WOMEN AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Discover tools to improve community and user engagement and social license to operate by attending to the differing needs of men and women in the host community.
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TOOL SUITE 3
WHAT’S IN THE TOOL SUITE?
16 practical tools and guidance notes to help companies engage women and men in all aspects of project and community development initiatives.

Benefits of Women and Community Engagement
Engaging Women Improves Projects—and Entire Communities
Designing infrastructure projects to meet the needs of community members is nothing new, but having a measurable positive impact means making sure that both men and women are consulted and benefit from activities.

TOOL SUITE 3
HOW TO USE THIS TOOL SUITE
Different companies will face different challenges and opportunities. This tool suite includes a menu of tools to pick and choose from, based on organizational needs and priorities. Companies don’t need to use all the tools listed here, and can use them in the order that best fits.
How Does Gender Affect Operations in Local Communities?
These tools help companies understand how infrastructure projects impact local communities, as a first step for planning gender-inclusive community engagement strategies.

- Conduct company self-assessments to understand how well company community engagement activities and user engagement activities address gender dynamics.
- Develop a terms of reference to incorporate an independent gender expert into community engagement activities.
- Integrate gender concerns into baseline community assessments and social impact assessments.

How Can You Develop Gender-Sensitive Community Engagement Programs?
These tools help companies design, develop, or improve gender-sensitive community consultations, decision-making, benefit sharing, investment programs, and emergency planning and response.

- Ensure women’s equal participation in consultations for infrastructure projects and community initiatives.
- Include women in COVID-19 interventions and other emergency planning and response.
- Ensure women benefit from livelihood restoration programs.
- Include women in participatory monitoring and evaluation, as well as grievance mechanisms for project-affected communities.
- Minimize disproportionate harm to women in resettlement processes.
- Ensure community initiatives reflect the priorities of men and women.
- Create economic development and empowerment opportunities for women.
- Build women’s entrepreneurship communities.

How To Institutionalize Gender-Sensitive Community Engagement?
These tools offer ways to measure impact, improve practice, and ensure that women participate in transparency and accountability mechanisms.

- Measure and evaluate gender aspects of infrastructure projects and community initiatives.
- Use a community scorecard to gather community perspectives and empower women to drive change.

Fast Facts
GENDER INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Meaningfully engaging with both women and men in community engagement activities ensures that more stakeholders’ voices are heard, that community development initiatives respond to more representative community needs, and can help strengthen social license to operate.
77%
Women’s participation in consultations for a road project in Peru increased project efficiency, transparency, and quality. 77% of women traveled more frequently and 65% felt they traveled more safely.
Source: World Bank
3465
3,465 kilometers of non-motorized tracks were refurbished, connecting previously isolated communities to markets and services and increasing the economic rate of return of the project.
Source: World Bank
11%
Only 11% of enterprises in emerging markets that attain seed funding are women-led.
Source: IFC