Gender Action Learning ‘System’ (GALS) adapts GEMs participatory visioning, planning and documentation methodologies to promote Gender Justice and empower women and men to change gender inequalities constraining their lives.
The Action Learning System brings together individual, family and community-level experiences of gender-based changes for a participatory community-led gender advocacy movement and institutional change.
gals distinctive features
What distinguishes GALS from many other gender transformation methodologies is that the process starts first from what women and also men themselves want from life. With dreams, visions and focus on the positive possibilities and opportunities.
The main priority is then action for change – from Day 1. Every tool and session move quickly from visions and analysis to identification of SMART actions – some small and some big. Champions then track these over time and share experiences and achievements in their communities.
Although the main focus is on promoting constructive communication between women and men, the ultimate aim is removal of all forms of gender discrimination and empowerment of women and men to realise their full human potential. In some cases this requires strategic negotiation of conflicts of interest in favour of women’s rights.
The underlying gender framework for GALS are women’s human rights based on the 1979 United Nations Convention on Elimination of ALL Forms of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW establishes that women have the same human rights as men. It is emphasised in GAMEChange processes because this international agreement has been signed by most governments and underpins national gender policies.
Experience with GALS has shown that these concrete human rights are key concerns of many women in all cultures. They are also easy for men to understand. They are achievable in ways that benefit men as part of a mutual empowerment process for a ‘happy family’.
Women’s Human Rights under CEDAW
- Right 1: freedom from violence
- Right 2: equality of property ownership
- Right 3: equality of decision-making
- Right 4: equality of work and leisure
- Right 5: freedom of thought and association
GALS Distinctive Features
Women are intelligent agents of development: Women are not mere ‘victims of subordination in need of consciousness-raising’ but intelligent actors who already have aspirations and strategies but need collective and organisational support to better realise these.
Men are allies in change: Men are not stereotypical monsters and problems, but potential partners in a process of change and pursuit of justice who also need support in order to go against established attitudes and patterns of behaviour to work for a better world.
Focus on action – from DAY 1! Every tool and every learning ‘event’ focuses on tangible actions for change which can be taken by individuals immediately, before waiting for other actions identified at group and institutional levels.
Start with the individual: The process first catalyses individual changes, giving people the skills to reflect on their personal situation as the basis then for collective reflection at group and/or community levels.
Respect difference: GALS starts by clarifying differences, and acknowledging the potential for conflict, before negotiating these into a consensus, or at least acceptance of the need to acknowledge and adapt to different interests.
Peer learning: Every learning event contributes to building capacities and systems for ongoing peer action learning as the basis for a sustainable process of change.
Integration in existing activities: The methodology is integrated into existing activities, rather than being a one-off exercise or extra activity.
Inclusion and prioritisation of the needs of the poorest and most disadvantaged.
Gender justice is non-negotiable: Gender justice and rights-based principles are non-negotiable and underlie the way in which process is facilitated, and the types of actions which are supported by development agencies.
Women’s empowerment diamond drawings from Pakistan
Men’s commitments to behaviour change
gals evolution and variants
GALS is not ‘one blueprint methodology’ or set of tools.
GALS is a philosophy of change based on underlying principles of social and gender justice, inclusion and mutual respect.
GALS develops new visions for relationships between women and men as equal human beings, analyses dimensions of gender inequality to develop and implement plans to change gender inequalities in resources and power.
Participatory Gender Mainstreaming
2000 onwards
GALS tools and principles originated as part of gender empowerment/mainstreaming trainings in micro-finance in Pakistan, Sudan, India and Latin America.
Then called ‘PALS’ the gender tools also formed part of participatory gender impact assessment with ANANDI in India and impact assessment toolkits for DFID’s EDIAIS programme.
GALS participatory tools looked at land rights, gender-based violence and developed MFI organisational gender policies.
Gender Action Learning System
2007 onwards
GALS consolidated these tools as a gender-focused action learning ‘system’ linking individual, household, community and macro-levels under Oxfam Novib’s Women’s Empowerment Mainstreaming and Networking (WEMAN) programme. Oxfam partner organisations implemented GALS in Africa, and also Asia and Latin America.
A particular focus was gender equitable value chains in Oxfam’s GENVAD programme. TWIN-UK and Hivos implemented GALS in Fair Trade and private sector producer co-operatives in East Africa and Latin America. Private sector companies like Nestle used GALS in to promote their ethical brand. SNV and TWIN-UK introduced GALS to initiate livelihood strengthening in their GYEM horticulture programme.
Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union, New Home in Uganda and Hivos partners in Tanzania Coffee Partnership actively introduced participatory structures of different types for ongoing gender action learning based on champion testimonies, including advocacy on women’s land.
GALS as Household Methodology
2009 onwards
GALS became the main Household Methodology for IFAD and UNWomen. This includes processes in Sierra Leone, and as part of the JP-RWEE programme in Kyrgyzstan and Nepal.
IFAD programmes in Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal have included linkage between GALS and multi-stakeholder engagement for gender advocacy.
some current directions
There are now very many organisations using a wide variety of adaptation of the original GALS tools. Sometimes these have been very powerful innovations. Others have led to some gender changes, but have often failed to grow and be sustainable and/or have diluted the original gender focus of GALS.
This GAMEChange website brings together and systematises global experiences as ‘GAMEChange Empowerment Methodologies (GEMs) to allow for different types of entry point, curriculum and process while retaining the original gender justice vision.
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Thinking with Picture Diagrams
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Facilitation for Transformation
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Everyone is a Leader (iLEAD)
GALS for Movement Building and Gender Advocacy
The original GALS vision was to develop informed and progressive structures at community level who could play an active part in organisational gender policies, gender advocacy and macro-level change. In order to counter dismissal of gender policies as mere fringe concerns of Westernised urban feminists. In the current global political context of religious and right-wing fundamentalism this need is as critical as it was decades ago.
GALS is now an advanced version of the GEMs tools, particularly CEDAW Trees and Diamonds as participatory frameworks for aggregating information from thousands of women and men on locally adapted CEDAW rights. Building on the types of participatory information systems developed in Bukonzo Joint.
‘Happy Family’ methodologies integrated as Equitable Wealth Creation
‘Happy Family’ Household Methodologies now integrate with equitable wealth creation processes in livelihoods, financial services, business and value chain development. Gender equality and ‘happy families’ are an essential part of any intervention claiming to be ‘development’ for men as well as women.
Drawing on insights from feminist economics and gender mainstreaming protocols ALL GEMs processes include interlinked strategies:
- Strategies to include women as participants
- Visions placing income earning and economic progress in the context of families and household wellbeing for both men and women
- Happy Family Tree and Action Trees to examine gender issues
- Vision Journey plans to include actions at family level.
ICT and social media for
On-line Learning technologies
Learning technologies are currently expanding at an accelerating rate:
- increasingly visual accessibility and AI translation of on-line information
- satellite connection roll out into very remote rural areas in an increasing number of countries
- renewable energy like solar, wind and water to power devices,
- wider availability of financial services.
- expanding use of Social Media even in remote, poor and conflict-ridden environments
This offers the possibility of web-based roll out of tools and information resources. These are not a substitute for the energy of face to face facilitation through exchange visits or workshops. But on-line can strengthen, support and complement these.
Direct communication from facilitators in one country to facilitators at village level in another is now possible. This was already piloted for a FALS@Scale process from UK to villages in Malawi using WhatsAp tuition sessions for community facilitators in villages and exchange of photos and video.