SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTION

• Have you identified gender equality and mainstreaming objectives across the justice sector in view of addressing identified gender gaps?
  
  
• Have you defined and communicated roles and responsibilities across the justice sector for implementing, monitoring and overseeing gender equality and mainstreaming objectives in the justice sector?
  
  
• Have you involved a broad range of stakeholders within the justice and legal sector and at the community level in the elaboration of a strategic plan for gender equality?

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The success of gender equality and mainstreaming initiatives across the justice sector will depend on whether they are supported by clear objectives, targets, timelines, capacities and resources. Court management can play an important role by providing leadership and accountability for the implementation of this strategic course of action. Top management within the judicial organization (e.g. court presidents, court managers) can be powerful actors of change by stressing the importance of gender equality and voicing their support for gender mainstreaming to the rest of the organization. In order to raise awareness and involve the rest of the organization, the strategic action plan should be supplemented with a clear, concise and inspiring communication plan.

ACTIONS TO CONSIDER

• Ensure that gender equality objectives are supported by actionable guidance and reflected in relevant bylaws.
• Ensure that gender equality priorities and plan encompass all phases of judicial career (from application to promotion at the most senior level), and not only judicial appointments;
• Make sure that the people involved in setting the objectives for gender mainstreaming have enough expertise on gender issues and provide them with (extra) training if necessary;
• Identify leaders across the judiciary to guide, steer and widely disseminate gender equality objectives;
• Build incentives to increase staff and managers' compliance with gender equality objectives ;
• Ensure that resources (financial and working time of staff) are made available to address gender gaps and promote gender equality;
• Ensure that gender expertise made available to the judiciary to support the implementation of gender equality objectives;
• Foresee mechanisms to hold court management accountable for achieving gender equality goals;
• Set up a platform for gender innovation where court staff can present ideas aimed at promoting gender equality.

PITFALLS TO AVOID

• Limited involvement of the judicial organization as a whole in the development of gender equality objectives;
• Ignoring potential institutional resistance within courts to implementing gender equality objectives. Resistance should be seen as a starting point for discussion and awareness raising
• Present gender-mainstreaming as a separate policy and as something ‘additional’; gender should be an integral aspect of all activities and initiatives at all levels of the judicial organization.
• Define objectives that are unrealistic which means setting the judicial organization up for failure. Objectives should be ambitious but attainable.