The WASH-Gender Equality Measure (GEM) is a quantitative tool designed to reveal intended and unintended gender equality changes associated with WASH programs. We are currently piloting the measure in the field. The piloting is a three-phase approach with our research partners iDE in Cambodia and SNV in Nepal. The first phase was a ‘rapid’ pilot which tested the WASH-GEM tool in 20 households, with dyad interviews – with primary female and male decision-makers- in each household. The purpose was to assess the tool’s ease-of-use, completion-time, appropriateness and respondent understanding (known in fancy research language as ‘cognitive testing’). It supported us to make changes to the tool before wider testing in the second phase of exploratory piloting.
The Cambodia rapid pilot enumerator team at the end of the week of data collection
The exploratory pilot process has the objective to assess the consistency of responses over time (test-retest) and determine whether responses were consistent from interview to interview, an important characteristic of a tool designed to measure change. iDE completed exploratory piloting in Cambodia in October 2019 and SNV is conducting data collection at this very moment, with over 300 respondents in each country. Once all data is collected, the team will delve further into the intricacies of constructing the measure and understand how the questions are working together to measure gender equality changes.
A third and final phase of piloting will take place later in 2020, with final findings, guidance and the tool itself to be made publicly available in 2021- so watch this space!