Gender mainstreaming

An economical perspective Universitat Politècnica de València – ReCity Master Emmc

Course of City Integrated Ecosystems Management by Eva Alvarez

Student: Ivan Conte 22/03/2012

introduction

Even if I’m not an economist, I think that economy is not an invincible monster but

an ordinary social process driven by human interests. Gender mainstreaming is

another social process as well. While in the first case the goal is represented by the

profit, in the second one the goal is called equality. Surely nowadays the economy is

the dominant power and the financial dimension is showing us the worst aspect of it.

But if we don’t have the possibility to cancel the capitalism, we should try to be

realistic and start from small steps. I perfectly agree with Eva on the idea that small

steps could become small conquests. The same philosophy could help us to

understand the opportunity to use this economical tool called Gender Budgeting. It’s

an important instruments normally used by several institutions belonging to UN or

UE, but it’s specifically important for two reasons. The first one consist in his

possibility to make transparent different social needs (for men and women) and to

analyze, at the same time, the effectiveness of the policies proposed by the

governments . The second reason is that Budgeting process is normally located at

the beginning of the financial loop. So, we can see its strategic importance. In the

second part of this presentation, you will find the HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

(HDI) as an alternative and proper method to measure the real wellness of our

countries. Particularly important is the GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX that consist

in the HDI adjusted for gender inequality. You can find also a small frame of the last

report delivered by the Human Development organizations where you can read the

level of gender equality expressed by each country. Finally, after this work, I can say

that sometime ethical principles could represent real revolutions.

Thanks in advance for your attention!

Gender Mainstreaming

“Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing

the implications for women and men of any planned action,

including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all

levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's

concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and

programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres

so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not

perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality”.

(Definition extract from Report of the economic and social council,

United Nations, 1997)

Any policy can be neutral

Different

needs

Different

policies

Gender Budgeting

“Gender budgeting

is an application of gender

mainstreaming in the budgetary

process. It means a gender-based

assessment of budgets,

incorporating a gender perspective

at all levels of the budgetary

process and restructuring revenues

and expenditures in order to

promote gender equality”.

Involves

all levels of

government

1984

Australia

It is not a

separate

budget for

women

Implies

gender-sensitive

analysis

It is refers at all

policy fields

Analysis of

relations between

policy areas and

their mutual

effects

Efficiency

and

effectiveness

Gender

equality

Participation

Accountability

Transparency

Good

governance

Objectives

Gender Budgeting/2

Prerequisites

and principles

Coordination

Cooperation

Economic

resources

Gender

disaggregated

data

Human

resources

Political will

Gender Budgeting/3

False

Economy

Rhonda Sharp

& Diane Nelson

Unpaid care

is excluded from

the macro-

economic frame

work

Cuts to public

services Public budgets

normally take

into account only

the monetary

economy

As a consequence

women in particular

have to perform

more unpaid work,

resulting in reduced

employment

prospects and, in

many cases, a lack

of social security

let’s use the same weapons

of the enemy …..

Mahbub ul Haq, Founder of the Human Development Report

"The basic purpose of development is to enlarge

people's choices. In principle, these choices can be infinite and can

change over time. People often value achievements that do not show up

at all, or not immediately, in income or growth figures: greater access

to knowledge, better nutrition and health services, more secure

livelihoods, security against crime and physical violence, satisfying

leisure hours, political and cultural freedoms and sense of

participation in community activities.“

Amartya Sen Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1998

"Human development, as an approach, is concerned

with what I take to be the basic development idea: namely,

advancing the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the

economy in which human beings live, which is only a part of it.“

3.

A decent

standard of

living

Human

Development

Index (HDI)

Overcoming

of GDP Index

1.

Leading a

long and

healthy

life

2.

Education

GII Gender

Inequality Index

(HDI adjusted for gender inequality)

Gender Inequality Index reflects women’s disadvantage in three dimensions:

1) Reproductive health

2) Empowerment

3) Presence in labour market

The index shows the loss in human development due to inequality

between female and male achievements in these dimensions.

It ranges from 0, which indicates that women and men fare equally,

to 1, which indicates that women fare as poorly as possible in all

measured dimensions.

References

Web Site • United Nations Environment Programme [http://www.unep.org/] • Human Development Index [http://hdr.undp.org/en/] • United Nations for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women [http://www.gender-budgets.org/] • False Economy [ttp://falseeconomy.org.uk/]

Other contents • Council of Europe, final report on Gender Budgeting, 2005 • Council of Europe, final report on Gender Mainstreaming , 2004 • Report from III Conference on Economy and Gender Budgeting. Seville, 6th and 7th May 2009, (Andalusia,

Spain) • Gender Inequality Index and related indicators, Report 2011.