In December 2024, the Office of Evaluation of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) celebrated internal champions of gender-responsive evaluations with a special accolade, now in its third year.
The Gender Responsive Evaluation Excellence Award upholds WFP pledge to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and further strengthens WFP Office of Evaluation’s commitment to integrating gender dimensions into WFP evaluations.
The award serves as a platform to acknowledge and disseminate good practices in gender-responsive evaluation across WFP, fostering continued progress and learning.
Out of 21 decentralized WFP evaluations completed in 2023, three evaluations stood out for integrating gender dimensions into the evaluation process – asking the right questions, using inclusive methods and approaches – and delivering evidence responsive to gender equality outcomes.
The proud winners of the 2024 Evaluation Excellence Award for Gender Responsive Evaluation were WFP country offices in Cambodia, Guatemala, and Mozambique.
The award is more than a cap in the feather; it’s a call to action. Timed with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November to 10 December, it’s a reminder of WFP’s commitment to collecting and assessing evidence that supports improving performance in gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“The award underscores the WFP Office of Evaluation’s commitment to continuous improvement in integrating gender, human rights and equity dimensions into WFP evaluations,” said Anne-Claire Luzot, WFP’s Director of Evaluation.
Brenda Behan, Director of the Gender Equality Office, echoed this: “The Gender Responsive Evaluation Excellence Award supports WFP’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, enabling us to learn about effective approaches to improving both food security and gender equality, in light of the strong linkages between the two.”
The winners of the 2024 Award were:
The WFP Cambodia Country Office for the Endline Evaluation of USDA McGovern Dole funded WFP School Feeding Programme in Cambodia, 2019-2023
Why it stood out: it emphasizes the barriers faced by women and girls and includes well-defined recommendations on gender-sensitive enhancements of school feeding initiatives.
The WFP Guatemala Country Office for the Evaluación conjunta de la entrega de Alimento Complementario Fortificado en Guatemala
Why it stood out: it examined unequal power dynamics and gender roles between women and men and explored how men’s behaviours also affect the wellbeing of women.
The WFP Mozambique Country Office for the Evaluation of Mozambique Gender Transformative and Nutrition Sensitive (GTNS) Project (2019 to 2023)
Why it stood out: it adopted a participatory, mixed methods approach, capturing diverse perspectives effectively.
The independent panel of experts highlighted how these evaluations tackled key questions such as: How do men, women, boys, and girls experience WFP programmes differently, and what are the unintended outcomes, both positive and negative?