USAID WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT (WID) POLICY
 
USAID is one of the first donors to adopt a policy that addressed women in development.
 
In 1982, USAID formulated the WID Policy, which recognized that inadequate understanding of men's and women's roles in societies -- and their unequal access to and control over resources -- will lead to inappropriate project design and implementation, resulting in diminished returns on investment. The policy mandates that country strategies, programs, projects and reporting documents explicitly involve women; identify benefits and impediments to participation; establish sex-disaggregated benchmark to measure women's participation and benefits from development activities; integrate gender considerations in development; and assure that contractors address gender issues in their work for USAID.
 
USAID has refined the WID policy by providing guidelines for addressing gender issues. USAID's gender mainstreaming approach is provided under the Gender and Development: Introduction to the ADS Requirements(self running powerpoint show)
 
GENDER CONSIDERATION IN USAID PHILIPPINES
 
Strategy
 
USAID/Philippines' goals with a gender component in the USAID/Philippines Strategy include expanding economic opportunities for women; conserving natural resources by involving women more effectively; bolstering women's voices in achieving desired family size and increasing male involvement in family planning; improving maternal and child health, and stemming the rapid increase of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS; and achieving equality in education (where boys tend to drop out of school more than girls) through promotion of gender-equitable policies and practices in basic education in the formal and non-formal sectors.
 
All USAID/Philippines programs are designed to ensure women's participation and integration of gender and development considerations. For example, the Muslim women's participation and advocacy for peace and development has become an important development agenda beginning in FY 2004 and continuing todate.
 
JOINT PARTICIPATION
 
USAID is also an active participant in the bilateral and multi-lateral donors' Official Development Assistance- Gender and Development Network (ODA-GAD), composed of gender and WID officers of the Philippines' donor community. The ODA-GAD, jointly with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, produced the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines for Project Development, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation. The Guidelines will provide donor organizations, NEDA and proponent/implementing agencies with a common tool to ensure gender responsiveness in the various stages of the project cycle.