Gender equality is key to building resilient, productive and inclusive agri-food systems. Gender-transformative approaches (GTA) offer an opportunity to go beyond addressing immediate gender gaps by engaging with the social norms, power relations and structural conditions that shape opportunities and outcomes for women and men.

Turning this ambition into practice requires more than conceptual guidance. Practitioners need practical tools, opportunities to build capacities and learn from others, as well as evidence and approaches for understanding and measuring transformative change.

To support practitioners in this work, the GIZ project Feminist Approaches to Resilient Agriculture and Food Systems (FemHub) has developed a complementary set of practical resources and learning formats on gender-transformative approaches in agri-food systems.

The SNRD Gender Transformative Approaches Working Group has been an important partner throughout this process. Members brought in needs and experiences from their work, provided feedback on emerging products and contributed practical perspectives to their development. This exchange helped FemHub tailor its knowledge products to questions and challenges practitioners encounter when advancing gender-transformative change in different contexts.

Practical resources for gender-transformative change

The resources cover different dimensions of putting gender-transformative approaches into practice – from building knowledge and identifying suitable tools to peer learning and measuring change.

The GTA E-Learning course introduces key concepts and practical entry points for gender-transformative change. Four interactive modules guide practitioners from understanding gender norms, power relations and structural inequalities to identifying concrete opportunities for action in their own work.

The GTA Toolkit – Pathways to Transformation brings together 47 gender-responsive and gender-transformative tools and approaches across seven thematic areas of agri-food systems. Deep Dives, Tool Snapshots, a Tool Navigator and Comparison Tables help practitioners identify, adapt and apply approaches that fit their objectives and context.

The GTA Peer Learning and Mentoring Programme creates space for practitioners to reflect on real-life implementation challenges, learn from one another and strengthen their capacities to translate gender-transformative concepts into practice.

The publication Measuring Gender Transformation in GIZ Agriculture and Food Systems Projects responds to the need for practical orientation on monitoring gender-transformative change. Drawing on GIZ project experience, it combines evidence on how transformation is currently measured with a practical compendium of adaptable indicators covering areas such as agency, gender relations, social norms and structural conditions.

Exploring emerging questions together

Cooperation with SNRD working groups has also provided opportunities to address emerging questions beyond the core GTA resources. One example is the Gender Digital Divide Study, developed jointly with the SNRD Working Group on Digitalisation. Responding to a need identified by the working group, FemHub provided financial support for the study, while the working group led its substantive development. The study explores barriers to women’s digital inclusion and provides evidence to inform more gender-responsive and inclusive approaches to digitalisation.

Together, these resources provide practitioners with different entry points for advancing gender-transformative change – whether they are looking to strengthen their understanding, choose practical approaches, learn with peers, improve monitoring or explore emerging areas of evidence.

Explore the resources

• GTA E-Learning Course
• GTA Toolkit – Pathways to Transformation
• GTA Peer Learning and Mentoring Programme
• Measuring Gender Transformation in GIZ Agriculture and Food Systems Projects: Evidence and a Compendium of Indicators
• Gender Digital Divide Study

Contact

Janna Vogel (janna.vogel@giz.de)