We acknowledge the immensely valuable online glossary that is available on: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/glossary/index.htm. Some key terms have been extracted for the offline readers of i4d magazine. For more terminologies, please use the links given in the box at the end of this section and surf along. i4d’s friend, Cheekay Cinco cheekay@apcwomen.org, who has been our link to the APC Women team, has provided conceptual clarity to the editorial team members. We hope you all benefit too.

Empowerment
The idea of power is at the root of the term empowerment. Power must be understood as working at different levels, including the institutional, the household and the individual. Empowerment is sometimes described as being about the ability to make choices, but it must also involve being able to shape what choices are on offer. Empowerment corresponds to women challenging existing power structures, which subordinate women. As such, what is seen as empowering in one context may not be in another Empowerment is not about reversing existing power hierarchies but rather about empowering women and/or women’s groups to make their own choices, to speak out on their own behalf and to control their own lives (Wieringa, 1994) http://www.awid.org/ywl/glossary/?term=Empowerment

Evaluation
A process by which a strategy, issue, or relationship is studied and assessed in-depth. (IDRC, Outcome Mapping) http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-28407-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Feminism
Feminism is a movement aimed at critiqueing and debunking patriarchal structures which promote male power and privilege. Its ideology is based on the principles of gender equality and social justice. It seeks to transform the world by mobilisation and resistance to women’s oppression and advancing alternative ideals of justice and anti-sexism. The women’s liberation movement, for example, was formed by women who adopted the idea that women were oppressed in the same way that colonised people were, therefore women needed to be freed from oppression, not just given equal rights.

Feminism also requires an understanding or recognition that rights of women should be equal to men. However, interpretations of what equality means differs across cultures, races, religions, ages, and genders. One of the challenges feminism faces are differences in feminist ideologies. Feminism is a multiple term and thus should be conceptualised as plural, in other words, Feminisms. http://www.awid.org/ywl/glossary/index.php?term=Feminism

Gender
The term gender refers to culturally based expectations of the roles and behaviours of men and women. The term distinguishes the socially constructed from the biologically determined aspects of being male and female. Sex identifies the biological difference between men and women. Gender identifies the social relations between men and women. It therefore refers not to men and women but to the relationship between them, and the way this is socially constructed. Gender relations are contextually specific and often change in response to altering circumstances. (Moser 1993:230, from Navigating Gender) http://global.finland.fi/julkaisut/taustat/nav_gender/; and http://global.finland.fi/julkaisut/taustat/nav_gender/; and http://www.ifad.org/gender/glossary.htm

Gender analysis
The systematic gathering and examination of information on gender differences and social relations in order to identify, understand and redress inequities based on gender. Gender analysis is a valuable descriptive and diagnostic tool for development planners and crucial to gender mainstreaming efforts. The methodology and components of gender analysis are shaped by how gender issues are understood in the institution concerned. There are a number of different approaches to gender analysis.Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports/re55.pdf

Gender awareness (Gender consciousness)
This is the ability to identify problems arising from gender inequality and discrimination, even if these are not very evident on the surface, or are ‘hidden’ - i.e. are not a part of the commonly accepted explanation of what and where the problem lies. http://members.tripod.com/anansiweb/genderissues.htm

Gender blindness
Gender-blindness refers to a failure to identify or acknowledge difference on the basis of gender where it is significant. It can be a person, policy, or an institution that does not recognise that gender is an essential determinant of the life choices available to us in society.(Parker 1993:74)

Gender budgets
A variety of processes and tools that attempt to assess the impact of government budgets, mainly at the national level, on different groups of men and women, through recognising the ways in which gender relations underpin society and the economy. Gender or women’s budget initiatives are not separate budgets for women. They include analysis of gender-targeted allocations, such as special programmes targeting women; they disaggregate by gender the impact of mainstream spending across all sectors and services; and they review equal opportunity policies and allocations within government services. Ames et al, cited in Maclean, H., et. al. (2004). Globalisation, gender and health: Research-to-policy interface. Unpublished manuscript. A working paper prepared for the African online discussion forum, “Globalisation, Gender & Health” (January 26-February 10, 2004). Sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Gender and Health. http://www.awid.org/ywl/glossary/index.php?term=Gender%20budgets

Gender disaggregated information
Information differentiated on the basis of what pertains to women and their roles, and to men and their roles.

Gender equality
Gender equality requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. Gender equality does not mean that men and women become the same, but that their opportunities and life chances are equal. The emphasis on gender equality and women’s empowerment does not presume a particular model of gender equality for all societies and cultures, but reflects a concern that women and men have equal opportunities to make choices about what gender equality means and work in partnership to achieve it. Because of current disparities, equal treatment of women and men is insufficient as a strategy for gender equality. Equal treatment in the context of inequalities can mean the perpetuation of disparities. Achieving gender equality will require changes in institutional practices and social relations through which disparities are reinforced and sustained. It also requires a strong voice for women in shaping their societies. DAC Definition (from http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cida_ind.nsf/08700c460e686 fbe9852569 3b00831f31?OpenDocument) Source: DAC (Development Assistance Committee) Guidelines for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Development Co-Operation, Development Co-operation Guidelines Series, OECD, 1998. Internet address: http://www.oecd.org

Gender equity
Gender equity means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities. In the development context, a gender equity goal often requires built-in measures to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages of women.

Gender gap
Gender gap is the observable (and often measurable) gap between women and men on some important socio-economic indicator (e.g. ownership of property, access to land, enrolment at school), which is seen to be unjust, and therefore presents the clear empirical evidence of the existence of a gender issue.

Gender mainstreaming