Why gender matters - Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining ...

Background reader
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Despite its widespread use and
application, conceptually and
politically, gender mainstreaming
is a contested term, and the
approaches, philosophy and
process of gender mainstreaming
continue to generate debate. Some
scholars argue that, in practice,
gender mainstreaming – the
practice of integrating gender into
development process – prioritises
economic goals over equality
considerations and has been coopted
by donor organisations and,
increasingly, the private sector.
Others argue that gender analysis
(which is essential to successful
gender mainstreaming) fails to
translate into practical tools that
alter gender dynamics.
There are many definitions of
gender mainstreaming. The general
consensus is that mainstreaming
gender involves the transformation
of unequal social and institutional
structures and processes into
equal and just structures and
processes for both men and women.
In the context of Rio Tinto’s
Communities work, this means that
practitioners may need to focus on
organisational change in order to
achieve gender equality.
The concept of gender
mainstreaming is captured in the
UN definition that was adopted
in 1997.
Even organisations as large as
Rio Tinto cannot mainstream
or integrate gender into their
organisational systems and
structures in isolation. Gender
mainstreaming has the greatest
chance of success if the broader
context and environment is
“enabling”. Ideally, societal contexts
are gender sensitive, but this is not
always the case, even in countries
where there is a strong legal
framework for gender equality.
The Commonwealth Secretariat
(1999: 28) suggests that an
enabling environment includes
the following:
– political will and commitment
to gender equality at the
highest levels;
– a legislative and constitutional
framework that is conducive
to advancing gender equality;
– civil society and the role it can
play in advancing gender
equality;
– the presence of a critical mass
of women in decision making
roles;
– global and regional mandates;
– adequate resourcing; and
– donor aid and technical
assistance provided by
international agencies.
Rio Tinto does not always operate
in environments that are enabling
of gender mainstreaming, and
must therefore ensure that it does
not exacerbate existing gender
inequalities where the enabling
environment is less than ideal.
The UN definition of gender
mainstreaming:
“… the process of assessing the
implications for women and men
of any planned action, including
legislation, policies or programmes,
in any area and at all levels. It is a
strategy for making the concerns and
experiences of women as well as of
men an integral part of the design,
implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of policies and programmes
in all political, economic and societal
spheres, so that women and men
benefit equally, and inequality is not
perpetuated. The ultimate goal of
mainstreaming is to achieve gender
equality.”