[CAPACITY & EXPERTISE]

How might we determine the gender competencies needed for different roles within sector teams to do GM effectively?

 

Why does this matter?

Sector practitioners rely on gender experts for support because they lack the gender knowledge or experience to do GM on their own, leaving gender experts spread thin as they try to support all of the teams. Gender experts on the other hand, lack the sector specific expertise needed to make gender work relevant to the sector practitioners which results in a loss of credibility.

If there is a standardized set of expertise and competencies that all development experts (sector and gender experts) have, it will be easier to recruit the right talent, assess skills gaps, and develop gender growth plans for all staff.

Who is this meant for?

A sector team leader is working together with the human resources team to assess the current gender capabilities of her team. They want to ensure that there is clarity around the gender competencies required for each role to enable the team to effectively do gender mainstreaming, without having to rely so heavily on the already stretched gender team.

WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING? (The prototype)

Design a gender capabilities framework and growth journey for sectoral teams that specifies different levels of expertise that people can progress through according to their role.

 
CONSTRAINTS TO DESIGN FOR

  • Should show a progression path that people are excited about and give clarity about expectations

  • Should feel tailored, non-generic where necessary

  • Should allow for standardization across organizations

  • Should help spot gaps in gender expertise

Inspiration.

CAPABILITY MATRICES - The six sigma certification offers six levels of expertise. Each level is represented by a specific color belt. Participants can choose what level they start at and what level of certification they need for their roles

CAPABILITY MATRICES - The six sigma certification offers six levels of expertise. Each level is represented by a specific color belt. Participants can choose what level they start at and what level of certification they need for their roles

LETTER SHAPED COMPETENCIES - Employees today can add value to their organizations as either specialists, generalists, or a combination of both, these letter shapes provide different archetypes of employee competencies required for different roles.

LETTER SHAPED COMPETENCIES - Employees today can add value to their organizations as either specialists, generalists, or a combination of both, these letter shapes provide different archetypes of employee competencies required for different roles.

IDENTIFYING PERSONAL STRENGTHS - The superpower cards provide some prompts that help ‘players’ to understand what superpowers they bring to their roles. It helps teams know how to use talent effectively, and how to combine skills to achieve their ult

IDENTIFYING PERSONAL STRENGTHS - The superpower cards provide some prompts that help ‘players’ to understand what superpowers they bring to their roles. It helps teams know how to use talent effectively, and how to combine skills to achieve their ultimate goals.

GAMIFIED ASSESSMENTS - Buzzfeed quizzes use analogous yet universal prompts to draw inferences about a person in another area of life. In this example participants are building a wardrobe to learn more about their personality.

GAMIFIED ASSESSMENTS - Buzzfeed quizzes use analogous yet universal prompts to draw inferences about a person in another area of life. In this example participants are building a wardrobe to learn more about their personality.

SPOTTING GAPS / DATA VISUALIZATION - Mona Chalabi is a data journalists that visualizes data in compelling ways that help users to more easily understand the information that she is communicating and serves as a call to action.

SPOTTING GAPS / DATA VISUALIZATION - Mona Chalabi is a data journalists that visualizes data in compelling ways that help users to more easily understand the information that she is communicating and serves as a call to action.

Getting started…

To make your prototype feel more tangible, select a specific sector to build a capabilities framework for.

 

Questions to get started

Consider these as you brainstorm ideas.

  • What are the must know, should know, nice to know concepts and skills at different levels in a sector team? Think about hard and soft skills.

  • How might we make it fun and desirable to learn about this topic?

  • How does someone assess their own knowledge and build a personalized learning plan?

  • How might the role of the central gender team shift from being an expert and advocate, to more of a coach and guide?

 

Your prototype might look like

Some initial ideas to get you going…

  • A game or quiz to determine current level of gender expertise/ambition

  • A gender mastery matrix 

  • A service blueprint for engaging the central gender team