Policy Brief Gender Mainstreaming 2.0

Tags: Worldwide , Knowledge Platform
Additional tags: Mainstreaming , Gender , Policy

This policy brief aims to deepen our understanding and provide new insights in order to bring gender mainstreaming to the next level. Synthesis papers and cases studies have been produced in four policy areas to learn more about the ways in which GM has been implemented. These range from violence against women to micro-finance, and from value chain development to the aid architecture. In this policy brief we present the experiences in these specific policy domains, share our key insights on gender mainstreaming and translate them into practical recommendations.

The cases were selected because of their serious efforts to implement GM. A synthesis analysis of such case  studies has proven to be a valuable exercise, first because of  the new insights.  Second, undertaking those case studies and synthesis analysis was in itself a valuable learning and sensitisation process. Discussing the outcomes with both thematic and gender experts offered room for deeper insights and inspiration for both gender and non-gender experts. This action-research approach has also  acted as a mainstreaming exercise in itself. Bringing to the fore knowledge of GM efforts at micro-level contributes to a more robust understanding of the practice of GM policies. We hope that this process and its results will lead to increased GM efforts, and a better understanding of what is needed to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women. At least we have opened up possibilities for cross-continental inspiration and for deepening our understanding of development processes.

The On Track with Gender Trajectory was initiated in 2008 to rethink and transform the current understanding and practice of gender mainstreaming. The On Track with Gender Trajectory is an initiative of CIDIN,  Hivos, Oxfam Novib, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in cooperation with Cordaid, ICCO, and KIT. The Trajectory started in 2008 with the support of the Development Policy Review Network.

In 2010 the first policy brief on Gender Mainstreaming was published. You can download this brief here. For more information you can also go to the On Track with Gender website.