Partnering for Parity: Strengthening Collaborations for Gender Equality

This article acknowledges that individual efforts towards gender equality are driving progress but highlights the multiplier effect that cross-sector partnerships could have in accelerating progress even further. The article discusses common pitfalls in partnerships and provides recommendations to address them in order to ensure sustained, long-term impact.

• Drive commitment from the top to ensure that the partnership has the resources and momentum needed to make progress.
• Keep it simple – have a single, measurable goal to enable progress monitoring and avoid changes in scope. Establish a clear, simple mission for the partnership, and ensure that the goal is quantified, time-bound, and specific.
• Establish a clear value proposition for all members. A compelling rationale is required to get partners involved and maintain engagement. Establish what value each partner is likely to derive from being involved in a particular role.
• Find and deploy the unique strengths of each partner. Partners do not need to contribute identically – nor should they. When partners come from different sectors (government, non-profit, for-profit sectors, and so on), or from different industries, identifying opportunities to combine their unique skills requires careful planning and design of initiatives.
• Clearly define the operating model for the partnership. Ideally, there should be a small group of people at one or more of the partner organizations, or a formalized “secretariat” that dedicates their time to managing and mobilizing activities.
• Conduct rigorous monitoring and evaluation to determine which interventions are working. When different parties are involved, careful upfront planning to align on a clear measurement framework is essential to success.