Open-source tools and resources
for gender mainstreaming
Many organisations commit to become more gender inclusive. However, they often do not know where and how to start. Through years of engagement, LeFil has developed a range of practical resources to help different players within the (social) entrepreneurship space become “better at gender”. These include: assessment tools to help you understand where your organisation stands in terms of gender inclusion; online courses that help you identify biases you may be unaware of, and explore concrete opportunities to capture the benefits of gender inclusion for your organisation’s growth, performance and impact; and a collection of best practices and case studies across all areas of gender mainstreaming, to give you concrete inspiration and “recipes” to get you started on your own gender mainstreaming journey.
Click on the section most relevant to you and start discovering how you can improve your organisation’s impact and business performance through gender inclusion.
Note: These resources are tailored for each of our three main target audiences (social ventures, investors, and entrepreneur support organisations), and designed to be practical and actionable. They are available freely to anyone, under a creative commons license (CC BY-NC-SA).
Resources for social ventures
Gender assessment tools for social ventures
As gender (and gender biases) affect all aspects of how an organisation functions, we identified 10 areas of intervention for mainstreaming gender within a (social) venture, grouped under 3 main categories: staff and leadership; product/service; and supply chain.
To help you uncover your biggest opportunities for improvement and zoom into the interventions with most potential, we have developed two practical tools:
- a simple questionnaire-based gender assessment tool (English version, Spanish version) that helps you assess how your venture fares on each of these 10 areas, based on your current set-up and practices.
- a KPI benchmarking tool (English version, Spanish version) that compares your performance on selected metrics with data from other social ventures, and suggests specific areas of intervention to improve your performance on metrics where you are below the benchmark.
Gender mainstreaming training for social ventures
Our online course is designed to help you recognise and fight the gender biases that undermine your organisation and work. It will enable you to identify opportunities for gender mainstreaming within your venture and develop effective and exciting initiatives to promote gender equity in your work and increase your business and impact performance to unexpected levels.
The training is divided into 3 modules; in each module, you will find explanatory videos, insightful resources, and practical exercises to apply the learnings specifically to your venture:
- Module 1: learn about gender bias and discover the ways it impacts you and everyone around you
- Module 2: discover the benefits of integrating a “gender lens” in your organisation’s strategy and operations, and explore opportunities to capture those benefits
- Module 3: discover some practical examples and success stories, and craft selected gender mainstreaming initiatives for your own organisation.
Hundreds of social entrepreneurs have taken this training, and many came out realizing that gender mainstreaming could help their organisation and team significantly. Past participants describe the training as an eye-opener, as well as the trigger that led them to launch key strategic work within their organization and beyond. Join them! We have both an English and a Spanish version available.
If you are interested in a facilitated version of the training, you can reach out to us at gender@lefilconsulting.com.
Step-by-step recipes to get you started on your gender mainstreaming journey
We know that addressing gender biases in practical and effective ways can feel overwhelming. You know you need to improve, but how, exactly? Good news: gender mainstreaming doesn’t have to be complicated! It is not about launching expensive new projects, but analysing with a “gender lens” how you do things and how you take decisions, and identifying ways to make changes (even small ones) to become more gender balanced and inclusive.
To provide you with both inspiration and “how to” guidance, we have compiled a library of resources: for each topic, you will find a “step-by-step recipe” on how to go about it (including best practices, tips and expected benefits), as well as one or more case studies from ventures which successfully improved their approach in that particular area.
Reading through these resources, you will discover winning approaches to gender mainstreaming and find inspiration to craft your own initiatives! Access the Spanish version here.
Staff and leadership diversity
Gender-inclusive product or service
Diversity and equity in the supply chain
Gender-related metrics for social ventures
When undertaking efforts to improve gender equity and inclusion, it is important to measure progress, effectiveness and impact across various dimensions, related to both business performance and social impact. To help you identify the most meaningful indicators to track, we developed two useful resources:
- A list of the 12 most relevant metrics (English version, Spanish version) for gender mainstreaming initiatives, which includes a shortlist of KPIs that are applicable and relevant across a wide range of gender initiatives
- A gender KPI selection tool (English version, Spanish version), which suggests a broader range of possible metrics to track depending on which type of gender initiative you are planning to implement.
Inspirational success stories
These stories showcase the tangible benefits of incorporating a gender perspective into an organisation. See how strategic shifts in product development, communication strategy or recruitment practices led to significant positive outcomes, both in terms of social impact and business performance. We invite you to delve into these powerful examples and uncover new possibilities for your own organisation’s success.
Resources for investors
Gender assessment tool for investors
As gender (and gender biases) affect all aspects of how an organisation functions, we identified 16 areas of intervention for mainstreaming gender for investors, grouped under 4 main categories: staff and leadership; investment strategy; investment management; and portfolio management.
To help you uncover your biggest opportunities for improvement and zoom into the interventions with most potential, we have developed a simple questionnaire that helps you assess how your organization fares on each of these 15 areas, based on your current set-up and practices. Click here to download the gender assessment questionnaire for investors
Gender mainstreaming training for investors
Our online course is designed to help you recognise and fight the gender biases that undermine your organisation and work. It will enable you to identify opportunities for gender mainstreaming within your organisation and develop effective and exciting initiatives to promote gender equity in your work and increase your business and impact performance to unexpected levels.
The training is divided into 3 modules; in each module, you will find explanatory videos, insightful resources, and practical exercises to apply the learnings specifically to your organisation:
- Module 1: learn about gender bias and discover all the ways it impacts you and everyone around you
- Module 2: discover the benefits of integrating a “gender lens” in your organisation’s strategy and operations, and explore opportunities to capture those benefits
- Module 3: discover some practical examples and success stories, and craft selected gender mainstreaming initiatives for your own organisation.
Step-by-step recipes to get you started on your gender mainstreaming journey
Turning gender commitments into action can be challenging, especially when the actual concrete next steps are unclear. The recipes below are meant to be pragmatic and focused guides to help investors implement meaningful yet doable improvements across everyday decisions and processes, without adding unnecessary complexity. They also contain inspirational, real-life examples from peer investors, who share how they approached this process, and what they gained through it.
Tools for social ventures in investors' portfolio
In addition to the resources directly aimed at you as an investor, we also have 2 tools that you can leverage for/with the social ventures in your investment portfolio, to help them become more gender-inclusive:
- a KPI benchmarking tool (English version, Spanish version) that compares a venture’s performance on selected metrics with data from other social ventures, and suggests specific areas of intervention to improve performance on metrics where the venture is below the benchmark
- a gender KPI selection tool (English version, Spanish version), which suggests a broader range of possible metrics to track depending on which type of gender initiative a venture is planning to implement.
Resources for entrepreneur support organisations
Gender assessment tool for entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs)
As gender (and gender biases) affect all aspects of how an organisation functions, we identified 16 areas of intervention for mainstreaming gender for ESOs, grouped under 4 main categories: staff and leadership; programming, financing and positioning; venture selection; and program design and delivery.
To help you uncover your biggest opportunities for improvement and zoom into the interventions with most potential, we have developed a simple questionnaire that helps you assess how your organisation fares on each of these 16 areas, based on your current set-up and practices. Click here to download the gender assessment questionnaire for ESOs: English version, Spanish version.
Gender mainstreaming training for ESOs
Our online course is designed to help you recognise and fight the gender biases that undermine your organisation and work. It will enable you to identify opportunities for gender mainstreaming within your organisation and develop effective and exciting initiatives to promote gender equity in your work and increase your business and impact performance to unexpected levels.
The training is divided into 3 modules; in each module, you will find explanatory videos, insightful resources, and practical exercises to apply the learnings specifically to your organisation:
- Module 1: learn about gender bias and discover all the ways it impacts you and everyone around you
- Module 2: discover the benefits of integrating a “gender lens” in your organisation’s strategy and operations, and explore opportunities to capture those benefits
- Module 3: discover some practical examples and success stories, and craft selected gender mainstreaming initiatives for your own organisation.
Step-by-step recipes to get you started on your gender mainstreaming journey
Turning gender commitments into action can be challenging, especially when the actual concrete next steps are unclear. The recipes below are meant to be pragmatic and focused guides to help ESOs implement meaningful yet doable improvements across everyday decisions and processes, without adding unnecessary complexity. They also contain inspirational, real-life examples from peer ESOs, who share how they approached this process, and what they gained through it.
"Plug-and-play" modules for ESOs' programs
These “plug-and-play” training modules are designed to help you embed gender-sensitive elements into your entrepreneur support programs and curricula. They cover 2 key topics that are crucial for entrepreneurship, leadership and pitching, highlighting how they are shaped by gender dynamics. Below, you can access the introductory videos for each module. The full module package (including a pre-session exercise, a 2-hour facilitated debrief session, and actionable tools for entrepreneurs) is available upon request.
- Leadership with a gender perspective (English version, Spanish version)
This video introduces how gender shapes leadership opportunities, perceptions, and skill development. The full module helps entrepreneurs explore these dynamics in depth, and provides tools they can leverage for their personal and business growth.
- Pitching with a gender perspective (English version, Spanish version)
This video offers an overview of how gender dynamics influence pitching situations, investor interactions, and audience perceptions. The full module equips entrepreneurs with tools to communicate more effectively and strengthen their presence in high-stakes settings.
If you would like to access the full modules or learn more about integrating a gender perspective into your programs, please contact us at gender@lefilconsulting.com.
Tools for social ventures in ESOs' portfolio
In addition to the resources directly aimed at you as an ESO, we also have 2 tools that you can leverage for/with the social ventures in your programs or portfolio, to help them become more gender-inclusive:
- a KPI benchmarking tool (English version, Spanish version) that compares a venture’s performance on selected metrics with data from other social ventures, and suggests specific areas of intervention to improve performance on metrics where the venture is below the benchmark
- a gender KPI selection tool (English version, Spanish version), which suggests a broader range of possible metrics to track depending on which type of gender initiative a venture is planning to implement.
All resources on this page © 2024 by LeFil Consulting are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Icons by Freepik.