GENDER AUDIT:

A TOOL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

InterAction’s Gender Audit is a process for organizational assessment and a tool for action planning.
The participatory audit process helps to identify organizational strengths and challenges to
integrating gender in the organization’s systems and operations and in programs and projects. The
Gender Audit tool can be used organization-wide or in field offices, headquarters, or other offices
operated by the organization. The audit process requires commitment on the part of senior staff and
the ability of a gender focal point or gender team to implement the audit process in the organization.

The audit process has three stages as described below, while a preparatory step is recommended.
This preliminary step is to gain senior leadership buy-in and support for conducting the gender audit
process. This commitment is necessary to ensure that senior management will provide the necessary
verbal and communication messages (email, staff meetings, etc.) promoting the importance of the
process and urging involvement of staff in it.

The gender audit had three stages: 1) Survey, 2) Focus Groups, and 3) Gender Plan of Action.

STAGE ONE: GENDER AUDIT QUESTIONNAIRE

The Gender Audit questionnaire is designed to help you understand how well your organization is
integrating gender. Two questionnaires are available to create a picture of how well your organization
is doing related to each of these four components. One is a 92-question survey and the other is a
shorter 20-question version. Both yield a detailed picture of your organization’s gender integration
that focuses on four key components for successful gender integration: political will, technical
capacity, organizational culture, and accountability. Part of stage one is reporting and presenting
results to staff. Templates are provided for a gender newsletter and PowerPoint presentation. Survey
instruments and analysis guidelines are also provided.

STAGE TWO: FOCUS GROUPS AND ANALYSIS

All the results of the gender audit questionnaire are reviewed and explored in a series of Focus Group
conversations conducted with organization staff. The intent of this stage of the audit process is to
clarify survey results, gain additional insights into the results, and to explore how staff envision an
organization that is gender integrated. Focus group results are compiled and yield specific action
items which then become the Gender Plan of Action, or Stage 3 of the Gender Audit.

STAGE THREE: MISSION GENDER PLAN OF ACTION

The Gender Plan of Action includes action items and targets that build on the institutional strengths
discovered during the survey and focus group stages of the audit process. It also includes initiatives
and strategies for ways to better integrate gender equality throughout the organization. The action
plan includes staff recommendations from each stage of the audit. Templates for the Gender Plan of
Action are provided.

For more information contact Jeannie Harvey at jharvey@interaction.org, 202-552-6579 Updated 8/2009
InterAction; 1400 16th St NW, Suite 210; Washington, DC 20036