Gender on the Agenda:

1
Gender on the Agenda

• Overview of Gender Mainstreaming for Focal
  Points implementing the Mauritius Gender Policy

2
Presentation objective

• To provide an introduction to basic gender
  concepts for new Gender Focal Points (GFP)
• As a refresher for GFP who have already had
  training

3
What is Gender?

• Gender refers to the socially constructed roles,
  behaviors, and relationships attributed to women
  and men.
• Whereas biological sex is determined by genetics,
  gender is an acquired identity that is learned,
  changes over time, and varies between cultures.

4
How does Gender Equality Differ from Womens
Rights?

• In most societies women are disadvantaged
  relative to men. The term gender equality is
  therefore associated with working for women and
  womens rights. In fact, promotion of gender
  equality requires specific attention to womens
  needs.

5
Manifestations of gender inequality for women
include

• Feminized poverty
• Lack of female representation in high level
  policy or decision making
• Violence against women
• Growing numbers of women contracting HIV/AIDS

6
What about the rights of men?

• Creation of rigid gender roles also may be
  harmful to men.
• Examples include social pressure to

• Prove masculinity through sexual conquest,
  physical force, or violence
• Serve as economic providers
• Remain emotionally strong or hide emotions

7
History of Gender Mainstreaming

• Evolved from development model that addressed
  womens concerns to one addressing larger power
  structures.
• The so called Gender and development (GAD)
  model examined the relationships between men and
  women, challenging existing power structures, as
  well as the ideologies and institutions that
  preserved that power.

8
International Commitments

• In 1995, governments across the world signed the
  Beijing Platform for Action, a commitment to
  achieve gender equality and the empowerment of
  women.
• Gender mainstreaming was identified as the most
  important mechanism to reach this ambitious goal.

9
Gender Mainstreaming

• A process of assessing the implications for
  women and men of any planned action, including
  legislation, policies, or programmes in all areas
  at all levels. It is a strategy for making
  womens as well as mens concerns and experiences
  an integral dimension in the design,
  implementation, monitoring, evaluation, of
  policies and programmes in all political,
  economic and societal spheres so that women and
  men benefit equally and inequality is not
  perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve
  gender equality.
• (UN Economic and Social Council 1997)

10
Continuum of Gender
11
Practical Tools for Gender Mainstreaming

• Use of quantitative and qualitative measures to
  incorporate gender perspective into the planning
  processes of all ministries
• Quantitative
• Collection and use of sex-disaggregated data in
  statistical analysis to reveal how policies
  impact differently on men and women (Indicators).
  
• Use of gender budget tools to ensure portion of
  budget for each ministry takes gender related
  differences into account.

12
Practical Tools for Gender Mainstreaming

• Use of quantitative and qualitative measures to
  incorporate gender perspective into the planning
  processes of all ministries
• Qualitative
• Gender analysis is a key instrument for gender
  mainstreaming. Following are general areas
  which can be analyzed in each sector
• The roles and responsibilities of men and women
  and the relationship between them
• Access to and control over resources for men and
  women
• Decision-making and power of women and men
• The needs and potentials of both men and women
• How the work of the sector is impacting men and
  women differently

13
Gender Analysis of Projects
14
Gender mainstreaming in practice Education
Sector

• Classes and Curricula
• What are the percentages of girls verses boys
  enrolling in school? Attending school on a
  regular basis? Graduating from school?
• How does the school curriculum reinforce or
  challenge gender stereotypes?
• What kinds of classes are being offered to boys
  verses girls? Are there differences in the
  classes girls verses boys are choosing to take?
• What is the percentage of male and female
  teachers and how do they interact with girl and
  boy students?

15
Gender mainstreaming in practice Education
Sector

• Enabling Environment
• What are the social and cultural factors
  hindering boys and girls from going to school?
• What are the risk factors that subject students,
  especially girls, to sexual violence and abuse?
  By whom?
• What physical factors which make the school
  environment comfortable and safe, especially for
  girls (i.e. separate toilets good lighting,
  etc.)?
• What services make the trip to school safe and
  comfortable, especially for girls (i.e. the
  existence of safe transportation at convenient
  times
• What are the effects of service provision in the
  school environment (school meals, health care,
  etc.) and how do these affect girls and boys
  differently?
• What impact do school fees and other associated
  costs have on the enrollment of boys as compared
  to girls?

16
Gender in your sector

• Housing
• Needs of female headed households
• Access to credit and loans
• Laws surrounding inheritance and property rights
• Health
• Access to health facilities (transportation,
  opening hours, distance from home)
• Responsibity for health and well being of
  children?
• Stigma/discrimination around certain kinds of
  disease (i.e. HIV/AIDS)

17
Good practices in gender mainstreaming

• International
• Latin America Regional campaigns on the
  elimination of violence against women sponsored
  by UNIFEM mobilized print and broadcast media,
  including 1500 alternative radio stations to
  improve and expand coverage of the causes,
  consequences, and innovative responses to
  violence against women and girls.
• National
• India Project with the Commonwealth Secretariat
  enabled the creation of Guidelines on sexual
  harassment. These were disseminated and enforced
  with each Ministry/ Department operating a
  special "cell" to consider complaints from women
  employees.
• Community
• Uganda Health clinics in one community made a
  practice of giving men their HIV/AIDS test
  results before that of their wives. It was found
  that this simple step cut back on the number of
  incidences of men becoming violent and blaming
  their wives for their HIV status.

18
Challenges

• Policy commitments to gender mainstreaming often
  evaporate in planning and implementation
  processes.
• Organizations may adopt gender mainstreaming
  policies, but may train staff to understand what
  this means in practice.
• Without specific focal points, gender tends to be
  mainstreamed out of existence