ECHAGUE, ISABELA – Officials from Isabela State University (ISU) Cauayan Campus recently completed an intensive workshop aimed at strengthening gender and development initiatives. The event, titled “Gender Sensitivity Training, HGDG Basics, and GMEF Workshop,” was held from July 29 to 31, 2025, at the Climate Change R&D Support Facility Hall at ISU Echague.

The ISU Cauayan delegation included Dr. Arnold T. Pascua, GAD Focal Person, Dr. Donabel Dumelod, Ms. Miguelyn Salcedo, and Ms. Glenda Austria.

The training commenced with Ms. Lia Concepcion Villanueva establishing foundational concepts of gender and development. She clarified the distinction between sex and gender and provided an extensive discussion on key terms such as sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The second day was dedicated to gender analysis tools, with a specific focus on the use of the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines (HGDG) tools.

Ms. Haycel Vargas facilitated the latter part of the workshop, guiding participants through the introduction and application of the Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) tool during the concluding sessions of the second and third days. This framework was utilized to assess the performance of participating campuses, with a particular focus on the Policy and People Entry Points. The workshop concluded with campuses presenting their outputs, showcasing their current level of gender mainstreaming.

The initial GMEF assessment for ISU Cauayan Campus yielded an overall score of 58.42. This score reflects an “Installation of Strategic Mechanism” level of gender mainstreaming. The specific scores were broken down as follows: Policy (16.7), People (16.57), Enabling Mechanism (14.16), and Program, Activities, and Projects (10.99).

Dr. Marisa Valdez closed the activity by highlighting the critical importance of continuously evaluating and improving the integration of gender perspectives into institutional policies, programs, and systems.

By Arnold T. Pascua