Gender Equality Policy

MEDA promotes equal realization of dignity and human rights for women and men to unleash their entrepreneurial and innovative potential to earn a sustainable livelihood.

Within our programs MEDA develops gender equality strategies based on gender analysis to ensure projects are designed and implemented with equity in mind, promote women’s and men’s equal access to and control of productive resources and opportunities, and ultimately greater equality.

MEDA’s gender work is programmed from an intersectional perspective that considers the multifaceted nature of discrimination faced by women and men according to their socio-economic status and personal identity.

MEDA is also committed to preserving the equity of its employees regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, ability, health or marital status,¹ and promotes this among the partners with whom it works.

MEDA’s standards regarding gender equality programmatically and organizationally include:

• Project gender analysis,² engaging a diverse range of stakeholders and using findings to inform partnerships, design, and strategies that will promote gender equality.
• Programming that is accessible to both women and men³ with an explicit focus on addressing barriers that limit women from attaining the full benefits of economic and social development.
• Sufficient resource allocation to implement, track and report on gender equality-related activities and outcomes.
• A functional, updated Gender Equality Management System which provides guidance on MEDA’s gender equality tools and approaches applied to projects.
• Up to date internal policies that address Gender Equality issues.
• Accountability for upholding MEDA’s Gender Policy within programs and partnerships, and modelling gender equality organizationally.

MEDA reviews the Gender Equality Policy regularly and updates accordingly.