This learning module is a part of the "I Know Gender" series developed by UN Women Training Center. It's available for everyone who is interested to know the implementation of the gender markers. Gender markers are a crucial tool in the accountability of financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment. Gender equality markers can help us identify where these investments are happening and where there are gaps.

This learning module is a part of the "I Know Gender" series developed by UN Women Training Center. It's available for everyone who is interested to know the implementation of the gender markers. This module provides background information on gender equality coding and provides practice on coding specific initiatives. The module only draws on documentation from entities that have gender equality markers that are consistent with the UNDG guidance. The purpose is to provide additional information on gender equality marker definitions or codes and provide opportunities to practice coding specific initiatives.

This brief seeks to explain the status of the implementation of the Gender Equality Marker (GEM) in the UN system (at the entity level, UN Country Team level, and in the inter-agency pooled funds level).

In 2021, UN Women supported the UNSDG Fiduciary Management and Oversight Group (FMOG) Working Group in launching the first survey to all MPTFs’ Administrative Agents. This survey received responces from a total of 115 UN inter-agency pooled funds, equivalent to 70% of the estimated 164 active UN inter-agency pooled funds during the period 2020-2021. Of the total of complete responses received, 49 (or 43%) were from MPTFs and 66 (or 57%) were from standalone Joint Programmes (JPs). 

This document complements and expands on the UNSDG’s Gender Equality Marker Guidance Note (2013). 

Together with the Guidance Note on Coding Definitions for Gender Equality Markers (2018), this supplementary guide aims to support UN entities in applying their Gender Equality Markers (GEMs) in an optimal manner. It seeks to encourage inter-agency knowledge sharing and is being developed by the UN-SWAP Gender Marker Working Group of the Finance and Budget Network (FBN), which is chaired by UN Women.

This document complements and expands on the UNSDG’s Gender Equality Marker Guidance Note (2013). 

Together with the Guidance Note on Quality Assurance of Gender Equality Markers (2018), this supplementary guide aims to support UN entities in applying their Gender Equality Markers (GEMs) in an optimal manner. This note elaborates on two Standards that have been the focus of discussion in the last three years: the ‘unit of analysis’ and ‘coding definitions,’ as well as discussing how the coding experience can assist in contributing to gender sensitive programme design. 

This guidance note sets out common principles to ensure that UN gender marker systems are comparable and sets standards for gender equality marker systems that track and report on allocations and expenditures for gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment. It will guide the development of an effective and coherent approach for tracking resources that support gender equality results with agreed upon parameters and standards inside the UN system. This will allow for UN system-wide reporting2 with regard to funds contributing to promoting gender equality. This guidance note is intended to provide direction for individual entities instituting or improving their gender equality marker systems.

The brief highlights UN Women’s research on disability inclusion markers alongside insights from a wide range of development partners.

The latest UN system-wide achievements on gender equality and empowerment of women, collected via the 2022 UN-SWAP reporting. A total of 41 useful data points on the number and name of entities per detailed achievements, across 17 business functional indicator areas. 

This is a presentation on the GEM and financial targets in the UN System as part of the ITC-ILO Course  “Gender Responsive Budgeting within Organizations”, made by UN Women in December 2022. The aim of the presentation was to inform participants about the use of the GEM and financial targets as UN tools for ensuring gender equality and the empowerment of women at entity and country levels and at pooled funds. 

UN-SWAP 2.0 Technical guidance that guides reporting and is updated with references and good practices annually.

The ILO Guidance on the use of the gender marker explains the requirements for each GEM score and provide examples to ensure the correct application of the gender maker.

Demonstrates, among other points, how the GTG in Vietnam supported the application of the UNCT GEM.

Good practice on implementing UNCT Gender Marker and financial tracking in Kyrgyzstan

In 2022 the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) conducted the Fiduciary Management and Oversight Group (FMOG) Survey on the Funding Compact Commitment 14 targeting inter-agency pooled funds. This commitment is composed of 12 features (well-articulated strategy, clear theories of change, etc.) that are an integral part of each inter-agency pooled fund and that seek the use of pooled funds in an efficient and effective manner in order to galvanize collective action towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The survey includes gender-related questions covering issues such as the use of the gender equality marker (GEM), the establishment of the minimum 15 per cent allocation to programmes with gender equality as their main objective or other financial targets. This publication highlights the main findings of the FMOG survey concerning gender-related issues in Multi-Partner Trust Funds (MPTFs) and Joint Programmes (JPs).

This guidance support UNCTs in the application of the GEM within UN INFO and the UNSDCF. The UNCT GEM tracks the resources allocated collectively by the UN system under the UNSDCF cycle, making clear the level of commitment and the degree of resources allocated by the UNCT in support of national GEWE priorities.

An short brief and illustration on applying Gender Equality Marker in UNFPA

The Gender Equality Marker (GEM) is used by UNICEF to calculate the gender expenditure as part of the accountability to the Executive Board under Strategic Plan and Gender Action Plan. The target of 15% expenditure on gender is established in compliance the UN Systems Wide Action Plan on gender (UN-SWAP). The GEM at the output level and the Specific Intervention Code (SIC) at the activity level are the two main parameters used in calculating gender expenditure in UNICEF.

This Guidance Note provides an overview of the gender equality marker and its application for the COVID-19 MPTF. It offers a checklist of minimum criteria, as well as tips and good practice examples to support gender mainstreaming throughout proposals and ensure applicant UN organizations
accurately apply gender equality marker codes in their submission.

UNIDO’s project and programme approval function requires all projects and programmes to assess their envisaged contribution to gender equality and the empowerment of women as a precondition to approval for implementation. This is done based on the criteria of the UNIDO Gender Marker as indicated in the UNIDO Gender Compliance and Marker Form. Within its four-level scale of assessment (see table below), UNIDO Gender Markers 2A and 2B are the desired good practice as per the 2020-2023 Gender Strategy.