GENDER MAINSTREAMING AS A TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT
Gender is a psychological concept that refers to the inferences we make about being male or female. Gender is a way in which we classify ourselves in social terms as male and female. Sometimes "gender" has commonly been used interchangeably with "sex," within the academic fields of cultural studies, gender studies and the social sciences (Wikipedia, 2003).
Gender and particularly the role of women is widely recognized as vitally important to international development issues. This often means a focus on gender-equality, ensuring participation, but includes an understanding of the different roles and expectation of the genders within the community (Roscoe, 2000).
Transformative process refers to a fundamental change in attitude or behaviuor of individuals or the relationship between two or more disputing parties. While the behavioural change may be relatively minor or subtle, it goes beyond the immediate situation to alter the way in which the parties see themselves, the world and especially, each other and how they treat each other over (Mulkins A.L and Verhoef MJ (2004).
Development refers to the progress of improving human welfare, which is essentially about increasing the amount of goods and service people can buy (Trainer, 2005).
Gender mainstreaming according to the United Nations Gender Policy refers to the process of assessing the implications of any planned action for both men and women. It seeks to ensure that both men and women benefit equally by integrating their experiences and concerns into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic, and social spheres (www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003).
Indeed, Gender Mainstreaming is a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality. Mainstreaming is not an end in itself but a strategy, an approach, a means to achieve the goal of gender equality. Mainstreaming involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality is central to all activities for example policy development, research, advocacy/dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, and planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects.
While gender mainstreaming varius tools are applied such as gender awareness and gender sensitivity training programmes, gender analysis, gender statistics, gender indicators and indices, gender budgeting and gender audits. Mainstreaming includes gender specific activities and affirmative action, whenever women and men are in a disadvantageous position. Gender specific interventions can target women exclusively, men and women together or only men to enable them participate in and benefit equally from development efforts.
Transformation by gender mainstreaming is not about adding a woman’s component or gender equality component into an existing activity but it goes beyond by bringing the experiences, knowledge and interests of women and men to bear on the development. Mainstreaming gender equality is thus the transformation of unequal social and institutional structures into equal for both men and women (Sandler, 1997).
As gender mainstreaming aims at equality, it has led to the security of human rights and social justice for both men and women whereby after knowing their rights for example the right to inherit the property or resources like land which is a target for achieving development simple because if both men and women have equal chances to property, development will occur.
In addition gender mainstreaming has also led to development due to the fact that both men and women are involved in the decision making processes for example in Uganda there is a legal requirement that at least 1/3 of the local councils should be women.
More so, gender mainstreaming as a transformative process has led both men and women into the political arena where both parties participate equally and this healthy competition has obviously facilitated development at various levels of community.
Further still, gender mainstreaming in the develipment process has been instrumental in directly addressing inequality by involving both men and women in development programmess for example in microfinance both parties have been involved as equal partners. Information at hand has it that women tend to dominate this field because they are regarded as more reliable at repaying the loans than their counterparts. Also, it is claimed that women are more likely to use the money for the benefit of their families hence development in such families.
Gender mainstreaming has been incorpoarted in organizations working in developing countries and in the development field have incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women into their work. A notable example is Wangari Maathai's environmental organization, the Green Belt Movement. It sholud be remembered that environment is the base of development in any country. Therefore gender mainstreaming is a tool that improves our sorroundings and this is very essential in development since a healthy population will always work towards improving its wellbeing.
In the field of education, gender mainstreaming has played a vital role. These days both women and men or girls and boys access education equally. It should be remembered that education is a key to many aspects of life including development. In Uganda for instance, the introduction of universal primary education (UPE) and the recent introduction of universal secondary education (USE) are indicators of a transformative process to encourage development through education.
Gender mainstreaming also is considered as an empowerment tool through training of both men and women to acquire life survival skills. This transforms people into responsible citizens as realize their worth towards personal and community development. For example Makerere University has embarked on training men and women to acquire project panning and management skills, computer application skills, leadership skills and so on in order to propel development at various community and institutional levels.
However there remain challenges hindering full gender mainstreaming worldwide. For instance the legal system, the national machinery and the working mechanism of gender mainstreaming, which has laid down unfavorable conditions for especially women’s development .For example in Uganda the legal system still posses loopholes more especially to the issues affecting women. The system tends to favour men at the expense of women. In light of the outgoing point, that’s why the Domestic Relations Bill has taken long to be passed by a male dominated parliament.
Secondly, the people’s attitudes towards the issues of equality of men and women remain negative in developing nations like Uganda where men still claim the dominance of resource ownership such as land.
Conclusively, gender-mainstreaming activities promote development and reduce poverty in various communities. This can be done through the transformative process of development where both men and women are sensitized about their vital role in societal development by putting their gender differences aside.
REFERENCE:
Beijing, China - September 1995 conference: Action for Equality, Development and Peace
Moser, C et al. (1998): Mainstreaming: Strategy for achieving equality between women and men. A thick piece. World Bank
Mulkins A.L and Verhoef MJ (2004): Supporting the transformative process, Tzu Chi Research Group, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Roscoe, Will (2000): Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America, Palgrave Macmillan.
Sandler, J. (1997): "UNIFEM's Experience in Mainstreaming for Gender Equality". UNIFEM, 1997.
Trainer, T. (2005): Development: the radically alternative view, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia.
Kemal, D.(2005) Empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality,UND, Geneva.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003%20/wom1398.doc.htm
Www.unicef.org/gender/index.html
Www.unece.org/stats/gender/web
Www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform1995
Gender and particularly the role of women is widely recognized as vitally important to international development issues. This often means a focus on gender-equality, ensuring participation, but includes an understanding of the different roles and expectation of the genders within the community (Roscoe, 2000).
Transformative process refers to a fundamental change in attitude or behaviuor of individuals or the relationship between two or more disputing parties. While the behavioural change may be relatively minor or subtle, it goes beyond the immediate situation to alter the way in which the parties see themselves, the world and especially, each other and how they treat each other over (Mulkins A.L and Verhoef MJ (2004).
Development refers to the progress of improving human welfare, which is essentially about increasing the amount of goods and service people can buy (Trainer, 2005).
Gender mainstreaming according to the United Nations Gender Policy refers to the process of assessing the implications of any planned action for both men and women. It seeks to ensure that both men and women benefit equally by integrating their experiences and concerns into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic, and social spheres (www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003).
Indeed, Gender Mainstreaming is a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality. Mainstreaming is not an end in itself but a strategy, an approach, a means to achieve the goal of gender equality. Mainstreaming involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality is central to all activities for example policy development, research, advocacy/dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, and planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects.
While gender mainstreaming varius tools are applied such as gender awareness and gender sensitivity training programmes, gender analysis, gender statistics, gender indicators and indices, gender budgeting and gender audits. Mainstreaming includes gender specific activities and affirmative action, whenever women and men are in a disadvantageous position. Gender specific interventions can target women exclusively, men and women together or only men to enable them participate in and benefit equally from development efforts.
Transformation by gender mainstreaming is not about adding a woman’s component or gender equality component into an existing activity but it goes beyond by bringing the experiences, knowledge and interests of women and men to bear on the development. Mainstreaming gender equality is thus the transformation of unequal social and institutional structures into equal for both men and women (Sandler, 1997).
As gender mainstreaming aims at equality, it has led to the security of human rights and social justice for both men and women whereby after knowing their rights for example the right to inherit the property or resources like land which is a target for achieving development simple because if both men and women have equal chances to property, development will occur.
In addition gender mainstreaming has also led to development due to the fact that both men and women are involved in the decision making processes for example in Uganda there is a legal requirement that at least 1/3 of the local councils should be women.
More so, gender mainstreaming as a transformative process has led both men and women into the political arena where both parties participate equally and this healthy competition has obviously facilitated development at various levels of community.
Further still, gender mainstreaming in the develipment process has been instrumental in directly addressing inequality by involving both men and women in development programmess for example in microfinance both parties have been involved as equal partners. Information at hand has it that women tend to dominate this field because they are regarded as more reliable at repaying the loans than their counterparts. Also, it is claimed that women are more likely to use the money for the benefit of their families hence development in such families.
Gender mainstreaming has been incorpoarted in organizations working in developing countries and in the development field have incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women into their work. A notable example is Wangari Maathai's environmental organization, the Green Belt Movement. It sholud be remembered that environment is the base of development in any country. Therefore gender mainstreaming is a tool that improves our sorroundings and this is very essential in development since a healthy population will always work towards improving its wellbeing.
In the field of education, gender mainstreaming has played a vital role. These days both women and men or girls and boys access education equally. It should be remembered that education is a key to many aspects of life including development. In Uganda for instance, the introduction of universal primary education (UPE) and the recent introduction of universal secondary education (USE) are indicators of a transformative process to encourage development through education.
Gender mainstreaming also is considered as an empowerment tool through training of both men and women to acquire life survival skills. This transforms people into responsible citizens as realize their worth towards personal and community development. For example Makerere University has embarked on training men and women to acquire project panning and management skills, computer application skills, leadership skills and so on in order to propel development at various community and institutional levels.
However there remain challenges hindering full gender mainstreaming worldwide. For instance the legal system, the national machinery and the working mechanism of gender mainstreaming, which has laid down unfavorable conditions for especially women’s development .For example in Uganda the legal system still posses loopholes more especially to the issues affecting women. The system tends to favour men at the expense of women. In light of the outgoing point, that’s why the Domestic Relations Bill has taken long to be passed by a male dominated parliament.
Secondly, the people’s attitudes towards the issues of equality of men and women remain negative in developing nations like Uganda where men still claim the dominance of resource ownership such as land.
Conclusively, gender-mainstreaming activities promote development and reduce poverty in various communities. This can be done through the transformative process of development where both men and women are sensitized about their vital role in societal development by putting their gender differences aside.
REFERENCE:
Beijing, China - September 1995 conference: Action for Equality, Development and Peace
Moser, C et al. (1998): Mainstreaming: Strategy for achieving equality between women and men. A thick piece. World Bank
Mulkins A.L and Verhoef MJ (2004): Supporting the transformative process, Tzu Chi Research Group, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Roscoe, Will (2000): Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America, Palgrave Macmillan.
Sandler, J. (1997): "UNIFEM's Experience in Mainstreaming for Gender Equality". UNIFEM, 1997.
Trainer, T. (2005): Development: the radically alternative view, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia.
Kemal, D.(2005) Empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality,UND, Geneva.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003%20/wom1398.doc.htm
Www.unicef.org/gender/index.html
Www.unece.org/stats/gender/web
Www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform1995
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