Gender Mainstreaming

GENDER MAINSTREAMING

B R SIWAL

NIPCCD

NEW DELHI

E-MAIL brsiwal@gmail.com

Gender mainstreaming is not:

A Women only issue

It is not just about improving access or of balancing the statistics

About having well written statements

About blaming anybody for the inequalities which exist

About only women taking action

About only women benefiting from it

About stopping or replacing gender specific policies and projects targeted at either women or men

Gender mainstreaming:

Is about reducing poverty, boosting economic growth and strengthening citizenship

Is a pro-active process designed to tackle inequalities which can and do discriminate against either sex

Targets major economic and social policies that deliver major resources

Makes good economic sense ensuring that women as well as men are active, using 100% of the productive labour force

Represents a further step in the search for equality

Recognises that gender is one of the most fundamental organising features in society and affects our lives from the moment we are born

Presupposes a recognition of male and female identities

Recognises that differences exist in men’s and women’s lives and therefore our needs, experiences and priorities are different

Involves a willingness to establish a balanced distribution of responsibilities between women and men

Needs determined political action and support with clear indicators and targets

Will not happen overnight, it is a continuous process

Gender mainstreaming means:

That differences between women and men may never be used as a ground for discrimination

A radical rethink of the way labour markets work and their impact on women’s and men’s employment

Long-lasting changes in society, transforming parental roles, family structures, and the organisation of work, time and even institutional practices

Reshaping the mainstream rather than adding activities for women at the margins

A partnership between women and men to ensure both participate fully in society’s development and benefit equally from society’s resources

Responding to the root causes of inequality and putting remedial action in place

Ensuring that initiatives not only respond to gender differences but seek to reduce gender inequality

Asking the right question to see where limited resources should be best diverted

More attention to men and their role in creating a more equal society

Gender mainstreaming covers:

policy design

decision-making

access to resources

procedures and practices

methodology

implementation

monitoring and evaluation

Gender Mainstreaming

What is the mainstream?

What is being mainstreamed?

What does it mean to be part of the mainstream?

What is the target of mainstreaming?

What is the goal of mainstreaming?

How gender mainstreaming

DEFINATION OF GENDER MAINSTREAMING

" Mainstreaming a gender perspective process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.

It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality .”

What Is Being Mainstreamed?

Gender equality is recognised as not just a “women’s issue” but a societal one

Gender equality goals influence mainstream economic and social policies that deliver major resources

Gender equality pursued from the centre rather than from the margins

What Does It Mean To Be Part Of The Mainstream?

Having equitable access to society’s resources, including socially-valued goods, rewards and opportunities

Equal participation in influencing what is valued, shaping development directions, and distributing opportunities

Why Gender Mainstreaming?

Shift in understanding of the problem

Recognition that gender equality is integral to development goals

Realization that previous approaches were not resulting in real change in the position of women and gender equality

Shift In Understanding Of The Problem Early Approaches Current Thinking

Analysis:

women left out

women lack:

education

training

credit self-esteem

Analysis:

social structures and processes recreate inequalities between women and men in:

resources

opportunities

decision-making

Problem: women Problem : inequality between women and men Approach: women must change their attributes to be integrated into development Approach: society and institutions must change ideas and practices in support of equal choices and opportunities

GM aim to Make Development More Effective Through :

Emphasis on reshaping the mainstream rather than adding activities for women at the margin

Focus on gender equality as an objective, rather than women as a target group

Ensure that initiatives not only respond to gender differences but seek to reduce gender inequality

More attention to women’s organizations and the momentum for change

More attention to men and their role in creating a more equal society

Organisational Capacity for Gender Mainstreaming

Appropriate knowledge and skills

Strategic management

Effective networks and linkages

Enabling policy and institutional environment

Supportive economic, social and political environment

As Change Agents Working To Mainstream Gender

Contribute gender perspectives to decision-making processes, especially policy and programme planning, personnel issues and advocacy

Promote and facilitate inter-agency dialogue on gender mainstreaming

Persuade and convince others of the need for gender mainstreaming

Analyze, collect and disseminate information on gender analysis and gender mainstreaming practice

Network extensively with other gender focal points, women’s organizations and our constituencies

Intervene appropriately in policy advice and dialogue, ensuring that gender equality considerations are taken into account in discussion and decision-making

Record and find mechanisms for learning from programmatic and organizational good practices.

Steps for Gender Mainstreaming

1. A Mainstreaming Approach to Stakeholders: Who are the Decision-Makers?

2. Mainstreaming a Gender Agenda: What is the Issue?

3. Moving Towards Gender Equality: What is the Goal?

4. Mapping the Situation: What Information do we Have?

5. Refining the Issue: Research and Analysis

6 Formulating Policy from a Gender Perspective

7. Arguing Your Case: Gender Matters!

8. Monitoring: Keeping a (Gender-Sensitive) Eye on Things

9. Evaluation: How Did We Do?

10. En-gendering Communication

1. GENDER-SENSITIVE STAKEHOLDER CHECKLIST

• Gender focal points in ministries and departments?

• Development partners with a gender equality mandate?

• •• An umbrella organization of women’s or gender NGOs?

• Any NGOs or community groups that represent men’s gender interests?

• Relevant sectoral or “special interest” NGOs that have an interest or experience in gender issues?

• Human rights groups or advocates?

• Academics or researchers from university Gender Studies departments?

2. MAINSTREAMING A GENDER AGENDA: WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

What is the subject of your project or policy-making initiative? This subject then needs to be examined from a gender perspective, in order to discern where, why and how specific gender mainstreaming initiatives may need to be applied. The following question will help you decide what the “gender issue” is:

Does this issue affect men and women in different ways? The answer is likely to be “yes”. This means that the specific ways in which men and women are differently affected

3 .MOVING TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY: WHAT IS THE GOAL ?

What do we want to achieve?

Is the goal disaggregated by gender?

Does the goal include a broader commitment to improving gender equality?

4. MAPPING THE SITUATION: WHAT INFORMATION DO WE HAVE?

what you know

what you don’t know

what projects or policy interventions have already happened

what is currently happening

what other related interventions are planned

4. HELPFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Database of government legislation

• Database of government documents

• Database of government-commissioned research

• Database of donor-funded technical assistance

• Database of NGO activities

5 .RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

This phase involves:

• Specifying the research question

• Determining necessary inputs

• Designing and/or Commissioning the

research

6. FORMULATING POLICY OR PROJECT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE

􀀹 efficiency – cost-benefit analysis;

􀀹 effectiveness – the degree to which your goal will be met; and

􀀹 social justice, including gender equality – the extent to which social and historical disadvantages between different groups in society are addressed and compensated.

7 ARGUING YOUR CASE: GENDER MATTERS

Justice and Equality

Credibility and Accountability Efficiency and Sustainability

Quality of Life

Alliances

Chain Reaction

8 MONITORING:

I. LEVELS OF MONITORING

II. GENDER-SENSITIVE MONITORING PLANS

III. GENDER-SENSITIVE TARGETS AND INDICATORS

HOW TO DEVELOP INDICATORS?

Asking the right question :

What do you want the indicator to tell you?

Determining the information needed to

answer the question :

What do I need to measure or compare?

􀀹 Identifying the source of information .

Quantitative vs Qualitative Indicators .

9 EVALUATION: HOW DID WE DO?

Evaluation criteria 􀀹Who determines the evaluation criteria? gender equality considerations? Evaluation Actors 􀀹 Are all stakeholders involved in the evaluation process? Who will provide inputs for evaluation data? Will the opinions of both men and women be considered?