Gender Analysis Matrix Handout   Page 1 of 5

Gender Analysis Matrix

One way to analyze the impacts of a potential activity or project is the Gender Analysis Matrix (GAM). The steps

below outline how you might work with your community to analyze ideas for projects that they suggest.

1.

Show a large diagram of the chart on a blackboard or the flipchart. Together go through the definitions

of the categories. (For a specific project, you may wish to change the categories. For example, you may

wish to add age groups, ethnic groups, or others within the community who might be affected differently.)

2.

For the activity or project your community or group is considering doing, list entries in each section,

both positive and negative. For example, a particular project may require the labor of women for certain

tasks and the labor of men (or boys or girls) for others. List the individual tasks in the boxes. Time daily,

during the entire year, or certain seasons may be required of different groups of people as well. Continue

working across and down the chart until all the effects of the project that can be anticipated are identified.

3.

Then return to each item and determine if it will have a negative or positive effect, or potentially both,

or unknown. If positive (or opportunity), place a  +  before it; if negative (or constraint), place a    

before it. Leave blank if unknown. This discussion could be very lively as some effects may be viewed

as positive by some people and negative by others. The important point is the process of discussing the

effects, and different people's perceptions of them. Add the symbols ( +  or    ) as the participants

come to agreement about them.

4.

Once the chart has been completed, look back over the entirety. Consider the following types of questions

to analyze the potential activity:

a. What labor and time requirements did we discover that had not been anticipated? Are they realistic?

Are they season dependent? Are there any tasks that the community cannot provide?

b. Are the resources we need available in the community? Will we be able to use them? Is this project a

good use of our resources? If we need to go outside of the community, how will we be able to acquire

resources?

c. Do we anticipate any cultural changes? How will these changes be viewed by women? men? elders?

d. Have we identified any aspects of this project that indicate that we need to educate others in our

community about the benefits so they will support it? How can we do this?

e. Has this analysis indicated that perhaps this project is not appropriate or one we are not able to

undertake at present? If so, can we modify it to make it more acceptable? Or is there a better time

during the year to undertake this than the present?

When and how would you use something like the GAM? It could be useful at various times.

1.

As in the previous example, with the community, work through all the considerations on the GAM before

starting a project. The visual idea of a matrix may be unfamiliar and confusing to some community

members. The form is not the important part: it is discussing the content of the matrix that is critical.

Drawings could replace the words. Items could be placed on the ground instead of using paper and pen

or blackboard and chalk.

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