Documenting Good Practice Examples on Gender mainstreaming

As a strategy for achieving gender equality, gender mainstreaming involves a process of incremental change in policies, strategies and activities. The long term objective is that attention to gender equality will pervade all policies, strategies and activities so that women and men influence, participate in, and benefit equitably from all interventions. Documenting good practice in mainstreaming gender equality entails recording positive steps made towards achieving this goal. Although the policy, project or activity may not yet be perfect from a gender equality perspective, it is still possible, and important, to record positive steps in the right direction.

Good practice examples should document how gender equality concerns were made central to policy-making, legislation, resource allocation, planning implementation and monitoring of projects and programme. They should, if possible, document the transformational aspect of mainstreaming -the impact that consideration of gender equality aspects has in terms of changes to goals, strategies, actions, outcomes and impacts.

“Gender mainstreaming promises less conflicts in leadership and acquisition of resources by all citizens of any state”.

Alfred Yambo

A good practice example of gender mainstreaming could be actions which lead to a positive change in:

• Policies; 
• Strategies / approach;
• Advocacy efforts;
• Legislation;
• Research and other analytical work;
• Statistics- greater sex disaggregation, improved gender analysis of data, or identifying gaps in the data base;
• Development of indicators and improved monitoring;
• Medium-term plans and budgets;
• Procedures and processes.

A good practice example could also document positive organizational changes necessary to promote gender mainstreaming, such as: 

• Competence development on mainstreaming; 
• Establishment of a gender unit or focal point with a clear mandate and necessary resources to promote and support mainstreaming;
• Indication of management commitment to mainstreaming;
• Establishment of accountability mechanisms; 
• Development of guidelines, manuals, and other tools to support mainstreaming:
• Establishment of a resource base of relevant gender equality expertise for mainstreaming.

We need not be still talking about gender mainstreaming. We should be already actively doing it and succeeding at it. It is never too late to carry on from where we are. Together, we can.