Gender equality initiatives are coordinated across institutions at different levels of government
SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
- Is there a government-wide mechanism across governmental bodies and with non-governmental stakeholders (e.g. civil society organizations) to ensure gender equality initiatives are coordinated effectively?
- Is there adequate level of representation within inter-ministerial committees tasked with advancing the political agenda and monitoring gender equality?
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Since gender equality work spans a range of policy areas, mechanisms are needed to coordinate this work. Such mechanisms or groups can help to keep gender issues on the political agenda, prevent duplication, and allow stakeholders to collaborate and share expertise and experience. They can involve a broad array of stakeholders and levels of engagement (e.g. senior management across government institutions, gender focal points, advisory councils, gender ombuds, committees and working groups).
It is important to ensure the right level of representation for the task required. For example, an inter-ministerial commission tasked with promoting the political agenda and monitoring gender equality would require cabinet level representation, rather than representatives from different units within government institutions (e.g. human resources or administrative departments), who might be less able to influence broader policy and priority setting or to translate the decisions of the Commission into concrete follow up actions.
ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Establish coordinating bodies or committees within government to ensure vertical and horizontal coordination on gender equality and mainstreaming;
- Define the role of central gender equality institutions within the coordinating bodies or committees, ensuring effective leadership;
- Ensure that any decision undertaken by coordinating bodies or committees are reflected in decisions of line ministries and other government institutions;
- Issue legislation, memoranda of understanding or regulations to ensure vertical and horizontal coordination on gender equality and mainstreaming;
- Establish and regulate meetings and committees where non-governmental stakeholders can take part in and provide feedback on the implementation of a country’s gender equality and mainstreaming strategy (including but not limited to, supporting data collection and/or improving gender impact indicators);
- Ensure that institutions are represented with the right level of competences and authority within coordinating bodies or committees.
PITFALLS TO AVOID
- Vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms for gender equality and mainstreaming within government are missing; coordination efforts are un-formalized and fragmented and lack clear leadership;
- Lack of effective coordination between governmental institutions, social partners and civil society weakens the overall implementation of the gender equality strategy;
- Decisions, orientation and guidelines provided within coordination bodies and opportunities are not implemented and followed up at the level of individual institutions;
- Members of coordinating bodies or committees are not sufficiently influential within the coordinating body and once reporting to own institution.
COUNTRY EXAMPLES
Canada
The Interdepartmental Committee on Gender Based Analysis + (GBA+) which is chaired by Status of Women Canada (SWC) – the main gender equality body – enables the latter to systematically gauge the needs of departments and agencies in implanting gender based analysis. It also meets quarterly to support cross-departmental sharing of information, good practices, strategies and expertise in the development and application of GBA+. In 2016, SWC committed to continue to expand the membership of the Federal Interdepartmental Committee on GBA+, currently composed of over 35 departments and agencies. In 2017 the membership grew to over 40 members. In addition, as part of its Action Plan on GBA+, a Steering Committee of senior officials from SWC, Privy Council Office and Treasury Board Secretariat will also meet semi-annually to review progress and lessons learned and to determine priorities. SWC is also committed to increase the frequency of its meeting of GBA+ Champions from annually to semi-annually as a forum for senior-level discussions and collaboration on GBA+.
Mexico
In Mexico, the National System for Equality between Women and Men (SNIMH or “the System”) is an inter-institutional mechanism coordinated by the main gender equality body INMUJERES. In 2015, the National System for Equality between Women and Men has been elevated at the Ministerial level. The System is responsible for carrying out mutually agreed actions for the promotion and achievement of equality between women and men. The System ordinarily meets at least three times per year, which does not prevent any of its members from requesting extraordinary sessions that can take place with the approval of the Presidency of the System. The members of the System, who have voice and the right to vote are: the Presidency of the System (President of the Women’s National Institute), the Technical Secretary (Executive Secretary of the Women´s Nacional Institute), all ministries and the Executives' Chief Legal Officer, representatives of the Consultative and Social Boards of INMUJERES and a representative from the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH). Representatives from other institutions may also join the System to make a contribution, but they have a voice they may not vote – e.g. representatives of the Supreme Court, the Equality Commissions of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the President’s Office, and the National Electoral Institute. The System’s latest public sitting – in August 2016 – was chaired by President of Mexico.
Austria
Gender equality is a cross-cutting policy field therefore various mechanisms have been established to coordinate the dialog among ministries and agencies, and subnational governments. One important mechanism is the inter-ministerial coordination for gender related performance budgeting by the Federal Performance Management Office in the Federal Chancellery at which all ministries are participating. The efforts undertaken and the progress made due to this coordination are reported to Parliament and the public in the “Annual Report on Outcome Orientation”
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean serves as an innovative tool for collaboration between governments and civil society to assess successes and challenges in achieving gender equality and increasing regional empirical data. The formation of gender observatories reinforces the importance of gender institutions in building strategic partnerships with civil society groups to foster coordinated action, as well as building a broader base of support for national mechanisms – support that can prove vital if governments’ priorities drift away from gender concerns.
Israel
The Department of Gender Equality in the Israeli Civil Service Commission is the professional director of eighty Supervisors of Gender Equality whom serve as agents of the Department within every governmental office and unit, in accordance with the Department's objectives. These Supervisors are the advisors of their office's general manager in the field of gender equality and the responsible in their office for the treatment of sexual harassments. The Supervisors are responsible to the Department of Gender Equality in their gender work; from the training they receive and unto the continual guiding and overseeing by the Department. Their work is constructed to suite the distinctive characteristics and needs of each office and unit.