Gender Mentoring: A Guide for Strengthening Equality in Communities (Advocacy Expert Series)

This guidebook forms part of the 6-part Advocacy Expert Series which was developed by the Tanzania Advocacy Partnership Programme (TAPP) programme, an advocacy capacity strengthening programme for Tanzanian civil society run by Pact Tanzania and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tanzania. The manual is intended to be a guide for strengthening gender equality in communities through increased gender awareness and the development of gender mentoring programmes. The first section outlines key gender concepts, explaining that gender is embedded in socio-cultural values, and looks at masculine and feminine behaviours, qualities, roles, and responsibilities. It argues that since gender roles are a social construct, they can also be changed.

The second part of the manual outlines the need for and steps to creating gender mentoring strategies. According to the publication, a gender mentor's role is to clarify gender concepts and provide specific skills needed for the integration of gender into organisations and programmes. The manual includes step-by-step procedures for gender mainstreaming exercises to be used by mentors, non-governmental organisations, as well as local government structures.