Gender and Development Training

After a relaxing rest and recreation activity, Haribon Foundation for three consecutive days conducted a Gender and Development Training entitled: Exploring a Gender-Responsive and Rights-based Approach to Community-based Resource Management Projects.

The training was organized by the management of Haribon and was conducted by the UP Center for Women's Studies and the UP Center for Women's Studies Foundation, Inc.

The objective of the training is to make the employees "Gender Sensitive" be it on a personal level and/or professional level. Haribon's activity especially the site-based staff deals with communities with individuals with different personalities, preferences, etc.

After going through the training, I personally was more enlightened with "gender issues". Initially, my idea was so elementary but having to go throughout the training and the specifics of it, gender topic in general is not so simple as is seems to be. It's actually an interesting topic either for discussion or for further studies. Though I must say, it's a complicated issue.

I may say, being gender sensitive can help a lot in dealing with people and in understanding them better, whether you are office based or site based, even on a personal level, gender sensitivity is a great deal. Likewise, being gender sensitive can help create harmony in a community or an organization.

As I've learned in the 3-day training, gender sensitivity must start from within the individual then it would be easy to transcend it to the people you deal with. As a second level management, I highly recommend undergoing the training whether you belong to an organization or not.

Being gender sensitive though doesn't mean that I'm a hard core feminist :)