Beyond Gender Mainstreaming
The term ‘gender mainstreaming’ (GM) spread like wildfire in the wake of the 1995 UN Conference on Women at Beijing, and has been embraced by development institutions, goverments and NGOs of all political hues. What has happened to GM since? This Learning Project will chart the different ways in which GM has been attempted, identify the barriers and challenges, and celebrate the successes. GM has a poor image among many in the international women’s movement. Is this deserved? Many argue that the ideals of gender equality and women’s rights have been distorted in the process of integration of gender issues into the pre-existing mandates, ideologies and procedures of development organisations. Is transformatory gender mainstreaming possible? Does it exist already, and if so, what are the factors which have led to success?
Project components
The project was made up of the following three components.
Eldis Communities Online Discussion, 16-17 November 2011
For a period of forty-eight hours from 16-17 November, fifty invited participants ‘met‟ on Eldis Communities to discuss gender mainstreaming. The discussion was then opened up to anyone to read and contribute.
Download the online discussion synthesis document
Beyond Gender Mainstreaming Learning Workshop, 13-14 February 2012
This two-day workshop brought together gender and development researchers, academics, and activists to map, learn and network about the gender mainstreaming ‘project’ and its impact on women and gender relations.
Workshop videos
Caroline Moser
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Joanne Sandler
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Yiping Cai
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Aruna Rao
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Gender & Development Special Issue: Beyond Gender Mainstreaming, November 2012
The learning project culminated in a special issue of Gender & Development journal published in November 2012.