Women Empowerment & Social Rehabilitation
Women empowerment is a cross-cutting intervention, which ECC-SDCO Soddo follows in all the livelihood and other social rehabilitation projects and programs. Currently, the office has over 154 groups of women and young girls in all the coordination office areas. They are mainly organized into Self help groups (SHGs) and a few cooperatives.
SHG-Dawro
Gender Empowerment Progress Report
Coherence Project | ECC-SDCO/S | March 2025
The Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Office of Soddo (ECC-SDCO/S) implements inclusive socio-economic development programs across various sectors—health, education, WASH, livelihood, and gender equity—ensuring No One is Left Behind (LNOB).
Gender Mainstreaming and Community Engagement Summary
(Coherence Project – March 2025)
Gender Mainstreaming Activities (Quarter Overview)
The Coherence Project prioritized the integration of gender equality across all phases of project implementation. The key objectives included:
- Ensuring gender is embedded in all project cycles
- Building the capacity of staff, stakeholders, and communities
- Equipping gender agents with tools to promote equity
- Supporting gender-responsive resource management and conflict prevention
Gender Integration in Project Implementation
- Gender officer assigned to ensure equitable implementation
- Women prioritized in beneficiary selection and training
- Inclusive Beneficiary Selection Committees established with women’s participation
- Project logistics adapted to women’s needs (e.g., daylight hours, nearby venues)
- Use of sex-disaggregated data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation
Rapid Gender Context Analysis
A gender context analysis was conducted to understand gender dynamics in project areas. Key methods and outcomes:
- Consulted secondary and primary data (e.g., gov’t reports, FGDs, and interviews)
- Used “Gender Roles & Responsibilities Timeline Tool” to assess division of labor and decision-making
- Identified critical disparities in access to resources, income generation, political participation, and GBV
- Formulated a Gender Action Plan based on findings
- Launched Household Transformative Method (HTM) dialogues to address identified issues progressively
Household-Level Gender Dialogue Sessions (HTM)
The project conducted 72 Community Dialogue Sessions in 18 villages using the HTM approach, reaching 90 households (82 male-headed and 8 female-headed). Key efforts included:
- Training 90 Gender Empowerment Agents from two kebeles
- Focused on gender roles, GBV, and household-level decision-making
- Addressed key gap: gender division of labor
- Notable improvement: increased male participation in domestic roles such as cooking, cleaning, child care
To empower women economically, the following training programs were conducted:
- SILC Leadership Training for 72 groups (23 women leaders trained) in savings, bookkeeping, and complaints handling
- Basic Business Skills (BBS) training for 252 women to create and implement business plans
- HABP Technical Training in livestock and fattening for 120 participants (72 women)
Targeting Gender Gaps in Livelihood Assets
In the project area, men predominantly control financial assets and income-generating tools, while women often lack ownership and access. To address this imbalance:
The project prioritized Female-Headed (FHH) and Low-Income Households (LHH)—252 out of 400 HABP beneficiaries (63%) were FHHs.
Women actively participate in SILC groups, saving 10–15 ETB weekly.
- A total of 209,396.25 ETB was saved by 252 women out of the total 332,375 ETB saved by all HHs.
- All women were linked to Metemamen Microfinance Institute (MMFI) for secure savings.
- Each woman beneficiary received a fixed subsidy of 10,000 ETB to support their business plans.
Business Plan Financing and Sustainability
The project covered 20–25% of the startup cost for businesses.
Women were encouraged to finance the rest through savings or linkages with microfinance institutions like RUSACOs.
Tangible Outcomes and Long-Term Impact
Women who participated in the program:
- Built diversified income streams (livestock, dairy, off-farm businesses)
- Gained asset ownership, reducing their vulnerability to shocks and forced asset sales
- Strengthened self-confidence, voice, and social status, improving household decision-making and reducing exposure to GBV
- Benefited from collective action and peer support through SILC and other community groups
Tangible Outcomes and Long-Term Impact
Women who participated in the program:
- Built diversified income streams (livestock, dairy, off-farm businesses)
- Gained asset ownership, reducing their vulnerability to shocks and forced asset sales
- Strengthened self-confidence, voice, and social status, improving household decision-making and reducing exposure to GBV
- Benefited from collective action and peer support through SILC and other community groups
Tangible Outcomes and Long-Term Impact
Women who participated in the program:
- Built diversified income streams (livestock, dairy, off-farm businesses)
- Gained asset ownership, reducing their vulnerability to shocks and forced asset sales
- Strengthened self-confidence, voice, and social status, improving household decision-making and reducing exposure to GBV
- Benefited from collective action and peer support through SILC and other community groups