On 18 September 2025, we first announced our new Certificate peer learning programme for gender in emergencies. The first course, a primer on the topic, then launched on 6 October. As of 21 January 2026, the gender community of The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) now reaches 6,592 practitioners. This amazing growth is the result of the first primer “going viral”, and a testament to the Foundation’s learning communities that responded to the call to action, joined the course, and spread the call for enrollment far and wide. On 14 October 2025, The Geneva Learning Foundation issued the first call for domain experts to support and guide the programme’s future development. In humanitarian work, hiring processes are frequently opaque. Specialized topics like gender in emergencies have relied primarily on closed networks led by Global North gatekeepers with impressive credentials and “field” experience. Our thinking was that this excludes or marginalizes practitioners …
Reimagining Rapid Gender Analysis as decolonial practice
Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) is a practical tool designed for humanitarian emergencies that allows aid workers to quickly understand how a crisis affects women, men, boys, and girls differently. Because there is often no time for long, detailed studies when lives are at risk, RGA provides a practical method to gather “good enough” information immediately to ensure that aid is safe, fair, and effective. It works by using existing data and progressively gathering new insights to help decision-makers respond to gender-specific risks without delaying urgent life-saving action. This analysis examines the reference article on Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) by Isadora Quay, using a decolonial feminist framework proposed by Udenigwe Ogochukwu, Aubel Judi, and Abimbola Seye. These authors argue that many gender equality initiatives in the Global South unwittingly host oppressive forces by reinforcing colonial and capitalist hierarchies. The following sections evaluate RGA against the four key themes identified by Udenigwe and her …
A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South
The article “A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South” provides a critical analysis of how international non-governmental organizations design and execute gender equality programs. The authors, Udenigwe Ogochukwu, Aubel Judi, and Abimbola Seye, argue that many current initiatives adapt to existing systems of oppression rather than dismantling them. They contend that these programs often inadvertently reinforce racist, capitalist, and patriarchal structures, which can hinder true equality and potentially worsen the well-being of women and girls in the Global South. The authors identify four central themes that characterize these problematic narratives within development programming. 1. Reinforcing hierarchical knowledge praxis The first theme critiques the exclusion and silencing of knowledge originating from the Global South. The authors highlight how development programs often overlook indigenous histories of collective organization. For instance, while organizations often present “safe spaces” as new interventions, African women have long utilized similar cultural structures, …
Gender in emergencies: a new peer learning programme from The Geneva Learning Foundation
This is a critical moment for work on gender in emergencies. Across the humanitarian sector, we are witnessing a coordinated backlash. Decades of progress are threatened by targeted funding cuts, the erasure of essential research and tools, and a political climate that seeks to silence our work. Many dedicated practitioners feel isolated and that their work is being devalued. This is not a time for silence. It is a time for solidarity and for finding resilient ways to sustain our practice. In this spirit, The Geneva Learning Foundation is pleased to announce the new Certificate peer learning programme for gender in emergencies. We offer this programme to build upon the decades of vital work by countless practitioners and activists, seeing our role as one of contribution to the collective effort of all who continue to champion gender equality in emergencies. Learn more and request your invitation to the programme and its first …



