Session Theme: Number vs. Quality of Participation – Mapping Progress and Barriers to Gender Transformative Actions
Date: 26 May 2025
Format: Virtual Panel Discussion
IFSD proudly launched the Gender Transformative Action Lab (GTAL) — a new initiative designed to foster critical reflection, share grounded strategies, and promote practice-based evidence for advancing meaningful gender-transformative change.
GTAL brings together practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders to engage in critical, practice-informed dialogue on persistent gender challenges. Each session will explore a specific gender-related challenge, fostering inclusive discussions grounded in real-world experience.
The launch was marked by GTAL’s inaugural session, which explored a timely and critical theme: Number vs. Quality of Participation – Mapping Progress and Barriers to Gender Transformative Actions.
The session was chaired by Dr Basundhara Bhattarai, and the panel discussion was moderated by Dr Hemant Ojha. It featured insightful contributions from:
- Hon Ruth Cross Kwansing, Minister of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs, Kiribati
- Dr Radha Wagle, Biodiversity and Climate Adaptation Specialist, Glen Eira City Council, Australia
- Dr Ho Thi Phuong, Lecturer, Vinh University, Vietnam
Drawing on their experiences from diverse policy and practice contexts, the panelists reflected on barriers to transformative change, the limitations of numerical representation, and the strategies needed to drive meaningful gender inclusion in leadership and decision-making.
This inaugural session laid a strong foundation for future GTAL engagements, which will continue to bring forward voices, evidence, and experiences to shape the path toward gender-transformative leadership and action.