Management Response

Recommendation:

UN Women should support the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families to update the National Gender Policy and align it with the new Strategic Note while focusing on strengthening existing structures for greater ownership and sustainability.

Management Response:

• Assist in the revision and update of the National Gender Policy to reflect current challenges and opportunities. • Develop partnerships with national and international actors, avoiding the creation of new structures where existing structures can be strengthened. • Intensify efforts to combat harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriage by embedding human rights commitments within national frameworks. • Ensure alignment with both national priorities and international gender equality standards.

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Assist in the revision and update of the National Gender Policy to reflect current challenges and opportunities Programme management and personnel 2025/12 Initiated Develop partnerships with national and international actors, avoiding the creation of new structures where existing structures can be strengthened. Management and Programme personnel 2025/12 Initiated Intensify efforts to combat harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriage by embedding human rights commitments within national frameworks Management and Programme personnel 2025/12 Initiated Ensure alignment with both national priorities and international gender equality standards. Mamagement and programme personnel 2025/12 Initiated

Recommendation:

UN Women should strengthen its coordination role to advocate for legal reforms on women’s rights, building strategic alliances with civil society and religious leaders to challenge harmful practices.

Management Response:

• Leverage UN Women’s mandate to drive advocacy for legal reforms in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental actors. • Form alliances with grassroots movements, religious leaders and civil society organizations to promote gender-sensitive reforms. • Implement culturally adaptive advocacy strategies that respect local norms while pushing for progressive gender equality standards. • Empower local champions and use religious narratives that support women’s rights to counter resistance from conservative political parties, groups or influencers. • To correct the underfunding of women’s leadership programmes, consider developing a strategy for sustained investment beyond election periods.

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Leverage UN Women’s mandate to drive advocacy for legal reforms in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental actors Management and Programme personnel 2025/12 Initiated Form alliances with grassroots movements, religious leaders and civil society organizations to promote gender-sensitive reforms Management and Programme personnel 2025/03 Completed Implement culturally adaptive advocacy strategies that respect local norms while pushing for progressive gender equality standards. Management and Programme personnel 2025/12 Initiated Empower local champions and use religious narratives that support women’s rights to counter resistance from conservative political parties, groups or influencers. Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated To correct the underfunding of women’s leadership programmes, consider developing a strategy for sustained investment beyond election periods. Management and Programme personnel 2025/10 Not Initiated

Recommendation:

UN Women should foster normative change by deepening its understanding of local cultural contexts and building alliances with gender activists, religious leaders and civil society to drive transformative gender equality initiatives.

Management Response:

• Dedicate resources to studying and mapping cultural interactions between global norms and local practices. • Collaborate with local gender activists and religious leaders to localize global gender norms into practices that resonate with the Malian context. • Strengthen alliances with religious actors in favour of gender equality agendas to provide a strong counternarrative to harmful traditional practices. • Engage regularly with civil society to ensure that gender equality initiatives are inclusive and contextually relevant. • Target marginalized groups and reflect disability in strategic documents with adequate funding. • Create accountability structures for integration of the leave no one behind principle within the Country Office and inter-agency programming across the country.

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Dedicate resources to studying and mapping cultural interactions between global norms and local practices. Management and Programme personnel 2025/02 Overdue-Initiated Collaborate with local gender activists and religious leaders to localize global gender norms into practices that resonate with the Malian context Management and Programme personnel 2025/02 Completed Strengthen alliances with religious actors in favor of gender equality agendas to provide a strong counternarrative to harmful traditional practices. Management and Programme personnel 2025/02 Completed Engage regularly with civil society to ensure that gender equality initiatives are inclusive and contextually relevant Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated Create accountability structures for integration of the leave no one behind principle within the Country Office and inter-agency programming across the country Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated

Recommendation:

UN Women should enhance gender coordination mechanisms by addressing gaps in the UNCT Gender Score Card and strengthening evaluation oversight across its portfolio.

Management Response:

• Regularly reassess UNCT-SWAP Gender Scorecard indicators to ensure consistent performance improvements. • Collaborate with the Resident Coordinator’s Office and the Gender Theme Group to ensure utilization of evaluations and the Gender Scorecard. • Improve internal coordination across UN agencies to streamline gender efforts and reduce duplication. • Establish clearer accountability for gender outcomes within the Country Office and across inter-agency programming.

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Regularly reassess UNCT-SWAP Gender Scorecard indicators to ensure consistent performance improvements Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated Collaborate with the Resident Coordinator’s Office and the Gender Theme Group to ensure utilization of evaluations and the Gender Scorecard. Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated Improve internal coordination across UN agencies to streamline gender efforts and reduce duplication. Management and Programme personnel 2025/09 Initiated Establish clearer accountability for gender outcomes within the Country Office and across inter-agency programming. Management and Programme personnel 2025/10 Initiated

Recommendation:

UN Women should resolve operational challenges and strengthen its monitoring and evaluation function to enhance programmatic effectiveness and ensure evidence-based decision-making and strategic use of resources.

Management Response:

Strengthen the one-person PMSU by redeploying or reassigning Operations personnel to address the persistent issue of outstanding partner advances. • Address operational challenges in procurement and recruitment by streamlining processes and enhancing accountability. • Implement a robust M&E framework that systematically tracks and documents programmatic results across all sectors. • Ensure that monitoring data is regularly updated and used to substantiate the successes and impact of interventions. • Clarify the division of labour between the M&E Unit and programme managers for reporting by identifying ambiguities and overlaps in roles and responsibilities

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Strengthen the one-person PMSU by redeploying or reassigning Operations personnel to address the persistent issue of outstanding partner advances. Operations, Programme 2025/06 Initiated Address operational challenges in procurement and recruitment by streamlining processes and enhancing accountability Management, Operations, Programme and M&E personne 2025/09 Not Initiated Address operational challenges in procurement and recruitment by streamlining processes and enhancing accountability Management, Operations, Programme and M&E personnel 2025/09 Not Initiated Implement a robust M&E framework that systematically tracks and documents programmatic results across all sectors M&E personnel 2025/07 Initiated Ensure that monitoring data is regularly updated and used to substantiate the successes and impact of interventions Programme and M&E personnel 2025/06 Initiated Clarify the division of labour between the M&E Unit and programme managers for reporting by identifying ambiguities and overlaps in roles and responsibilities. Management 2025/02 Overdue-Not Initiated

Recommendation:	UN Women should reinforce long-term planning and integrate exit strategies from the outset to ensure sustainability and resilience in the face of political and funding fluctuations.
Management Response:

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Develop comprehensive long-term strategies that include sustainability plans and exit strategies for all major projects Management, Programme and M&E personnel 2025/03 Overdue-Initiated Engage with national stakeholders and communities to build local capacity, ensuring continued gender equality progress even after project closure. Management, Programme and M&E personnel 2025/09 Initiated Ensure that sustainability plans account for political instability and short-term funding cycles, protecting gender equality gains. Management, Programme and M&E personnel 2025/09 Initiated Integrate sustainability as a key element in project planning, ensuring that results endure beyond the immediate intervention period. Management, Programme and M&E personnel 2025/09 Not Initiated

Recommendation:

UN Women should proactively engage men and boys in gender equality efforts, leveraging gender-equitable interpretations of religious texts to challenge harmful practices and promote inclusive norms.

Management Response:

• Develop initiatives that specifically target men and boys to shift harmful gender norms and engage them as allies in gender equality efforts. • Leverage gender-equitable interpretations of religious texts to counter practices such as early marriage and female genital mutilation. • Create programmes that encourage male participation in preventing gender-based violence and promoting women’s economic and political participation. • Foster partnerships with community and religious leaders to deliver messages that promote gender-inclusive norms across Mali.

Key Actions Responsible Deadline Status Comments Develop initiatives that specifically target men and boys to shift harmful gender norms and engage them as allies in gender equality efforts. Management and Programme personnel 2025/08 Initiated Leverage gender-equitable interpretations of religious texts to counter practices such as early marriage and female genital mutilation. Management and Programme personne 2025/07 Initiated Create programmes that encourage male participation in preventing gender-based violence and promoting women’s economic and political participation. Management and Programme personnel 2025/11 Initiated Foster partnerships with community and religious leaders to deliver messages that promote gender-inclusive norms across Mali. To be led by: Management and Programme personne 2025/04 Overdue-Initiated