Gender! A Partnership of Equals
Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.

Approaching gender issues⁽¹⁾

From "WID" to "GAD"

In the early 1970s, researchers began to focus on the division of labour based on sex, and the impact of development and modernization strategies on women. The concept, Women in Development (WID), came into use in this period. It stood for concern with the unequal or disadvantaged position of women, and ending discrimination against them. Research based on this concept recognized that the impact of development and social change on women differed from its impact on men. This view was increasingly supported by development agencies. It became legitimate to focus specifically on women's experiences and perceptions in programmes designed for the promotion of equality between women and men. In those early days, the WID approach was closely linked to strategies which assumed that development would benefit all automatically.

Criticisms of the WID approach emerged later, notably that the benefits of "modernization" did not, in fact, trickle down automatically or equally. Another criticism was that the WID approach focused on integration of women into ongoing development strategies. This often entailed the acceptance of existing social structures which perpetuated inequalities. A third criticism was that the WID approach tended to focus heavily on the productive aspects of women's work, overlooking the burden of social and reproductive functions. Furthermore, women's issues tended to be increasingly relegated to marginal programmes and isolated projects. The WID approach had no direct impact on development per se.

In the 1980s, the Gender and Development (GAD) approach emerged as a result of WID and its shortcomings, concentrating on the unequal relations between men and women due to "uneven playing fields". The term "gender" as an analytical tool arose, therefore, from an increasing awareness of inequalities due to institutional structures. It focuses not on women as an isolated and homogenous group, but on the roles and needs of both men and women - an approach which requires inputs from both sides in order to effect the changes needed to achieve greater equality between them. Given that women are usually in a disadvantaged position in the workplace as compared to men, promotion of gender equality implies an explicit attention to women's needs, interests and perspectives. The objective then is the advancement of the status of women in society, with gender equality as the ultimate goal.

Gender mainstreaming

The concept of bringing gender issues into the mainstream of society was clearly established as a global strategy for promoting gender equality in the Platform for Action adopted at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing, in 1995. It highlighted the necessity to ensure that gender equality is a primary goal in all areas of societal development. 

The Platform for Action touches on several long-standing concerns of the ILO. Thus, many aspects of the follow-up to the Conference fall naturally into the domain of the Office:
 

In July 1997, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) defined the concept of gender mainstreaming as follows:

• 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 any area and at all levels. 
• It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part 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 of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality.⁽²⁾

Mainstreaming includes gender-specific activities and affirmative action, whenever women or men are in a particularly disadvantageous position. Gender-specific interventions can target women exclusively, men and women together, or only men, to enable them to participate in, and benefit equally from, development efforts. These are necessary temporary measures designed to combat the current direct and indirect consequences of past discrimination.

Transformation by mainstreaming

Mainstreaming is not about adding a "woman's component" or even a "gender equality component" into an existing activity. It goes beyond increasing women's participation; it means bringing the experience, knowledge, and interests of women and men to bear on the development agenda. It may entail identifying the need for changes in that agenda. It may require changes in goals, strategies, and action so that both women and men can influence, participate in, and benefit from development processes. The goal of mainstreaming gender equality, is thus the transformation of unequal social and institutional structures into equal and just structures for both men and women.
 

ILO mainstreaming measures 

The ILO has identified gender as an issue cutting across all of its programmes and activities in the world of work. To implement this new strategy:

• The Director-General has issued a policy statement highlighting a strong and visible political commitment at the highest level of the Office
• The Office has developed an Action Plan on mainstreaming for gender equality in the world of work involving a participatory approach, which covers: 
• A new methodology for analysis to ensure gender concerns are incorporated in planning, programming, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in all of the work of the ILO
• Gender-sensitive data, and gender-specific development tools and indicators
• Implementation of gender balance in its personnel policy and practices

ILO Action Plan on gender mainstreaming2000-2001 Institutionalizes gender mainstreaming as a strategy of the Office Reflects gender as an issue cutting across all four strategic objectives of the ILO: Fundamental principles and rights at work  Promoting employment and income  Social protection  Social dialogue Incorporates fundamental changes in approaches and practices with a systematic focus on women and men, through: Gender analysis of social and labour issues by: (a) looking at the complexity of gender differentials in labour market participation, (b) understanding women's and men's constraints and opportunities in relation to knowledge and skills needed, conditions of work, social protection, family responsibilities, and economic and political decision-making, and (c) reviewing the different implications for women and men of the proposed solutions Mechanisms to ensure gender concerns are incorporated into planning, programming, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating ILO's programmes and activities Presents gender mainstreaming as the responsibility of all staff at all levels in all areas, especially at the Director level Key features of the Action Plan I. Director-General's policy statement on gender equality and gender mainstreaming II. Gender mainstreaming in the structure of the International Labour Office III. Capacity-building for staff and constituents IV. Gender mainstreaming in the work of the ILO V. Gender-sensitive human resources and staff policy (For more details, see the ILO intranet Gender Web site)

Thus, these measures call for gender analysis and planning to be introduced into all ILO activities, and at every level. They help to identify potentially different effects of the work of the ILO on women and men, and the provisions necessary to ensure that its activities have a positive influence on gender equality. To this end, the ILO uses a two-pronged approach: gender mainstreaming and gender-specific interventions, based on the results of gender analysis.

Mainstreaming competence

Development of competence in gender mainstreaming is a learning process. An essential part of the process is capacity-building activities specifically tailored to particular areas of desired competence. Guidelines and tools are developed in collaboration with the participants in training sessions, to assist them in a practical manner in their day-to-day work⁽³⁾

Competence in gender mainstreaming entails:

• A growing awareness that a gender-equality perspective will help address social issues and solve economic problems
• Analysis skills to generate gender-sensitive information and identify crucial gaps
• Advocacy skills for promoting gender equality
• Knowledge of where to find expert support when more in-depth analyses are required

A long journey

The road to gender equality is a long and hard one, and the journey is not yet over. In the United Nations system, it began with the adoption of the third Convention of the ILO - in 1919, the very year of its founding - and continues up to this day, and beyond.
 

Checklist: UN milestones on the path to gender equality ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3) ILO Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 (No. 45) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (principles of equality and non-discrimination) ILO Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (and Protocol, 1990) ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1951 (No. 111) ILO Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103) International Women's Year, 1975 World Conference on the International Women's Year, Mexico City, 1975 (first global conference on women ever held) UN Decade for Women: Equality, development and peace (1976-1985) Adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by the United Nations General Assembly, 1979 World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women, Programme of Action for the second half of the UN Decade for Women, Copenhagen, 1980 ILO Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the UN Decade for Women, Nairobi, 1985. The Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, 1992 (role of women in sustainable development recognized) International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 1994 (role of women in sustainable development recognized) World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 1995 (gender dimensions in alleviation and reduction of poverty, expansion of productive employment, and enhancement of social integration) Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for equality, development and peace, Beijing, 1995. The Beijing Platform for Action United Nations Economic and Social Council Agreed Conclusions on Gender Mainstreaming, Geneva, 1997 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998 UN Special Sessions on Copenhagen+5 and Beijing+5, 2000

Gender Glossary

On the following pages are explanations of the terminology in common use in discussions of gender equality, to help the reader unfamiliar with gender issues to travel easily through the articles in the remainder of this publication.

1. Gender equality

Gender equality, or equality between women and men, refers to the equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women and men, girls and boys. Gender equality is not just a "women's issue"; it concerns men as well. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same, but that women's and men's rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Equality between women and men is both a human rights issue and a precondition for sustainable people-centered development. 

2. Sex and gender

Existing differences between men and women are of a biological and social nature:

Sex refers to universal biologically determined differences between men and women.

Gender refers to the social differences and relations between men and women which are learned, changeable over time, and have wide variations both within and between cultures. These differences and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through the socialization process. They are context-specific and can be modified.
3. Gender roles

Gender roles are learned behaviour in a given society, community or social group in which people are conditioned to perceive activities, tasks and responsibilities as male or female. These perceptions are affected by age, class, race, ethnicity, culture, religion or other ideologies, and by the geographical, economical and political environment. Changes in gender roles often occur in response to changing economic, natural or political circumstances, including development efforts, structural adjustment, or other nationally or internationally based forces. The gender roles of men and women within a given social context may be flexible or rigid, similar or different, and complementary or conflicting.

Both women and men play multiple roles - productive, reproductive and community management - in society. Usually perceived as breadwinners, men are able to devote more time to a single productive role, and play their multiple roles one at a time. In contrast to men, women are often seen as secondary wage-earners. They must play their roles simultaneously and balance competing claims on their limited time. Women's work time and flexibility are therefore much more constrained than has been the case for men. Since men and women have historically played different roles in society, they often face very different cultural, institutional, physical and economic constraints, many of which are rooted in systematic biases and discrimination.
4. Gender analysis

Gender analysis is a tool to diagnose the differences between women and men. It looks at their specific activities, conditions, needs, access to and control over resources, as well as their access to development benefits and decision-making. It studies these linkages and other factors in the larger social, economic, political and environmental context.

Gender analysis entails, first and foremost, collecting sex-disaggregated data (i.e., data broken down by sex) and gender-sensitive information about the concerned population. Gender analysis is the first step in gender-sensitive planning for promoting gender equality.

Gender analysis is not confined to identifying differences. More importantly, it recognizes the politics of gender relations and the adjustments needed to be undertaken by institutions to attain gender equality. It looks at the inequalities between women and men, asks why they exist, and suggests how the gap can be narrowed. Gender analysis is thus also the first step for any policy formulation or programme design, the starting point from which to transform the nature of the development of a society to promote equality between men and women.

5. Gender needs

The roles of men and women in existing societies and institutions are generally different. Thus, their needs vary accordingly. Two types of needs are usually identified: Practical needs arise from the actual conditions which women and men experience because of the gender roles assigned to them in society. They are often related to women as mothers, homemakers and providers of basic needs, and are concerned with inadequacies in living and working conditions, such as food, water, shelter, income, health care and employment. For women and men in the lower socioeconomic strata, these needs are often linked to survival strategies. Addressing them alone only perpetuates the factors which keep women in a disadvantaged position in their societies. It does not promote gender equality.

Strategic needs are the needs required to overcome the subordinate position of women to men in society, and relate to the empowerment of women. They vary according to the particular social, economic and political context in which they are formulated. Usually they concern equality issues such as enabling women to have equal access to job opportunities and training, equal pay for work of equal value, rights to land and other capital assets, prevention of sexual harassment at work and domestic violence, and freedom of choice over childbearing. Addressing them entails a slow transformation of the traditional customs and conventions of a society.

6. Gender division of labour

The division of labour between women and men depends on the socioeconomic and cultural context, and can be analyzed by differentiating between productive and reproductive tasks.

Productive tasks refer to work undertaken by either men or women to produce goods and services, as well as the processing of primary products.

Reproductive tasks refer to childbearing and the different activities carried out in what is called today the "care economy"; namely, the many hours spent caring for the household members and the community, for fuel and water collection, food preparation, child care, education and health care, and care for the elderly.

Women's involvement in both productive and reproductive tasks means that they invariably work longer hours per day than men do. Women's activities are often unpaid or take place in the informal sector not covered by labour legislation. As a result, women's work is also often excluded from national employment and income statistics.

These tasks need to be revisited from a gender perspective, so that productive and reproductive functions in the home, the community or at the workplace can be shared fairly between women and men insofar as possible. This change towards an equal sharing of tasks requires political commitment, imagination, and perseverance. Then, and only then, will a transformation of existing societal structures come about, resulting in full equality between women and men. 

¹See ILO: Gender Issues in the World of Work: Gender Training Package (Geneva, 1995) for a more complete explanation of gender issues.

²United Nations, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): Agreed Conclusions, E/1997/L.30, §4, p. 2.

³Hannan-Andersson, Carolyn: "Clarity on Concepts, Goals and Rationales: Key to progress in implementing the mainstreaming strategy", Paper presented at the conference on "Mainstreaming Gender in Policy and Planning; South-North experience", organized by the Development Planning unit, University College London, 28 June-1 July 1999.


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