Towards equitable practice: Gender mainstreaming
HAI is managing the Indonesia Australia Specialised Training Project (IASTP) which is a bilateral project under the Australian Government’s development cooperation program with Indonesia. It was established in 1995 and is presently in its third phase of delivery (2004-2008). The goal of IASTP III is to:
contribute to promoting good governance through improved economic management, improved governance practices and delivery of basic social services consistent with Indonesia’s development needs as reflected in the Indonesia Country Program Strategy (AusAID 2003-2006).
As an AusAID funded project, IASTP III is achieving its aims through the transfer of specialised knowledge and the development of specialised skills of targeted beneficiaries in both the public and private sectors, particularly at the provincial level. Beneficiaries are mid-career, middle level professionals who have the capacity to undertake short-term training and who will benefit individually and contribute to the performance of employing agencies. Gender equity is central to the IASTP III goal of promoting good governance.
In addition to offering specialised gender training courses, the IASTPIII has ‘mainstreamed’ gender by integrating information on gender awareness as well as good governance and change management in all of the courses.
Generic Module
The Generic Module was an innovation in Phase III of IASTP. Consistent with the aim of the Government of Indonesia to increase the effectiveness of the public sector, IASTP III developed a Generic Module that focuses on three learning areas: Good Governance; Gender Awareness; and Change Management. These topics are included in all training that occurs in IASTP III and are integrated throughout each training course or delivered as stand alone training. The aim is for all training participants in both Specialised Training and Capacity Building Training to effectively incorporate the three learning topics in their Action Plans developed through their training.
At the conclusion of each training activity, training providers are required to report on how they have integrated the three learning areas from the Generic Module throughout their training. Training providers in their completion reports have been including data from the pre and post tests of items from the Generic Module. The data collected to date has indicated that the Generic Module has already produced tangible results. Courses were held in Jayapura, Kupang, Surabaya, Mataram, Makassar and Ternate.
Data from the Ternate course indicates that prior to commencing the training, no participants answered more than 75% of gender awareness questions correctly. At the completion of the course 2 participants answered 75% of the items correctly. At the other end of the spectrum, pre-test results indicated that the majority of the participants scored 33% or below. At the completion of the course only 3 of the original 13 did not show significant improvement. Similarly, data from Makassar shows that 10 participants scored 33% or less on the pre-test and all improved their performance with no participant scoring in the lowest grouping at the completion of training.
The combined data from all six courses is presented in figures 1and 2 below. Figure 1 shows that in Ternate and Makassar no participants scored 75% or greater on the pre-test. Post-test data indicates that 10 participants scored 75% or more in Makassar whilst 2 participants in Ternate scored 75% or more.
Figure 1: All participants scoring 75% or more on gender awareness items.
Basic Education: School Based Management (October-November 2005).
Figure 2, below, shows that very few participants failed to improve their gender awareness over the duration of their training. The Training Provider noted that in Ternate there was an elderly man who was partially deaf. As well, absenteeism might account for some failure. However, all but 13 of the 117 participants across six locations remain in the lowest achieving group
Figure 2: All participants scoring 33% or less on gender awareness items Basic Education: School Based Management (October-November 2005).
Whilst it is too early to make claims about the contribution of the Generic Module to the overall sustainability and improvement of gender awareness across all IASTP III training, the above data verifies the successful implementation of the Generic Module. To ensure participants apply new skills and knowledge to improve organisational responses, training is followed up by developing action plans with gender considerations. The capacity of IASTP III to effectively monitor and evaluate such improvements is enhanced through the successful implementation of a number of strategies, including the Generic Module.
Dr. Jan Edwards Over the past two years, Dr Edwards has worked with HAI developing and implementing the Gender Strategy for IASTP III
