Session Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Lecture, sustainability planning, institutional readiness assessment
Mainstreaming gender and social inclusion within Research and Innovation Councils is often met with real-world challenges. These barriers can range from institutional resistance to limited capacity, lack of political will, and insufficient resources. Sustaining progress requires a combination of strategic planning, leadership, and culture change initiatives that embed GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) in the DNA of Council operations. Below are common challenges and sustainability strategies for effective gender mainstreaming:
1. Lack of Political Will or Leadership Commitment: Without visible and consistent support from top leadership, Board members, Directors, and senior managers, gender mainstreaming remains a side agenda or “optional” task. Leaders may perceive gender as a soft issue rather than a driver of institutional performance and innovation.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Identify and cultivate gender champions at the leadership level.
b) Provide evidence-based advocacy showing how gender equity enhances research quality and development impact.
c) Include GESI in strategic planning, institutional risk frameworks, and annual performance reviews.
Example:
A Council Chair mandates that gender outcomes be included in quarterly Board reports, elevating GESI to a strategic priority.
2. Limited Staff Capacity and Understanding of Gender Issues: Council staff may lack the skills, knowledge, or confidence to apply gender analysis, design inclusive projects, or evaluate gender outcomes. This leads to poor integration of gender in calls, peer review, and monitoring systems.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Develop a long-term capacity building plan, including induction training, refresher sessions, and mentorship.
b) Establish a Gender Community of Practice (CoP) where staff can share experiences and seek support.
c) Create job aids and practical tools (e.g., checklists, guidelines) to simplify GESI integration into daily tasks.
Example:
A Council builds an internal GESI Help Desk that provides staff with real-time technical support for integrating gender in funding applications and project evaluations.
3. Institutional Resistance to Change: Some staff or departments may perceive gender mainstreaming as threatening, irrelevant, or burdensome. Resistance may also be rooted in patriarchal norms, lack of incentives, or fear of losing power.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Engage resistant teams through dialogue, participatory policy development, and tailored sensitization.
b) Use “quick wins” and pilot initiatives to demonstrate the practical value of GESI (e.g., inclusive calls that generate more diverse research outputs).
c) Recognize and reward departments or staff members who lead on inclusive practices.
Example:
A Council recognizes departments that achieve GESI targets with annual awards and public acknowledgment, creating a healthy competition and boosting morale.
4. Resource Constraints: Gender work is often underfunded, viewed as a “non-core” area. Councils may not allocate enough financial, human, or time resources to sustain mainstreaming efforts.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Institutionalize gender budgeting practices to ensure GESI has a dedicated share of the operational budget.
b) Leverage donor partnerships or cross-sector collaborations to support gender-focused initiatives.
c) Embed GESI within existing systems (e.g., integrate gender into M&E frameworks rather than creating parallel ones).
Example:
A Council includes a mandatory GESI budget line in all funded research projects and ensures the same in its internal budget planning cycle.
5. Data Gaps and Poor Monitoring Systems: Councils may lack sex-disaggregated data or tools to monitor gender outcomes. Without data, it’s hard to measure progress, identify gaps, or hold teams accountable.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Establish a Gender Information Management System (GIMS) to collect and track gender-disaggregated data.
b) Integrate GESI indicators in existing MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning) systems.
c) Build capacity among M&E teams to analyze gendered data and apply intersectional lenses.
Example:
A Council updates its grant application form to collect applicant data by sex, age, disability, and institution type, enabling better monitoring of inclusion outcomes.
6. Lack of Continuity Due to Staff Turnover or Structural Changes: When GESI champions leave or institutional restructuring occurs, momentum for gender mainstreaming can be lost if systems are not well established.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Institutionalize GESI roles, plans, and policies so that they outlive individual staff.
b) Ensure handover notes and succession plans include GESI responsibilities.
c) Embed GESI goals into Council strategic frameworks, ensuring long-term continuity.
Example:
A Council creates a Gender and Inclusion Task Team made up of representatives from all departments to ensure continuity of gender goals across staffing changes.
7. Tokenism and Checklist Mentality: Sometimes, gender integration becomes a “tick-box exercise”, adding women to panels or mentioning gender in reports without real impact or change.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Shift focus from representation to meaningful participation and influence.
b) Monitor not just activities (e.g., number of women trained) but also outcomes (e.g., percentage of women in decision-making roles).
c) Promote transformative leadership that addresses underlying power imbalances.
Example:
A Council trains reviewers not only to check if proposals mention women, but also to evaluate how well the project addresses gendered needs and structural barriers.
8. Sustaining Progress Through Institutional Culture Change: Sustained gender mainstreaming requires more than systems; it demands a change in mindset, values, and norms that influence daily behaviors and attitudes.
Sustainability Strategy:
a) Promote a Council-wide culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion through regular communication, storytelling, and campaigns.
b) Encourage all staff to see gender equality as everyone’s responsibility, not just the GESI unit’s role.
c) Celebrate milestones and share success stories to motivate others.
Example:
A Council’s communications team launches a monthly ‘Inclusion Spotlight’ featuring stories of staff or researchers breaking gender barriers or promoting inclusion.
Case Studies for Discussion
a) Sierra Leone: The Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI) launched a “Girls in ICT” mentorship program that directly influenced how research grants prioritized gender equity in STEM education.
b) Ghana: The Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) integrated gender-responsive budgeting into its funding calls, ensuring more women researchers accessed grants.
Addressing challenges to gender mainstreaming is not about avoiding problems. It is about having systems, strategies, and leadership that are resilient, inclusive, and responsive. By anchoring gender work into institutional structures, budgets, leadership, and culture, Councils can ensure that gender equality becomes a living practice, not just a policy on paper. Sustaining this progress means constantly learning, adapting, and reinforcing equity as a shared goal and standard for excellence.
Facilitator Notes
a) Encourage reflection on cultural and institutional barriers.
b) Discuss strategies for maintaining momentum.
c) Showcase long-term African examples (e.g., AWARD program).
Suggestions for Further Reading
a) UNESCO (2017). Cracking the Code: Girls’ and Women’s Education in STEM.
b) AWARD (2019). Gender Mainstreaming in African Agricultural Research Institutions.