Evaluation of UNFPA support to gender equality and women's empowerment

The purpose of this thematic evaluation is to assess UNFPA support to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) in development and humanitarian settings during the period January 2012 to July 2020. It aims to inform the design of the next UNFPA Strategic Plan, implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy (2018-2021), as well as the position of UNFPA within the 2030 Agenda. The evaluation covers three main components: UNFPA systems and processes to advance GEWE, gender mainstreaming and UNFPA work under the dedicated gender outcome.

The mandate of UNFPA is informed by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (1994) and ICPD beyond 2014. Other normative developments have also framed how UNFPA operationalizes its support for GEWE and include the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) has raised expectations for how the UN system will contribute to helping Member States attain a shared vision of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls by 2030. 
Since 2012, gender equality has been an outcome-level commitment in UNFPA strategic plans. The organization has focused consistently on strengthening national capacity with regard to policy, legal and accountability frameworks, service provision, and civil society and community-level engagement in eliminating discriminatory norms and practices. In the most recent strategic plans, programming under the dedicated outcome area has focused largely on gender-based violence and harmful practices. UNFPA has also mainstreamed gender equality in its programming under the other outcome areas.