“The good have no need of an advocate”

Plutarch

Expanding Educational Access for Girls

Reality

• *At the current rate of progress, Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education and gender parity are unattainable.

Engaging to achieve MDGs

–Assess and strengthen assets to achieve gender equity program goals

–Advocate for resources and action

Sample INGO Gender Assets• 10 years ago intense investment in gender

– Staff training in gender analysis: HQ, field, all levels

– Program principles, norms, incentives instituted– Requirements for disaggregated data and

reporting

• 10 years later• Value and awareness very strong!• Gender and female focus in programs• Gender analysis and systems not

– Less than 25% of trained staff in place – Staff out of touch with gender discourse

Advocacy: No NGO is an Island…

• Changing roles: pursue mission AT SCALE!• INGOs embedded in international NGO

networks for– Program implementation, gender assets– Policy and resource advocacy

• INGOs increasingly called on to – Organize networks of local and national NGOS–Mentor those NGOS in program and Advocacy

NGO Advocacy

• Environments and Allies/Assets: – international, e.g. Save the Children

Alliance– national, e.g. Basic Education Coalition– Local, e.g., Basic Education Network,

Ethiopia

• Differences INGOs must engage– International, national, 3rd nation

environments– rights/evidence based approaches

International Advocacy

• Rights based: – every child/person has rights– every state has responsibilities

• Evidence based: – education can be achieved – education drives

• productivity, • health and reproduction, • democratic and global citizenship

• Tension, example, Community Schools

Evidence: Quality is a gender issue

• Quality has differential gender effects on – household investments in– Academic achievement

• Malawi comparison of 1.Government schools 2.Government schools plus Save the Children teacher training (MTTA, USAID supported)3. Save the Chldren Community schools with

teacher training, community ownership and management, more active learning and smaller class sizes

Advocacy: synergy of rights & evidence

• US based INGOs, relative to Euro and Southern NGOs rely on– Use evidence base to develop messages that typically

appeal to the target’s self interest– Bring diverse actors and resources to the table – Use communications approaches rooted in advertising

• Segmenting audiences• Specifying behavior change / results targets• Avoiding confrontation and negative messaging

• Euro and Southern NGOs generally emphasize rights– CRC– EFA/MDGs– Holding governments responsible

Engaging differences between rights & evidence based advocacy• Rights based promotes the transformative

goals of CRC, EFA, MDG– Transforms local norms and expectations– Maintains political pressure and will– Holds governments responsible

• Rights based advocates for equitably distributed investments in social goods, e.g.– Primary agenda must not be sacrificed in pursuit of

secondary– Rights must not be sacrificed to efficiency, e.g.

reaching disbled, pastoralists, remote or small minority groups…

Engaging differences between rights & evidence based advocacy• Evidence based advocacy

– Distributive: pragmatism, • Who gets what?- at least until the pie is big

enough to meet all needs• What approach gives the best outcome? –

balance of efficiency and effectiveness, coverage and quality

– Diverse: opening the space for diverse providers, diverse content

– Neo-liberal, instrumental: equity will come… some day, maybe…

* Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of presenter, not…

INGOs advocating for gender and education

• Rights based advocacy?• Advocate for quality?• Advocate for access

– to primary?– To secondary?

• Are these either / ors?• Are we successfully

engaging our differences?

• Are we effectively advocating for this girl?