Care economy:

the sector of economic activities, both paid and unpaid, related to the provision of social and material care. It includes care for children, the elderly, and the disabled, health care, education as well as other personal services, all of which contribute to nurturing and supporting present and future populations.1

Feasibility study:

a full feasibility study (also referred to as a business case) is a detailed investigation of the project. It assesses the technical, financial, and legal feasibility of a proposed project, whether the project satisfies a public need and is a good public investment decision based on an economic viability analysis (cost-benefit analysis), as well as whether it is environmentally and socially sustainable.2

(Applying/using a) Gender lens:

an approach to identify and examine gendered differences in the development and implementation of processes, procedures, and practices, enabling users to better understand and assess the importance and impact of these differences. Using a gender lens means focusing on how prevailing cultural norms and attitudes about people’s gender identity and expression affects how they are seen, or not seen, impacting on their opportunities, access to and ownership of resources, and their capacity to enjoy and exercise their human rights.

Gender action plan:

a time-bound plan that lays out the goals, activities of the project, and related responsible persons and costs for closing the gaps in outcomes for both women and men. These activities could be a part of the core development, building and operations of a project, or they could be part of the social engagement angle of the project, designed to provide the fullest benefit to the community.3

Gender analysis:

a socio-economic analysis of gender relations that provides information about the different conditions of women and men, and the different effects that projects may have on them.4 Gender analysis highlights the differences between and among women, men, girls, and boys in terms of their relative distribution of resources, opportunities, constraints, and power in a given context.5

Gender-based violence:

violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender. Gender-based violence constitutes a breach of the fundamental right to life, liberty, security, dignity, equality between women and men, non-discrimination, and physical and mental integrity.6

Gender blindness:

the failure to recognize that the roles, responsibilities, and behavior patterns of women and men are assigned to them in specific social, cultural, economic, and political contexts and backgrounds. Gender blind projects do not consider different roles and diverse needs and therefore might reinforce gender inequalities. By deliberately or inadvertently disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions or allocations of resources between people, gender-blind projects maintain the status quo and do not help transform the unequal structure of gender relations.7

Gender-certified businesses:

businesses that have demonstrated their commitment to gender equality and that have obtained a certification from an entity recognized for its specialization in assessing gender responsiveness in businesses.

Gender discriminatory project:

a project that reinforces harmful and negative gender norms and actively harms women and girls.

Gender equality:

refers to the equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women, men, girls, and boys. Gender equality concerns and fully engages all genders while recognizing that neither all men nor all women are a homogenous group.8

Gender gaps:

differences between the way women and men are treated in society; between what they do and achieve; and in their respective access to opportunities, resources, and services. ‘Closing gender gaps’ includes (but is not limited to) activities that contribute to: improving women’s human endowments (i.e. gaps in education and health outcomes); removing constraints for more and better jobs for women; addressing barriers to women’s ownership and control of assets; and enhancing women’s leadership, voice, and agency while engaging men and boys.