Gender transformative projects aim to address the structural and social root causes of gender inequality, but measuring that kind of change is difficult. Practitioners, researchers and NGOs have long asked how feminist principles can be applied in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), what this looks like in practice, and whether it is possible at all. Many have also voiced frustration with the power imbalances built into conventional MEL.

The YW4A programme

The Young Women for Awareness, Agency, Advocacy and Accountability (YW4A) programme ran from 2021 to 2025 in Egypt, Kenya, Palestine and South Sudan and was implemented by a consortium of eight partners. It aimed to strengthen and diversify young women’s participation and amplify their voices in decision-making on laws, policies, norms and practices affecting their bodily integrity and equal participation. As the outcome MEL partner, KIT designed and carried out the baseline, internal mid-term review and internal endline studies, mainly for pathways 1 and 2, and led the learning component.

Applying GTMEL in YW4A

This paper shares the KIT Gender Team’s experience of applying Gender Transformative MEL (GTMEL) in YW4A. It sets out the team’s understanding of GTMEL and how it could ideally be applied across a project cycle. It then describes how GTMEL was put into practice in the programme and closes with lessons learned from its design and implementation.