Navigating Resistance to Gender Transformative Education in Emergencies: 10 Tips for Practitioners

When working on gender-transformative education in emergencies (EiE), you will likely meet with some resistance to gender concepts, policies, or programming strategies. Resistance to gender-transformative EiE often comes from people who directly or indirectly benefit from existing gender norms and power dynamics. Resistance can come from people of all genders and can take many forms, and typically stems from fear or anxiety around a perceived loss of power, privilege, or influence as a result of shifting gender norms. This brief highlights common types of resistance to gender equity programming and provides practical guidance for anticipating and responding to resistance to gender-transformative education in emergencies.

This brief was developed by the INEE Gender Working Group. Support for the brief was provided by Global Affairs Canada.