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The GAM is a tool that aims to help determine the different impact development interventions have on women and men, by providing a community-based technique for identifying and analyzing gender differences. The GAM is intended to be a transformative tool used to initiate a process of analysis by community members themselves. The GAM has been adapted by a variety of organizations to agriculture, health, and other project contexts. GAM Tools include:

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• Analysis at four 'levels' of society: Analyses the impact of development interventions at four levels: women, men, households, and community. Other levels (depending on the project goals and the community in question) such as age group, class, ethnic group, and so on, can be added.

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• Analysis of four kinds of impact: Explores impact in four areas: labor, time, resources (considering both access and control), and socio-cultural factors.

  • Once the GAM is completed, the group discusses the findings by asking the following questions: Are the effects listed on the GAM desirable? Are they consistent with the program's goals? How is the intervention affecting those who do not participate? Which results are unexpected?

  • The GAM is intended for use with groups of community members with equal representation of women and men, facilitated by a development worker. Over time, it is hoped that community members themselves will facilitate the process, but in the early stages, an experienced facilitator is needed. The analysis is always done by the group. It is intended that the analysis in the GAM should be reviewed and revised once a month for the first three months, and once every three months thereafter.