Training Guide on Formulating the Gender and Development Agenda

On September 19, 2018, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) issued Memorandum Circular 2018-04 or the Guidelines for the Preparation of the Gender and Development (GAD) Agenda. It also reiterated the process of JMC 2012-01 to set the GAD Agenda as one of the steps in formulating the GAD plan.

The GAD Agenda is the agency’s strategic framework and plan on gender mainstreaming. The timeframe of the GAD Agenda is six years to provide agencies with direction in setting and monitoring their GAD initiatives to achieve the twin goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). It will also serve as the basis for the annual formulation of programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) to be included in the GAD Plans and Budgets (GPBs) of agencies. The development of the GAD Agenda shall be guided by the desired GEWE outcomes relevant to the agency’s mandates as embodied in the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) and other gender-related laws; the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development (PPGD) 1995-2025; and the term plans on GEWE, as well as GAD-related commitments like the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shall also be anchored on the priorities and thrusts of the government as expressed in the Philippine Development Plan, Cabinet Cluster Roadmaps, and various sectoral plans.

The PCW developed this tool to guide GAD trainers in providing technical assistance to agencies in the formulation of the GAD Agenda.