The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) used a gender audit as the foundation for developing a structured and evidence-based Gender Strategy. The audit was conducted between February and April 2025 with technical support from the Asia Pacific Forum (APF). It examined governance, organisational culture, human resource systems, staff capability and institutional practices related to gender equality. The process included document reviews, staff surveys, interviews and focus group discussions. The audit identified both institutional strengths and important gaps. HRCSL leadership showed strong commitment to gender equality, and the organisation already had credibility in external work on women’s rights, GBV and SOGI issues. Some gender-responsive systems and structures were already in place, including Gender and SOGI Sub-Committees and divisional Gender Focal Points. The audit also found inconsistent gender mainstreaming across divisions, limited accountability and monitoring systems, gaps in gender-responsive HR policies, and uneven staff understanding and capability. The findings highlighted that gender equality could not rely on isolated initiatives or individual staff commitment alone. It required coordinated institutional change. In response, HRCSL formally endorsed the audit findings and committed to developing a five-year Gender Strategy (2025–2029). The Strategy was designed as a phased roadmap for institutional reform, grounded in substantive equality, intersectionality and accountability. The Strategy included four key objectives: • B  uilding a gender-sensitive and inclusive organisational culture • S  trengthening gender-responsive HR systems and policies • Increasing staff capability in gender analysis and mainstreaming • Improving accountability, monitoring and reporting systems. Implementation activities included staff awareness programmes, gender-responsive HR reforms, unconscious bias training, workplace accessibility improvements, gender-responsive budgeting, internal reporting and a follow-up gender audit to measure progress over time. Gender Strategy Toolkit 2026 76