Gender Mainstreaming in Practice: A toolkit

How is gender mainstreaming relevant to the work that I am doing? And, even if I understand its relevance, how am I supposed to implement it? This toolkit addresses these and other questions that are commonly raised by practitioners engaged in public policy and development. It is primarily designed for those who are not experts in gender issues, but who nonetheless are charged with the day-to-day responsibility of gender mainstreaming. Although it is relevant to those working in any country, it is specifically directed at practitioners in Southern and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The toolkit is divided into two main parts: part one provides practical guidance for gender mainstreaming in any policy area or sector. For example, it includes a section highlighting '10 Steps for gender mainstreaming', that roughly corresponds to project or programme life-cycle and includes relevant tools, checklists and examples. Another includes specific information on gender impact assessment (GIA) tools. Part two is divided into a series of ?Gender Briefs,? by theme or sector, highlighting the main issues in each area, the arguments for gender mainstreaming, as well as possible indicators of progress and entry points for action. For example, in the section on labour the toolkit examines the issues of productive and reproductive (unpaid) labour, investigates the reasons for unemployment in the context of gender and the ways to combat it, and covers specific gender aspects of employment policies such as occupational segregation, equal opportunities, and the introduction of family-friendly policies.