Gender At Work

“Decision making which results in positive outcomes for women and choices resulting in women’s increased influence is mediated by a maze of biased institutional rules and norms that permeate all kinds of social, economic and political arenas. The very organizations we designate as change catalysts themselves often mirror the institutional features including power dynamics which they profess to change.”
- Aruna Rao, Director, Gender at Work

Gender at Work is a knowledge and capacity building network focused on gender and institutional change. Created in June 2001 by Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), and United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the network engages development and human rights practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Gender at Work aims to develop new theory and practice on how organizations can change gender-biased institutional rules (the distribution of power, privileges and rights), values (norms and attitudes), and practices. The network also aims to change the political, accountability, cultural and knowledge systems of organizations to challenge social norms and gender inequity.

Gender at Work has three major objectives:

1. Build strategic and practical knowledge of the change process that leads to institutional change for gender equality
2. Strengthen the capacity of organizations to challenge gender power relations
3. Build an informed collective voice to re-shape thinking and practice to achieve gender equality

Gender at Work is currently implementing action research initiatives in South Africa, South Asia, and Latin America to learn more about effective strategies for building gender-equal organizations and institutions capable of contributing to broader social change.

Read more about Gender at Work.