Certificate Course on
Gender Diversity & Social Transformation
Offered by

The 2025 edition of the course will enable participants to:

• Reflect deeply on one’s own self and identity and how it is shaped by socio-economic forces
• Develop an intersectional perspective to critically analyse and respond to contemporary issues
• Develop leadership skills to facilitate transformation in organizations and communities
• Learn the recent debates on gender justice, masculinities, LGBTQ rights, disability and empowerment.
• Understand how globalisation, pandemics and other disasters impact gender and social relations.
• Study the policies of the government and UN agencies from a gender and diversity perspective

1. Gender, social relations and institutions
   • Gender and self: Personal constructs of masculinities and femininities
   • Concepts of sex and gender, gender roles. gender relations, gender equality etc.
   • Sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identities
   • Social construction of gender: role of family, education, religion, media, etc
2. Intersectionality and social transformation
   • Understanding Caste, Class, Disability and Sexuality
   • Power and patriarchies
   • Gender based violence from an intersectional lens
   • Feminisms and Women’s Movements
3. Gender Equality and SDGs
   • A critique of development from a gender and social equity lens
   • Concepts of sustainable development
   • SDG 5 Indicators: Gender equality and women’s empowerment
   • Community monitoring of SDG 5: Methods and tools
4. Intersectional approach to disasters
   • Core Humanitarian Standard from an intersectional perspective
   • Gender, climate change and migration
   • Gender-transformative disaster preparedness and response
5. Gender mainstreaming
   • Frameworks and tools for gender mainstreaming
   • Policy approaches to women’s development
   • Engendering budgeting, planning, monitoring and evaluation
   • Gender in organisation structure, culture and processes

The course will be facilitated by Mercy Kappen, Rajkumari Nimbale and Roshen Chandran from Visthar. The course will also draw on a panel of resource persons including Ms. Ranjani K Murthy (Independent Researcher and Author), Dr. Sekhar Seshadri (NIMHANS Bangalore), Dr. David Selvaraj (Educationist), Ms Madhu Bhushan (SIEDS Collective) and grassroots activists who have been working on gender and social justice for several decades.

The course follows feminist pedagogical principles and an action – reflection – action model, inspired by the work of Paulo Freire. The facilitators/resource persons will build on the experiences and knowledge base of the participants. The methodologies will include group discussions, case studies, role plays, audio-visuals, and input sessions. Participants will share best practices and develop plans and strategies for mainstreaming gender and social equity in their organizations and programs.