In 2022, ActionLab for Development (ActLab) began an important process of reflecting on how gender affects the people it works with and within its own organization. With support from the ASA Program, Isabell Bieber and Ina Jung joined ActLab for three months to help explore these questions and build the foundation for a stronger gender focus in its work.
The project centered on a clear goal: understanding how gender influences people’s access to education, employment, and participation in their communities. Isabell and Ina conducted interviews with 25 individuals connected to ActLab. The conversations covered a wide range of experiences, from the impact of traditional gender roles at home to structural barriers in the job market.
But the work was not just about gathering information. It was also about creating space for honest conversations. Many participants shared how expectations around gender had shaped their lives in deeply personal ways. Some spoke about feeling limited in their choices. Others described the pressure to take on care responsibilities or stay out of formal work. These stories brought into focus the ways gender inequality continues to affect everyday life.
The team also looked at how gender connects with other parts of people’s identities. Age, social class, disability, and other factors often overlap with gender and can increase inequality. This intersectional perspective was essential to understanding the full picture and helped highlight the importance of tailored, context-specific approaches to inclusion.
Another goal of the project was to introduce gender mainstreaming to ActLab’s internal structures. This means considering gender at every level of decision making, from how projects are designed to how success is measured. The interviews provided valuable insights and baseline data that ActLab can now use in future planning, fundraising, and program development.
The findings were organized into four core themes:
Education and work
Family life
Gender traditions
Intersectional issues
While the project lasted only three months, it marked an important starting point. The report that came out of this process is still being used as a reference, and the conversations it sparked have helped ActLab begin building a more inclusive approach to its work.
Gender inequality is not just about laws or policies. It affects who gets access to resources, whose work is valued, and whose voices are heard. These issues are not the same for everyone. They change depending on someone’s background, status, or circumstances. What this project showed is that addressing inequality means more than making statements. It requires listening, reflection, and a commitment to ongoing change.
Gender Project ASA-2022 Report