Institutionalizing Gender Equality

This case study examines selected urban development projects of the local government engineering department in Bangladesh, with focus on mechanisms to foster gender equality and women empowerment.

ADB supports the institutionalization of gender equality in government agencies to enhance their gender-responsiveness and sustainability of gender equality results. The Bangladesh Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is a trailblazer in mainstreaming gender equality in its policies, systems, and programs. This has resulted in women’s greater benefit from ADB-assisted projects and in their increased participation in decision making for inclusive urban development. This report presents the results of a stocktaking of LGED’s gender mainstreaming practices particularly in ADB-financed urban development projects. Find out more about the lessons identified and recommendations offered to enhance LGED’s approaches to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh.