How does a grantmaking institution communicate its commitment to gender analysis — and to diversity and equity, more broadly — to the public and to potential grantees? Where do those commitments manifest themselves?

Some foundations use standard gender analysis tools to assist their grantmakers and grantees in the field. Here are two common types, the interview protocol and the diversity table:

Think “compatibility,” not “compliance.” Grantmakers concerned about their grantees’ diversity expressed a dilemma. On the one hand, they believe their foundations are not only entitled to their values but have a right to look for grantees who share them. On the other hand, they are reluctant to interfere in and sit in judgment on the values of grant seekers. “We have aspirations,” commented one grantmaker, “but we’re not trying to manipulate people. We want them to share our values.”

Support wider learning and experimentation. Sometimes grantmakers encourage experimentation among a number of grantees — at a field level.

Use “effectiveness questions” to uncover gender assumptions. Typical questions include:

During discussions with grantees, encourage curiosity. The biggest resource for helping grantees improve programs isn’t a grantmaker’s knowledge — it’s a grantee’s curiosity. Uncovering the gender implications of a program, and then figuring out how to respond to them, are creative acts.

Grantees may not see the connection between effectiveness and gender.

Gender analysis does not explain everything. “There’s no such thing as a generic woman,” points out one grantmaker. Social position is not only about gender. Class, race or ethnicity — and sometimes sexual orientation, religious affiliation, caste, and clan — matter, too. Grantmakers who use gender analysis also tend to weigh other features of social position and need.

Gender is social not biological. The term “gender” is used to refer to the social positions of men and women and our assumptions about who they are. Those social differences themselves differ from society to society, place to place, and time to time...The point of gender analysis is to identify and anticipate differences, explore their significance, and respond to them.

Many grantmakers have accepted a simple proposition: In virtually all societies, men and women have different social positions. Their different roles and upbringings give men and women different skills, opportunities, and resources — and, usually, different amounts of power.