Institutional Strengthening for Gender Equity and Equality in Senegal

This project aims to support Senegal’s public institutions to strengthen inclusive governance and ensure progress is made on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In direct connection with the COVID-19 pandemic this project supports Senegal’s public institutions so they can develop post-crisis public policies and programs that address the needs of women and girls and secure their participation in recovery efforts; it also provides support so the institutions can adopt public performance management approaches that incorporate gender equality. Project activities include the following: (1) developing training curriculums on analyzing gender equity and equality as part of public performance management and crisis management; (2) implementing solutions to incorporate gender equity and equality into public institutions’ performance management processes including in times of crisis; (3) setting up a networking and coordination platform for gender units in Senegalese ministries; (4) supporting the information systems of the Agence nationale de la statistique et de la démographie (Senegal’s national statistics and demography agency) and its partners to improve the use of sex-disaggregated data that make it possible to measure gendered impacts in times of crisis and develop strategic solutions; (5) setting up a networking platform for women leaders in Senegal’s public institutions; and (6) educating parliamentarians and public institution executives on gender equity and equality. This project aims to benefit 3 400 people mostly women from Senegal’s public institutions as well as women leaders and parliamentarians.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) the Ministry of Family and Solidarities (MFS) and gender units in sector ministries have more power to act on institutionalizing and promoting gender equity and equality in Senegal including in the context of the COVID-19 response and recovery; (2) there is better public performance management with regard to integrating gender equity and equality into Senegal’s public policies programs and projects including in the context of the COVID-19 response and recovery; and (3) decision makers and executives both women and men in Senegal’s public institutions adopt innovative and influential inclusive governance practices related to the institutionalization of gender equity and equality.