GGCA Gender and Climate Change Training Manual - Women's ...

1.2 What is gender mainstreaming?
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“Mainstreaming” is a process rather than a goal that consists in bringing
what can be seen as marginal into the core business and main decision-making
process of an organization (UNESCO, 2003).
Gender mainstreaming is the
process of assessing the implications for
women and men of any planned action,
policy or programme, in all areas and at
all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s
and men’s concerns and experiences
an integral dimension of the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation
of policies, initiatives and programmes.
Thus, gender mainstreaming ensures that
women and men benefit equally from
the development process that or at least
inequality is not perpetuated (ECOSOC,
1997).
Gender mainstreaming is not
only a question of social justice and
human rights, but is necessary for ensuring
equitable and sustainable human
development by the most effective and
efficient means. A gender-mainstreaming
approach does not look at women in
isolation, but instead assesses the situation
of women and men – both as actors in the
development process, and as its beneficiaries
(ECOSOC, 1997).
Rather than adding women’s
participation onto existing strategies and
programmes, gender mainstreaming aims
to transform unequal social and institutional
structures, in order to make them
profoundly responsive to gender. Gender
Box 3 Impediments to the
mainstreaming of gender
in policy making
Gender is not viewed as a “core
competence” of policy-making
bodies, either in the international
development community or at
national and local levels. There
is thus a lack of gender expertise
in these bodies. Where such
expertise exists, it tends to be
found in either: (a) the sectors
traditionally associated with
gender and women’s issues; or
(b) the programmes that directly
address women’s concerns or
gender equality efforts.
Limited consultation takes place
with primary stakeholders. While
having poor people participate
directly in such consultations
may take longer to achieve, the
consultations have also failed to
include, or have included in a very
token way, organizations that work
with the poor as well as those
that work for gender equity goals.
The ones consulted also tended
to be those who already had a
relationship with governments
and donors.
Source: Kabeer, 2003.