Culture does not make people. People make culture. If the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and we must make it our culture. Having said this, it is not intended to mean the other gender is less, but rather equal.

A lotus thus blooms in the filth of time - story after story. Don't bend her, for she is ever willing to blend!

Until Genders Blend in perfect harmony with each other, in all aspects of life, this prelude will continue.

 

Now let’s also talk about gender mainstreaming alongside gender inequality, because I think it makes perfect sense to take the two topics side-by-side. This will pave the way for a strategy to improve the quality of public policies, programs and projects, to prepare an impactful allocation of resources. The results will enhance the well-being of both women and men, which will eventually create a more socially just and sustainable society. This is what we understand by gender mainstreaming, which will perfectly blend the gender issues to everyone’s advantage – women and men alike. 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 activities. This is what gender mainstreaming does, which is perfectly fine – as long as there is no gender-biased approach to any effort and all sexes reap the benefits of such activities equally. 

 

The following five principles hold for all gender mainstreaming activities and implementation measures.
 

  1. Gender-sensitive language

Meaning texts referring to or addressing both women and men must make women and men equally visible. This applies to, amongst others, forms, documents, telephone directories, texts on the intranet and the internet, advertising for events, folders, posters and films. Care should be given to a gender-sensitive choice of images when preparing public relations material. 

 

  1. Gender-specific data collection and analysis
  • Data should be collected, analyzed and presented by gender. Social parameters, such as age, ethnicity, income and academic qualification should also be reflected where possible.
  • Gender-specific analysis of the initial situation should provide the basis for all decisions.

 

 

  1. Equal access to and utilization of services

Services and products should be analyzed for their different effects on women and men.

It is important to identify:
 

  • Who uses the services (women or men or both)?
  • Who are the clients (women or men or both)?
  • Who are the target groups?
  • Do women and men have different needs?
  • Are the different circumstances of women and men were taken into consideration when planning and designing services?
  • Have all target groups access the same sources of information?
  • Who benefits most?
  • Which group would suffer most if they could not use the services offered?
  • Are the offices providing the service structurally gendered and barriers free, (i.e. the waiting areas, lighting, access, signage and other navigation points)?

 

  1. Women and men are equally involved in decision making
     
  2. There are binding targets for a balanced gender ratio at all levels of decision making.
  3. Measures and strategies geared toward a balanced gender ratio must be taken at all levels of decision making.
  4. This is also important when appointing working groups, project teams, commissions and advisory boards, as well as when organizing events, e.g. when selecting speakers, presenters, coordinators etc.
  5. Workplaces must be structurally gendered and barrier-free where possible (e.g. gendered signage, sufficient lighting, avoiding potentially frightening situations as in poorly accessible basement archives, access without steps, and social rooms for different occupations).

 

  1. Equal treatment is integrated into steering processes
     
  • Steering instruments include quality management and gender budgeting, amongst others. It is important to note that:
  • Paying attention to the different circumstances of women and men enhances
  • the success rate,
  • Effectiveness and
  • Maximum utilization of staff and funds.
  • All targets related to people are defined in terms of full equality and the targets attained are therefore presented by gender.
  • Controlling routine as a matter of course includes gender-specific evaluation of results and systematic steering of the gender ratio, in other words, the development and implementation of (new and adapted) targets, strategies and measures.

 

Let us reiterate that gender mainstreaming ensures that policy-making and legislative work is of higher quality and has greater relevance for society because it makes policies respond more effectively to the needs of all citizens – women and men, girls and boys.

 

So, we now know what should be and not be. In the real-life – in the recent past, a woman is made a scapegoat in an unpleasant situation, arising out of male insecurity and incompetence. She continues to suffer from the ups and downs and throws and catches of life – rendering her and her family in urban poverty! Soaked in knowledge, wisdom and the urge to do ethical work, she is time and again slapped with life’s cruelty. She bounced back with more vigour after each fall, more clarity on what should be after being thrown head down in the darkness, with more perseverance and determination to do the right after each failure. This failure for her is a strength because to either fail or win, she tried. If she didn’t she wouldn’t fail. The setback is not a drawback; she continues to resist the throwback of negativity and replaces it with a comeback each time, every single time she’s thrown to the lowest dark or the darkest low. For she knows how to go with the flow and knows how to blend with the ongoing gender discrepancies and gender biases in all aspects of life – home and work!