Towards Gender Transformative Livelihoods: Strategies for Convergence

A National Stakeholder Consultation titled ‘Towards Gender Transformative Rural Livelihoods: Strategies for Convergence’ was organized by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, in collaboration with UN Women, on 3 and 4 November, 2015. The consultation sought to apply a gender lens to the design, implementation and monitoring of rural development policies and programmes. The Consultation was a platform to showcase good practices surrounding women’s economic rights, their voice and agency and ending gender based violence in strategies for sustainable rural livelihoods. The technical sessions focused on opportunities for rural women’s access to and control over resources; priorities for women’s security in approaches to sustainable rural livelihoods; strategies for strengthening women’s institutions; and convergence for gender transformative rural livelihoods. Over 200 delegates comprising rural women and their coalitions, representatives of Union and state governments, civil society organisations and academicians participated in the two-day meet. Key outcomes included the adoption of recommendations for institutional strengthening of gender within MoRD, in the form of technical capacity development, gender-responsive data and statistics, time-bound Gender Action Plans, and accountability in policy, programme and budgets.