THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENDER MAINSTREAMING STRATEGY
In efforts to promote the advancement of women and gender equality over the past few decades the approaches or strategies adopted have changed significantly. Initial efforts were focused on separate targeted activities for women. While many of these efforts produced positive results, particularly for the limited numbers of women who could benefit directly, this approach did not tackle the structural constraints to gender equality. Efforts in the 1970s shifted instead to integrating attention to women into all activities rather than keeping women on the sidelines of development. However the gains made through the integration strategy were limited by the fact that most efforts were undertaken too late in processes when all important decisions on goals, strategies and resources had already been taken. Equally constraining was the fact that integration was often taken to mean only increasing women’s participation in development agendas already decided upon by others without taking their contributions, knowledge, priorities and needs into consideration. The potential for bringing about the types of structural changes required for achieving gender equality was therefore reduced.
In the 1980s a new approach evolved, the mainstreaming strategy, which aimed to make the goal of gender equality central to all development activities. The term mainstreaming came from the objective to bring attention to gender equality into the mainstream of development activities. An important element in the mainstreaming strategy is the ambition to give attention to gender equality from initial stages of processes so that there is potential to influence goals, strategies and resource allocations and thus bring about real changes in policies, programmes and other activities and make a real difference to gender equality.
What does gender mainstreaming mean?
The ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2 provided a clear definition of the mainstreaming strategy as: “…the 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.”
The mainstreaming strategy is utilized in areas where the principal objective is not promotion of gender equality but promotion of other goals, such as, poverty elimination, environmentally sustainable development, health development, peace support operations or economic development. Mainstreaming involves taking up gender equality perspectives as relevant in analysis, data collection, and other activities, to ensure that all processes take into account the contributions, priorities and needs of the entire stakeholder group, women as well as men. Attention to the goal of gender equality needs to be mainstreamed into research, analysis, policy development as well as operational activities.
The Platform for Action (Beijing Conference, 1995) made it very clear that gender analysis is the first essential step in the mainstreaming strategy. Before any decisions are taken in any area of societal development an analysis should be made of the current responsibilities and contributions of both women and men and the potential impact of planned processes and activities on women and men respectively.
Mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, women-specific policies and programmes, and positive legislation. Mainstreaming and empowerment of women are complementary strategies. The mainstreaming strategy should always be implemented in a manner which facilitates empowerment of women.
Where does the mandate for gender mainstreaming come from?
The mandate on the mainstreaming strategy comes from the Platform for Action (Beijing, 1995) where mainstreaming was established as the main global strategy for promoting gender equality, required in all the critical areas of concern. The ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2 also established some basic overall principles of mainstreaming. Initial definitions of issues/problems across all areas of activity should be done in such a manner that gender differences and disparities can be diagnosed.
Assumptions that issues/problems are neutral from a gender perspective should never be made; gender analysis should always be carried out. Efforts should be made to broaden women’s equitable participation at all levels of decision-making and in all areas of societal development.
More concrete directives within the United Nations system were provided with the Secretary General’s communication to management in October 1997. Analytical reports and recommendations on policy or operational issues within each area of responsibility should take gender differences and disparities fully into account. Medium-term plans and budgets should be prepared in such a manner that gender perspectives are explicit. Specific strategies should be formulated for gender mainstreaming and priorities established. Systematic use should be made of gender analysis, sex-disaggregation of data, and sector-specific gender studies and surveys should be commissioned as required. The General Assembly in Resolution 52/100 (December 1997) requested all bodies within the UN system that deal with programme and budgetary matters to ensure that all programmes, medium-term plans and programmes budgets visibly mainstream a gender perspective.
The gender mainstreaming mandate was significantly strengthened in the outcome document of the General Assembly twenty-third special session to follow up the Beijing Conference in June 2000 (A/S-23/10/Rev.1). In addition the Security Council resolution (S/2000/1044) arising from the Council's discussions on Women, peace and security on 24-25 October 2000 provides a strong mandate for gender mainstreaming in all areas of peace support operations.
Who is responsible for gender mainstreaming?
Overall responsibility for implementing the mainstreaming strategy should rest at the highest levels within Governments and other organizations, including in the United Nations system. Management levels should develop adequate accountability mechanisms for monitoring progress with mainstreaming. One means of ensuring accountability is to establish clear indicators of progress which can be monitored over time by management.
Although the mainstreaming strategy requires a shift of responsibility for promoting gender equality from specialists to all personal, especially management levels, this does not imply that gender specialists are no longer required. The need for specialist support can be increased with the implementation of the mainstreaming strategy, particularly during initial periods. Gender specialists should, however, have new roles – catalysing, advising and supporting the efforts of others rather than doing mainstreaming themselves. Effective roles for gender specialists requires adequate allocation of resources, clear mandates and strategic location within organizations. Specialists require the strong support of, and direct access to, senior management levels.
How is gender mainstreaming done?
The first step required is an assessment of the linkages between gender equality and the issue or sector being worked on, that is, to identify the gender implications of working on, for example, environment, poverty elimination, health development, and all other areas of development. This involves understanding why promotion of gender equality is important for securing human rights / social justice for both women and men, as well as for achievement of development goals. Secondly the opportunities for introducing gender perspectives need to be identified in the work tasks undertaken. These opportunities or entry-points can be found in research and analysis, policy development, use of statistics, training events and workshops/conferences, as well as in planning and implementing projects and programmes. Thirdly an approach or methodology has to be identified for successfully incorporating gender perspectives into these work tasks in a manner which facilitates influencing goals, strategies, resource allocation and outcomes. This could include, for example, giving attention to gender perspectives and the goal of gender equality in terms or reference and job descriptions. Institutional development, in terms of developing guidelines, utilizing gender specialists, providing competence development for all personnel, etc., is also required to support gender mainstreaming.
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS UNDERLYING GENDER MAINSTREAMING
Gender
The concept of gender needs to be understood clearly as a cross-cutting socio-cultural variable. It is an overarching variable in the sense that gender can also be applied to all other cross-cutting variables such as race, class, age, ethnic group, etc. Gender systems are established in different socio-cultural contexts which determine what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman/man and girl/boy in these specific contexts. Gender roles are learned through socialization processes; they are not fixed but are changeable. Gender systems are institutionalized through education systems, political and economic systems, legislation, and culture and traditions. In utilizing a gender approach the focus is not on individual women and men but on the system which determines gender roles / responsibilities, access to and control over resources, and decision-making potentials.
It is also important to emphasize that the concept of gender is not interchangeable with women. Gender refers to both women and men, and the relations between them. Promotion of gender equality should concern and engage men as well as women. In recent years there has been a much stronger direct focus on men in research on gender perspectives. There are three main approaches taken in the increased focus on men. Firstly, the need to identify men as allies for gender equality and involve them more actively in this work. Secondly, the recognition that gender equality is not possible unless men change their attitudes and behaviour in many areas, for example in relation to reproductive rights and health. And thirdly, that gender systems in place in many contexts are negative for men as well as for women – creating unrealistic demands on men and requiring men to behave in narrowly defined ways. A considerable amount of interesting research is being undertaken, by both women and men, on male identities and masculinity. The increased focus on men will have significant impact on future strategies for working with gender perspectives in development.
Gender equality
Gender equality is the preferred terminology within the United Nations, rather than gender equity. Gender equity denotes an element of interpretation of social justice, usually based on tradition, custom, religion or culture, which is most often to the detriment to women. Such use of equity in relation to the advancement of women is unacceptable. During the Beijing conference in 1995 it was agreed that the term equality would be utilized. Gender Equality means that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Equality does not mean “ the same as” – promotion of gender equality does not mean than women and men will become the same. Equality between women and men has both a quantitative and a qualitative aspect. The quantitative aspect refers to the desire to achieve equitable representation of women – increasing balance and parity, while the quantitative aspect refers to achieving equitable influence on establishing development priorities and outcomes for women and men. Equality involves ensuring that the perceptions, interests, needs and priorities of women and men (which can be very different because of the differing roles and responsibilities of women and men) will be given equal weight in planning and decision-making.
There is a dual rationale for promoting gender equality. Firstly, that equality between women and men – equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities - is a matter of human rights and social justice. And secondly, that greater equality between women and men is also a precondition for (and effective indicator of) sustainable people-centred development. The perceptions, interests, needs and priorities of both women and men must be taken into consideration not only as a matter of social justice but because they are necessary to enrich development processes.
Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The calls for increased gender mainstreaming in the Economic and Social Council (ESCSOC) Agreed Conclusions (1997/2) are not for increased gender balance within the United Nations but for increased attention to gender perspectives and the goal of gender equality in the work of the United Nations. Gender mainstreaming does not entail developing separate women’s projects within work programmes, or even women’s components within existing activities in the work programmes. It requires that attention is given to gender perspectives as an integral part of all activities across all programmes. This involves making gender perspectives – what women and men do and the resources and decision-making processes they have access to – more central to all policy development, research, advocacy, development, implementation and monitoring of norms and standards, and planning, implementation and monitoring of projects.
It is important to see the linkages between gender mainstreaming in the substantive work of the United Nations and the promotion of equal opportunities and gender balance within the United Nations itself. Organizational culture and organizational values are important in terms of creating work environments which are conducive to gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is easiest to implement in organizational environments which support approaches such as multi-disciplinary focuses, teamwork, creative thinking, flexibility and risk-taking.
Gender mainstreaming was established as an intergovernmental mandate in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, and again in the ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions in 1997. The mandate for gender mainstreaming was considerably strengthened in the outcome of the General Assembly special session to follow-up the Beijing Conference (June 2000). Gender mainstreaming is not being imposed on governments by the United Nations. Member states have been involved in the intergovernmental discussions on gender mainstreaming since the mid 1990s and have, in consensus, adopted mainstreaming as an important global strategy for promoting gender equality.
The mainstreaming strategy does not mean that targeted activities to support women are no longer necessary. Such activities specifically target women´s priorities and needs, through, for example, legislation, policy development, research and projects/programmes on the ground. Women-specific projects continue to play an important role in promoting gender equality. They are still needed because gender equality has not yet been attained and gender mainstreaming processes are not well developed. Targeted initiatives focusing specifically on women or the promotion of gender equality are important for reducing existing disparities, serving as a catalyst for promotion of gender equality and creating a constituency for changing the mainstream. Women-specific initiatives can create an empowering space for women and act as an important incubator for ideas and strategies than can be transferred to mainstream interventions. Initiatives focused on men support promotion of gender equality by developing male allies. It is crucial to understand that these two strategies - gender mainstreaming and women´s empowerment - are in no way in competition with each other. The endorsement of gender mainstreaming within an organization does not imply that targeted activities are no longer needed. The two strategies are complementary in a very real sense as gender mainstreaming must be carried out in a manner which is empowering for women.
Empowerment of women
The empowerment of women concerns women gaining power and control over their own lives. It involves awareness-raising, building self-confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources and actions to transform the structures and institutions which reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality. The process of empowerment is as important as the goal. Empowerment comes from within; women empower themselves. Inputs to promote the empowerment of women should facilitate women’s articulation of their needs and priorities and a more active role in promoting these interests and needs. Empowerment of women cannot be achieved in a vacuum; men must be brought along in the process of change. Empowerment should not be seen as a zero-sum game where gains for women automatically imply losses for men. Increasing women’s power in empowerment strategies does not refer to power over, or controlling forms of power, but rather to alternative forms of power: power to; power with and power from within which focus on utilizing individual and collective strengths to work towards common goals without coercion or domination.
REFERENCE:
Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, United Nations (August 2001)
In the 1980s a new approach evolved, the mainstreaming strategy, which aimed to make the goal of gender equality central to all development activities. The term mainstreaming came from the objective to bring attention to gender equality into the mainstream of development activities. An important element in the mainstreaming strategy is the ambition to give attention to gender equality from initial stages of processes so that there is potential to influence goals, strategies and resource allocations and thus bring about real changes in policies, programmes and other activities and make a real difference to gender equality.
What does gender mainstreaming mean?
The ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2 provided a clear definition of the mainstreaming strategy as: “…the 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.”
The mainstreaming strategy is utilized in areas where the principal objective is not promotion of gender equality but promotion of other goals, such as, poverty elimination, environmentally sustainable development, health development, peace support operations or economic development. Mainstreaming involves taking up gender equality perspectives as relevant in analysis, data collection, and other activities, to ensure that all processes take into account the contributions, priorities and needs of the entire stakeholder group, women as well as men. Attention to the goal of gender equality needs to be mainstreamed into research, analysis, policy development as well as operational activities.
The Platform for Action (Beijing Conference, 1995) made it very clear that gender analysis is the first essential step in the mainstreaming strategy. Before any decisions are taken in any area of societal development an analysis should be made of the current responsibilities and contributions of both women and men and the potential impact of planned processes and activities on women and men respectively.
Mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, women-specific policies and programmes, and positive legislation. Mainstreaming and empowerment of women are complementary strategies. The mainstreaming strategy should always be implemented in a manner which facilitates empowerment of women.
Where does the mandate for gender mainstreaming come from?
The mandate on the mainstreaming strategy comes from the Platform for Action (Beijing, 1995) where mainstreaming was established as the main global strategy for promoting gender equality, required in all the critical areas of concern. The ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2 also established some basic overall principles of mainstreaming. Initial definitions of issues/problems across all areas of activity should be done in such a manner that gender differences and disparities can be diagnosed.
Assumptions that issues/problems are neutral from a gender perspective should never be made; gender analysis should always be carried out. Efforts should be made to broaden women’s equitable participation at all levels of decision-making and in all areas of societal development.
More concrete directives within the United Nations system were provided with the Secretary General’s communication to management in October 1997. Analytical reports and recommendations on policy or operational issues within each area of responsibility should take gender differences and disparities fully into account. Medium-term plans and budgets should be prepared in such a manner that gender perspectives are explicit. Specific strategies should be formulated for gender mainstreaming and priorities established. Systematic use should be made of gender analysis, sex-disaggregation of data, and sector-specific gender studies and surveys should be commissioned as required. The General Assembly in Resolution 52/100 (December 1997) requested all bodies within the UN system that deal with programme and budgetary matters to ensure that all programmes, medium-term plans and programmes budgets visibly mainstream a gender perspective.
The gender mainstreaming mandate was significantly strengthened in the outcome document of the General Assembly twenty-third special session to follow up the Beijing Conference in June 2000 (A/S-23/10/Rev.1). In addition the Security Council resolution (S/2000/1044) arising from the Council's discussions on Women, peace and security on 24-25 October 2000 provides a strong mandate for gender mainstreaming in all areas of peace support operations.
Who is responsible for gender mainstreaming?
Overall responsibility for implementing the mainstreaming strategy should rest at the highest levels within Governments and other organizations, including in the United Nations system. Management levels should develop adequate accountability mechanisms for monitoring progress with mainstreaming. One means of ensuring accountability is to establish clear indicators of progress which can be monitored over time by management.
Although the mainstreaming strategy requires a shift of responsibility for promoting gender equality from specialists to all personal, especially management levels, this does not imply that gender specialists are no longer required. The need for specialist support can be increased with the implementation of the mainstreaming strategy, particularly during initial periods. Gender specialists should, however, have new roles – catalysing, advising and supporting the efforts of others rather than doing mainstreaming themselves. Effective roles for gender specialists requires adequate allocation of resources, clear mandates and strategic location within organizations. Specialists require the strong support of, and direct access to, senior management levels.
How is gender mainstreaming done?
The first step required is an assessment of the linkages between gender equality and the issue or sector being worked on, that is, to identify the gender implications of working on, for example, environment, poverty elimination, health development, and all other areas of development. This involves understanding why promotion of gender equality is important for securing human rights / social justice for both women and men, as well as for achievement of development goals. Secondly the opportunities for introducing gender perspectives need to be identified in the work tasks undertaken. These opportunities or entry-points can be found in research and analysis, policy development, use of statistics, training events and workshops/conferences, as well as in planning and implementing projects and programmes. Thirdly an approach or methodology has to be identified for successfully incorporating gender perspectives into these work tasks in a manner which facilitates influencing goals, strategies, resource allocation and outcomes. This could include, for example, giving attention to gender perspectives and the goal of gender equality in terms or reference and job descriptions. Institutional development, in terms of developing guidelines, utilizing gender specialists, providing competence development for all personnel, etc., is also required to support gender mainstreaming.
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS UNDERLYING GENDER MAINSTREAMING
Gender
The concept of gender needs to be understood clearly as a cross-cutting socio-cultural variable. It is an overarching variable in the sense that gender can also be applied to all other cross-cutting variables such as race, class, age, ethnic group, etc. Gender systems are established in different socio-cultural contexts which determine what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman/man and girl/boy in these specific contexts. Gender roles are learned through socialization processes; they are not fixed but are changeable. Gender systems are institutionalized through education systems, political and economic systems, legislation, and culture and traditions. In utilizing a gender approach the focus is not on individual women and men but on the system which determines gender roles / responsibilities, access to and control over resources, and decision-making potentials.
It is also important to emphasize that the concept of gender is not interchangeable with women. Gender refers to both women and men, and the relations between them. Promotion of gender equality should concern and engage men as well as women. In recent years there has been a much stronger direct focus on men in research on gender perspectives. There are three main approaches taken in the increased focus on men. Firstly, the need to identify men as allies for gender equality and involve them more actively in this work. Secondly, the recognition that gender equality is not possible unless men change their attitudes and behaviour in many areas, for example in relation to reproductive rights and health. And thirdly, that gender systems in place in many contexts are negative for men as well as for women – creating unrealistic demands on men and requiring men to behave in narrowly defined ways. A considerable amount of interesting research is being undertaken, by both women and men, on male identities and masculinity. The increased focus on men will have significant impact on future strategies for working with gender perspectives in development.
Gender equality
Gender equality is the preferred terminology within the United Nations, rather than gender equity. Gender equity denotes an element of interpretation of social justice, usually based on tradition, custom, religion or culture, which is most often to the detriment to women. Such use of equity in relation to the advancement of women is unacceptable. During the Beijing conference in 1995 it was agreed that the term equality would be utilized. Gender Equality means that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Equality does not mean “ the same as” – promotion of gender equality does not mean than women and men will become the same. Equality between women and men has both a quantitative and a qualitative aspect. The quantitative aspect refers to the desire to achieve equitable representation of women – increasing balance and parity, while the quantitative aspect refers to achieving equitable influence on establishing development priorities and outcomes for women and men. Equality involves ensuring that the perceptions, interests, needs and priorities of women and men (which can be very different because of the differing roles and responsibilities of women and men) will be given equal weight in planning and decision-making.
There is a dual rationale for promoting gender equality. Firstly, that equality between women and men – equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities - is a matter of human rights and social justice. And secondly, that greater equality between women and men is also a precondition for (and effective indicator of) sustainable people-centred development. The perceptions, interests, needs and priorities of both women and men must be taken into consideration not only as a matter of social justice but because they are necessary to enrich development processes.
Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The calls for increased gender mainstreaming in the Economic and Social Council (ESCSOC) Agreed Conclusions (1997/2) are not for increased gender balance within the United Nations but for increased attention to gender perspectives and the goal of gender equality in the work of the United Nations. Gender mainstreaming does not entail developing separate women’s projects within work programmes, or even women’s components within existing activities in the work programmes. It requires that attention is given to gender perspectives as an integral part of all activities across all programmes. This involves making gender perspectives – what women and men do and the resources and decision-making processes they have access to – more central to all policy development, research, advocacy, development, implementation and monitoring of norms and standards, and planning, implementation and monitoring of projects.
It is important to see the linkages between gender mainstreaming in the substantive work of the United Nations and the promotion of equal opportunities and gender balance within the United Nations itself. Organizational culture and organizational values are important in terms of creating work environments which are conducive to gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is easiest to implement in organizational environments which support approaches such as multi-disciplinary focuses, teamwork, creative thinking, flexibility and risk-taking.
Gender mainstreaming was established as an intergovernmental mandate in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, and again in the ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions in 1997. The mandate for gender mainstreaming was considerably strengthened in the outcome of the General Assembly special session to follow-up the Beijing Conference (June 2000). Gender mainstreaming is not being imposed on governments by the United Nations. Member states have been involved in the intergovernmental discussions on gender mainstreaming since the mid 1990s and have, in consensus, adopted mainstreaming as an important global strategy for promoting gender equality.
The mainstreaming strategy does not mean that targeted activities to support women are no longer necessary. Such activities specifically target women´s priorities and needs, through, for example, legislation, policy development, research and projects/programmes on the ground. Women-specific projects continue to play an important role in promoting gender equality. They are still needed because gender equality has not yet been attained and gender mainstreaming processes are not well developed. Targeted initiatives focusing specifically on women or the promotion of gender equality are important for reducing existing disparities, serving as a catalyst for promotion of gender equality and creating a constituency for changing the mainstream. Women-specific initiatives can create an empowering space for women and act as an important incubator for ideas and strategies than can be transferred to mainstream interventions. Initiatives focused on men support promotion of gender equality by developing male allies. It is crucial to understand that these two strategies - gender mainstreaming and women´s empowerment - are in no way in competition with each other. The endorsement of gender mainstreaming within an organization does not imply that targeted activities are no longer needed. The two strategies are complementary in a very real sense as gender mainstreaming must be carried out in a manner which is empowering for women.
Empowerment of women
The empowerment of women concerns women gaining power and control over their own lives. It involves awareness-raising, building self-confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources and actions to transform the structures and institutions which reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality. The process of empowerment is as important as the goal. Empowerment comes from within; women empower themselves. Inputs to promote the empowerment of women should facilitate women’s articulation of their needs and priorities and a more active role in promoting these interests and needs. Empowerment of women cannot be achieved in a vacuum; men must be brought along in the process of change. Empowerment should not be seen as a zero-sum game where gains for women automatically imply losses for men. Increasing women’s power in empowerment strategies does not refer to power over, or controlling forms of power, but rather to alternative forms of power: power to; power with and power from within which focus on utilizing individual and collective strengths to work towards common goals without coercion or domination.
REFERENCE:
Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, United Nations (August 2001)
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