What is Gender Structural Change and How Can it Be Evaluated?

Beyond the Gender Equality Plans -GEP- monitoring and evaluation, this paper would like to deepen into the evaluation of gender+ structural change (G+SC) by theorising on the concept of G+SC to understand how it can and should be evaluated. For that, firstly, we will focus of what have been written, experience and implemented about the concept of G+SC through the so called “sister projects” (European Projects related to gender structural change financed by the 7th Framework Programme, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe), identifying the assumptions, principles and characteristics of what it is understood as “gender+ structural change”. Secondly, we will take stock about how these sisters’ projects have been evaluated so far, identifying the different evaluative responses in three related parts: 1) What project dimensions have been evaluated, that is, which have been the evaluation criteria, questions and indicators used, and Which have been the project and GEP phases evaluated - GEP design, GEP implementation, GEP monitoring & follow-up, structural change results-?; 2) How have they been evaluated, regarding both the methodological approaches used and how the evaluation has been organized?; and 3) What has been the role -formative or summative; learning or accountability- and the uses of the performed evaluation processes for influencing the project and the consortia? The aim of this paper is to come up with a holistic and flexible-adaptative G+SC evaluation Framework, considering “principles” of G+SC (for example, structural understanding of inequalities, inclusiveness, participation, a good combination of top management support and mandates with bottom-up approaches, the necessary adaptation to institutional contexts, etc.). The paper will not only elaborate on what should be evaluated, but also on the adequacy of diverse methodological approaches and organisational evaluative responses to promote useful evaluation results and evaluation use & influence. We aim at theoretically contribute to what should or can be evaluated and the potential contributions the evaluation of G+SC can make to the improvement, accountability and enlightenment of future achievement in this area.