discussion focused on critically examining the limitations of how gender transformative interventions are defined, highlighting challenges in the measurement of gender transformative outcomes, as well as in the integration of this programming within health systems, and sharing factors for successful implementation of gender transformative programming, as well as lessons learned from the field. Panelists included experts from various institutions, including the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Tearfund, Nirantar India, the University of California, San Diego, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In breakout room sessions, participants shared lessons learned (including implementation challenges) from, best practices for, and future opportunities in applying and incorporating gender transformative programming in global health, including family planning and reproductive health. Discussions focused on integrating gender transformative programming at community, health systems, and public or institutional policy levels. Breakout room discussion questions are included in the annex. The IGWG Plenary provided a platform for stakeholders to share their experiences, expertise, and insights on gender transformative programming, and to coalesce on key findings and areas for future action. The meeting report provides actionable recommendations for donors, decisionmakers, researchers, and program implementers to advance the utilization and integration of gender transformative programming in global health.