Mary Faith Mount-Cors and Svetlana Negroustoueva presented on feminist and gender lens(es) in international evaluation at Evaluation 2014 in Denver, Colorado in October 2014. They considered how incorporating gender considerations and various feminisms in evaluation work can inform all the steps in the project cycle going forward.

In one example, they demonstrated how building a cultural model for evaluation of child literacy programs in developing country settings, such as USAID’s Early Grade Reading Assessment, brings a focus on the role of the mother, critical aspects of African feminisms, and overlaps and contradictions with Western feminisms.

Additionally, integrating gender considerations at the project onset and throughout the project cycle – as is required and advised broadly by donors and contracting organizations – necessarily builds the case for incorporating a feminist lens in evaluation.

This presentation brought to light culturally responsive evaluation practices by identifying how feminist theory and insight ensure a more effective and humane framework for evaluation. These results then contribute critically to decision-making processes, program improvement moving forward, and policy formation. It also necessarily requires deeper participation in the contexts of evaluation and within the communities being studied.

With these sensibilities in place, under-represented groups may be heard and develop skills as evaluators in the process. This inclusiveness and this diversity are essential for truly incorporating a range of thought and approaches.