The VDSA project mainstreams gender in three ways:

1. The project has an enhanced research focus on gender issues in agriculture and rural development going beyond gender analysis to include social analysis and linking the two. The role of women in decision making in agricultural production, consumption, nutrition, education, etc., access to and control of resources, participation in and access to social networks and the accretion of social capital and empowerment are therefore candidates for study along with labor participation of women in farm and non-farm activities.
   
2. Suitable tools and methods are developed for sampling, instruments for collection of gender-disaggregated data, and data analysis. A Q-square approach is adopted ie, qualitative and quantitative data is collected to understand, describe and analyze gender dimensions. The focus is not just on the “what” but also the hows and whys.
3. The project is headed by a woman social scientist. There is a gender balance of researchers. Women investigators have been hired and trained to collect gender-related information and data as social and cultural norms may prevent male investigators from approaching women members in the sample household. All the partners have been sensitized to gender issues and have the capacity to handle gender-related research topics.

The specific gender focus of this project is reflected in the gender differentiated activities of the three objectives given below:

Objectives	Activities which include sex-disaggregated and gender-differentiated information
1. Enhance the availability of reliable household, individual and field-specific high frequency, time series data in purposively selected villages in the semi-arid and humid tropics of South Asia	1. Village-level descriptors will include basic demographic data disaggregated by age and sex, number and percentage of male and female headed households, percentage of male and female who migrate, presence of male and female groups/associations, literacy rates, etc. 2. Household level and intra-household information on family members and their occupations and access to resources; decision makers on household and farm production, consumption, nutrition; labor inputs of adult males and females and children by source of labor and by operations; time used in animal production, other farm enterprises, off-farm and non-farm activities; processing and marketing will be collected. Contributions to household income including cost saving expenditures of family members by age and sex; participation and leadership positions of men and women in social, community and farmer organizations; participation in and access to social networks and build-up of social capital and empowerment; male and female out-migration, remittances from male and female members and use of remittances will also be collected.
2. Increase the availability of updated and expanded district level agricultural data in India and Bangladesh	Sex-disaggregated and gender-differentiated information will be collected at the meso level to identify female heads of households, emerging trends and patterns in rates of male and female literacy, wages, employment and unemployment in different sectors, health and nutrition status, incidence of poverty, male/female out-migration, labor participation in specific crops, animal, fisheries, etc.
3. Nurture data analysis and strengthen capacity building to fully exploit the data collected in objectives 1 and 2	A female member will be included in each research team at the village level to collect quality data from female family members Representatives from women’s groups will be included in policy dialogues Gender-differentiated information will be made available to policymakers for the development of gender-responsive policies Special purpose surveys on gender concerns such as the impacts of (1)rural out-migration on livelihood, productivity and changing gender roles; (2) programs on intra-household food security, nutrition, welfare and empowerment; (3) labor-saving technologies on different socio-economic groups of women; and (4) impact of globalization on intra-household dynamics will be conducted.