What is gender mainstreaming?
Gender equality is an integral part of human rights that aims to promote the full participation of women and men in society.
Various definitions of gender equality stress that gender equality does not mean that women and men should be treated the same. Moreover, equal treatment of women and men will not necessarily lead to de facto equality, as living conditions of women and men differ:
"The main point is not the mere existence of such differences, but the fact that these differences should not have a negative impact on the living conditions of both women and men, should not discriminate against them and should contribute to an equal sharing of power in economy, society and policy-making processes"
Final Report of Activities of the Group of Specialists on Mainstreaming (EG-S-MS)
Today, it is increasingly recognized that gender equality can only be achieved by mainstreaming gender issues in all policies.
As a main strategy for achieving equality between women and men, the term "gender mainstreaming" came into widespread use with the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995. It has since become an internationally established concept.
In 1997, the Economic and Social Council of the General Assembly (ECOSOC), adopted gender mainstreaming as the methodology by which the entire United Nations system would work towards the advancement of women and gender equality goals:
"Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension 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 is to achieve gender equality".
E.1997.L.O. Para.4. Adopted by ECOSOC 17/7/97
Although various governments and development agencies emphasize different aspects of mainstreaming, there is a general agreement on moving away from a narrow focus on women only (or mainly on women) to the broader concepts of gender equality and gender perspective.
Gender mainstreaming does not replace actions specifically targeted at women and girls. 'Specific policies and the promotion of gender mainstreaming constitute a two-fold dimension of equality policies'. Source: Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women: Some Developments Since the Beijing Conference; p. 3, UNECE, 2000.
The United Nations Development Programme has been active in promoting gender mainstreaming and their website has valuable resources on this topic.
