Good practices in gender mainstreaming in science at the women’s university in Africa, Zimbabwe

This research aims to describe the current state of gender mainstreaming in Bangsamoro Public High School in terms of policy, people, enabling mechanisms and programs, projects, and activities. It also aims to identify issues and challenges to develop interventions in improving GAD mainstreaming. The study used a mixed-method approach that included surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions on describing the mainstreaming of GAD in public high schools. At the same time, qualitative data was used to determine the issues, challenges, and interventions in Gender and Development mainstreaming in school services. The study revealed that respondents positively defined the existence of Gender and Development in their school in terms of having a policy, conducting programs, activities, and projects (PAPs), and enabling mechanisms. Themes such as family conflict, early marriage, and teenage pregnancy were recorded in terms of issues and challenges. Findings highlighted that the program is not a priority, and the policy is not successfully implemented, so the budget allocation is not utilized correctly. Moreover, participants emphasized that there is no formal flagship program on GAD and an absence of application on the national government’s issued order or policy, resulting in the poor status of gender and development mainstreaming in public high schools. This study proposed the intervention plan be implemented to be the basis for policy reform, GAD mainstreaming curriculum development, and improving the school’s management capabilities.

This article is based on an empirical study that examined the association between gender and the use of electronic information resources among postgraduate students at the University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania. The study was conducted in December 2005 and integrated both qualitative and quantitative research designs. A sample of 100 postgraduate students was selected using a stratified proportionate random sampling procedure with a 97% response rate. Face to face interviews was the major technique of data collection. In addition, focus group discussions (FGDS), key informant interviews, analysis of records and observations were employed in data collection. Data analysis involved the use of cross-tabulation and qualitative descriptions. Findings revealed that gender is associated with the use of electronic information resources and male postgraduate students were more likely to use electronic information resources than female students. Results further showed that even when we controlled for attitude toward the use of electronic information resources or training in the use of e-resources the relationship between gender and electronic information resource use was maintained. Other variables that were found to have positive association with the use of electronic information resources included: training in the use of electronic information resources, access to e-resources, awareness of the availability of resources and year of study. Generally this study revealed that the use of electronic databases and electronic journals among postgraduate students is low although the use of internet search engines such as google, yahoo and other free internet resources was found to be high and frequent. Specifically, female students faired low in the use of electronic information resources. Based on the findings the study concluded that access and use of electronic information resources creates a “social digital divide” along gender lines. The study recommends that: high speed internet connectivity be made available to postgraduate students; and establish computer rooms for female graduate students which are conveniently located. Design and implement free literacy classes for female postgraduate students for capacity building. Develop web site for postgraduate students and a listserv for postgraduate female students only. Computer labs at the University should keep gender disaggregated statistics in the use of electronic information resources. Finally, the library needs to change its marketing strategies on the availability of electronic information resources to increase awareness of these resources.University of Dar Es Salaam Library Journal Vol. 9 (1) 2007: pp. 31-52

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly used to address infrastructure financing gaps in higher education, particularly in developing countries. However, their successful adoption depends on the presence of critical success factors (CSFs) that balance public and private sector interests while safeguarding the needs of beneficiaries. This study examines the CSFs influencing PPP adoption in universities in Uganda and South Africa. A qualitative research design was employed using key informant interviews and focus group discussions with PPP stakeholders from universities, regulatory bodies, government agencies, private sector actors, and students. Data was analyzed using thematic and comparative analysis. The findings reveal that affordability is the most critical CSF, followed by transparency and openness, price regulation, and stakeholder involvement. Other important factors include consideration of private sector interests, a conducive investment climate, demonstration of successful PPP projects, and effective information sharing. The study highlights that, unlike traditional infrastructure sectors, PPP success in universities strongly depends on beneficiary-centered considerations, particularly student affordability and participation. The study contributes to PPP literature by extending CSF analysis to the higher education sector and provides practical guidance for policymakers and university administrators to design affordable, transparent, and socially acceptable PPP arrangements.

This tracer study assessed how the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) program contributed to Fellows’ individual outcomes, organizational spillover effects, and broader system-level influence, and found mainly positive results overall. The study examined how AWARD supported Fellows’ career progression, leadership, scientific productivity, and ability to influence their organizations and wider policy and practice environments. It also explored the enablers and barriers affecting these outcomes and identified opportunities to refine AWARD’s programming and strategy. The evaluation adopts a theory-based, mixed-methods design grounded in contribution analysis and informed by multiple iterations of AWARD’s Theory of Change (ToC). It integrates the Guskey framework15 to systematically assess outcomes at individual, organizational, and systemic levels. The mixed-methods approach includes quantitative online surveys, qualitative key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs), and desk-based comparator study. Overall, the study approach is set to capture evidence on the contribution story of AWARD toward reported outcomes. Data sources included an extensive desk review, online surveys of AWARD Fellows and peers (colleagues with similar profiles who had not received AWARD support), key informant interviews, focus group discussions, interviews with AWARD staff, bellwether interviews, and a comparator review. The Fellow survey targeted all 836 eligible Fellows and received 213 responses, while qualitative fieldwork conducted between July and September 2025 covered nine priority countries. Findings indicate strong evidence of career progression, employability, leadership development, and increased confidence among Fellows, alongside reported gains in scientific writing, publication output, mentoring, and community engagement. The study also found evidence of Fellows’ influence on organizational practices and policies, particularly in gender and social inclusion, agri-food systems, nutrition, and climate-related areas, although these effects were more constrained than individual-level outcomes by structural and institutional barriers. At broader system level, Fellows were found to contribute to agricultural governance, gender mainstreaming, and climate and environmental agendas, while the study notes that findings should be interpreted with caution given the reliance on self-reported data and limited ability to attribute outcomes directly to AWARD. This evaluation was commissioned under EVITA (Evaluating Inclusive Transformation in Agriculture), which generates evidence on the outcomes and impacts of investments made by the Agricultural Development Team (AgDev) at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aims to increase the efficiency of and maximize collective learning from AgDev's evaluations.

INTRODUCTION The evolution from the WID (Women in Development) approach to the GAD (Gender and Development) approach brought the political language of the feminist discourse to the forefront of discussions in the international development agenda. It was argued that putting on the gender lens would result in a clearer, more realistic view of the conditions and the position of women and men in society. In the area of health, the GAD approach helped to widen the perspective on development, as health issues became included as integral to a country's development. Locating the issues within the gender framework was seen as a way of finding answers as to why gender inequality and inequity exists. The adoption of the word “gender” which replaced “women” is seen as a step forward in gender mainstreaming. Moser and Moser (2005, p. 11) in their paper reviewing the success and limitations of gender mainstreaming since Beijing have evaluated the progress on gender mainstreaming in three stages: • adopting the terminology of gender equality and gender mainstreaming; • putting gender mainstreaming policies into place; and, • implementing gender mainstreaming. These stages will be assessed in this chapter in an effort to map the various components of gender mainstreaming policy in health specifically in the contexts of Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The ‘buy-in’ to the idea that tackling gender inequality is critical to development led governments across the world to accept gender mainstreaming as a strategy to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women. International organizations, donors, United Nations (UN) agencies and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) have assisted many countries with financial and technical assistance and capacity building to facilitate structural changes. Gender specialists and gender focal points were “located within a centralized team, as well as ‘embedded’ in decentralized departmental and regional offices” (Moser and Moser 2005, p. 14). Manuals, toolkits and checklists were also developed. Given the range of initiatives to ensure gender mainstreaming, one would have imagined that the literature would be rich with success stories and best practices.

Research extension initiatives are central to the mandate of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines, yet their contributions to women’s empowerment and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain underexamined. Existing literature emphasizes the importance of gender-responsive community programs but provides limited evidence on how gender mainstreaming mediates the link between extension projects and empowerment outcomes. Addressing this gap, this study investigates how SUC-led research extension initiatives drive women’s empowerment in Quezon Province, with gender mainstreaming as a mediating mechanism for advancing the SDG Agenda 2030. This study examines the role of SUC-led research extension initiatives as drivers of women’s empowerment, with gender mainstreaming analyzed as a mediating factor for advancing the SDG Agenda 2030. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining survey responses from 125 women beneficiaries with focus group discussions and key informant interviews involving SUC faculty coordinators, administrators, and community leaders. Findings reveal that extension initiatives significantly enhanced women’s empowerment by improving livelihood opportunities, leadership participation, and decision-making capacity. Importantly, projects that integrated gender-sensitive planning, training, and monitoring reported stronger empowerment outcomes than those where gender concerns were treated as secondary. Challenges included workload imbalances, limited institutional incentives, and fragmented sustainability reporting frameworks, which constrained the visibility of women faculty’s contributions. The study concludes that gender mainstreaming transforms extension initiatives into vehicles for equity and empowerment. By embedding gender-responsive strategies, SUCs can strengthen their dual role in advancing academic innovation and inclusive community development, offering a replicable model for achieving SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and related goals.

In this study, we identified factors influencing completion rates (graduation) of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We used hierarchical, logistic, and linear regression models to analyze the data and found significant predictor variable interactions across various underrepresented versus well-represented student groups. We asked six research questions, three involving two- and three-way interactions between STEM completion, underrepresented groups, and predictor variables and three involving two- and three-way interactions among time spent for graduation, predictor variables, and underrepresented groups. We found that female STEM students completed their degree in significantly less time than their male counterparts ( p < .001) and that for every 1 point increase in second-year grade point average, length of time to complete the bachelor’s degree decreased by 1.68 years. These and other findings can be used by institutions to help focus retention intervention efforts on those critical and significant predictors of STEM degree completion of underrepresented groups.

Since information on the actual market position of the Bachelor of Health Service Management (BHSM) program is not easily accessible, a study was commissioned to determine the dynamics of the demand and supply side. The sustainability of the BHSM may be a concern due to the low number of students enrolling in the program and the costs associated with the university’s delivery of the program, which includes qualified professors and learning resources. Thus, the study’s primary goal was to comprehend the factors that influence supply and demand for the BHSM program in Zimbabwe’s health sector to enhance the program’s quality and increase job prospects for BHSM graduates also know how the Africa University BHSM program curriculum review process is established, planned, and carried out. This evaluation research was directed by a mixed-method approach that included a desk review, in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and a quantitative skills assessment to produce evidence to support the results, analysis, and recommendations. The study recommended that the university should work towards striking a balance between commercial and clinical courses to meet the requirements of the government and private sector and to have curriculum reviews of the program on a more regular basis.

Women’s empowerment, land and donor-driven agricultural interventions in Eastern Zambia

As with other countries of the developing world, vocational and technical education and training is an important aspect of Nigeria’s educational and developmental objectives, however the conventional approach to education is hard pressed to meet this need. Consequently, the open and distance learning system had been introduced to train people in essentially theoretical fields and extended to the vocational and technical fields. The National Open University of Nigeria, the first single-mode open university in West Africa established a Centre Lifelong Learning and Workplace Training to offer proficiency certificate courses in vocational and technical areas. These courses are directed at improving the skills, competencies and abilities of participants for enhanced workplace effectiveness, and enable them to recognize and utilize investment opportunities around them for financial empowerment and personal development. This paper reports the outcome of a primary qualitative investigation of the application of distance learning approaches for teaching practical skills and competencies based courses of the Centre. Using structured interviews and focus group discussions with registered learners, instructional facilitators, student counsellors and prospective applicants to these programmes, the study examined the perception of the participants about the effectiveness of the training received for skills oriented programmes at the institution. Opinions of participants about the instructional delivery of the content and learner-friendliness of study materials were recorded. The discussions also focused on the availability, and effectiveness of contact sessions and multimedia course ware. The findings suggest that, in general, skills development through open and distance learning system is practicable, effective and useful. It was also found that whilst there are print materials issued for instructional delivery, the preference of the learners was for intensive face-to-face practical sessions as complements to print materials. Conclusively, it was proposed that the practical/face-to-face components of the courses should be anchored to some existing apprenticeship training institutions/ organizations in there areas. This will enable participants to learn as they work and also lower the cost of practicals borne by the institution.

The important role women play in water resources management has been recognized for a long time globally and in most societies, they are the ones primarily responsible for the management of household water supply and sanitation. In these societies, women also play the role of family care givers in terms of provision of food, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. Due to these roles, they depend directly on the availability of water resources and have therefore accumulated considerable knowledge on water in terms of location, quality and storage methods. Despite the significant roles that women play in water resources management, they face various challenges that hinder them from effectively participating in its management in various parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to examine the various socioeconomic factors inhibiting the participation of women in managing water in three Divisions of Kajiado County in Kenya. Semi structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct observations were used to collect data. The key factors found to affect the participation of women in water resources management were cultural practices, gender inequalities, lack of formal education, poor access to water sources and lack of decision making power and land ownership rights. It is recommended that concerted efforts be made to educate the local community, improve access to water sources through construction of multipurpose water projects and gender mainstreaming in water resources management in the County.

Mainstreaming gender equality: A comparative analysis on gender roles of the Awura Amba and the nearby community, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

This article examines the nature of shifting gender roles in Liberia's postconflict reconstruction process. Specifically, it investigates the ways in which political authority is gendered and the agency that women in politics employ to justify their participation as they attempt to reduce gender inequalities at the institutional level. I argue that the intervention of the international community has been instrumental in providing space and resources for gender mainstreaming, however in the absence of more in-depth intersectional analyses of gender dynamics, the unintended consequences of peacebuilding policies could hinder the sustainability of long-term peace. This article is based on a qualitative research country study conducted by the author in rural and urban Liberia following the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A discussion of key findings is exemplified with excerpts from key informant interviews and focus group discussions that seek to give voice to a cross-section of Liberians, so that they can contribute to the ongoing debate on gender mainstreaming in postconflict societies and bridge the gap between local and international discourses.

This paper examines the state of access to and use of SRH information services in four universities in Tanzania in the context of gender dynamics and relations. The study was conducted among student communities at the University of Dar es Salaam, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mzumbe University and Sokoine University ofAgriculture. The overall research design integrated both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The major methods of data collection were survey, focus group discussion and key informant interview. A final sample of 194 undergraduate students was selected conveniently with 51% males and 49% females. The key finding of this study was that gender does not influence SRH information access and use. The baseline conditions of SRH information and service provision in the four universities revealed the following. First, SRH information services were available but not adequate. Second, students could access a wide range of sources of SRH information but the actual use was concentrated and limited to only three major sources which were radio, television and friends. Specialized information sources such as health workers and brochures/leaflets were rarely used. Third, awareness of the availability of SRH services in the Universities was not wide spread among students and a significantly large percentage of students think that they cannot access SRH information in the universities and have a negative attitude towards the provision of SRH information services in the universities. Major factors that influenced access to and use of SRH information and services in the universities in Tanzania were diverse in nature. Despite the challenges, the findings have revealed that the following opportunities exist: extensive SRH knowledge among students, a reasonable degree of availability of SRH services, and an increasing demand for these services from students. Finally, the paper makes detailed recommendations on SRH service provision; gender mainstreaming in SRH service provision; family planning; IEC and BCC; marketing and promoting SRH services, etc.

Equity and implications of response strategies on gender relations: Identifying ways of mainstreaming gender into response strategies in Southeast Nigeria