The Gender Integration Continuum Training Session User’s Guide

The Continuum is a visual framework that helps participants understand the concept of gender relations and how they can impact the results of project activities. The framework was developed by the USAID Bureau for Global Health's Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG) in 2002 and has been adapted over the years to reflect the evolving field of gender. The Continuum offers a tangible way to explore integrating gender into projects, making the concepts of gender and gender integration more concrete. It is a useful visual framework that helps participants "see" what gender integration looks like in programming, across a spectrum of approaches, and how this affects women and men, girls and boys. The Continuum is informed by prior and emerging gender analysis efforts that aimed to categorize different approaches to gender-integrated programming. The User's Guide provides practical guidance on preparing for and facilitating the Gender Integration Continuum training session. It draws upon the original training session and the findings from key informant interviews. The revised training session incorporates useful directions and suggestions for facilitation, including a heavily scripted facilitator guide with talking points, detailed directions for the activity and report-out, and probing questions to help process the learnings from the activity. The User's Guide is intended for users with a background in gender integration and gender analysis of projects and programs. They should also have strong or be working on strengthening process facilitation skills. A background in understanding sector-specific technical concerns of project scenarios presented would also be useful. If the facilitator is newer to the field of gender and development, and/or new to process facilitation, it is recommended that they first observe a skilled facilitator conducting the session, then co-facilitate with an experienced facilitator/gender practitioner for a few sessions before doing it alone. The Continuum has been used to help hundreds of international development professionals understand the concept of gender relations and how they can impact the results of project activities. It has been recognized as a useful tool for addressing the gender-based barriers to participation in development activities and building on positive gender norms and roles in the design and implementation of projects and programs. The Continuum has been adapted over the years to reflect the evolving field of gender and has been used in various sectors beyond health. The User's Guide includes a heavily scripted facilitator guide, helpful processing questions, suggestions, and trainer notes to ensure attainment of training objectives. It also includes an expanded bank of project scenarios that facilitators can draw from to use during the small group practice activity. The Guide is designed to be used in tandem with the accompanying PowerPoint of 18 slides and the Project Scenarios Bank.