Gender Mainstreaming: Can It Work for Women’S Rights?

Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights?

Gender mainstreaming was meant to deliver women their equality, or so says the Beijing Platform for Action which refers to the term over 35 times. It was the process we embraced and vociferously fought for in the many meetings, negotiations and documents leading up to Beijing. Yet ten years later, not only is the Beijing Platform for Action taken seriously by few, gender mainstreaming is being widely criticized as a confusing conceptual framework at best and a force that has totally undermined women’s rights at worst.

AWID chose to put together this issue in order to stimulate debate on how gender mainstreaming is understood, its impact and what we need to do about it. At this moment in history there is a growing clamor in women’s movements for us to rethink our strategies in order to put all women’s rights back on national and global agendas. We therefore asked four dynamic AWID members, all engaged with gender mainstreaming (and its effects) on a daily basis but in very different ways and places, to write their honest opinions about what has gone wrong. We then shared their candid views amongst them and had them respond to what their colleagues wrote.

Mariama Williams, Everjoice Win, Gerd Johnsson-Latham and Joanne Sandler offer insightful analysis and share eerily similar opinions. They provide some concrete suggestions on how we might get beyond this quagmire too. They also put out provocative views that need consideration. We invite you therefore to add your opinion to this important debate by writing us at [email protected] to share with the membership. Number 3, November 2004 With the Beijing + 10 review upon us, we’re overdue in taking back what gender mainstreaming was really meant to do. Joanna Kerr Executive Director, AWID

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy which aims and development organizations. Results have to bring about gender equality and advance been mixed. Many gender equality advocates women’s rights by infusing gender analysis, consider it the only strategy that will keep gender-sensitive research, women’s women’s issues from being swept off to the perspectives and gender equality goals into margins. They see it as the only strategy that mainstream policies, projects and institutions. will lead to the integration of gender equality Instead of having segregated activities for and women’s rights objectives into the so- women, or in addition to targeted interventions called “hard issues” of macroeconomics and to promote women’s empowerment, it brings poverty eradication. For others however, the the focus on women’s issues and gender promise of gender mainstreaming is long gone. equality into all policy development, research, In their experience, it has resulted in the advocacy, legislation, resource allocation, disappearance of attention to women’s specific planning, implementation and monitoring of needs and the gender-differentiated impacts of programs and projects. Gender mainstreaming policies and programs. is intended to be transformative, changing the very definition and discourse of development Has gender mainstreaming worked in some to include gender equality as a means and an institutions, sectors or regions? What is its end. With gender fully integrated, therefore, potential? Where has it met pitfalls? Can it “the stream” itself will change direction. be used effectively to bring about meaningful institutional and policy changes that protect Gender mainstreaming has been espoused and women’s economic rights? There is no promoted by the United Nations, the World single, definitive answer to these questions, Bank, and by many bilateral aid agencies, but much to learn from practical experiences government departments, and human rights and critical analyses. gender/women as a means to an end. How- ever, growth and/or successful project imple- Mainstreaming mentation should not be the main purpose of Gender gender mainstreaming. Perspectives into all There are at least two major reasons contributing Policies and to this situation. First, there is under-investment in Programs keeping abreast of on-going analytical and in the UN System policy-oriented initiatives that aim at developing and strengthening categories critical to gender Mariama Williams, IGTN and DAWN mainstreaming in areas such as feminist economics. The second reason is the persistent The Vision and intentionality of gender and growing gap between macroeconomics and mainstreaming gender mainstreaming. There is little interaction A key problem with current approaches to between macro level planning/ macro gender mainstreaming is the loss of the primary phenomena (i.e., fiscal policy, trade policy, imperative and the driving force underlying financial liberalization and privatization) and gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming gender mainstreaming at the policy analysis and is not simply a point to get to; it is a process. It applications levels in governmental, international is a process for ensuring equity, equality, and and inter-governmental organizations. This gender justice in all of the critical areas of the results in a piecemeal approach to development lives of girls and boys, women and men. As and gender equality work. such, it is a moral and ethical imperative as well as fundamental to human rights in all its Macro deficits of contemporary forms. It must therefore become ingrained to approaches to gender mainstreaming all of the institutions and operations of the vital organs of power and decision-making that It is undeniable that financial and trade promote and work toward the development of considerations set the agenda and condition just and prosperous societies nationally, the environment in which gender main- Number 3, November 2004 regionally and internationally. Gender streaming takes place. These macro level mainstreaming must be a cornerstone of the events impact both the substantive content and process of development, poverty eradication, the operational reach of gender mainstreaming environmental protection policies, good and therefore contribute - in no small way - governance and democracy. to the weaknesses of gender mainstreaming. For example, macroeconomic policy prede- There is an urgent need to revisit the concepts termines an over-emphasis on growth that and frameworks of gender mainstreaming. We reinforces an integrationist approach to gender seemingly have lost touch with gender as a mainstreaming, constantly shifting that process category of analysis that focuses on the back into the WID stream instead of the more relationship of power between women and transformative GAD stream. men in terms of access to and ownership of resources and power dynamics. Gender Globalization, trade liberalization and the mainstreaming, and the problems it now faces, emerging coherence between international is not simply an empirical phenomenon but an financial and trade institutions greatly impinge on issue of deep value conflict, power politics, the policy space at the national level. But there is analytical tensions, contradictions and no policy interaction at the institutional level with dilemmas bound up in different interpretations regard to gender mainstreaming. In addition, and expectations at the institutional, current approaches to macro-economic targets policymaking and operational levels. tend to result in regressive income and asset distribution. This has direct implications for Ultimately, some of these as yet unresolved reinforcing not only a false choice between tensions and the lack of clarity about efficiency and equity, but also engenders objectives and goals have contributed to a commitment to a limiting anti-poverty return to a more instrumentalist focus on framework, which in turn, muddies the water for gender equality objectives.

2 Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights? Within the context of the macro framework there is the sense that these are “hard areas” that have nothing to do with gender. Gender equality and gender mainstreaming are therefore relegated to Whither “softer” areas that must work to complement and Gender offset the necessary adjustment costs of macro Mainstreaming? planning decisions and outcomes. So, for example, it is perfectly acceptable to examine areas of food distribution between men and women but gender has no place in discussions about agricultural Joanne Sandler, UNIFEM liberalization or tariff reductions. Yet both of these have significant implications for food security, self- Ah, the question of gender mainstreaming. Whether one sufficiency, and sustainable livelihoods. Likewise, is for or against, few would debate the following: a) the intellectual property framework is often seen as There is conceptual confusion about what gender a “hard area” with no gender dimensions; yet mainstreaming means and how it should be applied; and women’s and men’s access to medicine, traditional b) It only works when there is unswerving commitment knowledge, and technology transfers are impacted of leadership, accountability mechanisms are in place, by intellectual property rights regimes. and the right gender expertise is available at the right time to align policies and practices with commitments to Present approaches to macroeconomics have achieving gender equality. tended to enforce and reinforce a simplistic anti- poverty agenda that, though important and If gender mainstreaming was applied and understood necessary, is not sufficient as a goal of gender as a strategy to address gender inequality at a mainstreaming. We have to move the discussion structural level and achieve fundamental beyond poverty reduction to look at structural transformation by eliminating gender biases and issues of inequality and economic injustices that power imbalances between men and women, it reinforce old forms of poverty as well as create would certainly merit further investment. But one must new forms of poverty and inequalities. look long and hard to find examples of gender mainstreaming being implemented – or even Gender equality must be reaffirmed as an end in conceptualized – in this way. Gender mainstreaming, itself and not simply a means to an end when as practiced, is more often used as a strategy for convenient. This requires attention to structural obscuring and under-valuing the significance of policies and changes of paradigms including gender inequality. specific attention to institutional factors such as how the so-called “hard areas” and “soft areas” inter- Examples abound. The classic situation goes relate at the meta, meso, micro and macro levels of something like this. A plan is being formulated: it can the economy. be a Poverty Reduction Strategy, the budget for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, or a civil society strategy for influencing a World Conference. Five Towards a transformative approach to task forces are formed (e.g. poverty, water, health, gender mainstreaming etc.), but gender equality does not need a task force This means coming to grips with the challenging because it is mainstreamed. Budgets are assigned to issues of redistribution of power, both at the each of the task forces, but gender equality doesn’t institutional level and also in national level policy need a budget because it’s mainstreamed. Then a making as well as in the global political economy. paper is written on the work of the task forces with These issues point toward a need for a shift from chapters for each issue, but gender equality does not the current drift back to integrationist approaches have a chapter because it is mainstreamed. And then to gender, which simply try to fit women and there’s a high level meeting with the leaders of the five gender concerns into existing strategies and task forces present, but no one presents on gender priorities, towards a more transformative approach. equality because… you guessed it. Therefore, there is great scope for retuning models and rethinking the rules, priorities, goals and the What is going on behind the scenes is even more distribution of resources. ludicrous. Those concerned with gender equality and women’s rights do not have a task force so they form

Women’s Rights and Economic Change 3 Number 3, November 2004

bring greatertransparency, participationand transformative toolinTanzania andUgandato interest worldwide.GRBis beingusedasa area ofworkreceivingincreasingsupportand budgeting (GRB),forinstance,isapromising making progress.Gender-responsive implementation ofagreementsarecriticalto come tounderstandthataccountabilityand for genderequalityandwomen’srightshave new toolspreciselybecausethoseadvocating has hadvaluablespin-offeffects,generating Using gendermainstreamingasaleadstrategy and theirfuturepotential. in greaterthreatstotheirlives,security and influenceascomparedtomen,resulting women andgirlsstillhavediminishedaccess for HIVorthefoodinarefugeecamp– assigning thebudgets,distributingmedicines the workdone–conveningtaskforces, gender policy,yetwhenitcomestogetting high qualitygendertrainingandasuperb justice. Wecanhavesolidgenderanalysis, strategy fortransformationtowardgender mainstreaming frombeinganeffective organizations thatinhibitorprohibitgender have writtenaboutthedeepstructuresin Aruna Rao,DavidKelleherandRiekyStuart same timeashavingtheirown. between everyoneelse’staskforceatthe working ongenderequalityrunmadly on strategiestoaddresshungerorwater,those While thehungerorwatertaskforcefocuses being replicatedingenderequalitywork. documented inthereproductivesphere,is and tripleday,whichhasbeenwell wiped outinananosecond.Women’sdouble meeting however,theirsuccessescanbe included. Iftheymissaparticularlycritical succeed ingettingaparagraphortwo Sometimes theyareverysuccessful;often counterparts inthe“workinggroup.” that theyarecoordinatingwiththeir influencing thetaskforcesatsametime They lobby.havethedoublejobof They undertake“evidence-basedadvocacy.” dimensions ofeachthetaskforceissues. prepare backgroundpapersonthegender “influence” thetaskforces.Theydutifully the mainstreamers a “workinggroup.”Thegroupnowbecomes 4 GenderMainstreaming: CanitWork forWomen’sRights? . Theydivideupto philosophers andothersto ponder.Ifwestop an interestingconstructfor academics, theory withoutmuchpractical application,itis not astrategyatall.Ifweunderstanditas the problemisthatgendermainstreaming I ambeginningtowonder,however,ifpartof gender mainstreaming. than theslowandconfusingprocessof at havingadirectandtransformativeimpact women’s empowermentisoftenmoreeffective empirical evidenceindicatesthatensuring linked strategies.Nevertheless,ofthetwo, presenting theseaschoicesratherthaninter- equality andwomen’srightsadisserviceby is thatwehavedonetheissueofgender (or afocusonwomen).Mypersonalopinion mainstreaming andwomen’sempowerment achieving genderequality: equality policiespointtotwostrategiesfor Platform forAction What aretheotheroptions?TheBeijing need tochangethelanguage? now beensaddledwithsomuchbaggagethatwe and (b)arepositive,hasgendermainstreaming strategy atall?andc)Eveniftheanswersto(a) strategy comparedtootheroptions?b)Isita merit furtherexploration:a)Isitaneffective change, therearethreeadditionalquestionsthat effective inbringingaboutinstitutionalandpolicy Beyond askingwhethergendermainstreamingis how farwillthesetoolstakeus? of commitmentsto“gendermainstreaming,” tools. Ifsupportwanesfortheirworkbecause lobbying fortheuseof,andmonitoringthese advocates areattheforefrontofdeveloping, however, women’srightsandgenderequality policy changes.Inalmosteveryinstance, evidence, andevenresultinginsignificant analyses areraisingawareness,generating gender mainstreaming.Thesetoolsand data havealsoresultedfromrelianceon capacity togatherandusesex-disaggregated macroeconomic policiesandimproved gender-differentiated impactsof of theanalysis.Agreaterinterestin municipal resourcesinresponsetotheresults popular participationandre-allocating mechanism forre-examiningthebudgetwith budget processes,andinEcuador,asa accountability tolocalandnationallevel andcountlessgender talking about it as a strategy, we can move on to ECOSOC resolution, the text stressed something more practical approaches. which - again - seems to have been forgotten in the discussions: that a prerequisite for gender Of one thing I am sure. The conceptual confusion mainstreaming is commitment from senior manage- around gender and gender mainstreaming is a ment as well as the provision of adequate financial disadvantage in work to promote and protect and other resources. women’s rights and gender equality. “Sex” vs. “gender” vs. “women” causes great exasperation. A So ten years after Beijing, where do we stand, and male colleague in the UN – who has been in the what success stories of gender mainstreaming, if any, organization for over 25 years – once asked me, in can be brought forward? Has gender mainstreaming complete seriousness, “why can’t we just talk about been helpful or not in reaching the overall goals of the working for women anymore?” PfA and to combat female subordination, etc.? We want to find approaches that work and to The evidence does not appear to be positive. Quite a transfer knowledge about what works to other few studies and evaluations of the effects of the institutions. This requires serious reflection. Gender strategy have been presented. In 2002, for example, mainstreaming is not the problem, but it may also be a Swedish International Development Agency study that continuing reliance on it as a lead strategy is not was published indicating that so far, it had not been the solution. In the run-up to the 10-year review of pursued on a regular basis and achievements were the Beijing Platform for Action, there is probably no still scattered. The same year, Norway organized a more important conversation to have than one that donor meeting, providing proof that while gender helps us to develop new alternatives and more often implied high rhetorics, it was seldom followed effective strategies toward making visionary by adequate funding and high level commitment or an commitments about women’s human rights and understanding of the transformatory implications of gender equality a reality. the process. Overall, experiences with gender mainstreaming suggest the following problems: a) The concept itself is unclear and Gender misunderstood: Mainstreaming: Gender mainstreaming is still difficult for the The Second-Best development community because “gender” is still not Option understood as a construction of roles but primarily as attention to biological women. Furthermore, “mainstreaming” has – at best – been a reminder of the need to add “women’s interests” to “refine” Gerd Johnsson-Latham, already established settings. b) Mainstreaming has been reduced to a technique: The Beijing Platform for Action (PfA), adopted at Because gender mainstreaming seldom contains the the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in 1995, established gender mainstreaming as a necessary funding, staffing or commitment, it is often strategy to address inequalities and unequal access to reduced to a question of technique and “tool-kits”. And resources in areas of concern in the Platform for far too often the technique is criticized for any failures in Action. Many considered this a remarkable achieve- gender mainstreaming, whereas the real problems are ment that could transform overall developments. The lack of commitment and resources and a true PfA stressed that before decisions are taken, gender acceptance of the equal worth of women and men. analysis has to be done along with a visible policy on c) Mainstreaming as a pretext for saving overall gender equality in all areas. The before part of this resources: commitment, however, seems to have been forgotten. Often agencies claim to have applied gender To my mind, this has put the whole strategy into mainstreaming and use this to justify the lack of staff, jeopardy and reduced mainstreaming to an after- resources, and program planning allocated to thought and an “add-on.” And while in 1997 high specifically address gender and women’s issues, thus hopes for mainstreaming as a way forward led to an falsely “mainstreaming” gender to invisibility. Thus,

Women’s Rights and Economic Change 5 gender work today may actually be less violence at all levels) both within families and equipped in terms of staff and resources than it societies, often at the expense of the well-being was in 1995. What we need today is a of women and children – and many men. Thus, yardstick or some kind of minimum criteria for we need to move from attention primarily to what should be labeled as gender “women’s interests” and “women’s needs”– to mainstreamed. rather investigate and expose features which actually dominate analysis, strategies and d) Gender mainstreaming has not been allocation of current resources: men’s interests transformative: and men’s needs – which leads to the fact that Gender mainstreaming, as it is applied today, most development undertakings today are basically accepts the status quo and “men’s projects,” whether we speak about development “business as usual” – and then poverty reduction (in PRSPs which lack adds gender. Much more far-reaching attention to unpaid work), health, HIV (which methods for transforming the agenda are often omits focus on the Cairo agenda), security required to put gender into the driver’s seat of (which avoids attention to violence against development, and reorganize and redefine the women –even as it is the single biggest threat to structure and focus of current work. human security today and though male violence is a major obstacle to development and estimated Current efforts appear to be insufficient and to the equivalent of some 3% of the GDP in the possibly not heading into the right direction. U.S. and possibly 8% in countries in Latin America). Mainstreaming often means that gender experts “run after already running trains” to at We do not need to expend a lot of effort on least get a minimum of attention to gender (or reformulating the vision put forth at Beijing. women) into processes such as the Millennium The important thing is to develop strategies Development Goals (MDGs), the Poverty and concepts that would facilitate change and Reduction Strategy Papers, etc. This is achievements in attaining the goals of Beijing, unsustainable, and reminiscent of poor not limited to techniques but which go to the overburdened Sisyphus in Greek mythology, heart of equal rights and worth of all humans,

Number 3, November 2004 who had to start over again every morning, and enable us to break down and replace pushing a boulder up a mountain. current structures of power and privileges, instead promoting gender equality and While gender mainstreaming might still be a sustainable human development. useful strategy if adequate funding and high- level commitment were assured, it seems necessary to also explore new ways of more effectively reaching the targets of human development and gender equality. Gender mainstreaming may be a “second-best Gender Equality: option,” which at this difficult time in global Mainstreamed politics, when the gender agenda has been into Oblivion? threatened by fundamentalisms from all sides, requires more far-reaching venues of thought to not only ensure some thoughts on gender but to promote transformation and change. Everjoice Win, ActionAid To this end, we may need to go “upstream” in the process and challenge current understandings and focuses in terms of what Locating myself development, poverty, deprivation and Before I began to work with the international human security are all about. NGO ActionAid, I was part of the autonomous women’s movement in Thus, to my mind, much more attention should be Zimbabwe, the Africa region and given to male hegemonic structures, male internationally. The autonomous aspect is dominance and male privileges, which when important as it distinguishes that movement threatened are defended by force (including

6 Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights? from parts of the movement that are located within approach it from a very technical perspective. Main- mainstream development NGOs, the broad civil stream institutions, such as the World Bank and state society movement or various bureaucracies. I entered institutions, have added “gender mainstreaming” to this movement in the late 1980s when it was working their rhetoric but have not changed their practices or towards the empowerment of women and the realiza- their policies. tion of women’s rights. We challenged power relations between women and men, and between rich Making gender a “cross-cutting issue” tends to and poor; we saw as one of our goals the changing of diminish the focus on the real issues. In some those power relations at every level. We used gender instances, gender has been mainstreamed into analysis and the Gender and Development oblivion. In many development organizations, gender frameworks developed by feminists (yes, it is departments or programmes have been whittled important to underline that they were developed by down and in some cases completely abolished. Since feminists). Our activities included educating women/ the Beijing Conference of 1995, women’s girls about their rights, economic development organizations and gender equality departments in activities, research, and using the media. Some parts larger institutions such as governments and of the movement worked with women directly, while development agencies have struggled to survive. others worked with men, others with decision Resources have been slashed, with the argument that makers, and some with mixed groups. their presence and expertise were no longer required given the efforts of gender mainstreaming. Pressed for In the mid-1990s, particularly as we moved towards indicators of change or progress, the stock answer is the Beijing conference of 1995, a new “movement” that gender is now cross-cutting and mainstreamed emerged, that is the “gender movement” with its therefore it can no longer be “measured”. “gender-speak” and “gender mainstreaming.” This gender work, which has become the rule rather than Linked to the above trends are the prevailing the exception, is quite distinct from my days in the misconceptions about gender. Many development autonomous women’s movement. organizations now argue that using a “gender approach” implies a need to focus on men and bring them in as beneficiaries. Many women’s rights How I understand gender mainstreaming organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to Gender mainstreaming has a double meaning: it is a access resources if their programmes do not include strategy and a process of agenda setting and men. During the period 2000-2002, CIDA in change at different levels within organizations and Zimbabwe specifically turned down funding institutions.1 It is both a technical and a political proposals on the basis that men were excluded.2 At process, which requires shifts in organizational the same time, disproportionately large amounts of cultures and ways of thinking, as well as in the resources are going to projects such as work with goals, structures and resource allocations of men and boys around HIV/AIDS and men’s marches organizations. It requires as well as implies changes against violence. The lack of conceptual clarity of at different levels within institutions and gender as an analytical concept – rather than a organizations, paying attention to equality between strategy – lies behind some of these trends. women and men in agenda setting, policy-making, planning, budgeting, implementation, evaluation and What started out as a positive attempt to build on the in all decision-making procedures. successes and challenges of the last 20 years in advancing women’s rights has, like the concept of Gender mainstreaming is not an objective or an end gender, been distorted to mean something else. in itself. It is a means to achieve gender equality. The Based on the understanding that separate projects/ required end remains equality, human rights and programmes for marginalized groups tended to be justice, as well as fundamental change in power marginal and to make little impact, mainstreaming was relations between women and men. seen as a strategy to widen the gains. The choice to mainstream was also based on the understanding that Unfortunately, gender mainstreaming is too often seen gender issues are everywhere and in everything – as an end in itself. In practice, the transformatory they are not found in one or a few arenas. aspects of mainstreaming have been sidelined. Many institutions that have adopted gender mainstreaming Mainstreaming is about ensuring that gender equality goals are embedded at every level and in

Women’s Rights and Economic Change 7 all parts of an institution – rather than ghettoized. It’s also about making sure Mariama Responded… resources are mobilized to move what is often a huge agenda. Most importantly, gender mainstreaming is not the same as In thinking about the reflections on gender “integration” or adding on gender – mainstreaming by my other colleagues, I come something that many of us are already to the conclusion that gender mainstreaming as familiar with from the old days of Women a strategy with specific sets of tactics and tools in Development – the “add women and can be used effectively to bring about stir” approach. meaningful institutional policy changes in women’s economic rights. Arguably, it has Today, gender mainstreaming threatens the very real, even structural limitations, but realization of the goal of gender equality. nonetheless it can still be a vehicle for shaping Many development organizations have and operationalizing national and international abolished gender desks/programmes and commitments to women’s economic rights and specific funding. Gender experts are only improving women’s access to social and invited to “add gender” to existing economic resources. In its current form, it is frameworks, thus mainstreaming is not about the common practical and operational challenging the existing analysis of situations, framework for the cohering and actualization nor is there an assumption that there is of overall agendas which can impact all the something wrong with the mainstream in the various dimensions of governmental apparatus first place. Gender mainstreaming is often for impacting the daily lives of women and stated as an end in itself. Gender has become men: social policy, economic policy, trade so mainstreamed that it is no longer visible. policy and industrial policy. After we have mainstreamed gender, it is no longer clear what our programmes or policies To me the latent and still possible potentials of should look like. Was the idea to mainstream gender mainstreaming are fourfold: 1) the gender so much so that it is no longer visible possibility of conscientizing citizens,

Number 3, November 2004 at the end of the stream? technocrats and economic decision-makers about the critical dimensions of women’s and In my work in ActionAid, I have strategically men’s lives; 2) the possibility of devising local, chosen to use the terms “gender and women’s national, regional and international approaches rights” to indicate what this work is about - to dealing with the problem of gender women’s empowerment, women’s equal discrimination and inequality; 3) the possibility enjoyment of their rights, and a change in of enlivening interlocking policy approaches power relations. for more targeted, long-lasting and sustainable impacts of taxation, budgeting, lending, borrowing and interest rate policies on the caring, entrepreneurial, and labor market endnotes activities of men and women as they carry out 1 Ireen Dubel, “Challenges for Gender their multiple roles and functions in society. Mainstreaming: The Experiences of Ultimately, gender mainstreaming can also be a Hivos,” 2002. powerful tool for grounding the cultural, 2 I was the Director for Women in Politics economic and social rights of girls, boys, Support Unit and our proposal was women and men and as such can provide the specifically turned down because, as the solid foundation for advancing the economic CIDA staff put it, “we don’t understand why empowerment of women. you are focusing only on women Members of Parliament. Male MPs also need to be But the sad reality is that these wonderful empowered”. A few other women’s NGOs potentialities of gender mainstreaming have had similar experiences. been severely attenuated, distorted and thwarted. Instead, gender mainstreaming has succumbed to the pitfalls of a technocratic fix

8 Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights? and has lost its philosophical and moral underpinnings In such an environment, gender mainstreaming was in most cases. In far too many cases, “gender” has bound to meet a halfhearted, lukewarm reception and been misused and abused by those who refuse to its implementation at best undertaken on an recognize and take action on women’s subordination instrumental level. There is a pervasive problem of and the various forms of social and economic lack of real commitment and accountability to the injustices in the economy and society. These gender prime directive: gender equality and gender justice. equality subversives, who tend to have strong Certainly in some areas more resources have been influence in any of the phases of gender leveraged for programs that benefit women. But in mainstreaming, have tended to devote their energy to the critical areas of conscientization and embedding sidelining the issue of women’s oppression and deeply into the psyche of policy-makers as well as systematic inequalities. This is often done in the name into the structural design of policies success has been of protecting men’s interest, as if gender elusive. The reality is that gender mainstreaming mainstreaming is intent on leaving men at an initiatives, mechanisms and instruments have been institutional or structural disadvantage. under-funded and under-resourced. Unfortunately, this kind of rearguard action is more There is therefore much work that needs to be done at pervasive than we would like to think, even in rich these different levels. The question can be raised: is it countries. Even more importantly some of its worth it to continue to expend much energy, or any architects and orchestrators are women. These men energy, on gender mainstreaming? Should we not just and their female collaborators will persist in denying move on to new frameworks, concepts and programs? I that there is a problem of women’s subordination and believe these are valid questions. But I am also sure that pervasive gender discrimination that is unfavorable to unless we are seriously able to change hearts and minds, women. Or, even if they acknowledge the problem, whatever success we may achieve in new frameworks they refuse to accept that it is serious or to see will be ephemeral. Even these new frameworks, where, why and how it persists and how present however attractive and rewarding they may appear now, attitudes, behavior and policy may be generating new will ultimately come up against the same stumbling dimensions to the age-old problem. Though they blocks that met gender mainstreaming. The work of would deny it vociferously, the underlying compass conscientization and embedding gender equality and that regulates such behaviors and actions, as noted by gender justice concerns into all aspects of social and Gerd Johnsson-Latham, is that there is “no true economic life that influence the policy-making stream will acceptance of the equal worth of women and men.” need to continue. Gender injustice—the pervasive and differential treatment of men and women that results in unfavorable burden sharing, maldistribution of Joanne Responded… resources and imbalances in rights and entitlements to one gender at the disadvantage of the other It seems that there is a great deal of agreement in gender—is endemic to all present cultures. the four submissions. There is consensus that: a) Undeniably, for the better part of most of the last Work on gender mainstreaming has been reduced millennium, it is women who have been at the short to a technique or an end in itself, thereby losing its end of the stick. Some cultures and societies have connection to the purposes it originally sought to managed to eliminate or reduce the most obvious achieve (e.g., as a means or strategy to highlight, and negative aspects, while others try to neutralize it through analysis, the power and privilege through laws and rhetoric such that we think the differentials between men and women and support problem only exists in other people’s culture or improved strategies toward transformation that religions. But the fundamental design, the hardwire, leads to social justice); and b) There is a rampant is still there in our cultural practices, sayings and conceptual confusion about gender mainstreaming, religious beliefs and dogmas. And, they undergird all leading to its use as a means of making women’s that we say and do, no matter how much we try to rights and gender equality invisible. anesthetize it. What is the natural, automatic reaction in time of crises: underemployment, war, I agree with all of these points raised by my etc.? There can be no other explanation for the colleagues, but none of us have really articulated a persistence and tenacity of such an obvious affront way forward. We are all expressing the need for to human evolution and technology.

Women’s Rights and Economic Change 9 approaches and strategies that address rights: We would not have come this far if it structural inequality and transformation of weren’t for so many women (and some men) existing power relationships. Gender who struggled to build an agenda for gender mainstreaming was supposed to do that, but equality and women’s rights. We need to be this is not happening in practice. I agree with supporting and attracting new generations of Gerd Johnsson-Latham that we do not need women and men with new ideas and new issues to expend effort reformulating the vision put to keep this work moving forward. forth at Beijing. But we certainly need proven approaches that transform the rhetoric of gender equality and women’s Gerd Responded… rights into reality. Firstly, the concept of gender mainstreaming is We need to recognize that change toward problematic, not only because of the transforming gender power relations is mainstreaming part (the strategy), but also happening haphazardly and irregularly in because of an additional problem in terms of different places and at different times. Wangari misunderstandings regarding the meaning of Maathai just became the first African woman “gender” (the starting point/concept). Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Women voted in Replacing “mainstreaming”, therefore, may still Afghanistan. These, and countless other leave us with the problem raised here by actions taken every day by courageous men Everjoice Win (and notably shared by NGOs and women whose stories never reach the that I have spoken with in Sweden): “gender” public domain, are all important steps. I think tends to be misinterpreted and project of Nita Barrow, the convenor of the NGO rd proposals which focus on women can be Forum for the 3 World Conference on rejected if men are not also included as Women in Nairobi, who talked about how beneficiaries. Apparently, there is still a effective leaders did not always necessarily gigantic task ahead in terms of explaining that have a master plan… they just knew what the gender means considering conditions for both three most important next steps were. women and men, and then giving particular Number 3, November 2004 attention to women to make up for centuries My dream is that we have a riveting, water- of gender inequalities in almost all areas. tight, compelling set of approaches that illuminate an irrevocable path toward gender Secondly, “mainstreaming” requires that equality, and that everyone would see the somebody actually mainstreams. Indicating wisdom of this and join in. I’ll settle, however, ownership and responsibility for mainstreaming for three key steps forward. is vital in every process. In addition, it appears crucial to establish a minimum requirement for My initial thoughts: what should be labelled “mainstreamed.” We also need means for accountability and a) Generate greater support for women’s control, in terms of gender budgeting and human rights: We have CEDAW, we have gender auditing, for example. regional women’s rights conventions in Latin America and Africa. We need to generate Thirdly, it should be acknowledged that greater attention, support, accountability and gender mainstreaming was not the only capacity to redress discrimination and stigma strategy adopted at the Beijing conference in in women’s lives. 1995. Mainstreaming was highlighted along with the “empowerment of women.” The b) End impunity for distorting gender concept of empowerment is actually much mainstreaming: After at least 10 years of clearer and much less likely to be intensive training and development of countless misunderstood. Thus it appears worthwhile to gender equality policies, there need to be pick up “the empowerment of women” again systems of accountability in place at all levels. and bring it back to the forefront. We still have much work to do to understand how the c) Build strong and sustainable organizations empowerment of women can be realised, both and networks advocating for women’s

10 Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights? Women’s Rights and Economic Change for women as different collectives and for women things have been achieved because of gender individually (e.g. through legislation, education, mainstreaming, for some of us, the pollution of the allocation of funds, establishing new posts for gender struggle by gender apologist language and strategies equality work within governments and elsewhere, makes reclamation an unattractive option. etc.) Work is also needed to understand how existing primarily male or patriarchal power structures are connected to male privileges – and at the other side Analyzing the mainstream itself: of the coin, the costs and disadvantages for women. Similarly, we need to develop our knowledge about Indeed we must also question what the state of the how power and privileges are decisive for decision- mainstream itself is. Is it what we want? Where is making, agenda-setting, access to resources and the stream going? Do we want to go there? Can it control over means of violence to punish opponents be turned around to where we want? That is the big (including women) and over rewards to co-opt challenge. The mainstream in terms of development adversaries (and marginalise feminists). approaches, anti-poverty, or even human rights is not exactly the kind of stream many a feminist wants to To conclude: while gender mainstreaming and find herself floating in. So before we even talk of empowerment are means and strategies, we should “streaming” anything in there, we need a sharper not forget that the overall goal is gender equality. understanding of what lies beneath (to quote that Gender equality can be interpreted to have the same famous film). This has been one of the challenges for meaning as the emerging concept of gender justice. women’s rights activists and feminists, particularly So at this stage, in the pursuit of gender equality and those working in that mainstream itself. Trying to gender justice, we need to focus on effective methods understand the ideological mindsets, and the power of change and put more efforts on the following: the dynamics at stake, is in itself a major task. With its empowerment of women to achieve gender justice. seemingly non-threatening and non-political approaches, “gender” tends to be very much welcomed into the mainstream – with smiles and Everjoice Responded… open arms. But no sooner is this veneer of welcome displayed than the activist finds herself wondering therefore why the stream keeps shifting and running in We all seem to agree that gender mainstreaming has different directions at every turn! A good example of been, in a nutshell, “so much promise, so little this is the current excitement around gender in HIV & delivery.” With the right conceptual clarity, in the right AIDS. The simple question to be asked then is if hands and with serious commitment, gender things are so clear, and gender can be easily dealt mainstreaming can and does work. To this one must with, why has so little changed for women and girls? add – with the right political foundation. Gender Again our feminist activism tells us, the power issues mainstreaming is simply a tool. Any tool in the right and ideological battles are what is never openly hands will achieve positive results. With the right declared. Therefore gender mainstreaming, which is political underpinnings it can work wonders. But put often presented as a non-political act, flounders as it a good tool in the wrong hands, it becomes a weapon hits the rocks of patriarchy and power. with which massive damage can be done. I agree with Joanne’s colleague…let’s just go back A key missing piece in the analysis we have done to working for women! thus far is recognizing that gender discourse and tools have been systematically wrenched from the hands of feminists. There have also been serious Compiled by: efforts by many to distance “gender” and all it entails from feminism. So it is not uncommon to Alison Symington hear the refrain, “We don’t want to be feminists. Research We want to do good gender work.” What exactly does that mean…I ask rhetorically? This is the Assistance from: biggest challenge that underlies attempts to reclaim Juhi Verma gender and gender mainstreaming. So while I do Design by: agree with Aruna Rao et al. that so many positive Lina Gomez

Gender Mainstreaming: Can it Work for Women’s Rights? Women’s Rights and Economic Change 11 Gerd Johnsson-Latham is the Deputy Director of the Department for Global Co-operation, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Since 1992, she has focused on Gender and Development, seeking to integrate or mainstream gender into all areas of development co-operation.

Everjoice J. Win is currently the International Gender Co- ordinator for Action Aid International, where she is responsible for gender mainstreaming within the organization and work on women’s rights globally. She is a feminist from Zimbabwe and has worked with the Women’s Action Group, Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) and the Commission on Gender Equality of South Africa.

Joanne Sandler is the Deputy Executive Director for Programmes of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). She has worked with international organizations and women’s groups worldwide for the past 25 years, with a focus on organizational development, strategic planning and economic justice.

Mariama Williams is an international economics consultant and an Adjunct Associate at the Center of Concern, Washington, D.C. She is the Research Adviser for the International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN), Co-research Coordinator, Political Economy of Globalisation (Trade) — Development Alternative with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and a Director of the Institute for Law and Economics (ILE-Jamaica). About the Contributors

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