PCW Memorandum Circular No. 2025-07: Reaffirming Gender Mainstreaming as the Mandated Strategy and the Gender and Development (GAD) Approach as its Guiding Framework for Promoting Gender Equality and Inclusive Development within Bureaucracy

Date	26 August 2025
To:	All Heads of Executive Departments, National Government Agencies, Bureaus, Offices, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Government-Owned and/or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Legislative and Judiciary Branches, Constitutional Bodies, Other Government Instrumentalities, and All Others Concerned
Subject:	Reaffirming Gender Mainstreaming as the Mandated Strategy and the Gender and Development (GAD) Approach as its Guiding Framework for Promoting Gender Equality and Inclusive Development within Bureaucracy

1.0 Policy Statement

1.1. To ensure alignment amidst evolving development priorities, and in compliance with the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710), this Circular reaffirms Gender Mainstreaming (GM) as the national government’s primary and legally mandated strategy for institutionalizing gender equality and women’s empowerment in all sectors of governance.

1.1.1 Section 36 of the Magna Carta of Women explicitly mandates that “All departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government-owned and –controlled corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote women’s human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and procedures…”¹

1.2. Gender Mainstreaming serves as the institutional strategy for embedding gender perspectives across the whole governance cycle—from policy design and planning, to resource allocation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. A key principle of GM is intersectionality, which recognizes that gender inequality is often compounded by other factors such as disability, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.² This ensures that government programs are not only gender-responsive but also inclusive of multiple and overlapping vulnerabilities. To put GM into practice, the government applies a specific guiding approach: Gender and Development (GAD).

1.3. Gender and Development (GAD) is the guiding approach that enables government institutions to operationalize GM. It is the policy paradigm that focuses on transforming structures, systems, and processes that perpetuate gender inequality. Unlike the earlier Women in Development (WID) framework, which concentrated on integrating women into existing structures, or Women and Development (WAD), which emphasized women’s collective role in development, GAD shifts the focus to systemic change.³ It calls on institutions to examine and reform power relations, address barriers, and ensure that both women and men have equitable access to, and control over, development resources and opportunities.

1.4. This Circular underscores that frameworks such as Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) or Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) are complementary lenses, not substitutes for GAD. These frameworks function as analytical tools that help sharpen the practice of GAD, much like Sara Longwe’s Women’s Empowerment Framework and the Triple Role Analysis model.⁴ They emphasize intersectionality and highlight how overlapping disadvantages affect individuals and groups. In practice, applying a GEDSI lens strengthens the implementation of GAD by ensuring that policies and programs respond to the full diversity of people’s lived realities.

1.5. The integration of GAD, enriched by GEDSI and other analytical lenses, must lead to tangible and measurable actions within government institutions. The mechanisms for this are already in place under existing policy instruments—particularly the PCW-DBM-NEDA Joint Memorandum Circular 2022-01, which prescribes the process for preparing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting GAD Plans and Budgets (GPBs) and GAD Accomplishment Reports (GAD ARs).⁵ Accordingly, all government agencies and instrumentalities are hereby directed to:

1. design, fund, implement, monitor, and report on initiatives that advance gender equality, including those using GEDSI/GESI perspectives;
2. integrate these initiatives as part of their overall GM strategy; and
3. ensure that all outputs and outcomes are captured in their GPBs and GAD ARs, in line with RA 9710 and in pursuit of a unified national goal of inclusive, equitable, and rights-based development.

2. Guiding Principles

2.1. The following principles shall guide all government agencies, offices, and instrumentalities in advancing gender-responsive and inclusive governance:

2.1.1. GM is the mandated institutional strategy for achieving gender equality across all aspects of governance, as provided under the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710).⁶ GM shall be applied consistently throughout the governance cycle, from planning and budgeting, to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, ensuring that policies, programs, and services are responsive to gender concerns.

2.1.2. GAD serves as the conceptual and policy approach that operationalizes GM.⁷ GAD shifts the focus from simply integrating women into existing systems (as in earlier frameworks such as WID and WAD) to transforming structures, systems, and power relations that perpetuate inequality.⁸ It ensures that governance reforms are not only gender-sensitive, but are also directed towards equitable participation, benefit, and empowerment of all genders.

2.1.3. GM, guided by the GAD approach, recognizes that gender inequality intersects with other forms of discrimination such as age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.⁹ Government agencies must therefore adopt an intersectional and rights-based approach so that programs and services address the realities of diverse groups, with special attention to those who are most marginalized.

2.1.4. Frameworks such as GEDSI or GESI are recognized as valuable complementary perspectives that can enrich the practice of GAD and GM. These frameworks must be applied in a manner that reinforces, and does not replace, the foundational principles of GAD and the legally mandated strategy of GM.¹⁰

2.1.5. Government agencies are directed to give special attention to issues affecting women and girls with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized communities in their GAD and GM efforts. Mainstreaming these concerns strengthens the inclusivity, responsiveness, and equity of governance outcomes.

2.1.6. All GAD initiatives must uphold accountability and participatory governance. This requires that policies and programs are informed by reliable data, supported by participatory mechanisms, and shaped through meaningful engagement with women’s organizations, civil society, and marginalized sectors.¹¹

3. Operational Guidelines

3.1. To ensure consistent implementation of gender-responsive and inclusive governance, all government agencies, offices, and instrumentalities shall observe the following operational directives:

3.1.1. Agencies shall continue to adopt and sustain GM as their institutional strategy for promoting gender equality, in line with the MCW and national policy frameworks.

3.1.2. Agencies shall apply GAD approach as the guiding lens in formulating, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating their policies, programs, and services. This ensures that GM is effectively translated into practice, with agency goals, mandates, and functions aligned to GAD principles.

3.1.3. Agencies shall regularly use the Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF), the GAD Focal Point System Functionality Assessment (GFAST), and other prescribed tools issued by PCW to assess and strengthen their gender mainstreaming efforts.3.1.4. Agencies shall prepare and submit their annual GPBs and GAD ARs in accordance with PCW’s guidelines and timelines, ensuring that these reflect priority gender issues and commitments under the GM approach.3.1.5. For inclusion-related programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) such as those addressing the concerns of persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, senior citizens, and other marginalized groups to be reflected in the GPB, agencies must demonstrate that these PAPs are grounded in a clearly identified gender issue. These initiatives shall be framed within the GM strategy to ensure coherence with the MCW, GAD mandates, and PCW’s objective of making governance more inclusive and gender-responsive.

3.1.6. Agencies are encouraged to contextualize and broaden their GM strategies using the GAD approach, ensuring that intersecting factors such as age, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic status are addressed. These considerations must not replace GM as the core institutional strategy, but rather reinforce and strengthen its inclusive and intersectional application

3.1.7. Agencies are likewise reminded that gender mainstreaming is a shared responsibility. All units within the agency must contribute to institutional GAD results, not just the GFPS. Monitoring and accountability mechanisms shall be strengthened to reflect this whole-of-agency approach.

4. Duties and Responsibilities of the GAD Focal Point System (GFPS)

4.1. As the lead mechanism for institutionalizing gender mainstreaming, the Gender and Development Focal Point System (GFPS) shall ensure that the application of GEDSI/GESI principles is situated within the broader context of Gender Mainstreaming. The GFPS must guarantee that the integration of GEDSI/GESI in their GPBs reinforces rather than dilutes the core mandate of addressing gender-based inequalities. GEDSI/GESI should be applied in a way that enhances the responsiveness of GAD efforts by recognizing intersecting forms of discrimination, while remaining anchored on the core principles and strategic  goals of the GM strategy. In relation to GAD Planning and Budgeting, the GFPS shall:

4.1.1. Ensure that the GAD Budget is primarily used to address gender issues, as mandated by the MCW. When applying GEDSI/GESI within their GPBs, it must be clearly shown that the gender issue being addressed is intersectional in nature—meaning it reflects the compounded barriers experienced by women and men with disabilities, older persons, indigenous women, or other vulnerable groups.

4.1.2. Integrate GEDSI/GESI perspectives in gender analysis by identifying how specific vulnerabilities (e.g., disability, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status) intersect with gender to deepen exclusion or inequality. This analysis must inform the identification of gender issues and causes of gender issue in the GPB.

4.1.3. Develop GAD programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) that directly respond to the identified intersectional gender issues, ensuring they are aligned with GM strategies, consistent with national GAD policies, and promote inclusive and equitable outcomes.

4.1.4. Ensure that GPBs and GAD ARs articulate the intersectional context of the gender issues being addressed, including how GEDSI/GESI-informed interventions contribute to reducing gender-based and multi-dimensional discrimination.

4.1.5. Establish or strengthen internal GAD monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure that GEDSI/GESI-informed interventions are effectively tracked, and that GAD outcomes are assessed against inclusive development goals.

4.1.6. Facilitate orientation and capacity-building activities to enhance the agency’s understanding and application of intersectionality in gender analysis and planning, in support of more inclusive and responsive GAD programming.

4.1.7. Agencies are encouraged to retain the name “GAD Focal Point System (GFPS)” in accordance with the official policies issued by the PCW.¹² Renaming the GFPS into other terms such as “GEDSI Committee” or names to include other alternative frameworks is not within the bounds of existing guidelines. Any changes to its nomenclature or structure shall be subject to prior review and consultation with PCW.

6. Effectivity and Transitory Provisions

6.1. All government agencies, offices, and instrumentalities currently adopting GEDSI, GESI, or other related frameworks are directed to review and realign these approaches with the GM strategy, guided by the GAD approach, in accordance with the MCW (RA 9710) and existing national GAD-related policies.¹³ This ensures policy coherence, prevents duplication of efforts, and reinforces the government’s unified commitment to inclusive, equitable, and gender-responsive governance.

6.2. In the process of alignment, agencies shall continue to apply the GAD approach as the central paradigm for operationalizing GM. While complementary frameworks such as GEDSI/GESI may provide additional analytical insights, these must be integrated in a manner that strengthens, and does not displace, the principles and mechanisms already institutionalized through the GAD framework.¹⁴

6.3. The PCW shall issue supplementary guidance, technical notes, or capacity-building interventions, as may be necessary, to support agencies in harmonizing existing inclusion frameworks under the overarching GM strategy and in line with GAD-related directives.¹⁵

6.4. This Circular shall take effect immediately upon issuance and shall remain in force unless superseded, amended, or repealed by subsequent policy directives.

ERMELITA V. VALDEAVILLA
Chairperson

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^{1 Republic Act No. 9710, Magna Carta of Women (2009).
2 United Nations: Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. Gender Mainstreaming: An Overview (2002).
3 Moser, C. (1993). Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training. Routledge; Rathgeber, E. (1990). WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research and Practice. Journal of Developing Areas, 24(4), 489–502.
4 Longwe, S. (1991). Gender Awareness: The Missing Element in the Third World Development Project.; Molyneux, M. (1985). Mobilization without Emancipation? Women’s Interests, the State and Revolution in Nicaragua. Feminist Studies, 11(2), 227–254.
5 Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), & National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). (2022). Joint Memorandum Circular 2022-01: Guidelines on the Preparation of Annual GAD Plans and Budgets and GAD Accomplishment Reports to Implement the Magna Carta of Women.
6 Republic Act No. 9710, Magna Carta of Women (2009), Sec. 36.
7 Philippine Commission on Women (PCW). (2015). Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF).
8 Moser, C. (1993). Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training. Routledge; Rathgeber, E. (1990). WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research and Practice. Journal of Developing Areas, 24(4), 489–502.
9 UN Women. (2017). Gender Mainstreaming: Resource Package.
10 Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), & National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). (2022). Joint Memorandum Circular 2022-01: Guidelines on the Preparation of Annual GAD Plans and Budgets and GAD Accomplishment Reports to Implement the Magna Carta of Women.
11 PCW. (2019). GEWE Plan 2019–2025.
12 Based on PCW Memorandum Circular No. 2011‑01, Guidelines for the Creation, Strengthening, and Institutionalization of the Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point System (October 21, 2011).
13 Republic Act No. 9710, Magna Carta of Women (2009), Sec. 36.
14 Philippine Commission on Women (PCW). (2015). Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF).
15 PCW, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), & National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). (2022). Joint Memorandum Circular 2022-01: Guidelines on the Preparation of Annual GAD Plans and Budgets and GAD Accomplishment Reports to Implement the Magna Carta of Women.}