Does Localization Hold the Promise for Gender Norms Shifting ?

The  Grand Bargain, a framework for delivering humanitarian emergency aid, suggests that the best development happens when conducted by local actors who respond to emergencies. This approach has gained attention beyond the humanitarian space in countries like Uganda.

The  Grand Bargain emphasizes localization, which means that humanitarian action should be led by and tailored to the needs of local actors and affected communities. However, the term "localization" is not yet uniformly defined by critical actors and donors within the  aid sector.

While almost all donor organizations and agencies are struggling to meet their targets, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) could be ahead of many in making progress toward its goal of pledging 25% of its eligible funding to  local organizations  by 2025, a target it is yet to attain.  

However, systems for delivering this funding are still evolving, and there are development actors who could still prefer to work directly with governments or other formations.

Localization is a good framework for bringing development closer to the intended beneficiaries. However, despite commitments under the Charter for Change (C4C) that  fronts working through Women Led and Women Rights Organisations, this #GenderConversations blog, has noted limited discourse on gender issues and gender norms transformation within localization. This omission could entrench negative gender norms and perpetuate gender inequities.

Evidence generated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that  less than 5% of global aid goes to initiatives with gender equality as the principal objective, and of this assistance, less than 1% goes to initiatives led by women and girls. Furthermore, as a reflection of sticky gender norms, women's participation in leadership is barely at 25% globally, while the economic gender gap is estimated to take over ten decades to close.

To ensure that localization is successful, it is important to incorporate gender analysis and evidence, involve women's rights and women-led organizations, and direct finances appropriately towards front line first responders in emergency response.

The Grand Bargain localization agenda, actualized through the Charter for Change actors and stakeholders, needs to invest in mechanisms that will deliver locally led development that is gender transformative and sustainable. The development process should be gender inclusive and incorporate local knowledge and systems.

The ongoing development of tools for achieving localization should follow a gender-inclusive process, by involving the voices of women and men across genders. This will require robust work to achieve tangible results.

The unpacking and understanding  of the local, national and community structures must ensure that involvement of women’s rights networks and provision of support, risk identification and mitigation are addressed to the fullest extent possible. Capacity of these agencies should not only be enhanced but also unleashed in a way that is relevant.

 Meaningful linkages of the local organizations including those working on gender norms transformation will be important all the way to the national and international spaces where their capacities to inform and influence key decisions are critical. That way localization may yield action with gender norms change.