My Work at the Ministry of Gender and Development

This blog has primarily covered issues about Liberian leadership, culture, holidays, athletics, post-conflict recovery, etc. I have not written a great deal about my work this summer, which represented the vast amount of my time, energy, passion, stress, and joy -- so I will share that now.

The Liberian Government asked me to create a brief report on my achievements, constraints, and recommendations. Below is what I submitted to them:

Achievements

Coordinated and executed management audit of the Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD)
• Conducted—through research, interviews, and observation—a thorough diagnostic of MoGD processes, organizational structure, systems, management, coordination, supervision, mandate, etc.
• Submitted 60-page Assessment Report on analysis, findings, and recommended way forward

Designed and conducted workshops for MoGD senior management and employees
• Co-designed and facilitated five-hour leadership workshop for MoGD supervisors (including Minister, two Deputy Ministers, one Assistant Minister, all Directors and Chief of Sections)
• Co-designed and facilitated five-hour workshop for all MoGD employees analyzing the MoGD Mandate and establishing a vision for the Ministry
• (The latter two workshops received evaluations of 9 out of 10, and almost all participants reported that they would utilize tools offered and lessons learned, and that they gained a better understanding of leadership, their own responsibilities, and the MoGD Mandate)
• Co-designed and facilitated five hours of technical workshops on Microsoft Office (approximately 60 employees attended; most reported they would use lessons learned on a daily basis in their work); followed up with private tutorials

Produced Resource Packets for MoGD and GoL Ministries
• Created “MoGD Employee Toolkit” of 15 original documents to orient / educate employees, including: Brochure on PRS; Brochure on Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; Briefing on MoGD Mandate; Organizational Chart; etc.
• Created “Resource Workbook for Liberian Ministries”—an in-depth analysis of 20 common themes and problems for GoL institutions, with way forward and suggested tools



Prepared National Women’s Conference Report and National Plan of Action for Women
• Compiled transcripts into 50-page report; prepared mini-versions for distribution in Berlin
• Created original organizational design; thoroughly edited and formatted document
• Wrote executive summary, created cover page, table of contents, and President’s Letter
• Conducted analysis of National Action Plan; harmonized it with Poverty Reduction Strategy

Helped write speeches and create presentations for MoGD senior management at national and international forums including:
• Keynote Address, Plan’s Launch of “State of World’s Girls” Report
• Keynote Address, Forum for African Women Educationalists
• Speech, Gender Perspectives in Agricultural Cooperative Development, CDA
• Speech, Developing Churches’ Code of Conduct on GBV
• Speech / Presentation: Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union
• Speech, Stop Rape Concert at SKD Stadium
• Speech, “Humanized” Infrastructure, (for Berlin PRS Meeting)
• Presentation, United Nations Security Council on Liberia: Gender, Peace, and Security

Provided technical assistance to National Gender Forum (NGF) Secretariat
• Designed original brochure on Beijing Platform for Action: 12 Areas of Concern for Women
• Created detailed documents on Beijing Platform for Action for each of the NGF Task Forces
• Composed a one-year Plan of Action for the NGF Secretariat, including a proposal for all recommended trainings and the design of introductory training / orientation retreat

Provided technical assistance to programmatic and technical divisions within MoGD
• Offered written feedback on MoGD Personnel Handbook
• Offered written feedback and rewrote all Terms of Reference (ToR) for Department of Planning & Administration
• Offered written feedback on proposal for Rural Women’s Leadership Structures’ micro-finance scheme and regional elections
• Offered written feedback on report on three-week feasibility study of women’s socio-economic situations in three Liberian counties

• Offered written feedback on draft of Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women Report
• Offered written feedback on monthly Gender Based Violence Statistical Report
• Spearheaded and facilitated revitalization of the MoGD Website

Other tasks / achievements
• Composed a Briefing to President Johnson Sirleaf on the Coordination Structure proposed by the MoGD, in regard to the Danish MDG 3 Project; attended and prepare materials for related meetings.
• Wrote 3 letters of recommendation on behalf of the Minister for Liberians pursuing higher education
• Occasionally offered colleagues assistance in their graduate school application process
• Occasionally created agendas / minutes for meetings held in MoGD


Constraints (Note: there were no major constraints during my Summer Internship)

Time
• The nature of summer internships is that they are brief, and it was a productive summer, but nine weeks was not long enough for me to complete all that I would have liked to.

Technical
• Sharing electronic documents was difficult, given the prevalence of viruses. Despite my extreme caution and anti-virus software, my flash drive, laptop, and MoGD desktop were all infected during the summer. This wasted time and effort, and debilitated the devices.
• I kept longer working hours than the MoGD was open, and our apartment did not have Internet access. Thus, I spent most evenings and weekends at hotel restaurants in order to access electricity and Internet. This was not a problem for me, but I am noting that it was a constraint.
• Internet and electricity at the MoGD were occasionally limited, sporadic, or slow, which sometimes limited the pace of work, but were generally fine.


Recommendations
• I was in close contact with the intern from the previous summer (Emily Stanger), who gave me a lot of help and feedback during my preparation for the summer,
creation of my ToR, questions about job-related issues, etc. I highly recommend the creation of a system that enables such “mentorship.”
• I was given all the resources I needed at the MoGD: office; desk; chairs; telephone; internet; electricity; resource books; access to employees and meetings; MoGD car if necessary, etc. This greatly facilitated the ease with which I completed my work, and also enhanced productivity; I encourage other Ministries to do the same, if possible, with their interns.
• The Ministry backed all of my projects, especially at the highest levels of senior management. And they gave me exciting, fulfilling, and interesting assignments. I encourage all Ministries to find supervisors who really want the interns there and can assign the same caliber of assignments: meaningful, important, challenging, etc.
• The Ministry was very personally supportive: ensuring I was picked up from the airport, was driven to the airport on departure; enabled me to go out into the interior for Day of the African Child and for Independence Day in Kakata. They also held a farewell party for me at the end of the summer. This sort of support made the summer incredibly fulfilling; I felt extremely “looked after” and it inspired me to work harder. I recommend that all interns receive such care.
• I could not have envisioned a more rigorous and fulfilling summer; the MoGD was extremely supportive, both personally and professionally. I am grateful to everyone involved.