| Session Title: Feminist Evaluation and Research: A Preview of Good Things to Come |
| Multipaper Session 723 to be held in Huntington A on Friday, Nov 4, 2:50 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Feminist Issues in Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Denise Seigart, Stevenson University, dseigart@stevenson.edu |
| Discussant(s): |
| Sharon Brisolara, Evaluation Solutions, sharon@evaluationsolutions.net |
| Denice Cassaro, Cornell University, dac11@cornell.edu |
| Donna Mertens, Gallaudet University, donna.mertens@gallaudet.edu |
| Divya Bheda, University of Oregon, dbheda@uoregon.edu |
| Abstract: One of the great challenges facing evaluators and researchers interested in feminist approaches is how to infuse feminist theory into their work in practical ways. Books on feminist research theory and the need for feminist research outweigh careful examinations of how to integrate theory and practice. Many questions regarding the application of feminist theory in evaluation contexts exist. Practical examples of the implementation of feminist evaluation are limited, and there is a great need for expanded discussion of these topics. A New Directions for Evaluation volume on Feminist Evaluation, published in 2002 (Seigart & Brisolara), opened conservations that began to address some of these concerns. A new book will soon be published which addresses these problems, and several of the authors and editors discuss this text and give a brief overview of their contributions in this session utilizing a Pecha Kucha format. |
| Cultural Competence and Gender Justice: Assumptions, Reality and Reconciling the Two |
| Saumitra SenGupta, APS Healthcare, saumitra.sengupta@gmail.com |
| This presentation will briefly examine cultural competence in evaluation from a gender justice lens. In the past decade, cultural competence in evaluation practice has come to be recognized as a necessity and in some cases an overarching principle. Feminist perspective stands at that crucial juncture today on the verge of being a needed, almost required, stance to consider in developing an evaluation agenda. It is important that the concepts of gender equality and gender justice are critically examined, compared and contrasted with the principles of cultural competence. Culture shapes values that are fundamental to evaluation. To be culturally competent, the evaluator must be contextually responsive and incorporate the local values in framing the evaluation question. That raises the question - If cultural competence indeed calls for deeper understanding and better appreciation of the cultural context, what can the evaluator do when faced with situations where gender inequality and even injustice is inherent to that cultural context? |
| Evaluation of a Rural Methamphetamine Treatment Program: Intensive Outpatient Therapy Using the Matrix Model Retrospective Gender Analysis in an Appalachian Context |
| Kathryn Bowen, Centerstone Research Institute, kathryn.bowen@centerstone.org |
| Inherent in implementing an evidence-based model are challenges related to maintaining fidelity through-out the life of the project. While maintaining fidelity was successfully maintained through-out this 3-year project cultural responsiveness and gender sensitivity was not. This SAMHSA funded project was a gender neutral intensive outpatient methamphetamine treatment program implemented in rural Appalachian communities. Integrating a treatment model that included building positive collaborative relationships, cognitive behavioral therapy, family education and individual therapy with same-sex therapist helped some women complete treatment, decrease depression and anxiety symptomatology and maintain sobriety. Sensitivity to the rural Appalachian culture by therapist indigenous to the area, transportation and flexible hours helped create an environment aligned with the special needs of women. However, these strategies alone were not enough to retain many women and perhaps the absence of gender sensitivity and cultural responsiveness played a significant role. |
| Designing, Conducting, and Interpreting Findings of Evaluations of International Development Interventions: An Elaboration of Gender Inequality and Ecological Concerns |
| Tristi Nichols, Manitou Inc, tnichols@manitouinc.com |
| The crux of feminism is gender equality. In using an economist lens, gender equality often refers to modifying the present system by promoting greater equality to opportunities, such as increased educational and workplace access. Through a social lens, gender equality frequently draws on empowerment, independence, and self-efficacy constructs. (Bandura) While such theoretical perspectives are useful in elucidating the critical components of progressing toward gender equality, they nonetheless present challenges when attempting to apply such constructs in the international development context. Namely, measuring and validating constructs at the community level are challenging processes/endeavors which many stakeholders and field practitioners dare not even initiate. This presentation will briefly explore and combine the use of two methodological approaches - feminist approaches and ecological inquiry - in international development. |
| Differences Between Gender Analysis and Feminist Evaluation |
| Donna Podems, OtherWISE, donna@otherwise.co.za |
| The presentation briefly encourages a practical understanding of feminist evaluation and gender approaches by using a comparative framework that describes the fundamental differences between feminist and gender evaluation. Within this context the presenter describes the theoretical and practical differences in the theoretical underpinnings, evaluation design and implementation of fundamentally different approaches that often attain different results. The presenter then practically demonstrates how combing the two approaches allow for an evaluator to surmount the barriers and constraints often associated with each approach. This presentation then encourages further debate and discussion on these two often confused approaches. It's a quagmire it seems, this discussion on gender and feminist evaluation. In my experience, the misunderstanding, and some many say mystification, surrounding the differences between gender and feminist evaluation occurs in various evaluation contexts throughout the 'developed' and 'developing' world, from conference venues to field work. |