Gender Justice
LWF World Service begins any programming initiative by analysing gender power relations and vulnerabilities, to ensure we address gender gaps and contribute to gender justice.
Gender justice is key to ensuring that all people enjoy a life of dignity and justice, and for the full realization of human rights, the eradication of poverty, and the achievement of sustainable development.
We understand that gendered power dynamics, cultural norms, unequal access to resources, and other factors create barriers to participation. LWF is committed to reducing these barriers, upholding human dignity, and working for justice and peace.
LWF World Service has identified Gender Justice as one of its core values and principles, adherence to which will ultimately determine the effectiveness and impact of our programs as reinforced in our Strategy 2025-2031. Gender analysis and action are at the centre of the work across all LWF Country Programs.
We are committed to promoting the rights of women and girls to mitigate the structural barriers that hinder women’s effective participation and leadership, to support and advance women’s economic empowerment, and to fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
We will continue actively engaging men and boys in the promotion of Gender Justice, and ensure that gender analysis is built into all our programs at all stages of the project cycle.
Gender Justice Toolbox
The aim of the toolbox is to provide staff and leaders in the LWF World Service country programs with the necessary tools and resources to implement the LWF Gender Justice Policy through gender-just programs and activities, and to promote gender justice locally, nationally and globally.
This practical tool covers a broad spectrum of gender topics, including institutional mainstreaming, gender transformative programming as well as gender in key thematic areas. Individual chapters of the toolbox can be read as stand-alone entities based on individual needs. Chapters or sections are also linked to relevant trainings and resources online.
The LWF Kenya / Somalia’s Team Ferrari explains how to drive the gender justice agenda forward and how to guide different levels of the organization, including staff and refugee volunteers, on how to do gender responsive programming. We hear from Ferrari team members Lilian, Hilda, Yurab, Mary and Raymond, all staff of the LWF Kenya / Somalia programme.
The LWF Kenya / Somalia’s Team Ferrari explains the importance of frequent and updated gender context analyses, to ensure that the challenges facing women AND men in a given context are well captured and used to inform programming. Mary, Hilda, Sharron, Baaqir and Raymond underline the importance of engaging with men and boys to change stereotypes early on.
Staff from the Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and Community Development Studies in Indonesia explain how examples of harmful practices in their context inspired them to develop a strategic plan to address gender justice and GBV. Nelson and Novenry underline the importance of female access and agency, equal sharing of household work, and of their gender equality monitoring framework.
LWF Nepal staff explains the various aspects of their gender programming in Nepal. We hear from Yagya and Bijaya on how Nepal works on female economic empowerment through co-operatives; the economic value of domestic work; female engagement in the community and the importance of engaging men and religious leaders as agents for changing harmful socio-cultural norms.
The South Sudan female internship programme is designed to mentor young female graduates and to give them direct exposure to the world of work, while indirectly challenging gender stereotypes about what women can and cannot do. We hear from LWF South Sudan staff Betty, as well as Ayet, a former intern, now employed with LWF, and Diana, a current intern with the programme.