Define

In this phase, it is recommended that information is gathered on the situation of women and men in a particular area. This means looking for sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics, as well as checking for the existence of studies, programme or project reports, and/or evaluations from previous periods.

Did you know that EIGE has a Gender Statistics Database? Check whether there are relevant statistics to feed into your analysis.

Examples of gender and sport statistics

At the EU level, relevant databases and indices have been developed to address the dimension of gender and sport. Don’t forget to check databases that may also exist at the level of the Member States.

Examples of studies, research and reports

Did you know that EIGE has a Resource and Documentation Centre? Check whether there is relevant information to feed into your analysis.

One of the first steps to take when defining your policy/project/programme is to gather information and analyse the situation of women and men in the respective policy domain. The information and data you collect will allow understanding of the reality and assist you in designing your policy, programme or project. Specific methods that can be used in this phase are gender analysis and gender impact assessment.

Example of gender analysis

Example of a gender impact assessment

The sports department of the city of Helsinki carried out a gender impact assessment in 2007. Equality work in the department was based on the department’s first gender equality plan, completed in 1997, and the city of Helsinki’s sports policy for 2001 – 2010 which included equality considerations in the goals and proposed measures. Cooperation between sports organisations and the Ministry of Education and Culture has played an important role in improving women’s position and promoting equality in the field of sports. The ministry guides sports organisations in improving equality in two ways. It grants development and project subsidies to sports organisations to advance different aspects of equality work. In addition, the advancement of gender equality is included in the criteria of the government grant system for sports organisations. Moreover, one of the purposes of the government grant issued to the Finnish Sports Federation (FSF) since 1995 is advancement of gender equality. In the equality work carried out by the FSF, the Ministry of Education has been the principle financier, cooperation partner and creator of guidelines.

Consider consulting stakeholders (e.g. gender experts, civil society organisations) on the topic at hand, to share and validate your findings and to improve your policy or programme proposal. This will enhance the learning process on the subject for all those involved and will improve the quality of the work done at the EU level. Stakeholders consultation process will start in this phase, but could also be considered as an important method to be applied along all the policy cycle’s phases.

Examples of stakeholders that can be consulted

For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.

Plan

In this phase, it is relevant to analyse budgets from a gender perspective. Gender budgeting is used to identify how budget allocations contribute to promoting gender equality by assessing and making plans to meet the different needs of women and men in sports. Gender budgeting gives visibility to how much public money is spent for women and men respectively. Thus, gender budgeting ensures that public funds are fairly distributed between women and men. It also contributes to accountability and transparency about how public funds are being spent.

Example of gender budgeting in sport

When planning, don’t forget to establish monitoring and evaluation systems and indicators that will allow measurement and comparison of the impact of the policy or programme on women and men over the timeframe of its implementation. Remember to define the appropriate times to monitor and evaluate your policy.

Examples of indicators for monitoring gender and sport

When preparing calls for proposals in the framework of funding programmes, or terms of reference in the context of public procurement procedures (notably for contractors to be hired for policy support services), don’t forget to formalise gender-related requirements. This will ensure that the projects and services which the European Commission will fund are not gender-blind or gender-biased.

Example of procurement

For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.

Act

In the implementation phase of a policy or programme, ensure that all who are involved are sufficiently aware about the relevant gender objectives and plans. If this is not the case, set up briefings and capacity-building initiatives according to staff needs. Think about researchers, proposal evaluators, monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers, programme committee members, etc.

Examples of capacity-building initiatives about gender and sport

For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.

During the implementation of your policy or programme, publications, communications, press releases might be issued. Don’t forget to give visibility to gender issues and to pay attention to the language and visuals: these can convey gender stereotypes and gendered concepts, but they can also contribute to deconstructing stereotypes.

Example of gender language in sport

Check

A policy cycle or programme should be checked both during (monitoring) and at the end (evaluation) of its implementation.

Monitoring the ongoing work allows for a follow-up of progress and remedying possibly unforeseen difficulties. This exercise should take into account the indicators delineated in the planning phase and data collection based on those indicators.

At the end of a policy cycle or programme, a gender-sensitive evaluation should take place. Make your evaluation publicly accessible and strategically disseminate its results to promote its learning potential.

Example of monitoring and evaluation on gender and sport

For a more detailed description of how gender can be mainstreamed in this phase of the policy cycle, click here.