Increase gender equality competence

To successfully implement your gender equality action plan, improve gender equality competence[1] within your parliament.

What elements should be considered when strengthening gender equality competence[2]?

  • Commitment: recognise gender equality as the aim of the parliament and take responsibility for gender mainstreaming in your own work.
  • Methodological skills: enhance the capacity to use methods and tools to implement gender mainstreaming, including sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis that can be used in your work.
  • Specialist knowledge: strengthen both your theoretical understanding of gender as a social construct, and empirical knowledge on gender equality in your area of work.

Example of a parliament increasing the gender equality capacity of individuals in the institution (fictional)

The gender equality office (in the parliamentary administration) led a training needs assessment among MPs and parliament staff, which assessed their knowledge of gender equality concepts, methods, and use of gender mainstreaming tools. The assessment took the form of a short online survey, disseminated to MPs, staff of MPs, and parliamentary employees via email.

Findings from the needs assessment highlighted that MPs and staff of MPs had little understanding of how to carry out gender impact assessments and gender budgeting. To address this, the gender equality office prepared a competence development plan detailing the aims, participants, course content and methodology, duration and time schedule of the competence development initiative, as well as follow up activities to ensure the sustainability of efforts.

The gender equality office then contracted an external expert who specialises in gender mainstreaming in parliaments. With the support of the external expert, the gender equality office organised a series of online workshops describing how to conduct gender impact assessments and gender budgeting for beginners. To complement these workshops, the gender equality office, together with the external expert, prepared a checklist for gender impact assessment of legislative proposals and compiled a list of online resources that provide guidance on these topics, which was disseminated widely to MPs and staff of MPs.

Increase gender equality competence

  • Identify gender equality competence needs in your institution by conducting a gender organisational assessment.

  • Create a competence development plan that includes details on the aims of the training, intended participants of the training, content of the courses, and the scope, duration, and timeline of the intended trainings. Specify how the sustainability of capacity development initiatives will be ensured. Introduce mandatory gender equality training, if possible.

  • Allocate responsibility for the training by determining which internal and/or external experts will carry out the training.

  • Set aside the human and financial resources required to conduct the training long-term.

  • Deliver the training in the format(s) that are most appropriate for your needs, the preferences of training participants, and the resources available (i.e. in-person training sessions, courses, or workshops, as well as online courses that are self-paced and/or moderated with facilitators).