The Gender-Leads Forum: Coordinating Gender-Support Work Within EWAS
Introduction
The Gender-Leads Forum serves as a coordination mechanism within the Energizing Women and Youth in Agri-food Systems (EWAS) programme. It brings together implementing partners to align approaches, share learning, and ensure gender-support efforts are structured, ethical, and context-responsive.
Rather than functioning as a decision-making body or standalone initiative, the Forum supports coherence across implementation by strengthening coordination and shared standards.
Why the Forum Exists
Gender-support work within EWAS spans diverse contexts, partners, and delivery models. The Forum exists to ensure that this work is not fragmented, duplicated, or inconsistently applied.
Through structured dialogue and shared reflection, the Forum helps partners navigate common challenges, align expectations, and maintain clarity on how gender-support principles are interpreted in practice
What the Forum Does (and Does Not Do)
The Gender-Leads Forum focuses on coordination rather than oversight.
It supports:
• Shared understanding of gender-support approaches
• Alignment on ethical standards and safeguarding
• Exchange of practical insights across partners
It does not:
• Replace partner-led implementation
• Introduce new reporting requirements
• Serve as a governance or approval body
How Coordination Strengthens Sustainability
By investing in coordination, EWAS reinforces long-term consistency across activities while respecting partner autonomy.
This approach recognises that sustainable gender-support outcomes depend not only on individual interventions, but on how those interventions relate to one another within a broader system.
How Coordination Strengthens Sustainability
As EWAS progresses, the Gender-Leads Forum will continue to serve as a space for alignment, reflection, and shared learning, supporting responsible and context-aware delivery across the programme.
