Meeting on Addressing Gender in Public Management, Background Information 18th May 2009, Cairo, Egypt

 

Background

Addressing the question of gender in public management is critical for the empowerment of women and for the promotion of good governance. The public sector remains the main employer for both men and women in the Arab region. It’s therefore crucial to analyse how and to what extent public administrations in Arab countries allow for the participation of women in decision making, foster a gender balanced environment within public management structures and consider the specific needs of women as beneficiaries of public services and policies.

A high proportion of women among the total active female population of Arab countries work in the public sector. The very high concentration of women in the subsectors of health and education across Arab countries reflects the role traditionally assigned to women in the areas of care and education. Statistical data reveal an underrepresentation of women in senior management positions in the public sector across Arab countries. Despite these persisting disparities in terms of access to decision making positions and sector of activity in the public sector, decision making is no longer a male monopoly. Arab countries have made considerable progress in the past decades in improving the role of women in the public sector.

As government is expected to be a role model in society, this implies that public policies pay adequate attention to gender objectives. Arab and OECD countries noted that their governments increasingly seek to develop comprehensive gender policies and action programmes. Most countries adopt at the same time complementary gender mainstreaming strategies and equal opportunities policies. Gender mainstreaming strategies seek to incorporate gender perspectives in all public policies at all levels and at all stages of policy making in order to prevent potential gender discrimination, while gender equal opportunity policies focus on eliminating existing inequalities or discrimination.

A key component of most gender strategies in the public sector is the introduction of gender objectives in personnel policies as well as budget and legal frameworks. The objective of most personnel policies consists of ensuring the adequate representation of women in decision-making functions within the public sector, providing equal employment opportunities in terms of statutes and remuneration and offering specific capacity development and training courses. There is increasing recognition that Arab and OECD countries recognise that a budget is not a gender-neutral policy instrument and therefore endeavour to integrate gender perspectives in the overall budgetary strategy as well as in the appraisal systems for the delivery of public services. Arab and OECD countries also increasingly take legal measures and seek to introduce gender analysis into regulatory frameworks to ensure the enforcement of gender objectives.