Gender Equality & Safe Workplace Course!

In this unit, we offer a method of work to include gender equality in different contexts and organizations. The next units explore a variety of themes and situations- this unit offers a method of work on how to approach them.

The methods assures that we must understand the reality of gender in our organization, in order to offer a plan of work towards equality. We must understand where we are situated, bind spots, and actual perspiration of teammates regarding the issues at hand.

Step 1: Design the Framework of the Analysis

Before taking action or making our plans or evaluation, we must first define our area of intervention and analysis. We must carefully design the scope of things we will analyze while trying to create an analysis of “reality of gender in our organization”.

• We must first define our resources: time, workhours, money.

• We must define the scope: what area, dynamic, situation, angles, strategy, policy- are we investigating?

• What is our objective?

• What areas of our business are we checking? Team or clients? Beneficiaries? Interns and service providers included?

It could be really useful if in this part of designing the analysis we already include diverse voices, as different genders can offer a unique perspective on how to approach the process. Forming a Steering committee for this process, with women leaders, can be substantial.

Step 2: Get the Data

If we really wish to create a meaningful diagnostic of the reality of gender in the organization, we better get to work and get the data. Usually, this could mean ASK YOUR TEAM! We need to gather objective evidence and also get diverse perspectives of the issues at hand.

We need to understand how SOMETHING impacts people differently based on their gender.

• Are there are hidden consequences or risks for women or LGBTQI+ people?

• In the described circumstance, do men have an advantage?

• Do people in the organization feel like gender plays a part in a certain situation or dynamic?

• What would be additional needs of mothers in that situation? Are they the same as of fathers?

• Is the situation assuming the equal participation of teammates regardless of their gender?

• Who benefits from a situation?

• What would be the different needs of people in that situation?

• Are women part of all the entire design process of the situation? Was it created thinking of them?

• Are we hearing everyone’s voices? Which voices are we not hearing?

We can get direct input from teammates, in the form of survey or focus groups.

• Surveys could be anonymous, to make sure there are no negative consequences for participation and sharing.

  • Questions should include a sliding scale, but also option for those who wish to provide a lengthy answer.

  • Questions should be focused and based either on perspective or of facts personally witnessed.

  • Should be asked to complete on workhours.

• Focus groups- great way to get in depth perspective on an issue, as a conversation many times can open a gate to broad participation.

  • Should be facilitated, without issues of subordination.

  • Take into consideration that people might share things in a survey they wouldn’t share with their colleagues.

  • Better 5-10 participants of same gender.

We can get parallel evidence, evidence that is not coming directly from the employees.

• AI logs of participation in meetings.

• Clock-in attendance software data.

• HR documents, payments and employee records (if not confidential).

• Registration of participation in events.

• Policies and written documents.

After we get some data and analyze it together with our steering committee, we might feel it is appropriate to ask for interpretation or extra analysis from teammates. Could be in a form of staff meeting, personal consultations, or focus groups. “Reading” the results in also something that can benefit from a diversity of perspectives, as we will try to design actions that could cater to the needs we identified.

A combination of different areas being analyzed, can provide us with a view of our organization’s reality of gender.

Step 3: Action

If we identify in the results of our analysis that there is a situation of inequality, or that women’s needs are not met completely, or that women are not part of all the steps in designing the strategies as hand, we will choose to take action.

To ensure an effective intervention we will try to include as many teammates in the thought process of the action, knowing that a wider participation will ensure wider appropriation.

Our actions will be comprised of two components to ensure effectivity:

• Change of policy or executive decision

• Awareness raising or change of dynamics

We must include a response that entails both a well defined official organizational response to the situation described, as well as specific actions to change people’s perceptions and therefore behaviors.

Step 4: Monitoring and Evaluation

To ensure the effective response, we need to make sure to monitor the same sources of data in order to check, after some time, that the actions taken resulted in a change of the reality of gender.

We will go back to the design table, and revisits the same situations identified as problematic. Recommendable as part of a yearly operational plan.

This unit focuses on how to include a gender-based perspective in our hiring and promotion policies. A big first step in ensuring gender diversity and inclusion of women in all processes of decision making, such as in gender mainstreaming, is to look at the organizational chart. We need to identify who works in our organization, what areas and departments have more women and LGBTQI+ people and which do not, and ask ourselves: for every step of the career pyramid, are we seeing diverse genders, or do we only see certain men at the top?

The next step would be in hiring — we must examine if our hiring process is biased. Hiring bias can influence the way we hire the same people over and over again. We need to ask: is our process accessible to people regardless of their gender, and what should we consider?

In promotion, we must look at our criteria for promotion and recognize patterns of inequality. We should strive to have clear and transparent criteria for promotion, as general "fit" and "trust" can also mean bias in promotion.

The video offers a few actions we can take other than positive discrimination and offers the course's method of work in this area.

The gender pay gap refers to the difference in average earnings between men and women in the workplace. This gap can exist even when people are performing the same or comparable work.

In this unit, we explore some of the possible reasons for the pay gap, trying to take into consideration less visible factors. We notice that when there are no transparent or horizontal salaries, men tend to earn more.

To be able to analyze the reality of gender in our own organization, we need to perform a thorough analysis of payment: the salary base, bonuses, commissions, tips, extra opportunities, calculation of seniority, and more.

Many times we will notice that women, as part of the learned gendered role, will be more reluctant to ask for an initial high salary and more reluctant to ask for a raise. We will see there are opportunities more reserved for men, and that there is some bias in place.

The attached article proposes a guide with suggestions on how to analyze the pay gap in your organization.

This unit looks at the policies organizations need to examine their policies through a gender based perspective to ensure covering the needs of all employees and promote gender equality. They should be designed by a diverse group of employees, reviews and examined.

For example, parental leave policies often favor mothers over fathers - while mothers might get several months of paid leave, fathers may only receive a few days, reinforcing traditional gender roles. Similarly, flexible work arrangements that allow for childcare responsibilities should be available to all parents regardless of gender.

Healthcare and benefits policies can inadvertently discriminate against certain groups if not carefully designed. For instance, health insurance plans should cover specific needs like fertility treatments, endometriosis care, and gender affirmation procedures. Additionally, spousal benefits should extend equally to all couples regardless of gender or marital status - from health insurance coverage to invitation to company events.

Workplace policies around professional appearance and compensation need particular attention. Traditional dress codes often place unfair burdens on women, requiring expensive clothing, uncomfortable shoes, and time-consuming grooming routines. Meanwhile, promotion and pay policies should have clear, objective criteria to prevent gender bias - such as standardized evaluation forms, transparent salary bands, and structured review processes that assess actual performance rather than factors influenced by gender stereotypes.

The attached article proposes a guide with suggestions on how to analyze the policies in your organization.

Gender roles are socially constructed expectations, behaviors, and attributes assigned to people based on their perceived gender. While not natural or biological, these roles can restrict individual freedom by prescribing narrow paths based on gender. In the workplace, these roles manifest through assumptions that directly influence how women and people with diverse gender identities are perceived and allowed to excel. For example, women may be discouraged from being assertive or questioning authority - behaviors that are often accepted from men. Instead, women are frequently labeled as "hysterical," "nagging," or "bossy" when displaying leadership qualities, and are often expected to take on more caregiving responsibilities.

These gender-based stereotypes lead to problematic job associations that ignore individual abilities and preferences. Men are often presumed to be natural leaders and "providers," while women are frequently assigned nurturing or administrative roles that can limit career advancement opportunities. This division of labor extends beyond the workplace, with women typically handling most childcare and household duties while men face pressure as primary earners.

Such roles create hidden costs through "invisible" labor and power imbalances that can restrict career growth.

Organizations must actively work to prevent replicating these gender roles and avoid placing expectations on employees based on gender-related social pressures. In designing out analysis, we need to identify areas where people may feel these roles. And this is trickier.

The attached article proposes a guide with suggestions on how to analyze participation in your organization.

What do you do when you are not hearing diverse voices? When the people are there, but somehow they do not voice their opinions and expertise? In this unit, we will try to find out if there is a gender element to their silence, or if it's just that we are not listening.

Some reasons that can make women and LGBTQI+ people more reluctant to speak are a conflictive meeting environment, the feeling of invisibility, and lack of moderation that will make sure it's not the same people who always speak at length.

We need to analyze whether everyone feels comfortable speaking and get actual data about meeting participation time from the summary. Some solutions could involve group moderation techniques.

Another possible action has to do with awareness of inclusive language — when you speak in a way that is less gendered, people can feel more heard. Inclusive language in a grammatically gendered language like Spanish will include using neutral "e" or repeating the male and female form. In English, this could mean avoiding words with masculine connotations like "policeman" or referring to the group as "you guys".

The attached article proposes a guide with suggestions on how to analyze participation in your organization.

Knowing that we live in a world where violence is common, and gender-based violence is a reality that makes the world unsafe for more than half of its population, we cannot expect our workplace to be isolated. We are part of this world and carry these forms of violence with us. We will try to keep our workplace SAFER from HARM, and many times we must look at sexist behaviors that make the workplace non-inclusive, unsafe, and uncomfortable. These behaviors all fall under the umbrella of sexism, but each is nuanced to imply superiority. Thinking about how they exist within our work dynamics is something that can improve through awareness-raising.

The video and article cover the following behaviors:

• Sexual jokes and innuendos: Inappropriate comments or humor with sexual undertones that create a hostile work environment

• Talk about others's bodies: Inappropriate commentary or discussions about physical appearance that objectifies women (mostly) or looks, judging

• Stigmas and gender roles: Perpetuating stereotypical assumptions about how people should behave based on their gender

• Unwanted abundance of attention: Excessive or inappropriate focus on someone that makes them uncomfortable

• Belittling: Dismissing or diminishing someone's contributions or capabilities based on their gender

• Microsexism: Subtle, often unconscious behaviors that express prejudiced attitudes toward gender

• Mansplaining: When a man explains something to someone (typically a woman) in a condescending manner, assuming they have less knowledge.

The article also covers some ways to handle those phenomenons.

This unit shares some key elements on how to include the outside world, and more particularly — the end user — in our process of gender mainstreaming. We would do our best to apply the gender lens to design our Analysis of the Reality of Gender, thinking about different aspects that can affect beneficiaries, clients, or customers. We would try to get the data using different methods and consider different aspects to make sure we are promoting gender equality.

The video and attached article explore the understanding of people's needs based on gender, ensuring their safety from SEAH, the "pink tax" or gendered cost, and a wider consideration of our messaging and how it affects the world.

Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) are three of the many manifestations of Gender-Based Violence that can occur in the workplace. This unit, the first of three, focuses on explaining what Gender-Based Violence is and how each of these three forms are defined and expressed in the workplace. Later, the unit presents how these definitions should be included in our prevention protocol and how they align with local laws.

The included article contains the same definitions as the video and expands on the latter issue.

Gender Based Violence:

Safeguarding Support Hub:

· “Gender-based violence” is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (e.g. gender) differences between men and women. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty. These acts can occur in public or in private.

· The term “GBV” is most commonly used to underscore how systemic inequality between men and women, which exists in every society in the world, acts as a unifying and foundational characteristic of most forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls. “

SEAH are forms of Gender Based Violences. It is important to clarify the SEAH are not about sexual desire or attraction, but rather of power and authority.

SEAH:

Safeguarding Support Hub: “Sexual Exploitation: Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust for sexual purposes. Includes profiting monetarily, socially, or politically from sexual exploitation of another. Under UN regulations it includes transactional sex, solicitation of transactional sex and exploitative relationship.[2] “

Here we would emphasize that exploitation can be a relationship or a one-time events.
We would look at our place as consider vulnerability not only in terms of hierarchy, but also ask if our customers are in any way part of a vulnerable group or depend on our services.

Safeguarding Support Hub: “Sexual Abuse: The actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. It includes sexual assault (attempted rape, kissing / touching, forcing someone to perform oral sex / touching) as well as rape. Under UN regulations, all sexual activity with someone under the age of 18 is considered to be sexual abuse, regardless of the age of majority or consent locally. Mistaken belief in the age of a child is not a defence.[3]”

Here we would emphasize that abuse could be a series of things, and not necessarily involve touching – could also be in the digital sphere, suggestions, etc. We would add that other than minors who can consent to relations with adults, there are situations in which people are not able to consent in an informed matter. For instance, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or subordination relations.

Safeguarding Support Hub: “Sexual Harassment: A continuum of unacceptable and unwelcome behaviours and practices of a sexual nature that may include, but are not limited to, sexual suggestions or demands, requests for sexual favours and sexual, verbal or physical conduct or gestures, that are or might reasonably be perceived as offensive or humiliating.[4]

Here we would emphasize that harassment can also be online, and that it can also be questions, inquiries about sexual life or gender identity, bodies of people, and not only with intention to demonstrate power- sometimes crossing personal boundaries in a way that can REASONABLY be considered offensive, is more than enough.

This unit lays the basis for our work devoted into making our work environment a safe environment and creating the organizations response to cases of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH). In this unit, we review the structure of the organizational protocol for PSEAH and the roles and general procedure of the Prevention Committee in charge of the investigation of allegations / incidents reported.

Even without carrying out an organizational diagnosis of gender-based violence in our organization, it is important we have a protocol that highlights the prohibited behaviors and attitudes in the workplace, as well as a procedure of handling reports of such behaviors and acts. It is almost impossible to stop SEAH from happening, but we can be sure that a big part of prevention is setting limits and making sure that there is a sanction that prevents the incident from recurring.

This video covers the protocol structure in more detail.

Protocol Structure:

The Protocol for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment in the workplace should be adapted to local needs, laws and culture, but as a rule of thumb should include the following parts:

1. Definitions of Gender Based Violence and the prohibited behaviors and activities (naming, Sexual exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Harassment).

2. Scope of protocol – Which members of the organizations are included –naming workers, beneficiaries and costumers, When and Where is the protocol valid (always!).

3. Process of Reporting an incident as a victim or witness.

4. Investigation Process

• a. Who are the members of the Prevention Committee and their process of selection.

• b. Authorities of the committee (can day carry out sanctions? Who do they report to? )

• c. Specific training of the committee

• d. Documentation of Evidence

• e. Method of validation- recommended: Balance of Probabilities

• f. Process of notifying the accused and their rights within the process

5. Possible sanctions and disciplinary measures for prohibited behaviors

6. Safety measures to protect victims and resources allocated.

The attached article also elaborated on each of the steps and explains key principles.

Avoiding Traumatization

As part of the investigation, t's essential to use sensitive methods that shield affected individuals from further emotional distress.

• Limit repeat questioning: Plan and coordinate interviews efficiently to prevent affected individuals from having to tell their story multiple times.

• Offer assistance: Make counseling readily available and welcome the presence of a trusted support person during discussions.

• Set up comfortable spaces: Select private, neutral meeting locations and respect the need for breaks.

• Expert interviewers: Use professionals who understand trauma responses and have specialized SEAH interview training, as much as possible.

• Open updates: Maintain regular contact about investigation progress while protecting privacy.

• Accommodating timing: Let affected individuals select convenient meeting times that don't disrupt their daily work schedule.

This final unit centers around gender-based violence in our organization. How do we identify it, and some ideas of action that are additional to the protocol of Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH).

The video and attached article include explanation of how to  carry out an Evaluation of Gender Based Violence in our organization. We need to try and create an atmosphere that allows people to share confident information, in a way that has no repercussions or dangers towards them (like if they report misconduct of colleague) and also avoids traumatization of difficult experiences.