Project profile — Blueprints for Gender Equality

This project aims to foster more open, inclusive, and gender-responsive governance in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The initiative deploys a team of gender equality and social inclusion experts to strengthen the capacity of public institutions to address pressing gender equality issues faced by women, girls and marginalized groups in these four Eastern Caribbean countries. It assists them to design, deliver and budget for public programs and services that better serve their needs. Blueprints for Gender Equality also works with governments to build a culture of citizen engagement with governments and the people they serve, with a focus on connecting with the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls. Project activities include: (1) delivering technical assistance to public institutions to design and deliver more gender-responsive public policies, programs, and services; (2) designing mechanisms to ensure public institutions are more open and transparent to women, girls and women’s rights organizations, including accountability exercises, institutional fairs and communication campaigns; and (3) organizing regional meetings with representatives from public institutions, the Caribbean Community and women’s rights organizations to share good practices and lessons learned on how to address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by women and girls.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced gender-responsive public policies, strategies and practices to address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity in targeted Caribbean countries; (2) increased effective delivery of gender-responsive public programs and services that address the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity in targeted Caribbean countries; and (3) improved collaboration and dialogue across public institutions in targeted Caribbean countries on the most pressing gender equality issues faced by the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls in all their diversity.

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: (1) supported 1,030 vulnerable women and girls to participate in dialogue, skills building and learning through community engagement mechanisms. This includes 36 in Dominica, 201 in Grenada, 34 in St Lucia, and 759 in Vincent and the Grenadines; (2) trained 321 government staff in gender-responsive results-based management; and (3) deployed 10 short-term gender-equality and social inclusion expert volunteers to support Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the 4 Eastern Caribbean countries.