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Overview
An Introduction to Gender Equity and Diversity in CARE
CARE’s vision makes fighting discrimination, promoting empowerment and dignity, and respecting human rights central to our work of eliminating poverty. CARE’s work to advance gender equity and diversity (GED) seeks to ensure that we need to uphold these principles both within the organization and within our programs. CARE’s diversity training curriculum aims to build skills within ourselves and within the organization, to deepen our sensitivity to power dynamics, to value differences, and to learn how to utilize the rich diversity within CARE. The ultimate goal is to enhance our effectiveness as a relief and development organization.
How Does CARE Define Diversity?
CARE defines diversity in the broadest sense, going beyond regular classifications of gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age and disability, among others, to include diversity of perspectives that uphold CARE’s core values, and to emphasize the value of creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes diversity. Embracing diversity at CARE means valuing, respecting and fully benefiting from each individual’s unique qualities and abilities in order to fulfill and strengthen our vision and mission.
Why Promote Gender Equity and Diversity?
Our success in advancing quality programming depends on our ability to harness and apply the talents of our staff within an environment of respect, trust, and value for the contribution of all. Understanding and appreciating GED internally is a process to create these conditions.
Our business rationale for GED is as follows:
What is CARE's Framework for Action?
The GED Task Force, formed in September 1999 and composed of staff from CARE Headquarters and representatives from Country Offices, established a framework for action after an extensive process of gathering input and feedback from staff throughout CARE. The lessons learned and feedback received all suggested that for effective management and advancement of GED within CARE USA, there are four key leverage areas: Representation, Trust, Learning, and Accountability. These areas were selected because they form the building blocks of the types of teams and healthy relationships upon which high-quality organizational performance depends. These areas are inextricably linked and cut across the organization. As such, they are fruitful areas from which to initiate thinking and provide a broad framework in which to embed diversity work.
Resources
CARE's GED Training Materials and facilitator's guide are available through the CARE Gender Equality Toolkit Organizational Assessment section in English, French and Spanish. They are also available upon request from Aliya Firozvi (afirozvi@care.org), and on the Village for CARE staff.
Case Study: Gender Equality Orientation for All New Staff
How can I make sure that all new staff receive an orientation to CARE's gender work? This case study featuring CARE Canada's gender equality orientation for new staff answers that question.
1. The gender equality orientation is just one module in the overall employee orientation. Human resources schedules new staff to take the orientation and is responsible for making sure the orientation happens. Because all new staff must take the general orientation, they must take this module.
2. CARE Canada has a set of trained facilitators from all areas of the organization who can deliver the orientation. This means that someone is always available to give the orientation even if the gender advisor is not available. It also means that new staff see people from all areas of the organization speaking confidently and articulately about gender equality.
3. The orientation is simple. It is a half hour to 45 minute conversation that answers three questions:
The focus is on linking CARE's gender equality vision to the work that new staff will do everyday. Participants are asked to describe examples of four gender equality concepts. They are asked to discuss why gender equality is important to development, and they are shown (with examples) what each unit does. A question and answer session allows new staff to ask questions related to CARE's programming or common gender equality misconceptions.
4. New entrants into the international programs unit only receive a follow up orientation that follows the CARE International Gender Equality Orientation Pack, with emphasis on CARE's gender equality philosophy, strategic documents and frameworks, the Wiki and Toolkit and expectations for them as program managers.
For all of the resources used in CARE Canada's gender equality orientation for new staff, click on the link above.
Resources on Gender Audits and GE Organizational Development
By popular demand, please find the frameworks, methods and tools that CARE Canada used to complete its gender audit and on Minerva (left click once on the link and it will give you the option to visit the Minerva site). A bonus rapid GE organizational assessment tool and supporting practice literature are included in this package. If you can't download anything or don't have access to Minerva, contact Margaret Capelazo at margaret.capelazo@care.ca and she will invite you to share the resources through Dropbox.
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CARE's GED Strategy
Read CARE's GED Strategy for the period 2010 - 2015:
Or a two page summary:
It is also available in French, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish:
ged_strategy_final_fr_after_edits.doc strategy_in_a_nutshell.fr.doc
ged_strategy_arabic.doc strategy_in_a_nutshell_arabic.doc
ged_strategyl_port.doc strategy_in_a_nutshell_port.doc
ged_strategy_final_espaol.doc equidad_de_genero_y_diversidad_en_pocas_palabras.doc
History of GED in CARE
1993-1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002 - 2003
2004 - 2005
2006 - 2007
based on our programming results, build broader constituencies for our work engaging more creatively in partnerships; and building closer ties to social movements.
In the third global GED conference in Bangkok (May 6-10, 2007), we have gathered here to take stock of what we have achieved so far, and identify the next level of commitment to deepen and advance this work further. This next level of commitment takes us into unexplored but important territory and will require us to define new meanings and pathways for CARE’s GED journey beyond 2007.
2008 - 2010
2010 - 2012
Country Office Initiatives in GED
Asia Regional Management Unit
CARE Bangladesh
CARE France
CARE India
CARE Nepal
East and Central Africal Regional Management Unit
CARE Burundi
> genderempowering_approaches_for_understanding_empowerment.pdfEmpowering%20approaches%20for%20understanding%20empowerment.pdf
West Africa Regional Management Unit
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