Civil Society Strengthening (CSO) Program

The CSO Strengthening strategy is a (typically) 18-month program tailored to different types of civil society organizations (CSOs) to help them develop the structures and programs that will support women's participation and empowerment. Together, partners take a hard look at the barriers to women's full participation in their organization--and develop a project to change that. In between the peer-learning workshops that develop accountability within the group, organizations receive individual visits from a G@W facilitator, who provides tools and resources to help each organization realize its change goals.

To date, over 26 civil society and community-based organizations have used the CSO Strengthening Program to improve the gender equality and effectiveness of their organizations and communities in India and South Africa, with program variations applied in East Africa and The Horn of Africa. For instance, in India, organizational partners worked on issues ranging from children’s rights to indigenous people’s advocacy. In South Africa, organizations are working together to realize their individual change projects, which include disability services, community greening, anti-privatization and farm workers’ rights. For case studies in India and South Africa, click here.

Click here to learn more about our CSO Strengthening Program's approach and methodologies

Would you like to take part in our CSO Strengthening Program? Let's talk! Write to us at info@genderatwork.org

To view our related Power Point Presentation: Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality: Making Change Happen through Dialogic, Creative & Evolutionary Processes click here.

The following testimony comes from a particpant in a Gender at Work-facilitated Action Learning Process: "A meeting to conduct a baseline assessment of an organization progressed smoothly, but the the group was not energized by the process. Collecting baseline information is tedious at the best of times. But things changed when the group was asked how they felt about working with their facilitators. This simple question of feelings, often overlooked, transformed the entire session. The natural shy nature of the members soon dissolved. Both men and women members revealed the traditional nature of their community and the fact that women are not viewed as significant contributing members of society.

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