Gender Equality Projects

Fenomenal Funds (2019-2025) is a five-year feminist funder collaborative that aims to decolonize philanthropic spaces and shift power through pooled, flexible core funding for women’s funds globally. Fenomenal Funds have been working with close to 50 women’s funds from the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds (INWF), using a shared governance model and participatory grant-making.   […]

KIT is conducting a study, commissioned by UNESCO, on young people’s perspectives on school-based education for health and well-being, including sexuality education. Sexuality education has major positive health and social outcomes for adolescents and young people. Yet, research that focuses on their experiences with such education remains limited. KIT is partnering with young researchers and […]

KIT Institute and Farm Africa are conducting a participatory action research study on forest conservation, livelihoods, and gender in the Bale Ecoregion in Ethiopia. The study will guide and support women in communities around the Harenna forest in the pursuit of alternative income-generating activities that empower them, improve their wellbeing, and that contribute to forest […]

La santé et les droits sexuels et reproductifs (SDSR) sont essentiels au développement sain des jeunes, mais beaucoup d’entre eux doivent trouver leur chemin avec des informations inexactes, un accès limité aux services de santé et des normes sexospécifiques néfastes qui empêchent les filles d’avoir leur mot à dire dans les décisions qui les concernent. […]

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are critical to the healthy development of young people, but many young people must find their way with inaccurate information, poor access to health services, and harmful gender norms that prevent girls from having a say in decisions that affect them. In many African countries, young girls face […]

Achieving gender equality and realising womens’ and girl’s empowerment and rights are critical elements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, progress varies as young women still find their voices silenced in patriarchal families, communities and political spaces, and are subject to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).  This calls for deeper understanding and intensified efforts to contribute […]

Pro-ARIDES is designed to contribute to increased resilience, food security and household incomes for farmers and (agro-)pastoralists in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. To achieve this, a consortium of development professionals places public institutions and decentralized organizations at the heart of the program, with the objective of improving access to agricultural […]

KIT is supporting Mars in designing an approach to gender equality for cocoa-growing communities in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana which seeks to empower adolescent girls and young women across cocoa supply chains. Using a design thinking approach, the project’s first stage focused on better understanding the daily lives of women and girls in cocoa-growing […]

In fragile states, there is often a significant gap between what the state can deliver and what the citizens need or expect. The participation of citizens contributes to inclusive decision-making. It improves local governance and the delivery of basic services, makes local governance more sustainable and increases welfare and stability. The Inclusive Decisions At Local […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute supported Climate Fund Managers (CFM) to integrate gender into their investment process. KIT conducted desk-based gender assessments of the renewable energy sector in 14 countries across African and Asia. Guided by this assessment, KIT worked with CFM to develop a gender integration action plan for CFM’s Climate Investor One financing facility. […]

On 12 March 2018, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, FMO, Better Future and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an event on how we can make finance work for women entrepreneurs. Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands offered the keynote speech at the event. “Around 80 percent of formal, women-owned MSMEs do not have […]

In 2016, FAO, KIT Royal Tropical Institute and Twin established a partnership to build on their complementary knowledge, expertise and comparative advantage in coffee and cocoa value chains to establish the coffee and cocoa initiative. Coffee and cocoa value chains This initiative aims to foster coffee and cocoa value chains where women and men can […]

Globally, fisheries and aquaculture contribute to the income of around 800 million people. But overfishing is putting increasing pressure on local fish populations and marine biodiversity, while threatening the livelihoods of many. Fish and seafood are a critical part of the world’s diet. It provides around 3.2 billion people with almost 20 per cent of […]

Trade agreements can contribute to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. But they can also reinforce inequalities and women’s subordinate position in national economies. Responding to this concern, KIT supported the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to integrate gender equality into the Ministry’s 2018 policy on Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. A gendered economy Economic […]

KIT is conducting applied research with Welthungerhilfe to generate evidence on how the Gender Model Family (GMF) approach works in practice as a form of gender transformative programming in Sierra Leone. The research aims to understand how GMF contributes to women’s empowerment, better nutrition and agrobiodiversity outcomes. Family-led progress on nutrition & harmful gender norms […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute worked with the CGIAR Research Programs on Livestock and Fish to integrate gender into international livestock and fish research. This program was one of 14 in phase 1 of CGIAR research programs and part of the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network (CGIAR). KIT’s role grew over the two-and-a-half year engagement, […]

For the purpose of the gender synthesis of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), KIT Royal Tropical Institute used a bottom-up approach to develop typologies of gender strategies and gender outcomes of CIFSRF-funded projects. Making sense of gender integration in agriculture research for development The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) was […]

In January 2016, CGIAR established the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research, hosted by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets and coordinated by KIT Royal Tropical Institute. The Platform aims to increase the visibility, impact and quality of CGIAR gender research, while advancing a system-wide research agenda on gender, aqua/agriculture and natural […]

KIT is providing gender integration capacity development to WorldFish to help them implement the FISH Gender Strategy. This strategy describes how FISH will implement research that identifies and addresses the gender dimensions of barriers, opportunities and mechanisms for change in fisheries and aquaculture development. Supporting WorldFish and the FISH CGIAR research programme WorldFish is an […]

Through the Gender Resource Facility, KIT was commissioned by the Dutch Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE) to develop a paper summarising how applying a gender lens to social protection can promote more inclusive development in Sub-Saharan Africa. INCLUDE: what is it about? It aims to facilitate a better understanding of how to make […]

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) works toward inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for the African continent. It does so by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation. Gender-responsive agricultural research takes into account different gender dynamics depending on the purpose of a study. For example, it can be strategic […]

In 2017, ICARDA partnered with KIT to research gendered constraints and opportunities for fodder production systems in rural Afghanistan.   Addressing the Winter Fodder Gap in Rural Afghanistan  In Afghanistan eight million farm households rely on crop and livestock production for food, income, and as a ‘safety-net’ in times of need. However, small farmers in rural Afghanistan often […]

At KIT Royal Tropical Institute we believe a balanced world is a better world. Today—and every day—we’re celebrating women’s achievements with our Health, Sustainable Economic Development, and Gender work. We are building knowledge for a sustainable and balanced world. #BalanceforBetter #InternationalWomensDay2019 Our Gender related projects

This tailor-made programme strengthens the capacity of over 415 Nespresso agronomists across twenty countries to create deep structural changes for gender equality, known as gender transformative change. It covers three areas: 1) knowledge of gender transformative change 2) facilitation skills 3) self-reflection. It is aligned with Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, which is a unique initiative to […]

The African Chicken Genetics Gains (ACGG) programme aims to empower women farmers. After two years of implementation, and insufficient progress in this area, the programme asked KIT Royal Tropical Institute to develop a gender strategy. Women’s empowerment ACCG is led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi. It covers Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania […]

Increased agricultural productivity does not automatically translate to improved nutrition. KIT Royal Tropical Institute addresses this challenge in a new report, in collaboration with the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. Key insights from a gender analysis of impact evaluation design KIT recently finalized a one-year research project to generate policy-relevant recommendations for the improved design […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute and the UN Women Training Centre established the certificate Professional Development Programme for Gender Trainers (PDPGT) in a response to the growing need for gender capacity strengthening and the absence of formal professional development of gender trainers. The programme is the first of its kind The PDPGT aims to reposition training […]

KIT conducted a qualitative study to better understand youth engagement in agriculture for the DFID-funded NU-TEC Market Development Programme. More specifically, the study focused on youth dynamics and opportunities in sunflower and soya markets. It also highlighted business models and strategies to foster private sector linkages and youth engagement in land preparation, seed production, storage […]

The Sustainable Nutritiion for All project aimed to improve nutrition through the adoption of agro-biodiversity and improved dietary diversity at the household level in Uganda & Zambia. Summary The project looked specifically at the needs of pregnant/ lactating mothers and 0-24 month old infants and children. It proposed an innovative and scalable approach, the Sustainable […]

This project developed and tested the approach, tools and methods needed to carry out a Nutrition Sensitive Value Chain Analysis in northern Nigeria. It was implemented to support the IFAD-funded Climate Change and Agribusiness Support Program (CASP). Summary Based on a nutrition assessment conducted previously, the study team carried out in-depth analyses of five  commodity value […]

This technical review was commissioned by DANIDA, Denmark’s development cooperation, and carried out in partnership with the Carnegie Consult of the Netherlands. It was designed to assess how the Private Agricultural Sector Support Trust (PASS)  functioned and help the Embassy to decide on new financial commitments for the coming years. Credit guarantee instrument PASS is a credit guarantee […]

This study shows business opportunities for financial institutions to serve women in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. Carried out in partnership with ENCLUDE, EDG (Egypt) and SIGMA (Tunisia and Morocco) it identifies the demand and needs for financial services among women across different markets. The study includes: profiling and mapping targeted segments of women (women entrepreneurs, young […]

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) requested support in gender mainstreaming their development finance funds. A strategy towards realising gender equality, or at least awareness of inequalities. Integration of a gender perspective This project involves the integration of a gender perspective into the preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies/investments, with a view to promoting equality between women […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute is supporting FMO in the development of a Women SMEs (WSMEs) market as well as to incorporate an improved gender lens in their financing strategy and product offering. Gender equality as a cornerstone Gender equality – SDG 5 – is a cornerstone of FMO’s strategy for Financial Institutions (FIs). FMO has long seen the potential of […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute developed a study on approaches to financial inclusion that enable women to overcome gender barriers.  Moving beyond access to finance Access to financial products and services is believed to be a key enabler of women’s economic empowerment. But access to finance alone is not transformative. Gender barriers still constrain women from […]

The main objective of the State of African Women (SoAW) campaign is to contribute to securing, realizing and extending women’s rights enshrined in African Union (AU) policies. The campaign seeks to influence change in both legal and social norms for women and girls’ rights in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), at the continental, […]

As part of an international partnership to improve the rights of women and girls across the African continent, KIT led a research team to develop the State of African Women Report. The report raises awareness of continental-African commitments to women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and progress in their implementation. Realising women and girls’ […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute led the impact evaluation of the cervical cancer screening and treatment programme of the Nicaraguan Ixchen Centre for Women. Results indicate that the aid was effective: over 40,000 women, who otherwise would not have accessed services, now were screened for cervical cancer and more than 1,200 of these received necessary treatment, […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute is supporting the National Institute of Training in Health Sciences (INFSS) in Mali to strengthen its educational capacity in Sexual and Reproductive Health. INFSS is Mali’s reference institute for Bachelor- and Master-level training of paramedics. After their graduation these paramedics provide Sexual and Reproductive Health services throughout Mali. Altogether, INFSS trains […]

HIVOS wanted to reflect on the state of women’s activism and organizing in Zimbabwe, to document trends and emerging knowledge, and have a basis for a future research and knowledge programme. Researching the current state of events Hivos contracted KIT to prepare an overview of the scope and quality of the body of knowledge and […]

As the gender partner of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), KIT is working on gender mainstreaming the WCF’s cocoa livelihood programme (CLP) in West Africa, while supporting cocoa industry and technical partners to improve their outreach to female cocoa farmers. A combination of capacity building, data analysis and research have led to recommendations on how […]

This study examined the gender dimensions of agricultural mechanisation in Ethiopia and Kenya in order to inform future interventions. A competitive research grant from the CGIAR Research Programme MAIZE funded the study. Gender matters in farm power Mechanisation directly affects patterns of labour allocation in households because of its potential to increase labour efficiency and […]

This project aims to strengthen education and training on gender and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Bangladesh. One specific objective is the development, piloting and fine tuning of flagship courses on SRHR, sexuality and gender at the Centre for Gender and SRHR of the James P. Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) […]

Major shifts in the field of international development over the past 15 years have posed both challenges and opportunities for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights. This annual forum is designed to stimulate critical reflection on the state of gender knowledge. It focuses on how dominant trends in international development enable or constrain the […]

KIT developed a conceptual model on the empowerment of women and girls in close partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The model was presented in a White Paper: Conceptual model of women and girls’ empowerment. KIT conducted in-depth background research that formed the basis for the Foundation’s Method’s Note for measuring women and girl’s empowerment.  […]

This forum was called in order to explore the key themes of the Dutch development agenda from a gender and rights perspective. Areas in which policy leaders, academics and development organisations could collaborate were also examined. Five key themes Gender specialists, advocates and researchers including Josephine Ahikire (CBR Uganda), Andre Cornwall (University of Sussex) joined […]

In 2008 KIT was approached by the Dutch-German company Intersnack to assist in the sustainable sourcing of peanuts in Bolivia. KIT helped the Bolivian company Agritrade to establish a subsidiary Agrinut  in order to promote the sustainable production and export of Bolivian peanuts. Nuts not beans Peanuts originate from Bolivia and there are still many unique […]

This study examined the existing knowledge and experience of CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) MAIZE on the integration of gender concerns in maize research. Led by CIMMYT, CRP MAIZE focuses on increasing maize production for the 900 million poor consumers for whom maize is a staple food in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. To mark […]

This programme aimed to shape the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center – or CIMMYT – into a gender-responsive research and learning institution. It equipped staff with skills to conduct gender-responsive research to improve agricultural productivity, food security, and research-for-development outcomes for women and men farmers. 250 staff trained KIT developed a six-module training programme […]

The review covered 10 years of BRAC gender training that covered some 25,000 staff in order to recommend changes in its training programme as part of BRAC’s new programme strategy (2016-2020). Outline of the review KIT undertook a review of BRAC’s gender training that increased the organization’s Understanding of how BRAC’s gender training is positioned […]