the Prism framework, powering gender responsive policymaking
- Leena Chakrabarti
- Jul 17, 2025
- 13 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2025
Policies designed today will be lived realities of tomorrow
Design Determines Direction
Even today in 2025, across many economic contexts, policies promise progress but overlook millions. When women & girls, individuals & communities on the margins remain invisible in problem statements, absent from budget lines and sidelined in implementation frameworks, inequality not only widens, it gets legislated.
Later in the article
Move from intent to impact and from assessment to action - why the Prism is the need of the hour
Risk of hardwiring existing gender gaps in next generation infrastructure and innovation is real
The Framework powering gender responsive policymaking & advocacy
Testing the framework - real world application within the EV Policy ecosystem in India
The Imperative of Equity in Public Policy
What gets attention gets built. What gets ignored gets repeated
As countries confront converging crises & challenges, whether its climate change, rapid urbanisation, technological disruption, demographic shifts, widening & deepening inequality, public policy is under pressure to do more, for more people with less resources. Within this operating context, policies that fail to integrate gender responsiveness, at the minimum, risk reinforcing the very gaps they aim to close.
Gender neutral approaches are not really neutral, they often deliver gender unequal outcomes.
Yet, for all the rhetorical commitment to gender equality & gender responsiveness, the tools to systematically assess, benchmark and redesign public policy through a gender lens remain limited, fragmented, at best inconsistently applied.
Inclusive development is no longer optional, it is a strategic imperative
To close this gap, at theZURI, we started developing the Prism. A policy scoring and design framework that brings gender responsiveness to the centre of public policy.
Move from intent to impact and from assessment to action
Developed under theZURI's Policy Accelerator, the Prism is a structured, scalable, locally rooted and globally relevant framework for gender intentional & gender responsive policymaking, one that not just evaluates a policy for gender responsiveness, but also helps with design and analysis. It provides public institutions, policymakers, policy advocates, and practitioners with a clear methodology to evaluate and enhance gender responsiveness in public policies and schemes. It moves beyond token references or checklist approaches, offering a structured tiered framework that guides both retrospective evaluations and forward looking design processes, facilitating policymakers and policy advocates move from intent to impact and from assessment to action.
The Prism is ambitious!
It aims to help shift the conversation from gender equality as an afterthought to gender responsiveness as a design principle; from inclusion as a metric to inclusion as an operating system
Risk of hardwiring existing gender gaps in next generation infrastructure & innovation is real
Emerging economies are undergoing rapid structural transformation and yes, public policy is trying to match pace with these fast changing realities. As governments draft next generation policies on infrastructure, technology, mobility, health, food, climate, the risks of blind spots are high.
Women remain disproportionately represented in the informal economy, overburdened by underpaid care work, unpaid care responsibilities and underrepresentation in sectors prioritised for economic growth.
Gender disaggregated data is patchy or missing completely, exacerbated by historic gender data gaps
National flagship programmes & schemes still often fail to account for gender specific access, usage & needs.
Technological advancements risk hardwiring existing gender gaps into next generation infrastructure & innovation
Millions are being and will continue to be left behind if policy fails to preempt and design for change.
More than ambition, this moment demands intentionality.
The Prism is being designed for that moment when policymakers finally ask about not just, what works, but who it works for!
Despite clear mandates articulated through SDGs, gender responsiveness is too often addressed late in the policy lifecycle, an afterthought or as a cross cutting issue, if at all. By that point, the cost of policy redesign is substantial and short lived political momentum would have shifted by then. Policymakers need better tools, not just to score a policy's gender responsiveness, but to design and deliver better outcomes from the start, for all.
That is the gap the Prism is created to fill.
It is a response to challenges faced by policy makers and advocates alike. But it is also a response to some of the following needs:
How gender responsive is this policy or scheme?
What dimensions are missing?
Where should budget allocations shift?
Which institutional levers can unlock more inclusive outcomes?
What is the Prism & how does it work?
A Rigorous Framework for Gender Responsive Policy Design and Analysis
The Prism is a multi-tiered policy scoring and analysis tool, designed to assess gender responsiveness of public policies and schemes. It is also a design framework that evaluates and guides gender lens integration within policies and schemes. It is applicable across sectors like transport, energy, education, health, digital infrastructure, food at both national and subnational levels and at any stage of the policy lifecycle - from initial design and pilot to midterm review or post implementation audit.
The Prism is not merely a diagnostic scorecard or tool, it is a structured, theory and evidence informed framework designed to help public policies move from ignorance to surface level recognition of gender disparities to deep institutionalised integration of gender equity across objectives, outputs, outcomes and intended impact of the concerned policy. It responds to a fundamental challenge in public policy, while many governments and policymakers affirm gender equity as a priority, few have the tools to measure whether and how policies reflect that commitment.
Rooted in feminist economics and administrative pragmatism, the Prism developed through effort at theZURI to review more than 50 global policy assessment tools, gender audits & public finance frameworks, budget statements and policy documents from emerging economies across Asia and Africa. It provides a structured but flexible system that enables evidence based scoring, meaningful dialogue, and practical recommendations. It also included review of several gender lens integration and gender mainstreaming models used or deployed by a wide range of stakeholders including ADB, OECD, UN Women, UNDP, and national GRB (Gender Responsive Budgeting) systems.
The result is a seven parameter multi indicator multi-tier model that mirrors life cycle of policymaking, ensuring gender responsiveness is not restricted to a single stage (implementation or evaluation) but addressed systemically across the life cycle of a policy
The Framework powering gender responsive policymaking & advocacy
7 Parameters, 4 Levels, Multiple Indicators, 5 Tiers & ONE Score
Just as a prism takes in white light and reveals a full spectrum of colours, the Prism framework takes a seemingly gender neutral policy and reveals a spectrum of gender linked inclusions & exclusions.
At its core,The Prism evaluates policies across seven parameters critical to gender responsive design. Each parameter corresponds to a crucial dimension where blind spots have the high risk of occurring and where design corrections can have the most lasting impact. A glimpse of the seven parameters that form the foundation of The Prism Framework has been provided here:
Intent & Framing
The starting point of any policy is its problem framing. Many public schemes and policies begin with gender neutral or male default assumptions about labour, care, mobility or enterprise. If gender lens consideration is missing from the very way a challenge is conceptualised, downstream design is bound to reflect those gaps.
This Intent parameter examines whether the policy acknowledges gender specific needs in its problem statement and objective setting.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Whether the policy identifies gender differentiated needs or barriers
Whether gender equality is a stated objective or peripheral mention
If intersectional inequalities (caste, class, disability, age) are acknowledged
Participation & Representation
Who is consulted, who is at the table, and whose voices have been included in shaping the policy? Representation in design committees, working groups, or stakeholder consultations affects whose realities are seen as legitimate.
The Participation parameter assesses whose voices are included in policy design, feedback, decision making and implementation.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
If diverse gender groups were consulted during policy development
Representation of women, trans and non-binary individuals in implementation structures
Whether mechanisms exist to engage people of all gender identities and affected/impacted communities - directly or indirectly
Institutional Capacity & Mandates
Gender equity cannot be operationalised without mandates, staffing, training, and interdepartmental systems that enable it. Several ministries and operating units or departments lack the expertise to implement gender responsive or gender transformative actions or rely on overburdened focal points without decision making power.
This capacity parameter measures whether institutions responsible for the policy have clear mandates, staff and mechanisms for gender responsiveness.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Presence of formal gender mandates within implementing bodies
Coordination with women’s ministries or gender units
Gender capacity development provisions for policy implementers
Finance, Budgeting & Resource Allocation
Equity is not just about policy promises — it is about who gets resourced. Gender-blind budgeting can systematically exclude women focussed interventions, informal sector realities, or social infrastructure needs.
This finance parameter tracks existence and quality of gender responsive budgeting, ring-fencing and accountability structures.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Allocation of gender-targeted or gender-responsive funds
Budget tracking mechanisms (including GRB tools)
Incentives or barriers to access finance for women, MSMEs, or marginalized groups
Design Features & Delivery Mechanisms
Even well intentioned policies can fail if delivery systems are not gender-responsive. Access barriers, eligibility criteria, or digital processes often exclude those without documentation, mobility, or digital literacy, disproportionately women and marginalised communities.
This design and delivery parameter evaluates whether eligibility, access, targeting, and grievance mechanisms address exclusion and enable equitable participation.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Whether design accommodates unpaid care, mobility, or access burdens
Tailored delivery modes (e.g., women-only support centers, last-mile outreach)
Redressal or feedback mechanisms for gender-based grievances
Data, Evidence & Monitoring
Without sex and gender-disaggregated data, policymakers cannot track who benefits or is left out. Monitoring frameworks rarely integrate gender indicators unless mandated — meaning that exclusion goes undetected.
This Data parameter looks at whether data systems collect and apply sex-disaggregated and intersectional data for monitoring, review, and course correction.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Availability and use of gender-disaggregated data
Inclusion of gender indicators in results frameworks
Use of qualitative data from community voices or time-use studies
Sustainability & Systemic Integration
Gender-responsive policies must influence not just a single scheme, but the norms and systems around it. Integration across ministries, states, and planning cycles is essential to create lasting change.
This sustainability parameter assesses whether equity is embedded as a default principle across related programs, future policy cycles, and institutional structures.
The Prism evaluates some of these aspects:
Whether gender equity is embedded across related policies
Institutional continuity mechanisms (e.g., cross-sector GRB units)
Alignment with national or global gender equality commitments (SDGs, Beijing+25, national strategies)
From parameters to Insights, how the framework works
Each of the seven parameters outlined in the previous section is assessed using multiple SMART indicators with measurable outputs or outcomes scored at four levels: Objective, Output, Outcome, and Impact. These are weighted to reflect increasing influence on structural change and help distinguish policies that merely mention gender from those that deliver measurable systemwide change. Indicators are scored from 0 (absent), 1 (present but partial or isolated) or 2 (institutionalised). These indicators are drawn from what policymakers can measure using existing documentation or administrative data systems and are adapted to the context and policy maturity of each country or sector in consideration.
The multilevel indicator system is organised across four weighted levels of policy maturity:
Objective level indicators assess policy intent as stated in official texts or communications.
Output level indicators capture the presence of mechanisms, institutional actions or deliverables.
Outcome level indicators track the results experienced by intended beneficiaries, disaggregated by gender and other intersecting identities.
Impact level indicators focus on long-term transformation in institutional, sectoral or systemic conditions.
A Sample Indicator under two parameters
Parameter - Intent & Framing
Level - Outcome
Indicator - Gender differentiated needs or barriers explicitly acknowledged in the policy problem statement & objectives
Indicator Scoring Rubrics
Score 0 = Absent
Score 1 = Mentioned but not analysed
Score 2 = Clearly defined and supported by data (for instance gender disaggregated mobility data or time use surveys)
Parameter: Finance, Budgeting & Resource Allocation
Level - Output
Indicator - Dedicated budget line items or ringfenced allocations for gender responsive interventions in the scheme
Indicator Scoring Rubrics
Score 0 = No allocations
Score 1 = Allocations not tracked or too generic to assess
Score 2 = Tracked, reported, and aligned to gender outcome targets
The weighted level and indicator based scoring matrix produces a final Prism score across parameters mapped to a five tier ranking. A tiered classification of the policy’s gender responsiveness starting from Unconsidered to Embedded.
Not punitive labels but diagnostic categories
Policies that enter the Prism show their full spectrum of inclusions or the lack of it through their position on this ranking system with Unconsidered being the lowest rank on gender responsiveness.
Unconsidered – Gender dimensions are not acknowledged in policy intent or delivery
Recognitional – Basic references but no mechanisms. Gender is referenced but lacks actionable integration
Emerging – Early stage inclusion with limited outcomes
Integrated – Equity embedded in systems, data, budgets
Embedded – Gender Responsiveness is a core design & performance driver. It is treated as a structural principle shaping the policy ecosystem
These tiers are designed to serve, not as punitive labels but as diagnostic categories, meant to diagnose, benchmark and inform, each accompanied by clear recommendations for progress. They are intended to help policymakers understand not just where their policy stands but where it can go next and how. With each policy Prism Score comes recommendations and guidance for progress, from fixing design blind spots to building institutional capacity or shifting budgets; allowing policymakers to visualise how to move up through the tiers, by operationalising concrete changes in the policy and financing, systems and institutions backing it.
the Prism is part of a bigger picture!
Though independent as a tool, the Prism is also embedded in theZURI’s broader Policy Accelerator model and serves as both, a design guide and performance assessment framework. It brings together global evidence, contextual policy insights, and institutional practice to help facilitate gender lens policymaking to shape equitable inclusive just economies.
Intentions alone do not translate to outcomes
Testing the framework - real world application
Applying Prism to India’s EV Policy Ecosystem
To ensure that the Prism framework evolves as both rigorous and practical, it was first put to test within the complex and evolving electric vehicle policy ecosystem in India. This ecosystem includes a mix of central and state level policies, fiscal schemes, industry incentives and market development mechanisms, all working to accelerate the electric vehicles (EVs) transition. It also includes overlapping central and state level EV policies, fiscal schemes like FAME and regulatory instruments like Production Linked Incentives (PLI).
The goal initially was to test the Prism's real world usability and assess gender gaps in one of India’s most prominent green economy sectors.
Key insights emerged:
Most EV policies had no gender specific targets or incentive structures
Women led enterprises in EV tech were vastly underrepresented and underfinanced
Design standards for vehicles and infrastructure did not reflect female user safety or ergonomic needs
Public data was rarely disaggregated by gender, obscuring impact evaluation
Applying the Prism to this context allowed for a comprehensive stress test of its parameters, indicators, and scoring system. It also helped surface important structural dynamics, for instance the role of public-private partnerships, gaps in gender disaggregated data, limited visibility of informal sector stakeholders, and lack of financing mechanisms designed for women led enterprises or needs of women users of EVs.
This pilot surfaced critical gaps:
Lack of gender specific targets, design consideration in flagship schemes
Lack of recognition of the poor representation of women in EV supply chains and enterprises
Absence of disaggregated mobility or usage data
Private capital flows into EV with no inclusion incentives or disincentives
This field application demonstrated Prism’s utility for stress testing policies at the interface of economic transformation, sustainability and inclusion while establishing its utility not just as an evaluative tool, but as a strategic input for ongoing policy reform.
While we continue to test the framework and design it for adaptability across a range of policy environments and governance structures, in different contexts, the use cases for Prism continue to evolve.
Use Cases - where and how the Prism adds value
Prism’s strength lies in its dual utility as both a retrospective analysis tool and a forward-looking design aid. Unlike many policy scoring tools that operate only retrospectively, Prism supports both evaluation and design. It can:
Benchmark existing policies and schemes to identify strengths and blind spots.
Guide the drafting of new or revised policies with inbuilt gender equity considerations.
Support gender audits, budget reviews, and performance evaluations.
Enable policymakers and advocates to meet national or international commitments on gender equality (e.g., SDGs, national gender strategies).
The Prism has demonstrated value in the following use cases, each showcasing how it helps embed a gender lens at different stages in the policymaking process
Design stage support for New Policies
Policymakers seeking to design new programmes (eg: green jobs, digital skills, care economy) can use Prism to identify the relevant parameters and indicators upfront. It helps them avoid gender-blind design traps and build in responsive mechanisms from day one.
Midterm Policy Reviews or Scheme Revisions
Governments conducting a policy update, either in response to implementation challenges or changing economic priorities, can apply Prism to benchmark current performance and prioritize course corrections.
Gender Budgeting Alignment Exercises
Policymakers using gender responsive budgeting (GRB) mechanisms can deploy the Prism to align line department schemes with GRB reporting frameworks.
Performance Audits and Evaluations
Monitoring & Evaluation or Auditing teams and independent think tanks can integrate Prism into broader evaluations to assess policy effectiveness, especially on inclusive and equitable outcomes.
Who is the Prism for?
Prism is tailored for use by:
Policymakers across different ministries and departments, including planning, finance, transport, energy, health, environment, women and child development, MSME, etc.
Philanthropies supporting inclusive development.
Policy think tanks and research institutions conducting gender audits or impact evaluations.
Civil society advocating for gender transformative public investment
It is also a tool that can facilitate structured engagement between these actors/stakeholders using a common language and scorecard format to drive dialogue and co-create lasting equitable change.
The Value Proposition: What Prism Offers
Clarity - A transparent, evidence backed scoring framework that supports transparent assessment
Structure - A standardised tool usable across sectors and stages of the policy cycle
Depth - Goes beyond inputs and intentions to measure outcomes and institutional impact
Actionability - Each scorecard comes with recommendations, not just scores and ranking
Comparability - Allows for benchmarking across policies and contexts
Looking Ahead, From Gender Lens to Systemic Change
The Prism framework from theZURI represents the first working version of a gender lens policymaking tool that can be used across regions, sectors, and levels of governance. It was designed with real world application in mind and the pilot evaluation within India’s EV policy ecosystem helped refine its parameters, scoring logic, and usability.
The Prism is a pathway for action. It brings together insights and evidence, SMART indicators and an iterative evaluation system to help policymakers embed inclusion, currently gender responsiveness from the outset.
But this is just the beginning. The Prism is built to evolve, not only as a scoring tool but as a guide, a conversation starter to drive stakeholder engagement, and an inclusive policy co-creation mechanism.
The next version of Prism is currently in development & what you can expect?
more gender responsiveness indicators will enrich and refine the framework
the next inclusion lens - the care lens integration framework enabling policymakers to assess how well policies respond to the underpaid, unpaid and invisible care work that underpins all economic systems.
If your organisation aims to align inclusion with ambition and strategy with accountability, I invite you to explore more at theZURI or partner with us.
📨 For partnerships, custom evaluations, or to collaborate with theZURI Policy Accelerator reach us at hello@the-zuri.org
To Learn More 🌐 the-zuri.org
To Partner With Us or or request a custom evaluation or design sprint 📩 hello@the-zuri.org
About theZURI Policy Accelerator
helping move from assessments to actions
The Prism is a cornerstone of the broader ZURI Policy Accelerator, an end to end policy support ecosystem, a solution designed to support emerging economy governments and institutions involved in designing or advocating for gender responsive policies, through tools, evidence and insights, technical assistance, scorecards, policy sprints and stakeholder dialogues. The accelerator facilitates future shaping policymakers and policy advocates with
Structured briefings for policymakers across ministries and sectors
Design and delivery sprints for inclusive and gender lens policy frameworks
Policy Design Studios, Leadership and implementation labs
Customised diagnostic scorecards and comparative analyses across countries and regions
Whether designing new policies or evaluating existing policies, theZURI Policy Accelerator enables governments and partners to embed inclusion from day one, not as an addon, but as a core performance principle. Together, they offer governments, philanthropies and practitioners, the capacity to design inclusive, just, and future fit public policies.
