Before starting: Transform conditions into problems

Based on your understanding of your context and the forms of inequality and gender discrimination that you seek to change, you should develop an advocacy goal. A goal is a long-term objective to describe the overall vision, mission or purpose and should include the change you seek to achieve. For example, an advocacy goal could be to end wage discrimination in a country’s health workforce by supporting policies that promote equal pay for equal work.

Advocates tend to assume that a condition they do not like—such as female health workers being systematically paid less than their male counterparts—will be perceived as a policy problem meriting attention once policy-makers are made aware of it. However, there are infinite numbers of “bad” conditions in a country, and—only a few actually come to be perceived by policy-makers as problems requiring their attention and limited resources. Advocates must translate conditions into problems. For example, advocates should marshal study results that demonstrate the link between sexual harassment and job-leaving, or between unequal opportunities for advancement and health worker dissatisfaction.