Best practices for measuring gender equality include:

  • Move beyond counting women. Most organizations collect some demographic information, such as the number of women and men in a training program. However, most gender experts agree that this is insufficient. Women and men may experience programs differently and have different outcomes as a result of participation. Consider measuring not just the gender balance of a given business or program, but rather how these individuals are benefitting from the experience.
  • Focus on improvement, rather than baseline. Many resources provide snapshots of the current gender status in a particular organization. However, these baseline snapshots might produce a disappointing picture. Focus on the rate of improvement or change in an organization based on the initial diagnosis, which will provide an accurate understanding of progress.
  • Understand intersectionality in your context. Gender is a marker of difference among human groups, but it interacts with other factors as well, such as sexuality, race, caste, and religion, among others. These intersectionalities are frequently context specific – ensure that a gender IMM strategy highlights those convergences and makes allowance for measuring them. 

Resources about IMM for gender equality

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