EG-S-MS (98) 2 rev
Gender mainstreaming
Conceptual framework, methodology
and presentation of good practices
Final report of activities
of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming (EG-S-MS)
Directorate General of Human Rights
Strasbourg, 2004
Equality Division
Directorate General of Human Rights
Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
© Council of Europe, 2004
Printed at the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is a political
organisation which was founded on
5 May 1949 by ten European countries
in order to promote greater unity
between its members. At present (October
2004) it numbers 46 European
states.1
The main aims of the Organisation
are to promote democracy, human rights
and the rule of law, and to develop
common responses to political, social,
cultural and legal challenges in its
member states. Since 1989 it has integrated
most of the countries of central
and eastern Europe and supported them
in their efforts to implement and consolidate
their political, legal and administrative
reforms.
The Council of Europe has its permanent
headquarters in Strasbourg
(France). By Statute, it has two constituent
organs: the Committee of Ministers,
composed of the Ministers of Foreign
Affairs of the 46 member states, and the
Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations
from the 46 national parliaments.
The Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe represents the entities of local
and regional self-government within
the member states.
The European Court of Human Rights
is the judicial body competent to adjudicate
complaints brought against a state
by individuals, associations or other
contracting states on grounds of violation
of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
The Council of Europe and equality between women and men
The consideration of equality
between women and men, seen as a fundamental
human right, is the responsibility
of the Steering Committee for
Equality between Women and Men
(CDEG). The experts who form the Committee
(one from each member State)
are entrusted with the task of stimulating
action at the national level, as well
as within the Council of Europe, to
achieve effective equality between
women and men. To this end, the CDEG
carries out analyses, studies and evaluations,
defines strategies and political
measures, and, where necessary, frames
the appropriate legal instruments.
For more information on gender mainstreaming and information on the activities of the Council of Europe in the field of equality
between women and men in general, please contact:
Equality Division
Directorate General of Human Rights
Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Tel. +33 (0)388 41 20 00 — Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 27 05 — e-mail dg2.equality@coe.int
1. Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova,
Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russian Federation, San
Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, “the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
EG-S-MS: Rapport final d’activités du Groupe de spécialistes pour une approche intégrée de l’égalité 5
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part I: What is gender mainstreaming?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1. What is gender equality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2. Are there still problems with gender equality in Europe? . . 9
3. What is gender mainstreaming and where does it come from?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. How does gender mainstreaming relate to specific gender
equality policy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. What are the difficulties that might accompany gender
mainstreaming? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Why is gender mainstreaming so important? . . . . . . . . . . 14
Part II: A methodology for gender mainstreaming. . . . . . . . . 16
1. What are the necessary prerequisites or facilitating conditions
for gender mainstreaming?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2. When, what and where to mainstream? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. What techniques and tools are available?. . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4. Who are the potential actors and what role can they play?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Part III: Gender mainstreaming in practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1. Constructing a gender mainstreaming policy plan. . . . . . . 25
2. Good practices of gender mainstreaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
i. Good practices of a gender mainstreaming policy plan. . . 28
ii. Good practices of particular mainstreaming instruments and
initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix A. Members of the Group of Specialists EG-S-MS . 40
Appendix B. Mandate of the Group of Specialists EG-S-MS. . 41
Appendix C: Gender mainstreaming at the level of the Council of
Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
1. Current conditions for gender mainstreaming in the Council of
Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2. The co-operation work of the Steering Committee for equality
between women and men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3. Joint Groups of Specialists/Joint Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Recommendation No. R (98) 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Message of the Committee of Ministers to steering committees of
the Council of Europe on gender mainstreaming. . . . . . . . 48
Contents
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 7
Introduction
The present report is the result of five working meetings of
the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming (EG-S-MS), which
was set up by the Council of Europe in 1995. The group was
composed of eight experts: two members of the Steering Committee
for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) and six
specialists in the field of gender equality (see Appendix A, p. 40).
The terms of reference of the group (see Appendix B, p. 41)
stated that it was to carry out a survey of measures taken and
implemented for the mainstreaming of a gender perspective
into general policies, programme planning, as well as into sectoral
policies and activities at all levels of society, both in the
member States of the Council of Europe and in regional or international
organisations. On the basis of this survey, the committee
was to prepare a conceptual framework and a methodology
for mainstreaming gender equality and identify techniques,
tools and actors for integrating and evaluating the gender dimension
in an effective and visible way. As the terms of reference
included transmitting recommendations to the member
States and to the different bodies of the Council of Europe, examples
of good practices were collected and special attention
was paid to the present work of the Council of Europe, especially
at intergovernmental level (see Appendix C, p. 42).
The Group relied mainly on two sources of information.
Firstly, it collected the existing policy documents, strategy or
working papers. Secondly, women’s studies centres and other
organisations and institutions possessing specialist gender related
knowledge were consulted. The report is based on this material
and on discussions in the group.
The aim of this report is to stimulate the various policy actors
of the member States and the different bodies of the Council of
Europe to initiate concrete actions in the field of gender mainstreaming,
and to facilitate their initiatives. The recommendations
contained in the report are meant to be general, and are
valid for all levels (national, regional and local), as well as for the
Council of Europe.
Saying this, the Group is well aware of the fact that a finality
has not yet been reached. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy in
full development and many options and paths might still have
to be discovered. The report is based on the information currently
available and should be seen as an attempt at sharing and
transmitting knowledge. There is a growing process of exchanging
information between international organisations,
their member states and individual actors. We hope that the reflections
contained in this report will be of some help, use and
stimulation to others in their efforts to develop gender mainstreaming
methods and to put them into action.
The first part of the report contains the conceptual framework
on gender mainstreaming. It places the strategy of mainstreaming
in the context of achievements in terms of gender
equality. It describes the origins of mainstreaming and its relation
to specific gender equality policy. It discusses the problems
which might occur when implementing a new strategy such as
gender mainstreaming and explains why this strategy is nonetheless
important.
Part II exposes the facilitating conditions and necessary prerequisites
for gender mainstreaming. Furthermore, it gives an
overview of the ingredients available for, and the actors concerned
by, gender mainstreaming.
8 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Part I: What is gender mainstreaming?
The first part of the report contains the conceptual framework of gender mainstreaming. It places the
strategy of mainstreaming in the context of achievements in terms of gender equality. It describes the
origins of gender mainstreaming and its relation to specific gender equality policy. It discusses the
problems which might occur when implementing a new strategy such as gender mainstreaming and
explains why this strategy is nonetheless important.
1. What is gender equality?
Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment and
participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private
life. Gender equality is the opposite of gender inequality, not of
gender difference, and aims to promote the full participation of
women and men in society.
For a long time – and it is often still the case – gender equality
in Europe was defined as giving girls and boys, women and
men, de jure equal rights, equal opportunities, equal conditions
and equal treatment in all fields of life and in all spheres of society.
Nowadays, it is recognised that equality de jure does not
automatically lead to equality de facto. It is important to understand
that men’s and women’s living conditions are very different
– to some degree because of the childbearing function of
women. The main point is not the mere existence of such differences,
but the fact that these differences should not have a
negative impact on the living conditions of both women and
men, should not discriminate against them and should contribute
to an equal sharing of power in economy, society and
policy-making processes. Gender equality is not synonymous
with sameness, with establishing men, their life style and conditions
as the norm.
In order to define gender equality, a closer look has to be
taken at the gender concept. Two aspects are important in this
context: the social construction of gender and the relationship
between the sexes.
Gender is a socially constructed definition of women and
men. It is the social design of a biological sex, determined by the
conception of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women
and men in society and in public and private life. It is a culturespecific
definition of femininity and masculinity and therefore
varies in time and space. The construction and reproduction of
gender takes place at the individual as well as at the societal
level. Both are equally important. Individual human beings
shape gender roles and norms through their activities and reproduce
them by conforming to expectations. There is a growing
awareness that gender has to be considered also at a
political and institutional level.1
Policies and structures play a
very important role in shaping the conditions of life, and in
doing so, they often institutionalise the maintenance and reproduction
of the social construction of gender. A history of discrimination
and restraining roles is unconsciously written into
everyday routines and policies.
Gender is not only a socially constructed definition of
women and men, it is a socially constructed definition of the relationship
between the sexes. This construction contains an unequal
power relationship with male domination and female
subordination in most spheres of life. Men and the tasks, roles,
functions and values contributed to them are valued – in many
aspects – higher than women and what is associated with them.
It is increasingly recognised that society is characterised by this
male bias: the male norm is taken as the norm for society as a
whole, which is reflected in policies and structures. Policies and
structures often unintentionally reproduce gender inequality.2
1. UNIFEM, 1995:7. Conclusions of the Conference on “Equality and
democracy: Utopia or challenge?”, Council of Europe, 1995. Final
Report of the Group of Specialists on Equality and Democracy, Council
of Europe, 1996.
2. Scott’s definition of gender links gender and power, because she states
that “gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power”.
According to Scott, gender becomes implicated in the conception and
construction of power itself, because gender references establish to a
certain extent distributions of power, that is differential control over,
or access to, material and symbolic resources. (Scott, 1986: 1067.)
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 9
Gender equality means accepting and valuing equally the
differences between women and men and the diverse roles they
play in society. Gender equality includes the right to be different.
This means taking into account the existing differences
among women and men, which are related to class, political
opinion, religion, ethnicity, race or sexual orientation. Gender
equality means discussing how it is possible to go further, to
change the structures in society which contribute to maintaining
the unequal power relationships between women and men,
and to reach a better balance in the various female and male
values and priorities. Looking back at the two aspects of the
gender concept discussed above, this implies calling into question
the domination of ways of life, thinking and interests associated
with men and the way in which our societal structures
reproduce this norm. The problem is gender hierarchy, not
women. The quintessence is to assure that the social construction
of gender leaves room for difference and does not contain
a notion of hierarchy placing men higher than women. It implies
a real partnership between women and men and their shared responsibility
in removing imbalances in public and private life. It
is a question of using the competencies, skills and talents of
each and every citizen, of involving both women and men in
building society, solving problems and preparing the future. Society,
in order to develop, is dependent on the utilisation of all
human resources, and both women and men must participate
fully to meet the different needs of society.
Gender equality must be constantly fought for, protected
and promoted – like human rights, of which it is an integral part.
Achieving gender equality is a continuous process that has to be
constantly put into question, thought about and redefined. At
present, the most important targets for gender equality include
the following aspects:
• An important target is the recognition and full implementation
of women’s rights as human rights. This
includes effectively respecting, protecting and promoting
the human rights of both women and men and, by taking
the necessary measures, enabling both women and men
to enjoy fully these rights. It also means combating interferences
with women’s liberty and dignity (combating
violence against and trafficking in women or forced prostitution,
promoting free choice in matters of reproduction
and lifestyles, addressing the specific problems of
migrant and minority women).
• Besides human rights, the development and improvement
of representative democracy is the most important
pole. The persistent under-representation or sometimes
absence of women in decision-making at all levels and in
all fields of life is a major problem, even though there are
great variations in this respect between countries. Promotion
of the equal participation of women and men in
political and public life and all other walks of life is part
of the development of society. It is important for society
as a whole that both women and men participate in all
decisions taken in a society, given their various experiences
in life. When women or men constitute about one
third (the critical mass) of the members of a decisionmaking
body, they influence the agenda and there is a
real possibility for change. It is important also that
women become visible in societal events to the same
degree as men, and in the history of every state.
• Another very important target for gender equality is the
individual’s economic independence, which leads to the
securing of equal pay, equal access to credit, equal conditions
on the labour market and the distribution of assets
that take into account gender differences in private life.
The position that women and men have in the economy
is in many ways crucial to the balance of power between
them. Fighting the feminisation of poverty is also important
in this regard. Linked to the need for the individual’s
economic independence is the aim to reconcile family
and working life for both men and women.
• Education is a key target for gender equality as it involves
the ways in which societies transfer norms, knowledge
and skills. It is crucial that the education systems and all
elements of these systems (teachers, schools, textbooks,
research institutes and so on) empower both girls and
boys, and take care in counterbalancing the existing
gender hierarchies. Media professionals can be a target
here too, as they have a very powerful position in the
transfer and consolidation of norms and knowledge.
• The last target to be mentioned is women’s and men’s
common acknowledgement of the need to remove imbalances
in society and their shared responsibility in doing
so.1
It can be assumed that the achievement of the targets of
human rights, democracy, economic independence and education
in a context of shared responsibilities between women and
men to resolve imbalances, lead to a society where both women
and men experience well-being in public and in private life. It is
also a way to a deeper understanding and implementation of
democracy as such.
2. Are there still problems with gender equality in Europe?
The most important achievement in gender equality may be
a growing awareness of the need and willingness to promote
gender equality.2
Some countries set up gender equality policy
machineries, equality policies are developed and implemented
and growing attention is paid to specific women’s issues. Parallel
to this, there is the development of an increasing amount of
knowledge and expertise on the position of women and on
gender issues. There is also a growing awareness of the role men
play in promoting gender equality.3
The other main achievement is the effective advancement of
women. In Europe, the level of education of women is rising,
they participate more than before in the formal labour market
and they are taking a more active part in public and political life
and in decision-making. However, there has been little progress
1. Declaration and Resolutions adopted at the 4th European Ministerial
Conference on equality between women and men, Istanbul, 1997.
2. Leijenaar, 1997.
3. Proceedings of the Council of Europe’s International Seminar on “Promoting
equality: a common issue for men and women”, Council of
Europe, 1997.
10 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
in this field in many European countries for many years – rather
the contrary – even if women should, in theory, have every opportunity
to enter decision-making.1
In central and eastern Europe,
there is a lot of pressure on the former achievements in
terms of gender equality. Nonetheless, the development of a
civil society in these countries leaves women more room to set
up their own movements and NGOs and offers new possibilities
to participate effectively in decision-making.
However, these advancements should not be overestimated.
Despite important progress, and even if in Europe women have
obtained de jure equal rights and equal status with men, they
are still discriminated against in many areas of life. Moreover,
new forms of inequality have developed and there is increasing
acknowledgement of the diversity between women.2
In fact, the progress towards gender equality seems to encounter
a number of blockages in Europe and there are indications
that this will not change straight away. The structural
changes which have been occurring in Europe for over two decades,
as a consequence of a globalisation process of financial,
capitalist and economic systems, accelerated technological innovation,
greater world competitiveness and increasing liberalisation,
have been followed by a set of serious social problems
which are producing millions of victims and are a menace to the
European welfare model. Massive unemployment, greater inequalities,
devaluation of human work, pauperisation of large
parts of societies, social exclusion, wars and armed conflicts, ecological
imbalances are some of the issues that mobilise, today,
the attention of governments and public authorities. These
issues affect women differently than men and can limit, to some
extent, their right to free choice, e.g. in matters relating to sexuality,
reproductive health and lifestyles.3
They also have the
result that gender equality in many countries is not regarded as
a priority, and that “more urgent” problems should be solved
before gender equality is tackled.
Europe is also undergoing changes at the political and institutional
levels. In western Europe a new vision of the government’s
functions and role is evolving, crowding out the welfare
state model, in which governments play an important and extensive
regulating role. Following this new “lean thinking”, governments
should play more of a managing rather than a
regulating function. Increasingly, governments consider themselves
to be an acting manager, running society in an efficient
but not too extensive way, leaving the rest to market forces and
civil society. Goal and targets, efficiency, but above all a lean
government are central to this management discourse. Such
policies are not favourable to gender equality as they do not see
the necessity of reconciling work and family life and, more generally,
only measure progress in economic rather than human
terms.
Many former regimes in central and eastern Europe were
characterised by a well-developed infrastructure which allowed
women to combine work and family life, provided a high level of
social security, an accessible health system or a more liberal legislation
on abortion. Those rules, partly arising out of an equality
ideology, had as a main objective to integrate women fully
into the production process. Equal rights did not always allow
for a free choice, and equality was mostly defined as sameness.
Therefore, the current attitude towards equality policies is often
a hesitant one. Moreover, the structural macro-economic and
other problems make governments concentrate their efforts on
“heavy” policy areas, which, as mentioned above, leave little
room for equality issues.4
The question to ask at this stage is why gender equality has
not yet been fully achieved. What are the reasons for the lack of
progress and of understanding gender equality? At the dawn of
the new millennium, the idea prevails that equality is achieved
because discriminating provisions are removed if states ratify
the CEDAW Convention.5
The vast majority of member States of
the Council of Europe have ratified this Convention. At the same
time, many states have instituted an equality legislation in order
to achieve absolute prohibition of discrimination and full respect
for equal treatment. It is recognised that this legislation is
a necessary basis for the promotion of equality and it has
become fairly strong during the last years. The main problem,
therefore, is that the definition of equality used is a very narrow
one of de jure equality and that protection against discrimination
is not always provided.
A second problem is the fact that women mainly had to work
on these questions outside the “mainstream” of society. Equality
machineries are often considered to be in isolation, even if they
are also a laboratory where excellent knowledge of gender
issues is generated and concentrated. Looking back at what has
already been said about the way in which societal structures reproduce
gender inequality, this signifies that equality policy
machineries function in a structure which upholds gender
equality but which they cannot influence profoundly.6
Equality
issues should be addressed where they are provoked. Equality
policy machineries in some countries, even if they are attached
to an important ministry, often have only a limited range of
action and competencies. They have little influence on the
policy areas that most affect people’s lives and equal opportunity
measures can hardly redress the imbalances provoked
through other policies.7
A third problem is that the position of women in decisionmaking
is weak in most countries. A more balanced presence of
women and men would be needed to give gender equality a
prominent place on the political agenda.
The last problem is partly due to the methods used up until
now to promote gender equality. Most policies were concerned
with the specific needs of women. Additionally, these policies
mainly targeted women and not men, even those aimed at redressing
the imbalances between the sexes. These policies,
therefore, only reached a limited public which mainly consisted
of women. It is clear that changes will be limited, as long as they
only focus on one side of the problem.8
Equality policy should
ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into all policy
areas and that the whole of society is involved in promoting
equality.
As imbalances between women and men continue to influence
all walks of life, it is becoming increasingly clear that new
approaches, new strategies and new methods are needed to
1. Document on “Women in politics”, Council of Europe, 1997.
2. Walby, 1997:5.
3. Walby, 1998. Proceedings of the Council of Europe’s Information Forum
on “Guaranteeing freedom of choice in matters of reproduction, sexuality
and lifestyles in Europe: trends and developments”, Tallinn, 1997.
4. Funk & Mueller 1993, Knezevic et al. 1997.
5. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979.
6. Åseskog, 1997:2, Schalkwijk e.a. 1996:2.
7. McCrudden, 1996.
8. Berget, 1996.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 11
reach the goal of gender equality. The issue of gender equality
needs to be addressed at a higher, i.e. more structural, and
broader level and it should include a wider range of actors.
‘Gender mainstreaming’ appears now as one of these strategies.
Besides, gender mainstreaming seems to suit the prior conditions
for further progress: the actual changes at the economical,
political and institutional levels stimulate and accompany a
process of political and administrative renewal, which involves
the development of new strategies and policy instruments.
Gender mainstreaming is one of those. These economic and political
changes were, if considered under the angle of a “traditional”
conception of gender equality, limiting conditions. They
correspond to a broader conception of gender equality which
aims at using the various competencies and skills and at involving
both women and men in building society and preparing the
future.
3. What is gender mainstreaming and where does it come from?
Gender mainstreaming, as a new concept, appeared for the
first time in international texts after the United Nations Third
World Conference on Women (Nairobi, 1985), in relation to the
debate within the UN Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW) on the role of women in development. It was seen as a
means of promoting the role of women in the field of development
and of integrating women’s values into development
work. Actually, it has developed out of necessity: a governmental
commitment to implement the ideas of the Nairobi Forward
Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women had as a
precondition that the UN organisations dealt with these strategies
in their ordinary work. Therefore, a Resolution on the future
work of the Commission on the Status of Women was adopted
in 1986, which decided to integrate fully the Forward Looking
Strategies into both economic and social development programmes.
In 1987 the CSW, on the basis of the decisions taken
in 1986, urged all bodies in the UN system which had not yet
done so, including regional Commissions and specialised agencies,
to formulate and put into effect a comprehensive policy on
women’s equality and to incorporate it into their medium-term
plans, statements, objectives, programmes and other important
policy documents.
At the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing, 1995), the strategy of gender mainstreaming was explicitly
endorsed by the Platform for Action which was adopted
at the end of the Conference. The Platform for Action calls for
the promotion of the policy of gender mainstreaming, repeatedly
stating that “governments and other actors should promote
an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender
perspective in all policies and programmes, so that, before decisions
are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on women and
men, respectively”1
. Even though it does not give any guidelines
on how to develop and implement this policy, many countries
have adopted a national plan for gender mainstreaming as a
result of the Platform for Action (see Part III, p. 25).
In recent years, it has mostly been within the different intergovernmental
European organisations that the concept of
gender mainstreaming has been promoted. It was mentioned in
the European Commission’s third medium-term Community
action programme on equal opportunities for women and men
(1991-1995) and became a central issue in the current fourth
action programme. The Commission also adopted a communication
on gender mainstreaming.2
The Nordic Council of Ministers has decided – in a Programme
for Nordic Co-operation on Gender Equality 1995-
2000, adopted in March 1995 – to take active steps to have
gender equality aspects incorporated in all areas of policy and at
all levels. This is a main pillar of the strategy for co-operation on
gender equality. Furthermore, it was decided to take active steps
to have models for the integration of a gender perspective
tested. A three-year pilot project was launched in 1997, aiming
at developing and testing methods and tools for gender main-
streaming.
It was also in 1995, during the preparations for the Beijing
Conference, that the Council of Europe decided to set up the
Group of Specialists on mainstreaming, which developed the
present conceptual framework and methodology for gender
mainstreaming.
Numerous are the discussions on gender mainstreaming,3
all
of them highlighting different aspects. There is little consensus
about a definition of gender mainstreaming (most of the definitions
speak about integrating a gender equality perspective) or
on how to mainstream the gender equality perspective in practice
and what this implies. In summary, the following comments
can be made:
• All definitions focus on the broad goal of obtaining
gender equality. Although the term gender equality is not
necessarily mentioned, it is referred to in at least an
implicit way. Equally, all definitions focus on what will be
brought into the mainstream, namely a gender equality
perspective or women’s perspectives.
• Many definitions merely describe the strategy itself, often
reducing the definition to partial aspects of gender mainstreaming:
they focus on the full participation of women
in decision-making or on a tool, such as the screening of
policy proposals from a gender perspective. In this case
the definition and the goal become one and the same,
gender mainstreaming is becoming the goal, it is seen as
an end in itself.
• Some definitions focus on the effects of gender mainstreaming
and what it will provoke in the functioning and
structuring of society. These definitions underline the
(need for) shifts in organisational cultures and the way of
working of institutions or new ways of thinking and
approaching policies. These definitions are mainly found
in the area of development NGOs.
• Many definitions implicitly assume that mainstreaming
involves a shift in actors, meaning that ordinary actors are
involved in integrating a gender perspective.
1. See paragraphs 79, 105, 123, 141, 164, 189, 202, 229, 238, 252, 273.
2. It states that mainstreaming involves “mobilising all general policies
and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality by
actively and openly taking into account at the planning stage their
possible effects on the respective situations of men and women (the
gender perspective).” COM (96) 67 final from 21.2.1996.
3. For an overview of relevant literature please consult the bibliography.
12 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
• Finally, it is striking that gender mainstreaming is very
often not defined at all.
The Group is aware of the fact that the word mainstreaming
is difficult to translate into many languages, and has therefore
often been reduced to terms such as “gender-based approach”.
However, it is clear that mainstreaming is much more: it is an attempt
to take gender equality issues into the mainstream of society,
the mainstream consisting of the directions, organisations
and ideas which make decisions about the policy and the resources
regarding general or specific policies such as, for example,
education or transport. Therefore, mainstreaming means
that gender equality issues would have to be dealt with within
work on education, or on transport. In every country, to facilitate
its understanding, the concept will have to be translated
and carefully explained. The Group decided to use the term
“gender mainstreaming” to accentuate the integration of a
gender perspective.
The Group of Specialists spent part of its work finding a comprehensive
definition of gender mainstreaming. The main importance
of this definition lies in the fact that it has to include
the different aspects mentioned in various definitions.
Firstly, it refers to what has to be integrated in the mainstream,
i.e. a gender equality perspective and therefore to the
goal that has to be achieved, i.e. gender equality.
Secondly, it mentions the functional and structural implications
gender mainstreaming involves, i.e. the reorganisation,
improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes.
Gender mainstreaming is a political process as well as a technical
one.1
It involves new ways of devising and approaching policies,
shifts in organisational or in institutional culture and will
lead to changes in societal structures. Gender mainstreaming
involves the reorganisation of policy processes because it moves
the attention of gender equality policies to everyday policies
and to the activities of the actors ordinarily involved in the
policy processes at stake.
Thirdly, the definition is not partial and limited to certain aspects
and techniques of gender mainstreaming. (Re)organising,
improving and developing policy processes implies the need for
various techniques and tools. It includes the full participation of
women in all aspects of life as well as the analysis of all proposals
concerning general or sectoral policies and programmes
from a gender equality perspective. It is important that the definition
leaves room for all these tools and techniques to be
taken into consideration. Moreover, the availability of, and need
for, various actors and techniques can vary from one context to
another and the definition should therefore not be finite.
The Group of Specialists agreed upon the following defini-
tion:
Gender mainstreaming is the (re)organisation,
improvement, development and evaluation of
policy processes, so that a gender equality
perspective is incorporated in all policies at all
levels and at all stages, by the actors normally
involved in policy-making.
The definition of gender mainstreaming highlights the goal
of mainstreaming, the process, the objects and active subjects of
mainstreaming. The objects of mainstreaming are all policies at
all levels and at all stages, while the active subjects of mainstreaming
are the ordinary actors. Gender mainstreaming can
mean that the policy process is reorganised so that ordinary
actors know how to incorporate a gender perspective. It can also
mean that gender expertise is organised into the policy process
by including gender expertise as a normal requirement for
policy-makers.
This definition also highlights the way in which gender
mainstreaming intercepts the shortcomings of specific gender
equality policy. Gender mainstreaming means that gender
equality is part of common policies. Gender mainstreaming implies
a broader and more comprehensive definition of gender
equality, giving value to differences and diversity. In stressing
the need to (re)organise, improve, develop and evaluate policy
processes, gender mainstreaming makes it possible to challenge
the male bias that characterises society and the structural character
of gender inequality. Mainstreaming also gets gender
equality issues out of the isolation of gender equality machineries
and involves more and new actors in building a balanced society.
In doing so, the process of transforming gender relations
in the direction of gender equality can be accelerated and
strengthened.
4. How does gender mainstreaming relate to specific gender equality policy?
Gender mainstreaming cannot replace and render redundant
specific equality policy and machineries. When mainstreaming
is mentioned as a new strategy to achieve gender equality, it is
always stressed that this strategy does not replace “traditional”
gender equality policy, but complements it. They are two different
strategies to reach the same goal, i.e. gender equality, and
must go hand in hand, at least until there is a real culture and
consensus regarding gender equality in the whole of society. The
question is how gender mainstreaming relates to specific equality
policy and why it is still necessary to have “traditional” forms
of equality policy. The main difference between mainstreaming
and specific gender equality policies is the actors involved and
the policies that are chosen to be addressed. The starting point
for “traditional” forms of equality policy is a specific problem resulting
from gender inequality. A specific policy for that problem
is then developed by an equality machinery. The starting
point for mainstreaming is a policy which already exists. The
policy process is then reorganised so that the actors usually involved
take a gender perspective into account, and gender
equality as a goal is reached. Mainstreaming is a fundamental
strategy – it may take some time before it is implemented, but it
has a potential for a sustainable change. “Traditional” forms of
equality policy can act much faster, but they are usually limited
to specific policy areas.
• Given the concentration of competencies on women’s
issues in one administrative unit, gender equality
machineries have been able to reveal important and new
issues and to develop policies at the same time. This form
of machinery led to an accumulation of expertise on
gender issues and their strength lies in this rallying of
1. IDS, 1997.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 13
knowledge. This expertise is a necessary condition for
starting gender mainstreaming: it constitutes the
medium1
for mainstreaming. It is very unlikely that
gender mainstreaming will succeed in a society where no
“traditional” equality policy exists and where there are no
instruments or actors to implement it: gender mainstreaming
will demand cross-disciplinary knowledge of
imbalances between women and men as the basis for
public debate and political decisions, when policies in all
walks of life are to reflect the significance of a gender
perspective. Moreover, gender mainstreaming will involve
a much broader range of “ordinary” actors, most of whom
are not gender experts in the first instance. These new
actors will need to build up the necessary knowledge to
deal with gender issues.2
• There is an important role for gender equality machineries
and their actors in this: constituting a think tank
having the knowledge and input at their disposal, they
can give the necessary backup. This role is especially
important in countries where women’s studies are not yet
very well developed. Gender mainstreaming is a new
strategy and it needs further reflection and development.
Even if gender equality units in some countries are not
the main actors in implementing mainstreaming, they
carry out important general reflections on mainstreaming
and disseminate knowledge and information on gender
issues to the actors and to society in general.
• Gender equality machineries are direct and specific. They
have their own approach: they start from the imbalances
characterising actual gender relations and focus on how
inequality can be overcome. Gender equality machineries
can bring important gender issues to the fore and put
pressure on policy-makers to take into account specific
gender issues that will not be dealt with in other policy
areas. Gender mainstreaming concerns general policies.
This means that, when policies having a large impact on
society are devised, the specificity, interests and values of
both sexes are taken into account. As a result, it becomes
more visible that gender equality is an issue for both
women and men. Gender mainstreaming means introducing
a gender perspective in a given policy field in order to
make sure that the effects of policies are more gender
neutral, but it does not take the actual gender imbalances
as the starting point for developing policies. Specific
gender equality policy is a strategy that directly addresses
gender imbalances: it takes into account the specific
needs of women and men and elaborates policies on
issues that are not covered by other policy areas. As with
environmental policies, which are generally accepted to
exist as sectoral policies, even if environment as an issue
is to be taken into account in many policy fields (e.g. agriculture,
economy, infrastructure, international trade,
development co-operation), gender equality policy needs
to exist on its own. Gender equality machineries are the
actors who reflect on the government’s fundamental role
in redressing gender relations.
• Gender mainstreaming builds up on the knowledge and
lessons learnt from former experiences with equality policies.
It is increasingly recognised that specific equality
policies are insufficient to build a society that truly
respects gender equality. Gender mainstreaming is the
logical next step to take. However, mainstreaming cannot
function optimally without “traditional” equality policy,
because this policy forms the necessary medium for
mainstreaming. Besides, gender mainstreaming cannot be
as direct and specific as specific gender equality policy.
Mainstreaming and specific equality policy are not only
dual and complementary strategies, they form a “twin
track” strategy.3
5. What are the difficulties that might accompany gender mainstreaming?
Given the limited experience with implementing gender
mainstreaming, this chapter is based on reflection rather than
on experience. However, introducing change rarely goes
smoothly. As far as it can be seen at this moment, most of the
problems to be expected can be attributed to an incorrect understanding
of the strategy of gender mainstreaming, to the
current procedures, techniques and tools or to a lack of political
will.
• A first difficulty might be the misunderstanding of the
concept of gender mainstreaming and the way in which
it relates to specific gender equality policies. If not well
understood, mainstreaming might be considered as a new
strategy replacing specific gender equality policy. It might
then be used by some governments as a pretext to cease
specific equality policy. There exists a clear interdependence
between mainstreaming and specific gender equality
policy (chapter I.4). Gender mainstreaming requires
the continuation of specific gender equality policy, if only
to make sure that gender equality issues do not disappear
and that equality policies do not get over-fragmented.
• A further difficulty has to do with the need for a broader
concept of equality. Gender equality is often misunderstood.
As mentioned in chapter I.2, one of the main problems
hindering further progress in the field of gender
equality is the limited and narrow conception of gender
equality. Gender equality is not the same as antidiscrimination,
it is much more. It is not only equality de jure
either, meaning that all references to women and men in
legislation are removed. Equality as such must be promoted,
for example by positive actions, plans of action,
mainstreaming and other instruments. The goal is equality
as a positive right or equality de facto respecting
women’s and men’s rights to diversity and difference, but
it also implies that women and men are free individuals.
Mainstreaming requires a gender perspective and not a
focus limited on women’s issues. Gender mainstreaming
requires taking into account the relations between
women and men, and not simply reducing the concept to
the two categories of women and men. In countries
where a “traditional” approach of gender equality pre-
1. The term medium is used in its biological sense, i.e. a fungus for a culture
of bacteria: medium that stands for a breeding ground for ideas.
2. Åseskog, 1997. 3. DFEE, 1996.
14 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
vails, the concepts on which gender equality policy is
based have to be revised and a gender approach has to be
developed.
• Another problem might be the current approaches to
policy-making. There is an important difference between
mainstreaming and specific equality policy in terms of
the actors who implement the policies. Before, equality
experts dealt with equality issues, now policy-makers in
various policy branches have to deal with gender issues.
Mainstreaming involves the integration of a new
approach, i.e. a gender equality perspective, into an until
then thematic approach. This involves tighter co-operation
between policy departments which formerly had an
exclusive competence. It can involve a reorganisation of
the policy process, and the co-operation of new external
political actors, such as NGOs. In other words, mainstreaming
requires procedural changes, such as the
rethinking of approaches to policy making, shifts in
organisational culture or the creation of new channels for
consultation and co-operation.
• Parallel to this is the problem of policy tools and techniques,
which might not be suited to the strategy of
mainstreaming. A lack of adequate tools and techniques
might mean that mainstreaming will be badly implemented
or not implemented at all. Gender mainstreaming
might require the need to develop new policy tools and to
adapt existing ones, e.g. the reconsideration of statistical
data and the integration of gender as an extra variable
(cf. chapter II.3).
• A further problem is the lack of sufficient knowledge
about gender equality issues, which will lead to a bad
implementation of gender mainstreaming. The actors in
“traditional” equality policy machineries are gender
equality experts. When the strategy of gender mainstreaming
is implemented, the matters relating to gender
equality will no longer be only in the hands of a specific
division, but will be present in all divisions in a given ministry.
These actors will no longer be specialists in equality
issues, which entails the danger that they might fail to
identify gender interests or to implement good gender
equality policies. It could even mean that they lack a
proper understanding of the mainstreaming strategy
itself, a problem that has been discussed above. This could
lead to a reproduction of the existing status quo. There
might be a lack of people having the knowledge to build
up gender mainstreaming policies, especially where there
are too few women in decision-making. Therefore, gender
mainstreaming requires the need to build up the necessary
gender knowledge among all policy-makers and
learning processes to develop the capacity to put mainstreaming
strategies into practice.
• Finally, there might be the danger of talking about
gender mainstreaming without implementing it. Governments
might take a decision saying that equality is to be
integrated in all policies and then do nothing more about
it or only superficially support gender mainstreaming initiatives.
Gender mainstreaming is very fashionable, but it
is not an end in itself – the aim is to achieve gender
equality. Gender mainstreaming therefore requires the
will and firm commitment of policy-makers to redress not
only the existing imbalances between women and men,
but to tackle the reasons for these imbalances. This
includes, among other things, the will to liberate the necessary
financial and human resources. As mainstreaming
involves “ordinary” actors and policies, the necessary
financial and human resources should be found in the
normal budget. Not freeing enough resources for mainstreaming,
will undermine the achievement of good
results, which then will undermine the credibility of
mainstreaming as a strategy to achieve gender equality.
There might be other problems and difficulties related to the
application of gender mainstreaming strategies. However, it has
to be kept in mind that new strategies never work smoothly
right from the beginning and that some credit has to be given to
new initiatives, even if results do not follow immediately. Besides,
many difficulties and problems can be intercepted by
paying attention to necessary prerequisites and facilitating conditions
(see chapter II.1) or to successful examples of gender
mainstreaming (see chapter III.2).
6. Why is gender mainstreaming so important?
Following on from what precedes, it can no longer be neglected
that gender mainstreaming is an important strategy.
Moreover, there are several specific reasons underlining the
added value of mainstreaming:
• Because it puts people at the heart of policy-making
Mainstreaming equality issues may contribute to underlining
the need to base and to evaluate any single policy according to
its impact on the concrete situation of individuals and social
groups, be they women or men, with their particular endowments
and needs. Such an approach will improve the practice of
basing and evaluating general policies (global and sectoral, national,
regional or local) according to their results on the wellbeing
of the people and will open avenues to replace the “traditional”
practice of employing abstract economic and ideological
indicators (such as GDP and similar data considered neutral and
expressed in average values) by more relevant and valuable indicators
regarding the concrete well-being of people. It will introduce,
among politicians and public opinion, a learning process
of paying attention to the broad effects of policies on citizens’
lives. Gender mainstreaming may also be a way of placing very
crucial facets to women’s and men’s lives on the agenda, facets
that have not been items of attention in the past. Mainstreaming
gender equality may be a step forward to a more
human and less economic approach of the general development
and management of contemporary democratic societies. By
taking the gender equality perspective into account, policies
will be better defined in terms of the real needs of women and
men. The lives of all people, both women and men, will thus improve.
In this sense, gender mainstreaming is a real win-win
strategy.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 15
• Because it leads to better government
Gender mainstreaming should lead to better informed
policy-making and therefore better government. It will challenge
the assumption that policies are gender neutral – which
they never are – and reveal the hidden assumptions on reality
and values. It will lead to a greater transparency and openness in
the policy process.
• Because it involves both women and men and makes full use of human resources
Until now, work for the promotion of gender equality has
mostly been undertaken by a few women. Gender mainstreaming
would involve many more people, both women and men. It
would also make clear that society nowadays is dependent on
using all human resources, and the experience of both women
and men. It acknowledges the shared responsibility of women
and men in removing imbalances in society. Finally, by involving
a broader range of external actors in the policy process (see
chapter II.4), gender mainstreaming might help to reduce the
democratic deficit, which characterises many current democra-
cies.
• Because it makes gender equality issues visible in the mainstream of society
Gender mainstreaming will give a clear idea of the consequences
and impact of political initiatives on both women and
men, and of the balance between women and men in the area
concerned. Gender equality issues will become visible and will
be integrated into the mainstream of society, whereas until now
they have always been on the sidelines. It should show that
gender equality is an important societal issue with implications
for all and for the development of society, and that it is not just
a “cost” or a “luxury”.1
Gender mainstreaming recognises that
the imbalance between women and men cannot be efficiently
combated without the interest, involvement and commitment
of the political system and of society as such. It will change attitudes
towards gender equality, too often negative, and launch
a new debate on equality issues, from a different angle to the
usual one.
• Because it takes into account the diversity among women and men
It is generally acknowledged that women – and men – are
not a homogenous group.2
In order to pay due attention to this
diversity, policies and policy instruments have to allow for
taking diversity into account. Gender mainstreaming may be
able to target better the particular situation of different groups
of women where specific equality policies have so far not been
successful, because it leaves room for diversity. From a gender
mainstreaming perspective, the problem is not the fact that
there are differences but that they are connected to a hierarchical
ranking and that there is a danger of measuring all citizens
to a male norm. In this sense gender mainstreaming goes a step
further than merely working towards gender equality. It leaves
room for non-hierarchical diversity in general, be it in terms of
sex, race, class or a combination of factors. In other words, it
takes into account that human beings are not abstract subjects,
but that they have particular identities. This side-effect of
mainstreaming as a strategy to promote gender equality is a
positive one for the whole of society.
1. Rubery, 1996.
2. Women and men differ in various aspects, such as class, race, ethnicity,
religious convictions, political opinion, age or sexual orientation.
16 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Part II: A methodology for gender mainstreaming
Part II exposes the facilitating conditions and necessary prerequisites for gender mainstreaming. Furthermore,
it gives an overview of the ingredients available for, and the actors concerned by, gender
mainstreaming. The reader will find out that there are many cross references between Parts II and III.
However, this should be seen as an effort to put in concrete form the various ingredients discussed in
Part II through examples of existing efforts to put gender mainstreaming into practice.
1. What are the necessary prerequisites or facilitating conditions for gender mainstreaming?
In the previous chapters, the difficulties accompanying the
implementation of gender mainstreaming have been discussed,
many of which can be dealt with by paying attention to necessary
prerequisites and facilitating conditions. The degree to
which these prerequisites or facilitating conditions are available
will differ from country to country. Yet, it is important to pay
due attention to the framework in which gender mainstreaming
is to be implemented, in order to optimise its chances for suc-
cess.
What, then, can be identified as important necessary prerequisites
or facilitating conditions for gender mainstreaming?
• Political will
The state must define gender equality as one of its main objectives.
The vast majority of member States of the Council of
Europe have ratified the CEDAW Convention, which shows a visible
commitment. However, this is not enough. Gender mainstreaming
should be made a political issue. NGOs can be
important in helping to create this political will. The government
should in addition issue a ‘mission statement’ stating
clearly its intention to mainstream the gender equality perspective
into all policies and programmes, and indicate that the objective
is that these programmes and policies will effectively
promote and lead to gender equality.1
The government will also
have to lay down clear criteria for gender mainstreaming which
can help the actors. Without a strong political will to create
little by little a consensus on, and a culture of, gender equality,
the policy of gender mainstreaming will not be successful.
The political will to mainstream involves the will to question
current gender relations and the structures, processes and policies
perpetuating inequality. It implies, among other things,
equal access to paid work and to economic power, and the will
to adapt the structures and processes enabling the sharing of
family responsibilities and household tasks. If a real culture of
equality is to be created, women and men will have to share
unpaid work and family responsibilities to a much greater
extent than is currently the case. Therefore, the positive aspect
of partnership and role-sharing between women and men
would have to be subscribed explicitly (cf. chapter III.2 on the
communication of the Commission of the European Communities).
There is a strong correlation between the political will for
gender mainstreaming and public awareness of gender equality
issues. Therefore, governments will need to support awarenessraising
and dissemination of knowledge of gender equality, e.g.
in the educational system.
• Specific gender equality policy
The importance of specific gender equality policies has already
been discussed in chapter I.4. Countries with no equality
policy could set it up and begin gender mainstreaming at the
same time. Historically, such a policy comprises seven aspects:
1. Clear mission statements have, for example, been issued by the Governments
of Sweden and Portugal and the European Commission (see
examples in Part III).
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 17
1. Equal opportunities legislation and anti-discrimination
laws: equality legislation serves as a safeguard against
discrimination, not least on the labour market. This legislation
is a necessary basis for the promotion of equality.
2. The existence of mechanisms such as equality ombuds or
equality commissions or councils for protection against
discrimination.
3. A strong national equality machinery (administrative
organisation) with sufficient tools and resources (both
human and financial) to exert influence on policy at all
levels.
4. Specific equality policies and actions to address specific
women’s – or men’s – interests.
5. The existence of equality divisions or focal points within
each ministry.
6. Research and training on gender equality issues.
7. Awareness-raising about gender equality.
• Statistics
Data on the current situation of women and men, and on
current gender relations, are absolutely necessary for mainstreaming.
The problem is not only that statistics are not always
segregated by sex, but also that data can be gender biased. Good
statistics comprise data that are relevant for both women and
men and that are split up by sex as well as by other background
variables.
• Comprehensive knowledge of gender relations
As mainstreaming is not a goal in itself, but a strategy to
achieve gender equality, it presupposes that the necessary
knowledge of gender relations is available for policy-makers.
Not all knowledge can be developed in gender equality machineries
and, therefore, sufficient research in gender studies has to
be carried out and made available. Such research would comprise
the analysis of current imbalances between the sexes in all
policy fields as well as prognoses of how future initiatives will
affect women and men. Mainstreaming requires strong gender
studies. The existing differences between countries, in terms of
the degree of development of gender studies and/or the degree
of interaction between gender studies and the policy process,
underline the important role these external experts play. When
knowledge of gender relations is available in several places in
the administrative system, this will facilitate gender mainstreaming
to a great extent.
• Knowledge of the administration
Gender mainstreaming involves the reorganisation, development,
implementation and evaluation of policy processes, as
well as information about the qualities of the administrative
system. This includes knowledge of the location of gender expertise,
but also on policy process aspects: what actors are normally
involved, which steps are normally taken, who is normally
responsible.
• Necessary funds and human resources
Financial means are an absolute prerequisite for gender
mainstreaming, as for any other policy strategy. Mainstreaming
implies a reallocation of existing funds. Even if countries show
the necessary political will and have comprehensive gender
equality policies and detailed knowledge of gender relations at
their disposal, this will not enable them to adapt existing policy
techniques and tools, set up new channels of co-operation and
provide the necessary gender training for policy-makers. All
these aspects mentioned require financial means. It would be
very short-sighted to take only the immediate costs of gender
mainstreaming into account. The advantages and positive effects
of gender mainstreaming have already been mentioned –
they can be summarised by stating that gender mainstreaming
stands for quality1
. Long-term benefits have to be taken into
consideration when considering short-term costs of gender
mainstreaming.
• Participation of women in political and public life and in decision-making processes
It is obvious that it will be difficult to obtain the political will
for gender mainstreaming if women are not fully involved in
political and public life and in decision-making in general.
Therefore, it is important that women enter political and public
life in much greater numbers. It is especially important that
women enter decision-making processes, to ensure that the various
values, interests and life experiences of women are taken
into account when decisions are made. It is obvious that not
every woman is necessarily an advocate for women’s issues, but,
as a matter of fact, most advocates for balanced gender relations
are women. Besides, experience shows that in countries
where a greater number of women participate in decision-making,
changes are more considerable and take place at a quicker
rate (cf. chapter III.2 on the communication on mainstreaming
of the Commission of the European Communities).
What if these necessary prerequisites or facilitating conditions
are not available? The most important necessary prerequisite
is political will. Without political will, there will be no
reallocation of funds for developing knowledge of gender issues
or for developing and implementing policies containing a
gender perspective. The question is how to attract the interest
of decision-makers for gender mainstreaming. As mentioned
above, it can be assumed that – given the signature of the Platform
for Action- a formal political will is present. This means
that the process of gender mainstreaming can be started, even if
it requires more than political will alone. Mainstreaming itself
1. Verloo, 1997.
18 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
will lead to an increased awareness of the persistent gender inequalities
and to the development of knowledge of gender issues,
which will support the initiation of further gender mainstreaming
initiatives.
2. When, what and where to mainstream?
Which moments in the policy process are important for gender mainstreaming?
Gender mainstreaming is not a strategy to be put into action
once, it should be a constant red thread throughout the whole
policy process. All moments are important for mainstreaming. It
should already intervene at a very early stage, during the first
preparatory phases, but it should in no case be limited to that
phase. Gender mainstreaming strategies are to be implemented
in several stages during the policy-making process. The following
key stages can be identified:1
Policy preparing and planning stage
At this initial stage, problems and challenges are identified,
defined and analysed, their scope and importance are considered,
the desired outcomes are defined, broad policy answers are
developed and the persons or groups concerned are identified.
Mainstreaming is important at this stage, because topics which
– up until now – never were, will be considered from a gender
perspective. This will lead to the taking into consideration of
gender equality in a much broader range of policy areas. In fact,
gender mainstreaming should start as early as possible, because
the earlier a gender equality perspective is integrated in the
policy process, the more probable it is that policies will really
take gender into account and not just add a gender paragraph
at a later stage.
Policy deciding stage
During this stage, decisions are taken on what problems and
challenges should be addressed, thereby considering the preparatory
work of the former stage and the political scope of problems
and challenges. This determines whether issues receive a
place on the political agenda and what means are allocated to
them. Gender mainstreaming will increase the attachment of
importance to topics that have formerly been defined as “only
concerning women”, and the number of such topics that receive
a place on the agenda. Looking at potential policy problems and
challenges from a gender perspective while defining political
priorities, will lead to a new ranking of problems and a reconsideration
of funds formerly allocated to them.
Policy implementing stage
Once the issues have been detected and analysed, the broad
goals and policy lines defined and priority allocated to them,
these issues have to be put into practice. This includes the elaboration
of concrete actions. Introducing mainstreaming in the
first stages is no guarantee that a gender perspective will effectively
be taken into account when policies are implemented –
analysis and action are two different things.2
There are big steps
between detecting a gender issue, endorsing the principle of
gender equality and implementing policies which take this issue
into account. It is therefore very important to mainstream at
this stage and to accompany and support carefully the actors
concerned.
Policy evaluating stage
It is more and more common for policies to be assessed, in
order to determine how far the goals set out have been reached
and how useful a given policy has proved to be. The aim of
mainstreaming at this stage is to evaluate the effects of policies
on the current gender relations. Given its input in the policy
preparing and planning process, this is especially important:
evaluations serve as a starting point for the development of new
policies.
It is clear that these policy stages could be split up into a
much broader range of smaller stages, allowing for a more detailed
description of the policy process. It is also clear that these
stages cannot always be precisely distinguished from each other
in practice, nor do they necessarily follow each other in a chronological
order. Nonetheless, except for the evaluating process,
the described stages are always present in the policy process and
should be used as an indication for putting gender mainstreaming
into practice.
It might be too complicated to implement gender mainstreaming
in all those stages at the same time. The question,
then, is which stages are most appropriate to start mainstreaming?
The policy deciding process is the most important starting
point, given the crucial role of this process in determining what
will be taken onto the political agenda. The policy evaluating
process is a relatively easy starting point for gender mainstreaming.
This stage is an inherently critical phase in the policy
process and it serves as a basis for developing new policies.
However, this stage of the policy process is not always the most
developed one. The policy preparing and planning process and
the policy implementing process are more difficult stages to
start mainstreaming, given the fact that they involve specialised
and detailed knowledge of gender issues. Yet, as mentioned before,
they are crucial stages for gender mainstreaming, too.
Which policy areas are important for gender mainstreaming?
Most policy fields are relevant for gender mainstreaming, because
they directly or indirectly have an impact on the life of
women and men. Policy areas which at first sight do not seem
relevant, such as foreign policy, peace-keeping, the resolution of
armed conflicts or international trade, might contain (hidden)
aspects of gender inequality. Starting gender mainstreaming simultaneously
in all these areas right from the beginning is too
much of a job, and will lead to an over-fragmentation of finances,
human resources and attention. The question then is,
where to start?
1. See also: Status of Women Canada, 1996. 2. Commission on the Status of Women, 1994.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 19
A first possibility is to start with the crucial areas of concern.
The Platform for Action adopted at the United Nations Fourth
World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) identifies several
critical areas of concern, in which action is (still) needed to
achieve the goal of gender equality. These areas concern poverty,
education and training, health, violence, armed conflicts,
economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms,
human rights, the media, the environment, the girl-child.
All these areas are relevant for gender mainstreaming. Equally,
the various intergovernmental programmes of the different European
organisations – Council of Europe, Commission of the
European Communities, Nordic Council of Ministers – draw a
clear picture regarding problems and priorities concerning
gender equality. It is a good strategy to connect to these programmes.
Also, the legitimisation of gender mainstreaming will
be easier if policy-makers and people understand that it is introduced
into a field where there is definitely a problem.
It might be useful to start with gender mainstreaming policy
areas that are habitually labelled as gender-neutral. All policy
areas which affect the daily life of citizens, such as transport
policies, urban policies, social policies are definitely important,
although this is often not recognised. The same goes for research
policies, because this is an important area to generate
knowledge. Mainstreaming these policy areas might be very efficient,
given the eye-opening effect it will produce. This effect
will be very useful for convincing policy-makers and people of
the need for gender mainstreaming, even when basic gender
equality seems to be achieved.
However, it might be easiest to begin with policy areas which
are generally recognised as being important for achieving
gender equality, i.e. those related to the organisation of political
and administrative institutions, the labour market, education
and social and family policy. Development co-operation has a
long tradition in integrating women’s issues and, more recently,
a gender perspective (cf. chapter III.2 on Swedish and Danish
development co-operation). Mainstreaming in the area of education
can be very important because it can have a multiplier
effect by increasing awareness on gender equality issues. Mainstreaming
in the area of the organisation of political and administrative
institutions can involve screening the effects of
changes in electoral systems, or reorganising personnel policies
for the top administrators.
However important all those policy areas might be, gender
mainstreaming will have the greatest impact when major reforms
are being undertaken in a country or when new legislation
is being introduced. Many member States of the Council of
Europe are actually undergoing the challenge of major reforms
and this gives plenty of opportunities to mainstream right from
the beginning.
Which policy levels are important for gender mainstreaming?
All policy levels are equally important, as gender mainstreaming
has to be applied throughout society. The relevance
of the national level is generally recognised. The relative importance
of the various policy levels depends on the structure of a
given country. In a centralised state, the main focus will, in a
first instance, be on the national level, whereas in a federal state
more importance has to be attached to the regional level. Nevertheless,
the local level is also of specific importance for the
implementation of gender mainstreaming. Decisions usually
come from above, from the government, but it is at the local
level where decisions affect people most directly and often have
the greatest impact (cf. chapter III.2 on the Swedish example of
gender mainstreaming at the municipal level). A great effort has
to be made to make sure that at the local and regional levels the
strategy is introduced, and that the authorities at these levels
are given the necessary indications and resources to implement
gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming strategies also take various forms,
which will also influence the policy level concerned. Involving
NGOs might imply mainstreaming at a local level, given the fact
that these organisations often operate at a local or regional
level.
It is clear that there are various ways to mainstream, and that
the prerequisites of each country will have to be taken into account
when deciding on when, where, at which level and what
to mainstream, as well as who is responsible. Also, before undertaking
gender mainstreaming on a broad scale, it might be wise
to start with a phase of development and experimentation in a
limited policy area. In this way, the strategy can be tried out and
developed before it is implemented on a larger scale. Once implemented
on a larger scale, it is important to keep in mind that
gender mainstreaming requires a certain degree of diversity.
Gender mainstreaming should be carried out at all stages of the
policy process, in all the relevant policy areas and at all levels,
involving as many tools and actors as possible.
3. What techniques and tools are available?
Before describing the various techniques and tools available,
it might be useful to clarify the terms used and the way in which
they relate to each other. It has already been mentioned that the
goal to reach is gender equality and that there are two interdependent
strategies to reach this goal, i.e. specific or “traditional”
gender equality policy and gender mainstreaming. In this report,
techniques and tools are defined as groups or types of means to
put the gender mainstreaming strategy into practice, i.e. to
(re)organise, improve, develop and evaluate policy processes in
order to incorporate a gender equality perspective. Many tools
and techniques can be used for both strategies. The actors involved
and the policies addressed define which strategy it is.
Gender mainstreaming puts the accent on a reorganisation of
policy processes so that everyday policies and usual actors are
involved.
The main point with gender issues in everyday policies is that
in most cases the problem itself is not recognised as such. Therefore,
there is a need for analytical techniques and tools. Policymakers
have the expertise to deal with their policy topics, but,
because they lack expertise on gender issues, they do not know
how to handle them. Ordinary policy-makers could solve the
issues if they had the necessary knowledge. This means that
there is also a need for educational techniques and tools. In
summary, these techniques and tools have to help a policy-
20 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
maker to detect a given gender issue and to enable him/her to
take it into account. A last necessary set of techniques and tools
are those that allow for consultation and participation of the
various partners concerned by a given policy issue.
In fact, the tools and techniques applied in gender mainstreaming
are not new or specially conceived for that aim.
Gender mainstreaming strategies can start from the techniques
and tools generally used in the policy process, provided that
they are redesigned and adapted to the needs of mainstreaming.
Redesigning and adapting existing tools is a task for specialists
having outstanding knowledge of gender issues as well as on
the functioning of policy-making processes and on the instruments
related to these processes. Applying tools and techniques
which comprise a gender perspective requires training; developing
‘user-friendly’ mainstreaming instruments requires a very
high level of gender expertise. It is important to pay due attention
to this aspect and to select the right specialists1
.
Analytical techniques and tools
A broad range of analytical techniques and tools exist, and
can be divided into two categories: those delivering information
necessary for the development of policies and those which can
be used in the policy process itself. The latter, including techniques
and tools for assessment and monitoring, will be handled
mainly by policy-makers. The importance of analytical techniques
and tools lies in their pragmatic instrumental character.
Yet, this involves a certain amount of knowledge of gender issues,
and, therefore, education. Also, many techniques such as
gathering statistics, carrying out surveys, forecasts or cost-benefit
analyses cannot be applied by an individual policy-maker.
They need a certain form of institutionalisation and might have
to be put out to contract. Nonetheless, these techniques and
tools are a basis for putting gender mainstreaming into practice.
Some examples are:
Statistics
The knowledge of women’s and men’s living conditions must
be ensured by routinely working out statistics split up by sex and
other background variables depending on the context, for example
age and educational background. There is a huge need for
identifying, collecting, using and disseminating such data. This
means that the current data and data collection methods have
to be reconsidered: which data are split up by sex; what criteria
are used to gather data and what assumptions and values lie
behind these criteria?
Special attention should be paid to data providing information
on the dynamics of gender relations: what is changing,
where and at what rate? Statistics form the basis for analysing
the current gender relations, for developing forecasts or for assessing
policies in the making. Furthermore, data can also be
used for awareness-raising.
Surveys and forecasts
Drawing a precise state of the art on current gender relations
and on their evolution allows for the precise description of important
issues and for estimating, depending on the inputs, the
varying outcomes of potential future developments.
Cost-benefit analyses
Governmental policies can – and have – caused damage to
people and society as a whole because gender perspectives have
not been taken into consideration and policies have been based
on false assumptions. Women’s and men’s living conditions are
so different that the impact of decisions taken can vary considerably.
This is very often a surprise to decision-makers, who have
so little precise knowledge of the real living conditions of
women and men. Cost-benefit analyses from a gender perspective
give an insight into the impact of decisions on the various
living conditions of both sexes. It is more and more common
that governmental policies are assessed for many purposes. The
complexity of decision-making nowadays demands a thorough
surveillance of all initiatives and adjustments made in order to
cope with the rapid changes of technology, market function and
international co-operation. Given the differing living conditions
of women and men, the incorporation of a gender perspective in
assessments is a qualitative improvement in decision-making
processes.
Research
Research in gender studies is one of the most important
bases for gender mainstreaming, because it is the main tool to
detect current issues and problems in a given policy field. Research
can provide sex segregated statistics, develop a state of
the art of current gender relations, set up forecasts: in fact, the
former techniques and tools are all results of research. However,
research is more than that: fundamental research in gender
studies, mostly to be found in universities and other academic
institutes, can lead to the identification of new fields and perspectives
or help to develop more profound knowledge of the
mechanisms which (re)produce gender relations.
Checklists, guidelines and terms of reference
All these tools are intended for policy-makers, serving as a
help to put gender mainstreaming into practice. Checklists explain
what gender mainstreaming is about, set out the objectives
and describe the action to be taken. They form precious
help, but often have a somewhat static character. Guidelines
and terms of reference are more general tools. They are less precise
and detailed than checklists, but leave some freedom as
how to put gender mainstreaming into practice. Whereas terms
of reference are meant for governments and ministerial committees,
guidelines are primarily aimed at persons working in
the administration. This tool better suits policy-makers who already
possess a considerable amount of knowledge of gender is-
sues.
Gender impact assessment methods
Gender impact assessment has its roots in the environmental
sector and is a typical example of an existing policy tool that has
been adapted for the use of gender mainstreaming. Gender
impact assessment allows for the screening of a given policy
proposal, in order to detect and assess its differential impact or
effects on women and men, so that these imbalances can be re-
1. See the WISE-guide for references on experts. This need for expertise
underlines the importance of supporting and promoting the development
of women’s and gender studies.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 21
dressed before the proposal is endorsed. An analysis from a
gender perspective helps to see whether the needs of women
and men are equally taken into account and served by this proposal.
It enables policy-makers to develop policies with an understanding
of the socio-economic reality of women and men
and allows for policies to take (gender) differences into account.
Gender impact assessment can be applied to legislation, policy
plans, policy programmes, budgets, concrete actions, bills and
reports or calls for research. Gender impact assessment methods
do not only have to be applied to policy in the making, they can
also be applied to existing policies. They can be used in the administration
as well as by external actors, in both cases they require
a considerable amount of knowledge of gender issues. The
advantage of these tools lies in the fact that they draw a very
accurate picture of the effects of a given policy (cf. chapter III.2
on the Dutch and Flemish Gender Impact Assessment).
Monitoring
This technique consists of the continuous scrutinising,
follow-up and evaluation of policies. It can take the form of
regular meetings and reporting or of research and special studies.
Regular reporting can be done by persons working in the administration,
but this has to be preceded by the establishment of
relevant procedures, tools and analytical indicators by specialists
in gender topics. Reporting is not an end in itself and the
outcomes have to be assessed and taken into account in policy
preparing and planning processes. Other forms of monitoring,
such as evaluation research, imply the involvement of gender
experts (cf. chapter III.2 on the mainstreaming policies of the
European Commission).
Educational techniques and tools
These are, given the poor knowledge of the benefits of
gender equality, probably the most important techniques and
tools for successful gender mainstreaming. Educational tools
and techniques contain two aspects: awareness-raising and the
transfer of knowledge. Awareness-raising aims at showing how
existing values and norms influence our picture of reality, perpetuate
stereotypes and support the mechanisms (re)producing
inequality. It challenges values and norms by explaining how
they influence and limit the options taken into consideration
and decision-making. Besides, awareness-raising aims at stimulating
a general sensitivity to gender issues. Next to awarenessraising
there is need for training. People, especially the actors
normally involved in policy processes, have to learn how to
detect gender issues and how to develop policies in order to take
gender into account. Every person involved in gender mainstreaming
will have to receive education on the issue of gender
equality and of mainstreaming.
However, awareness-raising about mainstreaming and
gender equality issues should not be limited to the policymakers
and those involved with its implementation. It would
have to target all members of society, and not least people at
the grassroots level, so that they understand the usefulness of
this strategy, and the fact that the achievement of gender
equality will make a more humane society. It is important to develop
means of awareness-raising to give impetus to debate,
political interest, mobilisation in general as well as means of
training to transmit the information and knowledge necessary
for action. This also means that existing awareness-raising and
training material – especially material for the training of policymakers
– has to be screened from a gender perspective.
Some of the possible educational techniques and tools are:
Awareness-raising and training courses
Gradual awareness-raising and training courses have to be
set up for the various types of actors concerned, ranging from
general awareness-raising courses for all the staff, including the
highest levels of management, to very specific interactive training
sessions transferring specialised knowledge. Courses should
begin at the highest level, e.g. with members of government and
parliamentarians. These courses should mainly focus on awareness-raising,
forming an important impetus for a strong political
commitment to gender mainstreaming. As well as the
highest level, middle and lower management also need courses.
These courses should not only focus on awareness-raising, but
equally highlight how these persons can put gender mainstreaming
into practice and integrate it into their work. Finally,
there should be courses for persons who have to apply gender
mainstreaming into very specific aspects of the policy process,
and who need the knowledge which enables them to apply specific
tools and techniques such as gender impact assessment.
Those persons have to be able to understand precisely the implications
of gender, to detect gender issues and to formulate concrete
answers to them.
Follow-up action
Awareness-raising and even very specific training courses are
not enough to develop a gender consciousness and to be able to
put it into practice. There is need for a supportive post-training
context, in the form of regular tasks, meetings or mentors.
“Mobile or flying expertise”
These are specialists in gender issues who provide education
at the level of a unit or department. These experts can join a unit
in order to help those persons who have already followed
awareness-raising training to put the knowledge acquired into
practice. It is a very interactive and intensive assistance and
follow-up to training, targeted at persons who have to develop
very specialised gender knowledge. Specialists intervene in
order to put people on the right track. Their role does not consist
in doing the work of the unit, but in providing the necessary
knowledge and checking whether gender issues are tackled in
the way they should be. Gender equality machineries have such
specialists who can be seconded, provided that they are replaced
in order not to overcharge the gender equality unit. Women’s
studies centres can also provide such experts (cf. chapter III.2 on
the Swedish example).
Manuals and handbooks
These tools contain very practical information and can help
individual persons to integrate a gender perspective into their
work. They explain why, where, when and how to incorporate a
gender perspective in policies and contain important sources of
information and background material. Ideally, the use of such
manuals or handbooks is preceded by training, during which the
22 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
manuals and handbooks can be used as training material (cf.
chapter III.2 on the handbook from New Zealand).
Booklets and leaflets
The publication of promotional booklets or leaflets about
gender mainstreaming, for wide distribution in the public administration
and among the general public, can contain some
general information about what gender mainstreaming consists
of. Yet, such a publication cannot be an end in itself and should
merely be seen as an informing tool, in order to make known the
existence of the issue and to raise the general interest of the
public. Such a booklet could contain some examples of policies
causing damage to people and society as a whole because
gender perspectives had not been taken into consideration,
cost-benefit analyses and good examples of gender main-
streaming.
Educational material for use in schools
There is a growing concern that children and adolescents
should learn more about the functioning of society as a whole,
about gender relations and about gender equality as being a
part of human rights. Therefore, there is a need for educational
material for use in schools, containing television and video pro-
grammes.
Developing, redesigning or adapting and implementing educational
tools is very important for mainstreaming. Gender
mainstreaming requires awareness-raising and training on a
large scale, because it involves all the usual actors. It is crucial to
gender mainstreaming that they have the necessary knowledge.
Consultative and participatory techniques and tools
One of the main shortcomings of specific gender equality
policy is that it only involves a limited number of gender equality
specialists who often have little chance to co-operate with
other policy-makers. Gender mainstreaming involves a greater
number of people, including external actors, and this requires
consultative and participatory techniques and tools. Besides,
gender mainstreaming also leaves room for involving people
who will be affected by policies. Development of democracy is
one of the most important targets of gender equality. Promotion
of the equal participation of women and men in political
and public life and all other walks of life is part of the development
of society. It is important that both women and men participate
in all decisions taken in a society, given their various
experiences in life. This is not an entirely new idea, as policy
areas such as the environment, land use planning and development
co-operation have a long tradition in consulting the
public and in letting those concerned participate. Consultative
and participatory techniques and tools will also facilitate the
implementation of policies, which, in the end, will increase effectiveness
and efficiency.
Working or steering groups and think tanks
Gender mainstreaming requires exchanges of information,
experiences and knowledge as well as tight co-operation and
co-ordination of activities between various actors. Therefore,
channels for interdivisional and interdepartmental collaboration
have to be set up, including gender equality machineries
and external partners where necessary. It is important that these
working or steering groups have the necessary means to act (cf.
chapter III.2 on the mainstreaming policies of the European
Commission).
Directories, databases and organisational charts
In order to be able to consult with individuals, groups or organisations
concerned with a proposed policy, information
about them must be available. Likewise, when plans for citizen
participation are made, policy-makers should have at their disposal
information on the existing organisations. Directories, databases
and organisational charts can be most helpful in
establishing the right contacts. As these tools are often available
in institutions for various reasons, it can be very useful to
contact other institutions for existing directories, databases and
organisational charts before collecting new ones.
Participation of both sexes in decision-making
Gender mainstreaming requires the full participation of both
women and men in all fields of society, not the least at the decision-making
level. Lists of qualified women, quotas, positive actions
and other special measures for the recruitment,
appointment and promotion of women, are ways to ensure the
participation of women in decision-making. Guaranteeing an
equal participation of both sexes in decision-making also involves
the evaluation of existing personnel policies.
Conferences and seminars
The organisation of public conferences, seminars and press
conferences creates opportunities to inform the public in general
and those concerned by policies.
Hearings
An additional advantage of hearings is that they not only
provide an opportunity to transmit information, but also enable
people to participate in the policy-making process. Hearings
allow for the direct participation of people in developing and
deciding on policies which concern them.
Several techniques and tools are considered in this chapter,
but it is clear that this list is not exhaustive. It merely serves as
an orientation on the possibilities of several groups of tools and
techniques. The choice of tools and techniques to be applied for
gender mainstreaming varies from one policy area and level to
another and depends on the given prerequisites of a certain
country. Nevertheless, it is always interesting to make a strategic
mix, i.e. to use a combination of techniques and tools. A first
reason for this is that certain techniques and tools are important,
but not sufficient. Terms of reference are a typical example
of a technique, which, if used alone, can easily remain a dead
letter. It is, however, a necessary basis to develop and implement
other tools. A second argument in favour of a strategic mix is
the fact that the effectiveness of techniques and tools cannot
always be fully assessed beforehand. Whatever techniques and
tools might be chosen, they should be part of a general policy
plan on gender mainstreaming (see chapter III.1).
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 23
4. Who are the potential actors and what role can they play?
Gender mainstreaming implies all the actors routinely involved
in designing, implementing and evaluating policies. This
has been underlined before. Certain aspects of the policy process
involve specific actors, e.g. research requires the participation
of academic specialists, decision-making involves
politicians. There are various potential actors to be involved in
gender mainstreaming: in addition to politicians and the administration,
including gender equality machineries, there is a role
for external experts, NGOs, pressure and interest groups and the
media. The different roles of these actors can be grouped into
four categories: initiating, executing, supporting and promoting
and defending interests.
The role of politicians
Politicians play a crucial role in gender mainstreaming, given
their official and formal task of defining policy priorities and initiating
general policies. Politicians have to make sure that the
needs of the whole population are taken into account and
served and that policies improve the well-being of society as a
whole. The importance of gender equality as a substantial basis
for democracy and the promotion of gender equality in all areas
of life as a prerequisite for a better society, is generally recognised.
Politicians are the main actors responsible for the definition
of gender equality as one of the main goals to achieve, for
the explicit promotion of gender equality and for the reallocation
of the necessary means and conditions required for gender
mainstreaming. In fact, politicians are the main actors to initiate
mainstreaming. Saying this, it becomes clear that political will
and a serious political commitment are a crucial prerequisite for
mainstreaming (see chapter II.1). Even if gender mainstreaming
involves many actors and politicians are not necessarily those
with the most gender expertise, the main responsibility for
making gender mainstreaming possible rests on their shoulders.
The role of the administration
Administrations not only implement policies, but play an increasing
role in detecting and defining policy issues and in preparing
and developing policies. They are crucial actors in
executing gender mainstreaming, given the fact that mainstreaming
means integrating a gender equality perspective in
the daily process of all policy areas. After all, it is administrations
which have to put gender mainstreaming into action. They are
responsible for the continuous mainstreaming process in close
co-operation with politicians, who need the experience of administrators
for gender mainstreaming as a long-term strategic
work. Therefore, it is very important that the administration be
prepared to play this role. Most important, the responsibility for
mainstreaming has to be anchored at the top level (see chapter
III.2, European Commission plan).
The role of gender equality machineries
Although gender equality machineries are part of the administration,
they play a different role. The role of gender equality
machineries has to be redefined to match the strategy of gender
mainstreaming. As it is now, a gender equality machinery is a
think tank to detect new issues, to develop new strategies and
to gather knowledge and expertise. It serves as a place for political
analysis and reflection. The main role of a gender equality
machinery is to act as a catalyst for the work on gender mainstreaming.
It plays a decisive role in making people aware of the
importance of reaching gender equality, and in making politicians
aware of the political needs to do so. Also, a gender equality
unit is a support for actors usually involved in these fields to
mainstream. It can diffuse information and knowledge, play a
role in training and the follow-up to training or develop and
adapt existing policy tools to the needs of gender mainstream-
ing.
The advantage of a gender equality machinery is that it is
anchored in the system. It knows how much awareness on
gender issues and gender expertise exists, the way in which the
administration works and what is acceptable. It has (institutionalised)
channels of communication at its disposal. A gender
equality machinery, as part of the system, can play an important
role in the transition to gender mainstreaming, as it can translate
highly specialised gender knowledge into something understandable,
acceptable and useful for the administration.1
Yet, it
should be kept in mind that it should never be the role of a
gender equality machinery to implement directly gender mainstreaming
in the various policy areas.
The role of researchers and experts
Researchers and experts play an increasing role in detecting
and defining policy issues and in suggesting ways to solve them,
thereby helping to shape policies. Research forms an important
source of information and incentive for policy development:
facts and figures, surveys or forecasts are all foundations for
policy-making. A scientific analysis of a current issue or situation
serves as a basis for the political or social analysis made by
policy-makers, interest and pressure groups and the media. For
example, researchers might help to identify the most important
policy areas to start gender mainstreaming. Researchers and experts
can also provide an important technical support for mainstreaming,
adapting and developing tools and techniques or
providing training (cf. chapter III.2 on the examples of Gender
Impact Assessment).
The growing role of researchers in the policy process is a consequence
of the increasing complexity of policy-making. Politicians
and administrations cannot be experts in all topics. The
supporting role of researchers also flows out of the new ‘lean’
conception of the state. An important role for women’s and
gender studies exists, which plead in favour of further developing
these studies.
The role of NGOs, interest and pressure groups
Women’s groups, trade unions, migrant groups, churches and
NGOs feel the pulse of society and see – or sense – problems.
This proximity to the grassroots and their high degree of specialisation
mean that they have a lot of expertise in a given policy
field. They constitute an important source of knowledge and
play an important role in transmitting it to policy-makers and
influencing the political agenda. But this is not the only reason
why they should play a role in defining and shaping policies. Democracy
requires the participation of a broad range of actors
and NGOs, interest and pressure groups make more people participate
in the policy process. Therefore, they improve the democratic
quality of society. Besides, these organisations are also a
1. UNRISD, 1995.
24 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
watchdog, making sure that gender equality as a goal and mainstreaming
as a strategy remain (high) on the political agenda.
The contribution of the media
Last but not least, the media can influence and shape the political
agenda. They inform the public and reflect parts of the
public opinion and what the public considers to be important.
They can also have an influence in the shaping of the opinion of
the public and policy-makers, and can make an important contribution
as an awareness-raising tool. The influence the media
have in constructing and perpetuating values and norms is also
crucial. It would be important for the media to reflect on current
gender relations and the strategy of gender mainstreaming,
the need to achieve gender equality and what this implies.
The role of supranational institutions
International or supranational institutions like the Council of
Europe or the institutions of the European Communities, play a
growing role as a supporting but also as a stimulating and initiating
actor in the policy process. Their supranational character
creates an important forum for exchanging and disseminating
information between international organisations, their member
states and individual actors. It also makes them a think tank,
which allows them to take the lead in developing new perspectives
and in stimulating the initiation of new strategies, policies,
tools or techniques. In this way, they play an important role, not
only in favouring European networks between those who are
active in gender mainstreaming in the different countries, but
also in helping new actors to start gender mainstreaming. (cf.
chapter III.2 on the mainstreaming policies of the European
Commission, and Appendix C on gender mainstreaming at the
level of the Council of Europe).
THIS CHAPTER AIMS AT giving an overview of the potential actors,
because it is important to keep in mind that gender mainstreaming
is not only an issue for politicians and for the administration.
Gender mainstreaming must be promoted, executed
and supported by a broad range of actors, all of whom are responsible
for the fulfilling of their role. The best results will be
obtained if gender mainstreaming relies on all the human resources
available, which include – it should be underlined –
women. If women do not participate fully in decision-making it
will be difficult to organise gender mainstreaming in a successful
way.
As is the case with the use of techniques and tools, the implication
of actors only makes sense if their precise roles are defined
in a comprehensive gender mainstreaming policy plan.
This plan also has to trace out the responsibility of each actor.
Even if the main responsibility for making gender mainstreaming
possible rests on the shoulders of politicians, other actors
have to take up their share of responsibility, too. A comprehensive
policy plan is needed, defining the tasks and responsibility
of the each actor involved, as well as the necessary means attributed
to them.
25 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Part III: Gender mainstreaming in practice
The aim of this report has been explained in the introduction. The goal is to stimulate the various policy
actors of the member States and the different bodies of the Council of Europe to initiate concrete
actions in the field of gender mainstreaming, and to facilitate their initiatives. Parts I and II summarise
the available information, by presenting a conceptual framework and drawing a state of the art on
methods and ways to mainstream a gender perspective into the policy process and to integrate a
gender equality dimension into concrete policies. This last part of the report is intended as a support
for undertaking concrete action. Mostly this action will be taken at governmental level, although
gender mainstreaming is also possible at other levels. Part III is meant to facilitate the start or further
improvement of gender mainstreaming. It discusses the points to keep in mind while elaborating a
policy plan on gender mainstreaming and gives some indications for monitoring the process. Most important,
this part contains a broad range of good practices of gender mainstreaming.
1. Constructing a gender mainstreaming policy plan
The important thing if one is to start gender mainstreaming
is to construct a mainstreaming policy plan. The first step is to
have an initiator, who will be responsible for the start of gender
mainstreaming. The next steps are to take stock of the actual
situation – the prerequisites met, the characteristics of the
policy-making process – and to design a plan that takes this
actual situation into account. Finally, the last step is to monitor
the results.
The basic steps of the development of a gender mainstreaming
policy plan are to:
• identify the person or group in charge;
• reveal the actual situation: which prerequisites are met?
• describe targets: what are the expected results?
• choose a policy area, level and phase in a context-specific
way;
• identify tools and techniques, including the need to
develop new tools, or to educate actors involved;
• make clear who will be responsible for gender main-
streaming;
• set up a monitoring system.
The set of necessary prerequisites and facilitating conditions
which stipulate the framework for gender mainstreaming have
already been discussed in the previous part. The same goes for
the possible stages in the policy process, policy areas and levels
in which to mainstream, as well as for the tools, techniques and
actors that can be involved. The main aim of a gender mainstreaming
policy plan consists in linking up these necessary prerequisites,
facilitating conditions and ingredients with the
policy context and priorities of a specific setting. In summary,
the information exposed in Part II has to be translated into a
gender mainstreaming policy plan and adapted to the needs and
possibilities of a given policy context.
In order to do so, the reader will find hereafter a checklist,
containing aspects which should be taken into account when
setting up a gender mainstreaming policy plan. The length of
the list should not be discouraging. This checklist is meant to be
a red thread rather than a strict working scheme, helping to
start the mainstreaming process in a structured way.
26 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
To what degree are the prerequisites for gender mainstreaming met?
The first step of a gender mainstreaming policy plan consists
in giving an overview of the degree to which the necessary prerequisites
and facilitating conditions, which stipulate the
framework for mainstreaming, are available. It has been said
before that not all prerequisites have to be met in order to be
able to start gender mainstreaming. The following questions are
meant to help in identifying more clearly what could be a possible
asset, what could be a problem when starting gender main-
streaming.
Considering these necessary prerequisites and facilitating
conditions, the following aspects should be kept in mind:
Is there political will?
• To what degree has the goal of gender equality already
been accepted and defined as one of the important goals
to obtain? Do current commitments explain the importance
of achieving gender equality in all areas of life;
state the intention to mainstream a gender equality perspective
into all policies and programmes; indicate that
the objective is that these programmes and policies will
effectively promote and lead to gender equality; set clear
criteria for gender mainstreaming?
• To what degree is there public awareness of gender
equality issues?
• Is the political will to adopt the goal of gender equality
visible? Where is the political will concentrated: in the
government, the political parties, the parliament? Is there
is a mission statement or any other document on gender
equality? On gender mainstreaming?
• To what extent have existing commitments been put into
practice? Is there support for gender equality in the
administration?
• Which further commitments or mission statements in
terms of gender equality will, can or should be taken?
What assistance is available from gender equality machineries?
• What is the mandate of the national equality machinery
as an administrative organisation, and what are its human
and budgetary tools and resources? What is the position
of the gender equality machinery in the hierarchy of the
administration?
• What equal opportunities and anti-discrimination legislation
does exist and how comprehensive is it?
• How much capacity do gender equality units have to
build up further gender expertise?
• What specific equality policies do exist?
• Are there focal points on gender equality at relevant
levels or parts of the administration?
What statistics are available?
• How complete is the range of statistics available now,
compared to what is needed for gender mainstreaming?
• Are regular statistics desegregated by sex? By other background
variables?
Is comprehensive knowledge of gender relations available?
• Is comprehensive knowledge of gender relations available?
If so, where can it be found?
• Is gender expertise, such as women’s or gender studies,
available in universities? Is there gender expertise in other
bodies (research and documentation centres)?
How does the administration work?
• How is the decision-making process organised?
• What actors are normally involved in policy-making?
Which steps are taken to involve them in mainstreaming?
Who is normally responsible?
• What are key positions in the administration in relation to
mainstreaming?
• How are key administrators trained? Are women’s studies
or gender studies part of their training?
Where are funds and human resources to be found?
• What financial and human resources will be needed for
gender mainstreaming? What budget is available for specific
gender equality policy?
• What decisions are needed to reallocate regular financial
or human resources for gender mainstreaming?
Can support from representatives in political and public life be
expected?
• What are the proportions of both sexes in the various
fields of public and political life, especially at the level of
decision-making?
It is important to draw a precise picture of the degree to
which these prerequisites or facilitating conditions are available.
However, a lack of certain prerequisites is not a reason to
put gender mainstreaming off. Some of the prerequisites mentioned
above might not yet be available, but could be easily
achieved in the near future. In that case, the question to ask is
what, in terms of money, time and input of human resources, is
necessary in order to achieve them. Other prerequisites might
not be easily achievable in the near future. A possibility is to
check whether alternatives are available. A precise overview of
the available necessary prerequisites and facilitating conditions
outlines the framework in which gender mainstreaming can
take place. It gives a clear picture of the margin for mainstreaming,
e.g. this overview might already indicate the actors available
and initiatives that can be taken. In that way, it helps to put
the ambition to mainstream in a realistic perspective.
How to make a gender mainstreaming policy plan context-specific?
The second step of a gender mainstreaming policy plan consists
in translating the various ingredients of a mainstreaming
strategy into a plan of action that is context-specific.
This checklist is an attempt to find a starting point for
gender mainstreaming and to set up a comprehensive mainstreaming
policy plan. It is by no means a comprehensive list – a
gender mainstreaming policy plan should also require a detailed
budget or an exact time schedule. The main objective of this
checklist is to support gender mainstreaming initiatives. There is
not one recipe on how to mainstream, but a whole cookery
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 27
book. The heart of the matter consists in composing a balanced
menu. The success of gender mainstreaming starts with a mainstreaming
policy plan that gives a context-specific overview of
the possibilities and necessities for gender mainstreaming. The
main question to keep in mind here, is where the highest potential
for introducing renewal or change lies.
The following aspects should be considered:
Define which actors will be expected to play a role in gender
mainstreaming
Consider the following questions to make your choice:
• What role could the various actors, such as politicians, the
administration, gender equality machineries, researchers
and experts, NGOs, interest and pressure groups, the
media, play in terms of initiating, executing and supporting
gender mainstreaming issues?
• What should the exact tasks of the various actors be, and
how much workload will this involve?
• What means would the various actors need? Which
resources can be reallocated?
• What would their respective responsibilities be?
Define the policy areas and levels that are most suited for
starting gender mainstreaming
Consider the following questions to make your choice:
• Which policy areas contain the most important bottlenecks
to equal gender relations?
• Which policy areas are generally recognised as being
important for achieving gender equality and have experience
with measures to promote gender equality?
• Which policy areas contain issues which are placed high
on the political agenda?
• Which policy areas will produce an eye-opening effect?
• Which policy areas are most relevant for gender mainstreaming
in the long run?
• Which policy levels are most suited for gender mainstreaming
in terms of:
– the policy issues dealt with at the various policy levels;
– the availability of gender experts and other potential
actors;
– the suitability of techniques and tools?
Define the techniques and tools that will be used for
mainstreaming
Consider the availability of the following techniques and
tools:
– analytical techniques and tools such as statistics, surveys
and forecasts, cost-benefit analyses, research, checklists,
guidelines and terms of reference, gender impact assessment
methods, evaluation and monitoring;
– educational techniques and tools such as awareness-raising
and training courses, follow-up action, “mobile or
flying expertise”, manuals and educational material;
– consultative and participatory techniques and tools such
as an equal participation of both sexes in decision-making,
working or steering groups and think tanks, phone
lists and organisational charts, conferences and seminars,
hearings.
• What are the most suitable techniques and tools in view
of:
– the policy areas involved and the experience with, or need
for, certain techniques and tools, such as consultative and
participatory tools?
– the policy levels involved and the experience with certain
techniques and tools?
– the actors involved and their main shortcomings, i.e. lack
of knowledge to recognise and analyse gender issues or
lack of expertise to deal with these issues, which require
analytical or educational techniques and tools?
• What experience and means are available or necessary to
develop new techniques and tools or to adapt existing
ones?
Ideally, gender mainstreaming should be a red thread leading
through all fields and stages of the policy spectrum. In practice,
it will be difficult to begin in all areas at the same time. Starting
everywhere at once night lead to a splintering up of resources
and attention. Mainstreaming has to be started somewhere, and
this starting point has to be well chosen, in order to make sure
that the gender mainstreaming process will lead to success.
How to monitor the impact of gender mainstreaming?
Once a gender mainstreaming policy plan has been constructed
and the mainstreaming process has been started, it is
important to watch over the quality of mainstreaming initiatives.
In recent years there has been a growing awareness that
policy initiatives require follow-up and evaluation, in order to
gather the necessary information on their effect and efficiency.
Monitoring serves this purpose. Monitoring is more than evaluation.
It consists of the continuous scrutinising, evaluation and
follow-up of policies. In order for this continuity to be achieved,
the monitoring of gender mainstreaming has to be part of the
normal monitoring process. The way monitoring takes place has
to be decided when the gender mainstreaming project is started.
Even if monitoring is generally associated with the policy implementing
and evaluating stage, the basis for monitoring has to
be laid when preparing and planning policies. It is during that
stage that the techniques, tools and criteria for monitoring policies
are defined.
Hereafter, the reader will find a short checklist, explaining
how the various ingredients of a mainstreaming strategy could
be considered from a monitoring perspective.
The most important steps of monitoring are to:
• identify who will be responsible for monitoring;
• identify what has to be monitored: the activities of
actors, the results for gender relations, the effectiveness
and efficiency of the gender mainstreaming process;
• choose techniques and tools for monitoring, develop
indicators;
• organise follow-up.
The ultimate goal of monitoring – continuously improving
the quality of gender mainstreaming – can only be reached if
the results of evaluation reports and other monitoring activities
have consequences for the development of future policies.
Given the fact that gender mainstreaming is a new and innovative
strategy, monitoring is most important for the further de-
28 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
velopment and improvement of the quality of gender
mainstreaming.
2. Good practices of gender mainstreaming
This last chapter contains examples of good practices of
gender mainstreaming which have been referred to throughout
the report. These examples cover a broad range of policy plans,
regulations, actions and techniques or tools. The aim of this
chapter is to illustrate the methods and ways to mainstream a
gender perspective into the policy spectrum and thereby to facilitate
the setting up of a gender mainstreaming policy plan.
Several of the examples mentioned were presented as examples
of gender mainstreaming. Others were initiated before the
strategy of gender mainstreaming became known and do not
refer to it, but nevertheless, fit into the gender mainstreaming
strategy. We do not present a full inventory of all existing
gender mainstreaming practices. There are other examples
which could have been included if more specific information
had been available in time. We have made a radical selection
among the material received, choosing only the most clear examples.
We are, however, most grateful to all those who reacted
to our request for examples, because all the material received
has been very useful in the Group’s discussions to compile this
report. We regret that we have not found examples in Central
and Eastern Europe yet, but we hope that our report will help all
countries in Europe to develop the strategy of gender mainstreaming
further.
To make a choice for the examples on gender mainstreaming
used in Part III, we used four criteria. The criteria follow our definition
of mainstreaming, where it is stated that “mainstreaming
is the (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation
of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is
incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the
actors normally involved in policy-making”. Mainstreaming involves
the reorganisation of policy processes because it shifts
the attention of gender equality policies to everyday policies
and to the activities of the existing actors.
Our first criterion is that the examples used have to be the
result of a political initiative at a high level of responsibility.
Political and high level responsibility is needed to be able to
achieve this reorganisation of policy processes necessary for
mainstreaming. Our second and third criteria are connected to
the target of mainstreaming and to the actors involved. The examples
must show that the aim is to incorporate a gender
equality perspective into everyday policies, and that they aim to
do so by involving ordinary actors, namely the actors who are
normally involved in these policies. The last criterion is added to
exclude rhetoric policies: as has been said before, we only want
examples of mainstreaming in practice, and that means that
they have to be concrete and specific. It is of course very important
if there is a general political statement that mainstreaming
will be started in all policies by all actors, but we want our examples
to be more concrete. That means that there has to be a
choice of policy areas, or policy levels, or policy instruments, and
some results of the mainstreaming project.
The description of the examples includes as far as possible
the following elements:
• who took the initiative?
• starting date;
• aim of the project/plan/action;
• brief description of the content;
• policy area(s) concerned;
• policy level(s) concerned;
• techniques and tools used;
• group or types of actors involved; responsibility for mon-
itoring;
• status of the example (just started, running, finishing,
evaluated);
• why is the example relevant?
• further information (address and/or references).
i. Good practices of a gender mainstreaming policy plan
Gender mainstreaming policies of the European Commission28
A supranational gender mainstreaming policy project. Nordic
Council of Ministers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Mainstreaming experiences in Sweden at national, regional and
local level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Finland’s mainstreaming plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Norway’s experience of mainstreaming a gender perspective
into all policy fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
High level political initiative: a first step to mainstreaming in
Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Gender mainstreaming policies of the European Commission
A clearly announced political will exists, through the adoption
of the European Commission’s Communication on Mainstreaming,
dated 21.2.1996. It states that mainstreaming
involves “mobilising all general policies and measures specifically
for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and
openly taking into account at the planning stage their possible
effects on the respective situations of men and women (the
gender perspective)”. Mainstreaming had already been mentioned
in the Third Medium-Term Community Action Programme
on Equal Opportunities for women and men (1991-
1995), as the integration of a gender perspective into the different
branches of the administration. It became a central issue in
the current Fourth Action Programme (1996-2000). In parallel, a
special structure was set up to implement gender mainstreaming.
The Group of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities,
chaired by President Santer, is considered to be the most important
instrument for implementing gender mainstreaming. Its
main characteristic is that it comprises members at the highest
level of the hierarchy. Furthermore, permanent evaluation processes
are being set up, in the form of a yearly assessment of the
progress achieved. Each Directorate has nominated an official
who is in charge of gender proofing/assessing each programme
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 29
or document of the Directorate in a gender perspective. An
inter-service group is providing assistance. This Group was set
up in 1995 to support the Group of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities,
as a preparatory body on Equal Opportunities, as a
preparatory body for the Group and as a vehicle for gender
mainstreaming in the Commission services. This Group has considerably
increased awareness in the Commission services about
Community policies on equal opportunities and facilitated the
agreement of follow-up actions to the Commission Communication
on Mainstreaming. The Group further serves as a forum
for exchange of information and best practices in the field and
for discussion on equality-relevant Community policies.
Some policy areas are receiving special attention, such as the
employment area, the structural funds, awareness-raising programmes.
Staff members in key positions will be trained for
mainstreaming. Special tools are being developed, and adapted,
such as SMART (see page 35). The financing of gender mainstreaming
is mostly based on the reallocation of funds.
The European Commission can rely on several necessary prerequisites
and facilitating conditions for gender mainstreaming.
It has a long-standing tradition of gender equality policies, and
is specifically concerned by the goal of a balanced participation
of both sexes in decision-making. It has experience in calling
upon external academic and other expertise. The Committee for
Women’s Rights of the European Parliament, the European
Women’s Lobby and researchers in women’s studies, can be
mentioned here.
This example shows how political will started a process which
was followed by the setting up of an organisational structure
and by the development of tools to mainstream policies and to
monitor the gender mainstreaming process.
Further information
Ms Anne Havnør
Commission européenne
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Bruxelles
A supranational gender mainstreaming policy project. Nordic Council of Ministers
The Nordic Council of Ministers has launched a project in
order to develop methods and tools to mainstream a gender
perspective into labour market policy and youth policy in the
Nordic countries. The project started in March 1997 and will
finish in December 1999. The main purpose is to develop and
test different methods and try to find a model for mainstreaming
a gender perspective into normal policy processes. The organisation
of the project is like an umbrella, under which a
number of activities take place. The most important activities
are mainstreaming projects at local, regional or central level in
each country. At Nordic level, common activities, such as seminar,
working groups, study visits and programmes for the exchange
of experience, are arranged in order to support the
development of the national projects. A project leader has been
appointed for the co-ordination of the Nordic project and a reference
group, composed of representatives from all the Nordic
countries, follows and supports the development of the project.
Project leaders are also appointed for all the national projects.
The following national projects have been launched:
I. The municipality of Ringsted in Denmark has launched a
project aiming at integrating a gender perspective in
staff policy as well as in the decision-making process and
the administration of the municipality. Guidelines for the
employment process from a gender perspective will be
produced. The project will be supported by the Danish
Equal Status Council.
II. Finland has launched a project in the Government, aiming
at implementing a mainstreaming strategy for the work
on promoting equality. Each ministry will develop and
test methods and tools for mainstreaming a gender perspective
into their own normal policy processes. A working
group is following and supporting the development
of methods and tools for mainstreaming (more information
on page 31).
III. Two projects have been launched in Iceland, one in Reykjavik
and one in Akureyri. The Recreation Committees in
the municipalities will test methods and tools which
ensure that a gender perspective is taken into account in
political and administrative decision-making. Such methods
are, for example, presentation of statistics/data
desegregated by sex, training courses in gender issues,
guidelines and gender impact assessment tools. The Recreation
Committees co-operate with the sports organisations
on the national and local levels and cultural committees/associations
in order to make visible the
distribution of resources (time, space, money etc.)
between girls and boys, women and men.
IV. Norway has two projects, one at national level and one in
Rogaland at regional level. The Ministry of Children and
Family Affairs will integrate a gender perspective into the
ordinary policy processes in the youth policy field. The
County Labour Board in Rogaland will analyse a training
course for managers from a gender perspective and use
the result as a basis for the further development of mainstreaming
a gender perspective into the training of lead-
ers.
V. Sweden has launched two projects at regional level in the
county of Västerbotten. The top managers of all regional
authorities are appointed to the steering committee for
the projects. In the County Labour Board of Västerbotten
the analytical tool 3R will be tested in order to integrate
a gender perspective into normal work at all levels of the
board (more information on page 65). In Skellefteå, a
municipality in the county of Västerbotten, the Leisure
and Recreation Administration will develop new working
methods in order to ensure a gender perspective in the
normal administrative process.
VI. The Faeroe Islands have launched a mainstreaming
project at a teacher training college aiming at integrating
a gender perspective in the training of nursery teachers.
VII.The Åland Islands will test mainstreaming as a strategy
for work on promoting equality in youth policy at central
and local level.
All projects will be evaluated and the results will be presented
in a final report to the Nordic Council of Ministers at the
end of 1999.
30 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Further information
Birgitta Åseskog
Principal Administrative Officer
Ministry of Labour, Equality Affairs Division
Drottninggatan 21, S-10333 Stockholm
Tel: (46) 8 405 1261; Fax: (46) 8 247 152
Internet: birgitta.aseskog@labour.ministry.se
Mainstreaming experiences in Sweden at national, regional and local level
In 1994, the Government decided to give responsibility for
equality policy to the Deputy Prime Minister. It was also declared
in the annual statement of government policy that the
gender equality perspective should be taken into account in the
preparatory proceedings of all decisions by the Cabinet. All ministers
should be responsible for gender impact analysis and work
on promoting equality within their fields of responsibility. Such
an organisation underlined the fact that equality work should
be an integral part of political decision-making and integrated
into policy processes in all areas of society.
In the same year, the Government also decided on special
terms of reference, stating that all government committees of
inquiry should analyse and discuss their proposals from a gender
perspective. The gender impact – whether direct or indirect – of
proposed changes in the labour market, in the economy, in the
welfare system, in education, etc. should be described. If the
committee or the special commissioner considers it impossible
or unnecessary to do so, the reason must be stated. Organisational
and budgetary matters also have to be analysed from a
gender perspective. Training courses on equality issues are offered
to all special commissioners and their secretaries. From
1994 onwards the Government instructed Statistics Sweden to
present all statistics, based on individuals, desegregated by sex.
Two years later, the Government commissioned the National
Labour Market Administration to present labour market statistics
desegregated by sex.
Organisation of mainstreaming
The responsibility for the development of tools and routines
to ensure that the gender impact is considered in administrative
proceedings, for example in planning processes and budgeting,
lies with the State Secretary of each ministry. The State Secretary
to the Minister for Labour Law, Working Hours and Equality
Affairs is responsible for the co-ordination and the monitoring
process. She arranges regular meetings with the State Secretaries
of all ministries on the development of mainstreaming and
issues statements concerning equality between women and
men. She also offers training on gender issues to the ministries.
The Equality Affairs Division has overall responsibility for developing
tools and mechanisms for mainstreaming. The Division
also scrutinises all proposals for government bills and other
government decisions emanating from various ministries prior
to discussions and decisions by the Cabinet. This is to ensure that
the gender perspective is taken into account. Another important
task is to supervise and approve proposed appointments to government
boards and committees of inquiry before they are submitted
to the Cabinet for a decision. The Government has set the
target that the official committees and government boards
should have an equal representation of women and men by
1998.
At regional level, the County Administrative Boards, which
are government authorities, are responsible for mainstreaming
the gender perspective into all policy fields. The County Administrative
Boards have employed gender experts to start, support
and monitor the process of mainstreaming a gender perspective
in normal work in all policy fields. A medium-term strategic plan
(1997-2000) for the work on promoting equality has been designed
by each Board and submitted to the Government.
In 1995, the Government allocated funds to the Swedish Association
of Local Authorities in order to stimulate the development
of mainstreaming a gender perspective in local policy
processes. A two-year programme was launched, JAMKOM, with
the aim of examining how a committee or board can work systematically
for gender equality in its own field of operation. In
order to put mainstreaming into operation, JAMKOM tried out a
method, the 3R method, the main purpose of which is to systematise
a gender equality analysis. A final report on the programme
was presented to the Government in February 1998. (A
description of the programme can be found on page 65).
Methods: training seminars, gender experts
Awareness-raising and training seminars for top-level management
were first organised in 1994 and are still high on the
agenda. The Equality Affairs Division has developed a threehour
training course/seminar on equality issues for Ministers,
State Secretaries, political advisors, special commissioners and
the top management of public authorities. The main aim of the
seminars is to provide statistics and facts on the situation of
women and men in Swedish society. Other important topics
raised at the seminars are how to implement the national goals
for equality policy and what tools and mechanisms could be
used in a mainstreaming strategy. To meet the need for gender
training in the Government Office and the public administration,
the Equality Affairs Division will use the services of 10
gender trainers, besides a gender expert and a representative
from Statistics Sweden. The Government has also engaged a
“flying gender expert” (see page 36) who has joined some of the
ministries in order to help develop methods and routines which
ensure a gender perspective in policy processes.
In the ministries, the seminars are followed up by regular
meetings with the State Secretary responsible for equality
policy and the head of the Equality Affairs Division. Points discussed
at these meetings include active measures to promote
equality, gender impact analyses, the gender perspective of the
budget and the representation of women on government boards
and committees.
The Equality Affairs Division has developed an analytical tool
to assess the different effects of policy proposals on women and
men. Some ministries will be testing its use. Similar tools are in
use in public authorities and municipalities. There is still a lack
of experience on the use of gender impact assessment tools,
both in the Government and in public administration.
The Minister for Labour Law, Working Hours and Equality Affairs
set up a working group on mainstreaming in January 1998,
chaired by the State Secretary for Equality Affairs and with representatives
from central, regional and local level. The task of
the group is to draw up the gender training programme, and develop
methods for gender impact assessment and methods for
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 31
monitoring and evaluation. The Minister has allocated funds to
the group for seminars, hearings, research and trial projects.
Monitoring and follow-up
The Equality Affairs Division scrutinises, inter alia, budget
documents which are crucial for progress towards equality between
women and men. A gender perspective must also be
taken into account in the budget dialogue between the Government
and public authorities. In order to monitor the development
of the mainstreaming process in government from 1994 to
1996, all ministries had to review the equality work in their own
ministry and present a report to the Minister for Labour Law,
Working Hours and Equality Affairs. The reports were compiled
and presented to Parliament. In 1997 the ministries were asked
to assess the effects of the special terms of reference (1994),
stating that all government committees of inquiry should analyse
and discuss their proposals from a gender perspective. An
analysis has been made of the reports and it shows that 33 per
cent of a total of 193 committees of inquiry had discussed their
results from a gender perspective, although very few of them
presented a comprehensive gender analysis.
Some experience
Political will at the highest level and strategic work over a
long period is needed in order to change strategies from traditional
equality policy to mainstreaming. The declaration (repeated
every year since 1994) of the Prime Minister in the
annual statement of government policy, that the gender equality
perspective should be taken into account in the preparatory
proceedings of all decisions by the Cabinet, has been an important
legitimate base for the implementation of mainstreaming
methods. It is a written declaration which is often referred to in
the dialogue on gender issues between the Equality Affairs Division
and the ministries.
A lack of knowledge of gender issues among both politicians
and officials in the ministries is still a problem. Many of them do
not understand what is expected of them or what it means (in a
concrete way) to take a gender perspective into account in their
normal work. A common misunderstanding is that work on promoting
equality only deals with staff policy, for example, by setting
targets for the recruitment of women, training of women
leaders, and so on. The organisation of seminars on gender issues
and the development of methods for continuous training is
therefore important. Equally important is the development of
monitoring and assessment tools. So far, Sweden lacks experience
in using analytical tools to assess gender relevance or the
gender impact on policy proposals. Such tools and methods will
be focused on in the years to come. Implementing a mainstreaming
strategy is a long-term procedure.
Further information
Mona Danielson
Ministry of Labour, Equality Affairs Division
S-103 33 Stockholm
Tel: 46 8405 1299; Fax; 46 824 7152
E-mail: mona.danielson@labour.ministre.se
Finland’s mainstreaming plan
The Finnish mainstreaming project starts in 1998, and will
run until 2001. The aim of the project is to develop methods to
integrate the promotion of equality between women and men
into the preparation of measures taken by public administration,
as well as its decision-making, implementation, monitoring
and appraisal. The gender effects of all the measures will be
considered. The project will create tools that will take into account
gender, such as tools to develop the expertise of the work
organisation and staff, methods of mainstreaming training,
methods of appraisal related to preparation of budgets and
methods of drafting legislative proposals. The project will bring
about more equal administrative practices and reinforce the
commitment to the mainstreaming of equality.
The project has adopted the following definition of mainstreaming
in practice (Åseskog, 1997):
• the different situations of women and men are made vis-
ible;
• issues related to individuals are assessed from the gender
perspective;
• the impact of changes is assessed from the perspective of
women and men in their living conditions.
Different ministries have promised to promote equal opportunities
by choosing projects in their specific sector. The Ministry
of Social Affairs and Health, which houses the Office of
Equality, has chosen as one of its major projects the development
of mainstreaming methodology. This project will also be
the Finnish contribution to the mainstreaming project of the
Nordic Council of Ministers, of which all the Nordic countries
are part (see page 46). The aim of this action research project is
to develop, in collaboration with the various ministries, a methodological
package and an approach which may enhance the
mainstreaming of equal opportunities in administrative practice
and in the training of personnel. This will result in instruments
which will help governments to respond better to the needs of
clients and citizens.
Thus, the anticipated results comprise, on the one hand, specific
instruments or tools which assist in the development of the
work organisation and the competence of the personnel and, on
the other hand, new gender-friendly administrative practice
and commitment to the promotion of mainstreaming.
Recent studies indicate that mainstreaming methods consist
of techniques which can be applied from both outside and
inside the “system”, in addition to a few transversal methods applicable
in all situations (cf. Horelli, Booth and Gilroy, 1997).
Methods also vary in terms of their target, as they can be applied
to the individual, interpersonal, symbolic or structural
level (Acker, 1995) The central method to be applied in this
study will be a specifically tailored gender analysis according to
the different areas or sectors (Horelli and Roininen, 1997).
Gendered practices are, however, a complex and multidimensional
phenomenon, the registration of which requires an innovative
research design and a multitude of research techniques.
The general research questions, which will be specified in
each sub-project, are the following:
1. How should mainstreaming be defined and made operational
in different areas?
2. What kind of techniques should be applied for the
enhancement of equality in different areas, such as legislation,
training, etc.?
32 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
3. What kind of models of mainstreaming can be constructed
in different areas, and what is the impact of
ethnic and sociocultural factors?
4. What is the added value of mainstreaming in the current
administrative culture and products?
5. What are the characteristics of a Nordic mainstreaming
methodology?
Methodology and implementation of the study
The nature of the action research is explorative and interactive.
The first phase of the study (1998-1999) consists of the
participating ministries and institutions choosing mainstreaming
subjects. The methodological package of mainstreaming and
the eventually changing practice will be gradually brought
about through a dialectical and empowering monitoring and
evaluation of these projects in collaboration with the participants.
As all the sub-projects have not yet been chosen, it is not
possible to define the final methods to be applied. The preliminary
set of sub-projects consists of the following:
• The project of the Ministry of Labour, called the “Ministry
in the next millennium” (MULLE), deals with the modernisation
of the working habits and organisation of the
ministry itself (1.8.1997-31.12.1998). Methods will
include surveys, interviews and simulation games.
• The project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strives to
mainstream gender into the training of chairpersons of
the working groups during Finland’s presidency of the
European Union in the autumn of 1998. Methods include
surveys, gender training and interviews (1998-2000).
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry intends to mainstream
gender into the structural unit of the ministry
through the renegotiation of a bill with the EU concerning
the ownership of farms of both the husband and the
wife (1998-2000).
• The Work Protection Department of the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Health has chosen a project which aims at
enhancing equal opportunities through the improvement
of professional skills of their office personnel (1998-
2000). The methods comprise the construction and choice
of training modules, surveys, observing practices, etc.
• The Ministry of Education has chosen an umbrella project
dealing with youth policy. The project design is in
progress (1998-2000).
• The Ministry of the Environment will integrate gender
analysis with environmental impact assessment (1998-
2000).
The second phase (1999-2000) consists of the analysis of the
results of the previous phase and the choice of new targets and
objects. Proposals will be made to expand the scope of mainstreaming
within the ministries. The aim is to expand into
projects, which may have some structural consequences. The
third phase (2000-2001) consists of the fine-tuning and marketing
of the results as well as of an evaluation of the process
and products.
Organisation of the study
The study is conducted by Dr Liisa Horelli, assisted by Janne
Roininen, MA, both from ITSU Oy. Each sub-project has its own
project organisation. The steering board of the project consists
of the representatives of the ministries or institutions which
have a mainstreaming sub-project, as well as of a few experts
and representatives from women’s organisations and from the
Association of Municipalities.
Important reference groups are NGOs, especially the associations
of women’s studies and men’s studies. Another central reference
group is the Monitoring Committee of the Equality
Programme of the Finnish Government. The third significant
partner is the reference group of the Nordic mainstreaming
project.
Further information
Leila Räsänen
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
PB 267, 00171 Helsinki
Tel: (358) 9 160 3837; Fax: (358) 9 160 4582
E-mail: leila.rasanen@stm.vn.mailnet.fi
Norway’s experience of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policy fields
The political initiative
The principle of mainstreaming is incorporated in the Norwegian
Act on Gender Equality from 1978. The law was a useful
tool for the later mainstreaming work in the ministry, and states
that public authorities shall promote gender equality in all sectors
of society. Early in the 1980s, the Ministry of Children and
Family Affairs started its systematic and comprehensive work of
mainstreaming a gender perspective into the ordinary work of
all ministries. In a report to the Storting on gender equality
policy in 1985, the principle of integrating a gender perspective
into all levels of public administration was presented, and all
political parties agreed on this goal. Two Equality Action Programmes
were launched during the period 1986-94.
After the termination of the programmes in 1996, the government
placed special responsibility for the political work of
equality and gender mainstreaming with the State Secretary of
each ministry. In 1997, a Committee of State Secretaries was set
up to promote and monitor this work, headed by a new post at
the Prime Minister’s Office. The main responsibility within the
Cabinet still lies with the Minister for Gender Equality.
The Gender Equality Section in the Ministry of Children and
Family Affairs is responsible for equality policy in general and
was the initiator responsible for the start of gender mainstreaming
in all ministries and policy fields. The unit designed
plans for the programmes (1986-94) and promoted a strategy
on how the other ministries should become aware of the gender
perspective in their work and develop their own plans for
gender mainstreaming. The unit was responsible for initiating
the work, developing strategies, training, disseminating information,
monitoring and the final report.
The aim of the programmes
During the first period of the gender mainstreaming programme,
emphasis was on concrete work, including commitments
and proposals. The aim was to make the ministries aware
of the fact that a gender perspective is relevant in most policy
fields. Each ministry became responsible for gender mainstreaming
within its field. It was emphasised that a gender perspective
should be incorporated in the objectives and tasks of
the ordinary planning process in the ministries. The integration
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 33
of a gender perspective should be an autonomous process by
being an integral part of the everyday planning and budgetary
work, of commissions and of Bills to Parliament.
The policy area
All policy areas were subject to gender mainstreaming and all
ministries had to consider gender simultaneously. Some areas
were recognised as being more important than others, but all
areas had to be looked into in search of gender relevance. Suitability
or areas placed high on the political agenda were not sufficient
criteria. The eye-opening effect in “new” areas was
equally important. The aim was that gender mainstreaming
should be taken into consideration in all fields and at all stages
of the policy-making process and areas.
Techniques and tools
Awareness-raising and training courses were important
tools, as well as involvement at the political level. The Ministry
of Children and Family Affairs held seminars twice a year for officials
from all ministries, and consultative meetings with each
ministry were arranged regularly. Learning how to take equality
between women and men into account in all administrative
proceedings and all policy-shaping work was the most important
measure. This also covers the definition of mainstreaming
used in the programme. All ministries were asked to report on
how they planned and organised the work. At the end of the
first period, a comprehensive report including a description of
the gender perspective in each ministry and 500 concrete proposals
was presented.
To prevent this work from becoming a project about personnel
policy only, all proposals regarding personnel policy were excluded.
This decision was controversial, since the majority had
the opinion that equality policy is identical to personnel policy
activities aiming at increasing the number of women as managers
and promoting equal pay.
It was emphasised that it is the respective ministries themselves
which can implement gender mainstreaming and shape
equality policies in their own policy fields. The ministries were
responsible for analysing their policy area in a gender perspective
and proposing measures.
The minister responsible for equality has recently prepared a
list selected from the Bills and White Papers put forward to be
read in the Storting. In a letter to all the members of the Government,
she pointed to the gender perspective in these documents
and asked that this also be taken into consideration.
The actors involved
As part of the programmes, a network was established in the
governmental administration identifying two officials responsible
in each ministry, and the decision-making process was decentralised.
Each department in the governmental bodies had to
consider the gender perspective and took an active part in decision-making.
The financial and human resources were also
found at this level. Since 1996, this network has been strengthened
by the involvement of the State Secretaries.
Monitoring
Monitoring has been an important part of the programmes.
The ministries were required to plan the organisation of the
work and define who was responsible for its implementation.
They had to identify their tools and resources and report regu-
larly.
Status and experience
Political will is crucial. In 1997, the Ministry of Children and
Family presented a declaration to the Storting on gender policy:
The gender perspective in Norwegian policy. This declaration
will be repeated every four years. This document is a statement
of the Government’s will to adopt the gender perspective in
most policies and illustrates the importance of mainstreaming a
gender perspective in all policy fields. It gives an overview of the
achievements so far, the current status of equality between
women and men in different areas of society and the policy of
the Government. This declaration is an important element in the
process of gender mainstreaming and involves all the ministries
in the preparation of the paper by reporting on the status of
equality in their policy areas. The aim of the report is not to describe
the working methods, but what is really achieved in a
wide spectrum of areas. The declaration was discussed in Parliament
and made the political will to adopt the principle of
gender mainstreaming visible.
The experience and results of the programmes are under
evaluation. Preliminary reports indicate considerable variations
between the ministries on how they have implemented the
action programme and gender mainstreaming. The methods the
ministries have chosen for mainstreaming and the way they
have organised their work varies. Some ministries still find it difficult
to see the relevance of incorporating a gender perspective
in their ordinary work, and a lack of knowledge of gender issues
is still a problem. Other ministries have made great progress. Acceptance
by the highest management as well as by the lower
levels is a key factor for achieving a good result. Monitoring and
the involvement by one driving force have also been crucial.
The programmes were organised as a project and were expected
to continue as a sustainable process, which they only
partly did. Maintenance of the network in ministries and continuous
training and seminars on gender issues are important.
The programmes did not develop systematic and analytical tools
to assess gender relevance in policy fields. A governmental committee
now exists to develop good practice and methods for assessing
gender relevance in policy proposals. The intention is to
use this tool in the preparatory proceedings of all decisions
made by the Cabinet.
This example shows how gender mainstreaming was organised
when the aim was to cover all policy areas. The programmes
developed organisational structures, procedures for monitoring,
decision-making and stages in the process. The aim was not to
develop analytical tools, but to raise awareness about gender
relevance in all policy-making.
Further information
Jorun Hjertø
Ministry of Children and Family Affairs
PO Box 8036 Dep.,
N-0030 Oslo
34 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
High level political initiative: a first step to mainstreaming in Portugal
The Global Plan for Equal Opportunities in Portugal was
launched in 1997 by the Prime Minister. It is the result of the
participation of all ministries, invited by the Head of the Government,
in reviewing their policies from the point of view of
gender equality. The competence to encourage the execution of
the Plan and to evaluate its results was attributed to a High
Commissioner for Matters relating to the Promotion of Equality
and the Family, who is politically dependent on the Prime Minister.
The respective ministries will remain responsible for the execution
of the different measures. Key elements of the Plan are
the mainstreaming of education (inclusion of matters related to
gender equality in school curricula as well as in professional
training and job creation programmes; the training in gender
equality of civil servants, education professionals in schools and
training systems integrated in the labour market), and the mainstreaming
of statistics (revising statistical information in order
to ensure the inclusion of sex variables). Also, gender questions
will be integrated in the impact studies of the different measures
and programmes of the departments, at national, regional
and local level, in order to evaluate their incidence on the living
conditions of women and men. The Plan also consists of specific
measures of a sectorial character.
The Commission for Equality and Women’s Rights, besides its
traditional role, shares responsibility for some of the objectives
of the Plan, namely those concerned with information and
training in general, and of civil servants in particular.
Further information
Commission for Equality and Women’s Rights
Av. da Republica, 32-1o
, P-1093 Lisbonne CODEX
Tel: (351) 1 79 760 81; Fax: (351) 1 79 691
ii. Good practices of particular mainstreaming instruments and initiatives
An analytical tool: Gender impact assessment, the Netherlands
34
An analytical tool to assess gender relevance: SMART . . . . . .35
An analytical tool: Gender impact assessment, Flanders (Belgium)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
An educational tool: Involving flying experts, Sweden . . . . . .36
Evaluation of legislative proposals in a gender perspective, Denmark.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
A strategic mix of tools: The 3R method at the local level,
Sweden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A strategic mix of tools: The SIDA guidelines/tables . . . . . . . 38
A strategic mix of tools: the Danish Development Co-operation
39
An analytical tool: Guidelines for gender analysis, New Zealand
39
An analytical tool: Gender impact assessment, the Netherlands
The Dutch Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) was commissioned
by the Dutch Equality Division and constructed by academic
researchers in 1994. The aim of the project was to
construct an instrument that could assess the impact on gender
relations of any policy proposal at the national level. The GIA is
an ex-ante evaluation, which means that the impact on gender
relations are assessed before the final decision on a given policy
proposal is taken. The results of the GIA can then be used in the
process of political decision-making. If necessary, policies can be
changed.
The GIA is designed to fit all policy areas. A basic but solid
gender expertise is needed to use it. So far, the instrument has
been used in the Ministries of Education, Justice, Agriculture,
Nature and Fishery and Domestic Affairs. Projects in other ministries
are in progress. GIA has also been used at the regional
level. In some cases, the policy proposals have been changed to
counter potential negative impacts on gender relations. The coordinating
Minister of Emancipation has stated that the instrument
has proven to be useful.
Most of the GIAs have been carried out by academic researchers,
sometimes in a joint venture with civil servants.
The conceptual framework of the GIA identifies two basic
structures that are central to gender inequality: the division of
labour, and the organisation of intimacy. It further identifies
two basic processes that constitute gender relations: the distribution
of and access to resources, and the existence and application
of gender rules. The GIA sets two criteria to decide
whether impacts will be positive or negative: equality in the
sense of equal rights and (un)equal treatment of (un)equal
cases, and autonomy, in the sense of the possibility for women
to decide about their own lives.
A GIA starts with assessing the gender relevance of a policy
proposal (see the description of SMART on page 59) and continues
with describing the current and future situation in a given
policy field in terms of the conceptual framework, reaching a
conclusion as to which structures and processes are at stake, and
to what degree the criteria are met. It then analyses the policy
proposal in these terms, and shows where it will affect the basic
structures and processes. The two criteria are used to decide if
the policy proposal will have a positive or negative impact on
gender relations.
Following the GIA, a few similar instruments have been developed
and used. Among those, the Gender Impact Test, which
is more simple, and developed and used at the local and regional
level. In 1998, the Dutch Association of Local Authorities also
designed a GIA for the local level.
In the years ahead, more adaptations are to be expected. The
Equality Division is co-ordinating further development, by organising
seminars and expert meetings and by commissioning
evaluation research.
Further information
Bakka des Bouvrie
Directie Coordinatie Emancipatie
Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, Den Haag
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 35
An analytical tool to assess gender relevance: SMART
At the request of staff members in the European Commission,
the first step of the Dutch GIA has been isolated as a separate
instrument. SMART is a Simple Method to Assess the
Relevance of policies To gender. It is a very simple instrument
that can be used without expertise on gender issues, but not
without data on women and men.
It consists of two questions:
• Is the policy proposal directed at one or more target
groups?
• Are there differences between women and men in the
field of the policy proposal (with regard to rights,
resources, positions, representation, values and norms)?
When a policy proposal is directed at target groups, it will
always imply the (re)distribution of resources and/or the application
of rules or regulations. As resources are known to be unequally
distributed between women and men, and as rules are
often connected to rules about gender, all policies directed at
target groups are relevant to gender.
Differences between women and men in a policy field are
almost always connected to differences in resources or differences
in values attached to masculinity or femininity. Therefore,
sex differences in a policy field are a good indicator for gender
relevance.
The SMART instrument does not explain what to do once a
proposal is found to be gender relevant; it only asks to present
figures showing whether or not there are differences between
women and men in the field, and to design a plan on how to
deal with the gender relevance of the proposal.
SMART has been adopted in the mainstreaming plan of the
European Commission. Training in gender analysis of relevant
staff has already been accomplished in DG IB and DG VIII, the
field of development co-operation policies.
Further information
Mieke Verloo
Ass. Prof. Women’s Studies
Faculty of Policy Sciences
University of Nijmegen
PO Box 9108
NL-6500 HK Nijmegen
Tel: (31) 243 615 634; Fax (31) 243 612 379
E-mail: m.verloo@mailbox.kun.nl/m.verloo@bw.kun.nl
An analytical tool: Gender impact assessment, Flanders (Belgium)
The Flemish Gender Impact Assessment has been developed
in the wake of its Dutch predecessor. It was developed by academic
researchers in 1997, at the request of the Flemish authorities.
It is a small instrument, which helps to assess policy
proposals on their eventual differential impact on women and
men in order to adapt these proposals, to make sure that discriminatory
effects are neutralised and that gender equality is
promoted in all policy areas.
The Flemish Gender Impact Assessment consists of three
steps, i.e. to trace the gender dimension of a policy proposal, to
estimate its size and to formulate alternatives where necessary.
In summary, the instrument helps to recognise a problem, to
assess its dimension and to find a solution for it. The first step
reveals inconsistencies between the aims and contents of the
policy proposal and its real context. It checks how far the situation
of women and men is mentioned in the policy proposal and
compares the way it is described with the current situation of
both sexes. The second step estimates the effects of the policy
proposal on the situation of women and men. Two levels are
considered: the perception of women and men and the actual
consequences for daily life. The instrument helps to assess
whether or not the policy proposal reproduces and maintains a
discriminating perception of women versus men and whether or
not it has discriminatory results for their daily life. The final step
of the instrument is intended to intercept the negative effects
of the policy proposal and to make it promote equal opportunities.
It gives a number of starting points to formulate alternatives.
In this last step the instrument is actively directed at
gender mainstreaming.
The instrument is a typical example of a tool aimed at mainstreaming
a gender equality perspective into general policies. Its
advantage consists in the fact that it requires the revision of
policy proposals in terms of gender equality. Besides, it has been
conceived for internal use in the administration, thereby involving
all those responsible for the development and making of
policies. However, the instrument requires some knowledge of
gender issues and its correct implementation and therefore depends
on the administration’s capacity to develop such knowledge.
Nonetheless, the first step of the instrument can be
applied without being a gender expert. So, even if the user has
difficulties applying the second and the third steps, s/he is able
to detect eventual gender blindness and false assumptions in
the first step. In this perspective, the instrument itself can stimulate
awareness-raising among policy makers: being confronted
with an instrument making you look at your own policy proposal
from a different angle helps to develop new perspectives.
The instrument is accompanied by a handbook, explaining the
aims and concerns behind such a tool, as well as its way of work-
ing.
The Flemish Gender Impact Assessment might be an interesting
example for countries with little or no tradition of gender
equality studies. However, given the recent character of this
tool, it has not yet been applied on a large scale. Therefore, it is
not known how this instrument will work in the daily policy
process.
Further information
Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap
Department Coördinatie
attn. Martha Franken
Boudewijnlaan 30
B-1210 Brussels
Belgium
36 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
An educational tool: Involving flying experts, Sweden
The temporary secondment of a specialist from the unit of equality policies to other ministries might
be a good example of the role traditional gender equality units can play.
The Government has engaged a gender expert who has
joined some of the ministries in order to help develop methods
and routines which ensure a gender perspective in policy proc-
esses.
In 1995, the “flying gender expert” joined the division for
youth policy at the Ministry of the Interior. Later the same year,
she turned to the Ministry of Labour and later on, in 1996, she
worked as an expert at the Ministry of Justice. When the “flying
gender expert” started her work in a ministry she made agreements
with the heads of a few divisions to attend meetings and
to help officials integrate a gender perspective in their normal
work. That meant in practice that she listened to an official
when he/she described his/her work and explained where and
how a gender perspective would be relevant. The experience is
that most of the officials had a lot of knowledge of gender
issues and also ideas of what areas were the most important
ones (according to gender) and what routines they had to
change in their normal work in order to integrate a gender perspective.
With little help from the gender expert it was possible
for many of the officials to see what kind of information they
needed in order to be able to take the gender perspective into
account. Another experience is that the most important help is
to make the officials reflect on what a gender perspective is and
when it is relevant. It is also important to legitimise the mainstreaming
work and to show that a gender perspective adds
knowledge to all kinds of work.
Since 1997, the Ministry for Health and Social Affairs has
employed a “flying expert” half time for a two-year period, as a
start to training and guiding the staff in mainstreaming a
gender perspective in their normal work, such as the preparation
of bills for Parliament and the budget dialogue with public authorities.
After that period they will decide how the work will
proceed.
The gender expert in the Ministry for Health and Social Affairs
has collaborated with the State Secretary of the ministry
and a working group and developed a Gender Programme for
Social Welfare. The first phase of the programme will be finished
on 30 June 1999. The target is that all divisions in the ministry
and all public authorities, connected to the ministry, will have
developed action plans for mainstreaming and started a developing
process at that time.
The gender expert has presented an action programme for
1998 in order to support the development of the mainstreaming
work in the ministry and the authorities.
It contains the following:
1. Training
a. Introductory training of leaders, officials, committees of
inquiry
b. Further training of the officials
c. Seminars on different subjects
d. Identification of the need for training in a long-term per-
spective
2. Information
a. Newsletter
b. Seminars in order to exchange experience
c. Networks
3. The development of methods
a. Analytical tools
b. Evaluation systems
4. Follow-up
5. Support to public authorities and public companies
Further information
Mona Danielson
Ministry of Labour, Equality Affairs Division
S-103 33 Stockholm
Tel: (46) 8 405 1299; Fax: (46) 8 247 152
E-mail: mona.danielson@labour.ministry.se
Evaluation of legislative proposals in a gender perspective, Denmark
Objectives of the evaluation (Brief description of the content)
The objective of evaluating legislative proposals in a gender
perspective is to analyse which consequences such a legislative
proposal will have on equality between women and men. The
result of the evaluation should be included in comments on the
proposal.
The authors of such a proposal should therefore have a clear
idea of how equality between women and men can be defined
regarding the area in question and how equality can be pro-
moted.
The significance of the evaluation becomes clear when an
evaluation of the “equality consequences” is included in the
comments on a legislative proposal in the same way as evaluations
of the “economic and administrative consequences”.
Background (Starting date)
As a result of an inquiry made by the Equality Committee of
the Social Democratic Party, in Spring 1995 the Prime Minister
asked the Minister for Labour to include, on an experimental
basis, evaluation in a gender perspective in the comments on
equality-relevant labour legislation, within the area of active
labour market policy and the regulation of leave schemes.
Aim of the project
The government intends to evaluate in a gender perspective
all legislative initiatives in the future as soon as the necessary
experience is available.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 37
Policy area
The Minister for Labour informed the Prime Minister that, as
from the Parliamentary year 1995/96, arrangements would be
made in order to include evaluation of the equality consequences
in comments on legislative proposals within the field of
Leave Schemes, Labour Law, Active Labour Policy and part of the
Working Environment Regulation.
Policy level
It is the minister´s responsibility that legislative proposals
meet the standards of Parliament; consequently, the level is the
ministerial level.
Techniques and tools used
The evaluation of the consequences on equality of a given
legislative proposal may be divided into the following main
points:
1. Does the proposal promote equality between women and
men?
2. Does the proposal have any consequences for the balance
between women and men, or does it maintain status quo?
Item 1
This implies that a position is taken on whether a given proposal
will in reality have a positive effect on equality between
women and men, whereby equality becomes an independent
goal for the legislation within the field of competence of the
Ministry of Labour.
Item 2
This implies that it is evaluated whether or not the proposal
will change the balance between women and men, based on the
aim that equality must at least not suffer as a result of the
proposal.
Additionally, it is to be noted that the equality evaluation
should also be taken into consideration when realising different
initiatives, as a follow-up to the adoption of a legislative proposal.
In this context, it may prove useful that the comments on
the legislative proposal take into consideration how the equality
aspect can be included in the application of the law.
Procedure
When a legislative proposal is being drafted within the area
of the Ministry of Labour it will normally be the result of many
previous reflections, e.g. in a working group or in the negotiations
connected with a political compromise.
For the equality evaluation to have real substance, it is important
that the division in question should be aware, from the
very beginning, of the fact that an equality evaluation of a legislative
proposal has to take place in order to become a part of
the reflections. Therefore, the equality aspect should be considered
from the very first draft comments, as far as possible.
The responsibility of the evaluation falls within the purview
of every division involved. This means that the actors involved
are the persons who usually write the legislative proposals.
Within the Ministry of Labour, a standing working group
(task force) has been established to assist the individual divi-
sions.
External partners are consulted on the ideas behind the suggested
legislation in order to ensure a cross-disciplinary input. It
is well known that a doctor sees another aspect of a gender perspective
than a lawyer but all relevant angles have to be taken
into consideration.
Further information
Agnete Andersen
Special Adviser
Ministry of Labour
Holmens Kanal 20
DK-1060 Copenhagen K
Tél: (45) 33 92 99 63; Fax: (45) 33 12 13 78
A strategic mix of tools: The 3R method at the local level, Sweden
The JAMKOM project has, within the framework of the Programme
Group of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities
(SALA), developed and tested a method, the R Method, for incorporating
gender equality considerations into the work of
local authorities.
During the spring of 1996, an invitation went out to all the
local government committees and boards in Sweden to take
part in testing the method. In early autumn of the same year a
selection of the committees and boards was made on the basis
of certain criteria: geographical distribution, variation in size of
the municipal councils, committees and boards from different
fields, previous experience of working with change and development
within their field of operations and, ideally, previous experience
of work with gender equality. Finally, six municipalities
and committees/boards were selected.
In September and October 1996, the ideas behind the project
were presented at an introductory meeting with the relevant
senior officials from the local authorities: that is, the municipal
commissioners, the chairpersons of the committees and boards,
and administrative heads. The conditions for participating in the
project were set out in a contract detailing reciprocal commitments,
such as the requirement that the committees/boards
apply JAMKOM methods at a minimum of five meetings during
the project period, and that they would receive SEK 40,000 to
cover the extra costs incurred. A timetable was presented. It was
made clear that the tests should be conducted using the normal
staff, and that the committees/boards were at liberty to limit
the JAMKOM work to certain areas of their activities.
At the first JAMKOM meetings a talk was given on Sweden’s
gender equality policy and gender theory. All members of the
committees/boards and the officials involved were given two
JAMKOM compendia. The first compendium contained factual
and background information, whereas the second was a workfile
in which the different phases of the project were set out,
from an inventory, through the statement of objectives, to a
final assessment of the project. Each committee/board appointed
a local project leader who drew up a local project plan
and tested the R method in their respective towns together with
other colleagues and politicians, and in close collaboration with
project officials at SALA. The result of the R tests have always
been discussed at a meeting of the committee/board. The local
authorities’ project ended in midsummer 1997, and the various
committees/boards presented reports on their work in autumn
1997. Two conferences aimed primarily at local authorities were
38 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
held (in Växjö and Stockholm) to present the work of the Programme
Group and the project. A number of reports are still
under preparation and are expected to be presented in January
1998.
R method
The R method is based on a systematisation of Swedish experience
of work on gender equality, and has also been inspired by
other methods used in gender and action research. R stands for
Representation, Resources and Realia (see below). Representation
and Resources are quantitative variables, whereas Realia is
qualitative. The idea behind the method is that a systematic
review of men’s and women’s representation in different places
and positions within the committee’s/board’s field of operations,
and of the distribution and utilisation of resources, would
trigger discussions about why the products the municipality
produces – goods, services and situations – are as they are, who
gets what, and under what conditions. How do the activities of
the local authorities work for the people who live there?
The tests that have been carried out by the councils/boards
have shown that the method really does work in that way. The
surveys and analyses that have been carried out have led to the
rethinking of gender equality in the committees’/boards’
spheres of operation, including the writing of specific gender
equality objectives into their normal guidelines. Some have also
decided to include gender equality in their budgets, to collect
new and continuous information in the form of statistics and
different types of customer surveys, and to actively monitor the
impact of the different measures. The R method has been
adopted, and some municipalities have decided to spread the
method to other committees and administrative authorities.
Representation
The first part of the methodology deals with looking at how
women and men are represented in the committee’s/board’s
field of operations, beginning with the composition of the committee/board
itself and the administration. From this initial plan,
the study of representation can move on to other committees,
working groups, permanent reference groups, ad hoc reference
groups, the committees of associations and organisations within
the field of operations and which the board/committee and administration
have dealings with.
To assess how women and men are represented among those
who contact a committee/board to raise an issue, “contact lists”
have been made, desegregated according to the sex of the persons
concerned. This was done in order to raise awareness of the
distribution of representation among those who the politicians
and officials come into contact with and receive information
from. The contact lists led to lively discussions.
Resources
The resources analysed by the R test are money, time and
space. The main idea was that the results obtained under the
Representation section could be supplemented by statistics concerning
the distribution of resources. One example of this is that
certain committees/boards have constructed “salary trees”
showing the total number of women and men and their position
on the salary scale. One committee studied the gender distribution
among artists exhibiting at the local art gallery, and the information
was completed under the resources section of the
test by recording how much money was paid to the female and
male artists respectively. The amount of funding distributed to
different cases, subject areas, and organisations has also been
studied.
All the committees/boards have timed some of their meetings.
Besides recording how much women and men talked at the
meetings, more detailed analyses of the measurements were
carried out.
Realia
Realia is qualitative, and is about the norms and values expressed
in the structure that produces the local authority activity,
i.e. committees and boards, administrative authorities, workplaces
– and the products that are produced – goods, services
and situations. Who recognises themselves in it? Whose needs
are served?
Some committees/boards have looked at the Realia by studying,
together with the staff, such things as morning assembly
at day-nurseries, and classroom situations. Others have visited
different establishments for which they are responsible. The politicians
have formed multi-party groups and gone to places like
sports centres and made note of such things as lighting, hairdryers
and sauna space. They have also interviewed employees
about the amount of attention they give to girls and boys,
women and men. One committee working with meetings between
the administration, politicians and employees has decided
that gender equality is to be a regular annual theme for a
meeting when the results of the previous year’s decisions and
measures are to be followed up. The politicians who have been
involved in different studies have expressed their satisfaction.
Some have said that they have received greater insight into
their field of operations and that they understand better what
gender equality really means and how they can specifically work
for it.
The town planning committee that took part in JAMKOM has
used “mental maps” to help build up an understanding of how
different categories of citizens feel about a particular urban renewal
area. This involved groups not to be found among the
normal reference groups in the committee’s field of operations.
Further information
Helen Lundkvist
The Swedish Association of Local Authorities (SALA)
S-11882 Stockholm
Tel: 46 8 772 41 00; Fax: 46 8 772 47 88
E-mail: helen.lundkvist@svekom.se
A strategic mix of tools: The SIDA guidelines/tables
Sida, the Swedish International Development Co-operation
Agency, has worked with mainstreaming a gender perspective
into Swedish bilateral development cooperation since the mid
1980s. In Sida’s new Action Programme for Promoting Equality
between Women and Men in Partner Countries (April 1997),
mainstreaming is clearly established as the main strategy and
the division of roles and responsibilities for achieving mainstreaming
is clearly defined.
A variety of methods and tools have been developed over the
years, including since 1988 an extensive gender training pro-
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 39
gramme. More recently in the 1990s handbooks on gender
mainstreaming in different sector areas have been developed by
a number of departments and divisions within Sida. To date,
handbooks are available on health, education, agriculture,
transport, water resource management and conflicts. Other
handbooks are currently under development, for example on
energy, trade and technical cooperation.
The handbooks consist of three parts: firstly, discussion is
provided on the linkages between gender equality and the
sector in question, i.e. why gender equality is important for
health, education, agriculture, etc.; secondly, some brief guidance
for policy dialogue is provided, including some key quotations
from major international agreements on gender equality,
and finally key questions are provided for the major entrypoints
for working with gender equality in Sida’s programme
cycle – sector analysis, project formulation/appraisal, monitoring
and evaluation.
The handbooks were developed specifically for Sida personnel
but may also be useful for other actors in development
cooperation, such as government partners, NGOs and consultants.
The first and second parts of the handbooks may also be
useful in other contexts than that of development co-operation.
Further information
Carolyn Hannan Andersson
SIDA, S-105 25 Stockholm
Tel: (46) 8 698 51 65; Fax: (46) 8 15 30 54
E-mail: carolyn.hannan-andersson@sida.se
A strategic mix of tools: the Danish Development Co-operation
The Danish Development Co-operation operates in a similar
way, with a strategic mix of tools. Its overall objective is to
reduce poverty in a gender-specific way, taking into account
women’s and men’s different roles and needs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a specific policy in
1987, entitled “Danida’s WID Policy Towards the Year 2000”
(WID=Women in Development). The elements of the policy are
in line with the recommendations of the 4th World Conference
on Women in Beijing (1995), i.e. that the gender perspective is
to be mainstreamed into all policy and planning.
This programme is carried out as a part of everyday projects
by the actors usually involved. For that purpose, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has launched an extensive training programme
in order to strengthen the number of people concerned, both in
the Ministry as well as in Embassies and Consulates.
Another tool to ensure the incorporation of the gender perspective
in the development co-operation is to set up task forces
with experts who are able to deal with both the specific content
of the project and the gender aspects. These task forces have
created a forum where they can work on the gender aspect in a
systematic and inter-disciplinary manner.
Further information
Susanne Wendt
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Copenhagen
An analytical tool: Guidelines for gender analysis, New Zealand
In 1995, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs published guidelines
for a gender analysis of policies. These guidelines provide a
framework for carrying out a gender analysis. The aim of these
guidelines is to help policy-makers to achieve the government’s
policy goals in terms of gender equality and to integrate a
gender perspective into all policy-making. In addition to the
public sector, these guidelines also focus on private companies
and organisations, and they are meant to help improve management
practices and targeting of products and services. In the
guidelines the policy process is divided into six stages: defining
desired outcomes, identifying problems and issues, developing
options, analysing options and making recommendations, implementing
decisions, monitoring and evaluating policies. For
each of these stages, the guidelines provide issues to consider a
given policy from a gender perspective.
These guidelines are a good example of a manual meant to
help individual policy-makers to integrate a gender perspective
in their daily work. It is difficult to control the effective implementation
of such guidelines, but they are a very useful tool for
awareness-raising. Another strong point of these guidelines is
that they cover the complete policy process.
Unfortunately, the guidelines for gender analysis have not
been implemented yet, due to lack of political and bureaucratic
support. In the near future however, the Minister of Women’s
Affairs intends to work with the New Zealand State Services
Commission and the Audit Department to develop ways of integrating
the expectation of gender analysis into formal accountability
documents such as chief executives’ performance
agreements, and departmental purchase agreements (a formal
structure by which Ministers “purchase” certain outputs such as
policy advice, from their departments).
The Minister of Women’s Affairs (who has also become the
Prime Minister) is about to develop a new strategy to make more
progress on the issue of gender analysis mainstreaming.
Further information
Susan Easting
Ministry of Women’s Affairs
PO Box 10 049
Wellington, New Zealand
Fax: 04 472 0961
E-mail: mwa@mwa.govt.nz
40 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Appendix A. Members of the Group of Specialists EG-S-MS
Representatives of the CDEG
Ms Agnete ANDERSEN
Special Adviser
Ministry of Labour
Holmens Kanal 20
DK-1060 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Mme
Guadalupe SOTO MORA (1996)
Chef au Cabinet des Relations
Internationales
Institut de la Femme
Ms Julia TERCERO VALENTIN (1997-98)
Head of Department
European Relations
Women's Institute
Ministry of Social Affairs
C/ Condesa de Venadito 34
Madrid
Spain
Specialists in the field of equality
Ms Catherine DEGAUQUIER
1996-97: Assistant
Department of Sociology
University of Mons-Hainaut
Since 1998: FOREM
Centre for In-Service Training
Rue des Verts Pâturages 10
B-7000 Mons
Belgium
Ms Mieke VERLOO (Chair of the Group
of Specialists)
Ass. Prof. Women’s Studies
Faculty of Policy Sciences
University of Nijmegen
PO Box 9108
NL-6500 HK
Nijmegen
Netherlands
Ms Malgorzata FUSZARA
Institute of Applied Social Sciences
University of Warsaw
Zurawia Str. 4
PL-00 503 Warsaw
Poland
Ms Maria Manuela DA SILVA
Economist
Ex-Professor at the High Institute of
Economics and Management
Casa de Mambre
Junqueiro/Azoia
P-2710 Colares
Portugal
Ms Milica ANTIC´ GABER
University of Ljubljana
Faculty of Philosophy
Sociology Department
Aškerc_eva 2
SLO-6100 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Ms Birgitta ÅSESKOG
Principal Administrative Officer
Ministry of Labour
Equality Affairs Division
Drottninggatan 21
S-103 33
Stockholm
Sweden
Representative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
Ms Ulla ARNHOLM
Councillor
Fenland District Council
Nämndhuset
Västra Tullen
S-44232 Kungälv
Sweden
private address
Bäckgatan 32
S-44230 Kungälv
Sweden
Consultant expert
Ms Petra MEIER
Research Officer
Free University of Brussels
Belgium
41 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Appendix B. Mandate of the Group of Specialists EG-S-MS
1. Name of the Committee
Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming (EG-S-MS).
2. Type of Committee
Select Committee of Experts
3. Source of terms of reference
Steering Committee for Equality between women and men
(CDEG)
4. Terms of reference
i. carry out a survey of measures taken and implemented
for the mainstreaming of the gender perspective into
general policies, programme planning, as well as into sectoral
policies and activities at all levels of society, both in
the member States of the Council of Europe and in
regional/international organisations;
ii. on the basis of this survey, prepare methodologies for
mainstreaming equality and identify tools, strategies and
actors for integrating the gender dimension in an effective
and visible way, as well as for its evaluation and
follow-up, with a view to transmitting recommendations
to member States and to the different bodies of the
Council of Europe.
5. Composition
The Group shall be composed of 8 experts, 2 members of the
CDEG (Denmark and Spain) and 6 specialists in the field of
equality between women and men (researchers, members of national
administrations, etc.). Their expenses shall be borne by the
Council of Europe. These specialists shall be appointed by the
Secretariat, following suggestions from CDEG members.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
shall be invited to be represented on the EG-S-MS without the
right to vote.
6. Working methods
In the framework of its terms of reference, the EG-S-MS may
have contacts or consultations with persons and/or organisations
possessing specialist knowledge of the subject under consideration.
It can also call upon external consultants.
7. Duration of the terms of reference
These terms of reference expire on 31 December 1997.1
1. The terms of reference were extended until the end of February 1998.
42 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Appendix C: Gender mainstreaming at the level of the Council of
Europe
1. Current conditions for gender mainstreaming in the Council of Europe
The Group of Specialists has noted from the Secretary General’s
annual reports on equality between women and men that
gender mainstreaming is still almost non-existent or in its very
early stages in the Council of Europe. There seems, however, to
be a certain willingness to promote equality between women
and men in the Organisation. Two high-level bodies to deal with
this question have recently been set up:
• the Rapporteur Group of the Committee of Ministers on
Equality between Women and Men (1996);
• the Committee on Equal Opportunities of the Parliamentary
Assembly (January 1998).
These bodies are specific gender equality “machineries”, in
that their main function is to redress gender imbalances. Their
work can nevertheless be fundamental in forming the necessary
medium for mainstreaming. They could encourage the Committee
of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly to issue a
strong formal political commitment to gender mainstreaming
and have an important influence on other bodies working under
the authority of the Committee of Ministers. As the examples of
the Swedish Government and the European Commission have
shown, such a strong political commitment is the main prerequisite
for introducing and implementing gender mainstreaming.
Many other facilitating conditions are of course needed, such as
transfer of knowledge of gender relations (awareness raising/
education) from bodies dealing with equality issues to other
bodies, and a balanced representation of women and men in decision-making
posts within the Organisation.
The Group wants to point out that the methodologies and
the recommendations contained in its Final Report of Activities
can be used to reorganise the work of the various bodies of the
Council of Europe and its staff policy. It does therefore not want
to address any specific recommendations to the Council of
Europe other than those which are contained in the report,
which it hopes will serve as a useful tool for mainstreaming
within the Organisation. However, it thought that some concrete,
practical guidelines as to how to begin mainstreaming
might be useful. The Group therefore looked into the field of
intergovernmental co-operation, at some examples described in
the Secretary General’s annual reports in order to determine
whether and to what extent they could be described as attempts
at or examples of gender mainstreaming. Most of these examples
involve the Steering Committee for equality between
women and men, one of the tasks of which is to co-operate with
other committees.
2. The co-operation work of the Steering Committee for equality between women and men
The Steering Committee for equality between women and
men (CDEG) is the intergovernmental body within the Council
of Europe which is responsible, under the authority of the Council
of Europe’s decision-making body, the Committee of Ministers,
for defining, stimulating and conducting the Organisation’s
action to promote equality between women and men. In this capacity,
it prepares and implements projects aimed at promoting
equality between women and men in the framework of the
Intergovernmental Programme of Activities of the Council of
Europe. Most of the projects carried out by the CDEG aim at redressing
gender imbalances, and address areas which are not
dealt with by other committees of the Council of Europe, for example
combating violence against women, or promoting
women’s participation in political and public life. However, the
CDEG has always been very concerned about how to bring out
the gender equality dimension in all sectors of the organisation,
given the multidisciplinary nature of the question of equality
between women and men.
The terms of reference of the CDEG state that one of the
tasks of the Committee is “to co-operate with other steering
and ad hoc committees in the implementation of various
projects with a view, in particular, to improving and developing
their activities so as to contribute to the implementation of the
objectives coming under ii. above, for which the CDEG has principal
responsibility.”1
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 43
This paragraph gives the CDEG a clear mandate to co-operate
with other Committees in order to ensure that they take the
gender dimension into account in their activities. During recent
years, the CDEG has intensified this co-operation, through the
setting up of joint groups of specialists or multisectoral groups,
through organising joint seminars and through participating in
multidisciplinary projects. The Group takes the view that this
work can not be considered as an example of gender mainstreaming,
but it constitutes, in some ways, a step towards
mainstreaming in that it often reorganises the policy processes,
involves the actors usually active in the field and makes gender
equality visible in an area where it has not necessarily been
taken into account before.
The Group looked into some examples of co-operation between
the CDEG and other committees. It also examined other
projects and programmes described in the Secretary General’s
report on equality between women and men in the Council of
Europe. The main conclusion of the Group of Specialists is that
mainstreaming is almost non-existent in the Council of Europe,
and that a major effort in the field is needed. It would, however,
underline the important work of the CDEG, which has, during
recent years, made a considerable effort to spread knowledge
about gender issues within the organisation, thus improving the
conditions to begin gender mainstreaming.
3. Joint Groups of Specialists/Joint Seminars
a. Migration and gender mainstreaming
For a long period, immigration into Europe was overwhelmingly
male, and immigration policies were therefore geared towards
men. In recent years, however, immigration in Europe has
become increasingly female, and in addition to the traditional
migration flows from non-European countries to Europe, a new
trend of migration from Central and Eastern Europe to Western
Europe has appeared. These facts led the CDEG to propose to the
European Committee on Migration (CDMG) the setting up of a
Joint Specialist Group on migration, cultural diversity and
equality between women and men. This Group worked during
the years 1994 and 1995 and studied the situation and the
status of immigrant women and the impact on equality between
women and men of the cultural diversity in European society
resulting from recent immigration. The Group found out,
inter alia, that women in migration had been largely invisible in
policy-making and research and that the barriers and obstacles
immigrant women faced in the public sphere were often different
from the obstacles immigrant men faced. In addition, many
immigrant women faced special obstacles in the private and domestic
sphere, where they were sometimes subject to patriarchal
authority because of their dependence on their husband’s
or father’s status. It also happened that they were denied fundamental
rights and freedoms in the name of culture and religion,
whereas men were not. The Group, in its Final Report of Activities,
has put forward a number of suggestions on how both
gender equality policy and integration policy might take these
concerns into account.
The Group focused on the specific problems of women, and
did not look into the specific problems of immigrant men. For
this reason, the project may seem at first sight as having been an
example of “traditional” equality policy, aiming at redressing the
imbalances between women and men. However, if a closer look
is taken, it is more than that. Firstly, this was an attempt at reorganising
work on immigration policies, by setting up a joint
group. The actors were experts both from the immigration
sector and from the equality sector, who both brought in their
specific knowledge and had to make their points of view meet.
Thus, there was an educational element in the project, as experts
in immigration policies had to take gender equality into
account in their work, and gender became visible within the immigration
sector. This project seems to have challenged the assumption
that immigration and integration policies can be
“neutral”, revealing hidden beliefs regarding realities and values
and therefore contributing to a better information about the
issue, which, if used by governments and others involved, should
lead to and improvement and development of the policy proc-
ess.
b. Equality, racism and intolerance
Another Joint Group of Specialists, composed this time of
members of the CDEG and the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), was entrusted with identifying
the specific forms of racial discrimination and intolerance which
women face on basis of their sex, as well as with examining the
issue of universality versus cultural relativism in regard to the
fundamental right of women and men to equality. The Group
worked during the years 1996-1997 and put forward a number
of guidelines addressed to both Committees. Even if it had a
mandate to focus its work on women (mainly women from immigrant
communities and ethnic minorities), its reflection led
the Group into another type of analysis, namely that women
and men face specific types of discrimination on the basis of
their sex, and that racism often expresses itself in different ways
towards women and men and affects them differently. The
Group therefore pointed out that for the ECRI, awareness of
gender was absolutely necessary when examining these matters.
It also emphasised that the CDEG should not only examine the
problems facing women and girls of immigrant and ethnic minority
communities, but also put a special emphasis on the
group of immigrant males, men and boys. The example of this
group is similar to the one on migration and contains all the elements
which have already been pointed out above (reorganisation
of work, the educational element, participation of the
1. Paragraph ii of the terms of reference states that the task of the CDEG
is: “to promote European co-operation between member States with a
view to achieving real equality between women and men as a sine qua
non of genuine democracy and to stimulate actions at both national
and Council of Europe level, having regard to activities undertaken
within other international fora, in particular the United Nations Commission
on the Status of Women.”
44 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
actors usually involved, the visibility of gender) However, it goes
further in that it clearly took into account the gender perspective,
pointing out not only the problems of women, but also the
specific problems men and boys may face when it comes to
racism and intolerance. It seems therefore to have been a new
way of looking at racism, which means that there was clearly a
development and, possibly, and improvement of the policy
process.
3. Multidisciplinary Groups of Specialists
The multidisciplinary Group of Specialists on action against
trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation
which has recently been set up under the auspices of the
CDEG (the first meeting was held in December 1997) might also
contain some elements of gender mainstreaming (e.g. the members
are from different committees of the Council of Europe and
not only equality experts), even if it seems rather to be “an extension”
of equality policies. However, the Group certainly has
the opportunity to integrate the gender perspective in its work,
and will hopefully do so.
4. Activities/projects of other Council of Europe bodies which may be labelled as mainstreaming
Since 1990, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
has published an annual report on equality between women and
men in the Council of Europe. These reports describe both the
activities of the Organisation and the advancement of equality
within the Secretariat. The only field where gender mainstreaming
seems to have been applied, is the work carried out by the
Pompidou Group1
. In the early stages of the work of this Forum,
it became clear that women are a minority among treated users
of illicit drugs in major western European cities. The Group
wanted to find out whether this reflected a genuinely lower
prevalence of drug misuse among females, or a lack of equal opportunity
and subtle discrimination by inadequate drug service
provision. It therefore felt it was necessary to look specifically
into the situation of women as users of illicit drugs.
Since 1984, the Pompidou Group has been active in the field
of “women and drugs”, looking at developments in female drug
use and in service provision for women, pregnant drug misusers,
drug misusers and their children. It has examined whether these
reflect progress towards equality policies in the health sector or
whether there are other motivations behind them. In 1995, national
policies and programmes still showed limited prevention,
treatment and rehabilitation efforts for women; treatment is in
particular inadequate for pregnant women and for those with
small children. The Pompidou Group took up these issues in its
work programme 1994-97. The major event in this field in 1995
was the European Symposium of the Pompidou Group which examined
differentiated approaches to drug prevention among
girls and young women, reflecting discussions in member States
about a gender-sensitive approach, which is considered a major
task for policy development in the 1990s.
Even if it may perhaps be said that this work began as an
effort to redress possible imbalances between women and men,
it seems to have, during the years, evolved into becoming an
issue where the equality perspective is totally incorporated into
the work. It presents most of the characteristics included in the
definition of gender mainstreaming: it is an attempt at reorganising,
improving and developing the work on combating drug
abuse and trafficking in drugs, carried out by those usually involved
and not by equality experts, and it integrates the gender
perspective.
ANOTHER PROJECT, which cannot be labelled as an example
of gender mainstreaming but which is included here as an
example of a prerequisite for gender mainstreaming, is the
project “Access to Higher Education in Europe”, carried out by
the Higher Education and Research Committee (CC-HER). In the
framework of this project, data has been collected on the participation
of women in higher education and the subjects they
follow, showing a strong correlation between the gender status
of subjects and their potential for future economic reward. The
Project has also identified examples of good practice in both
Eastern and Western Europe, concerning for example welfare
provision and the opportunity to follow further education, information
campaigns in schools to encourage girls to take
“masculine” subjects.
1. The Pompidou Group is a multidisciplinary forum for ministerial cooperation,
to combat drug abuse and trafficking in drugs.
EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 45
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Presentation at the Seminar on “Mainstreaming of gender
equality – indispensable condition of development and
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46 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
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EG-S-MS: Final report of activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming 47
Recommendation No. R (98) 14
of the Committee of Ministers to member states
on gender mainstreaming
Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 7 October 1998
at the 643rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies
The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b
of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to
achieve greater unity between its members for the purpose of
safeguarding and promoting the ideals and principles which are
their common heritage;
Considering that achieving effective equality between
women and men is an integral part of these ideals and princi-
ples;
Having regard, in this context, to its Declaration on equality
of women and men, adopted on 16 November 1988;
Bearing in mind the objectives set forward in the declaration
and platform for action adopted by the United Nations Fourth
World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995);
Recalling the Declaration adopted at the Second Summit of
the Council of Europe (October 1997), in which the Heads of
State and Government of the member states of the Council of
Europe stressed “the importance of a more balanced representation
of men and women in all sectors of society, including political
life”, and called for “continued progress with a view to
achieving effective equality of opportunities between women
and men”;
Having regard to the Declaration on equality between
women and men as a fundamental criterion of democracy,
adopted by the 4th European Ministerial Conference on Equality
between Women and Men (Istanbul, November 1997);
Convinced that one of the main strategies to achieve effective
equality between women and men is gender mainstream-
ing;
Welcoming the report on gender mainstreaming, produced
by its Steering Committee on Equality between Women and
Men (CDEG), setting out the conceptual framework for gender
mainstreaming and a methodology for its implementation, accompanied
by examples of good practice;
Convinced that the implementation of the strategy of
gender mainstreaming will not only promote effective equality
between women and men, but also result in a better use of
human resources, improve decision-making and enhance the
functioning of democracy,
Recommends that the governments of member states:
– disseminate widely the CDEG’s report on gender mainstreaming
and encourage its use as a tool for implementing
this strategy in the public and private sectors;
– encourage decision-makers to take inspiration from the
report in order to create an enabling environment and
facilitate conditions for the implementation of gender
mainstreaming in the public sector.
48 Directorate General of Human Rights: Equality Division
Message of the Committee of Ministers to steering committees of
the Council of Europe on gender mainstreaming
1. The Committee of Ministers is of the opinion that the
promotion of equality between women and men should
become a central and permanent issue for the Council of
Europe. It should become widely accepted that the promotion
of equality concerns both women and men and
society as a whole. One of the strategies to achieve equality
between women and men is gender mainstreaming.
This consists of the (re)organisation, improvement, development
and evaluation of policy processes, so that a
gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies
at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally
involved in policy-making. In concrete terms, this implies
that the needs, interests, competence and skills of both
women and men are taken into account.
2. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the work of the
Steering Committee for equality between women and
men (CDEG) on gender mainstreaming. The CDEG has,
through the work of a Group of Specialists, produced a
report setting out the conceptual framework for mainstreaming
and a methodology for its implementation,
accompanied by examples of good practices. The Committee
of Ministers is convinced that gender mainstreaming
is an important strategy, not only because it promotes
equality and makes visible the gender dimension of each
policy and activity, but also because it makes full use of
all human resources and should lead to better informed
and better targeted policy-making.
3. The Committee of Ministers would therefore ask all Steering
Committees of the Council of Europe to study carefully
the appended report on gender mainstreaming, with
a view to taking inspiration from it and implementing this
strategy in their programme of activities. In particular,
when preparing their programmes of activities, Committees
should take care to think about 1) the relevance and
the interest of the activity for both women and men; 2)
whether there are differences between women and men
in the field concerned by the activity with regard to
rights, resources, positions, representation, values and
norms.