GENDER MAINSTREAMING A OVERVIEW - United Nations

1 United NationsGENDERMAINSTREAMINGAN OVERVIEW asdfOffice of the Special Adviser on GENDER Issuesand Advancement of WomenGENDER MAINSTREAMINGANOVERVIEW asdfUnited NationsNew York, 2002 NOTEThe designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not implythe expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nationsconcerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concern-ing the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The term country as used in the text of thispublication also refers, as appropriate, to territories or of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with of the Special Adviser on GENDER IssuesDepartment of Economic and Social AffairsTwo United Nations Plaza, 12th FloorNew York, NY 10017, USAFax: (212) 963-3463E-mail: v1.

2 Introduction ..1 GENDER equality as the goal - GENDER MAINSTREAMING asthe strategy ..1 The analytic tasks ..3 General issues and trends ..52. What has been learned about GENDER MAINSTREAMING ? ..9 The need for a broad strategy that targets major institu-tions and focuses on GENDER relations ..9 Measures to support GENDER equality can contribute toother socio-economic goals .. 10 Focus on people is a prerequisite ..103. Applying GENDER MAINSTREAMING in specific contexts ..13 Policy analysis and development ..13 Research ..16 Technical assistance ..17 Servicing intergovernmental bodies ..20 Data collection, analysis and dissemination ..214. Institutional development/capacity-building for GENDER main-streaming.

3 255. Conclusions ..27vForewordGender MAINSTREAMING was established as a major global strategy for thepromotion of GENDER equality in the Beijing Platform for Action from theFourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. TheECOSOC agreed conclusions (1997/2) established some important overallprinciples for GENDER MAINSTREAMING . A letter from the Secretary-General toheads of all United Nations entities (13 October 1997) provided further con-crete directives. The General Assembly twenty-third special session to followup implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (June 2000) enhancedthe MAINSTREAMING mandate within the United Nations .

4 More recently, theEconomic and Social Council adopted a resolution (ECOSOC resolution2001/41) on GENDER MAINSTREAMING (July 2001) which calls on the Economicand Social Council to ensure that GENDER perspectives are taken into accountin all its work, including in the work of its functional commissions, and rec-ommends a five-year review of the implementation of the ECOSOC agreedconclusions 1997 intergovernmental mandates for GENDER MAINSTREAMING have been de-veloped for all the major areas of the work of the United Nations , includingdisarmament, poverty reduction, macro-economics, health, education andtrade. The Security Council resolution 1325, adopted in October 2000, out-lines the importance of giving greater attention to GENDER perspectives inpeace support operations.

5 Specific mandates also exist for ensuring that gen-der perspectives are taken into account in the major planning processes anddocuments within the United Nations , the medium-term plans, programmebudgets and programme assessments (for example, General Assembly reso-lution of December 1997 (A/Res/52/100).The ECOSOC agreed conclusions 1997/2 defines GENDER MAINSTREAMING as: ..the process of assessing the implications for women and men of anyplanned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areasand at all levels. It is a strategy for making women s as well as men s con-cerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation,monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, eco-nomic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and ine-quality is not perpetuated.)

6 The ultimate goal is to achieve GENDER equality . GENDER MAINSTREAMING entails bringing the perceptions, experience, knowl-edge and interests of women as well as men to bear on policy-making, plan-ning and decision-making. MAINSTREAMING should situate GENDER equality is-sues at the centre of analyses and policy decisions, medium-term plans, pro-vigramme budgets, and institutional structures and processes. This requiresexplicit, systematic attention to relevant GENDER perspectives in all areas ofthe work of the United MAINSTREAMING is clearly essential for securing human rights and socialjustice for women as well as men, it also increasingly recognized that incor-porating GENDER perspectives in different areas of development ensures theeffective achievement of other social and economic goals.

7 MAINSTREAMING canreveal a need for changes in goals, strategies and actions to ensure that bothwomen and men can influence, participate in and benefit from developmentprocesses. This may lead to changes in organizations structures, proceduresand cultures to create organizational environments which are conducive tothe promotion of GENDER the past decade the understanding of, and commitment to, GENDER main-streaming has increased significantly within the United Nations . Across theUnited Nations system policies on GENDER equality and strategies for imple-menting GENDER MAINSTREAMING have been developed; research on GENDER per-spectives in different areas and the sex-disaggregation of data has increased;considerable knowledge of the GENDER perspectives in different areas ofwork of the United Nations has been documented.

8 And important institu-tional measures have been adopted to increase the awareness, knowledge,and capacity of professional staff for implementing GENDER MAINSTREAMING ,including training programmes and GENDER focal point number of persistent constraints remain, however, to be addressed, includ-ing conceptual confusion, inadequate understanding of the linkages betweengender perspectives and different areas of the work of the United Nations andgaps in capacity to address GENDER perspectives once identified. Strategieshave been put in place to address these constraints, including fact sheets onthe concepts underlying GENDER MAINSTREAMING , briefing notes on the linkagesbetween GENDER and different sectors and competence development pro-grammes.

9 The lack of understanding of "HOW" GENDER perspectives can beidentified and addressed remains one of the most serious constraints. Thispublication has been developed with the specific purpose of providing sup-port in this area. Further materials will be developed to increase the capacityof professional staff to incorporate GENDER perspectives into their important point, which should be raised in all discussions of GENDER main-streaming, is that the strategy of GENDER MAINSTREAMING does not in any waypreclude the need for specific targeted interventions to address women sempowerment and GENDER equality . The Beijing Platform for Action calls fora dual strategy GENDER MAINSTREAMING complemented with inputs designedviito address specific gaps or problems faced in the promotion of GENDER equal-ity.

10 Similarly, GENDER MAINSTREAMING does not do away with the need for gen-der experts or catalysts. On the contrary, improving the implementation ofgender MAINSTREAMING within the United Nations over the coming decade willrequire the inputs of such experts, working in a catalytic manner to deepenthe awareness, knowledge, commitment and capacity of all professional , not fewer, resources will be required to support the importantwork of GENDER specialists, GENDER focal points and GENDER units throughoutthe KingSpecial Adviser to the Secretary-General onGender Issues and Advancement of Womenviii1 IntroductionGender equality as the goal GENDER MAINSTREAMING as thestrategyGender equality is a goal that has been accepted by governments and interna-tional organizations.