Advice from the pros: 5 tips for succeeding as a gender specialist

Gender specialists are increasingly in demand across multiple sectors within global development, from agriculture to water and sanitation, to climate change, and health. There is no typical day for a gender specialist, and work often depends on the sector and the stage of a program. But for most, the job typically combines office and field work looking at how development challenges impact women and men differently and factoring these differences into programmatic planning and implementation. Patience Nambo is an independent gender specialist with experience working with organizations including GIZ Côte d’Ivoire, World Cocoa Foundation, VSO Cameroon, International Trade Centre, and others across Europe and West Africa. Devex spoke with Nambo about working as a gender specialist to hear about her experience and advice she has for others in this role. If you are working in gender or aspire a career in this area, here are her five tips for success. 1. Keep up with technology Today, technology is becoming increasingly important both as part of the job role, but also in the projects implemented on the ground. Nambo advises that gender specialists — specifically those involved in monitoring and evaluation — “definitely need knowledge of certain technologies that are involved in research.” She recommends S.P.S.S. or Stata as two commonly used data analytics tools. If you have good knowledge of these programs, be sure to highlight that in your resume, as recruiters often look for them. “If you want to work on value chains, you need to start thinking about skills in water and sanitation… If you want to work in agriculture, you need to start building your skills in climate change, because of the interconnectivity that exists in these areas.” --— Additionally, using technology in the field — to empower women and implement programs — is growing. For instance, mobile technologies that provide “access to finance for women … to bridge the gap that women have in terms of accessing financial products or products in conventional markets” is particularly key in achieving financial inclusion for women in agricultural or small-scale businesses. Gender-based Analysis Plus is another tool that Nambo recommends for gender specialists, which was produced by Global Affairs Canada. It’s an analytical tool that assesses how people with different demographics could experience policies, programs, and initiatives. 2. Narrowing the gap between headquarters and the field One of the toughest challenges gender specialists face is the gap in understanding between stakeholders at the headquarters and those in the field. Sometimes headquarter staff “can set up expectations that the people in the field feel is unrealistic.” Nambo advocates the most effective way to tackle this is to encourage staff from the headquarters to visit projects, so they can see the issues first-hand. It builds mutual understanding between stakeholders, and an opportunity to manage and coordinate expectations. As well as providing headquarter staff with “a sense of what the reality is,” it is equally beneficial for field staff to understand their pressures and “deal with [headquarters’ emails] much more patiently than we would have done before.” Of course, visits to the field are not always possible. In these cases, communication skills become even more pivotal. Communication can be made clearer and more effective through visualization. 3. Develop your visualization and communication skills Nambo noted how gender specialists are increasingly required to provide “less writing with more information” — or, “to say more in fewer words.” Communicating with actors across various levels is a crucial part of the role. She explains you’re continuously reporting to “donors, to governments, to your management, to your clients in the field, to the farmers,” and “the communication needs are completely different, for the same information.” Visually presenting findings is an excellent way to communicate with all stakeholders, without having to keep adapting and re-writing information to suit different requirements. Nambo stressed how “any presentation technology or visualization is so important. Especially with audiences away from the field.” One tool she recommended was Slidedocs, which are interactive presentation slides that stakeholders can reference, even after the presentation. There are plenty of other data visualization tools too, such as Tableau, and training courses available such as those available on Udemy online, or in-person ones, such as the Guardian’s one-day workshop. Additionally, Nambo noted that “in most of the projects we do, we use results-based management,” therefore any results-based management training or experience is particularly useful for reporting. 4. Utilize impact investment strategies There is a growing trend of “gender-impact blended financing,” which addresses funding issues for female entrepreneurs. Increasingly, accountability is measured by investors so women are required to have a “solid business plan that they can pitch to equity investors,” Nambo explains. This gives greater responsibility to the business owner and increases the likelihood of success. Impact investment is critical in unlocking opportunity for female business owners, Nambo expressed. Read: Explainer: Impact investing and international development 5. Prepare for the future Nambo is confident that “in 10 years from now, I still feel that there is going to be a very strong need for gender specialists.” But she foresees significantly less international demand and travel for gender specialists, and instead an increase in local NGO capacity. Additionally, gender specialists’ work is “becoming more and more holistic.” She advises gender specialists to become more knowledgeable on a range of sectors, rather than specializing in just one. “If you want to work on value chains, you need to start thinking about skills in water and sanitation… If you want to work in agriculture, you need to start building your skills in climate change, because of the interconnectivity that exists in these areas.” Together, being situated locally where there is a demand for gender specialists and increasing your cross-sector skills and knowledge will equip you with the brightest prospects for future employment. If you are interested in working as a gender specialist in global development, see current related job opportunities on Devex here. Advice from the pros is a new Devex series highlighting experienced professionals working across the global development sector and their advice for succeeding in this field.