Who is the tool for?

The tool is designed as a self-assessment exercise for parliaments; it supports the assessment of the gender-sensitivity of elected bodies at regional, national, and the European level through the analysis of the presence, role and positions of women and men across the organisation. Furthermore, the tool analyses how procedures and outputs of the assembly respect and promote gender equality.

All internal staff, including administrative staff and elected members, can benefit from the assessment, which highlights areas in which gender equality can be improved. The users of the data collected through the 'National Parliaments' and the 'Regional Parliaments' versions of the tool include – but are not limited to - parliament speakers, dedicated gender equality bodies, women’s caucuses, political parties and other stakeholders who have the power and interest to foster a greater participation of women in political decision-making and the implementation of a gender-sensitive parliament. The tool is also meant to be used to carry out regular self-assessments, in order to monitor changes in gender-sensitivity over time. 

Other target groups that may find the tool useful include civil society organisations that can use this tool to support their awareness-raising and lobby activities regarding gender equality in parliaments and within political parties. Also, academic researchers and scholars interested in the topic of parliament gender-sensitivity can use the 'General' version of the tool for case studies on parliaments and as research material on gender and politics, and gender and institutional transformation. The external actors will not be able to assess all of the included indicators since some of them require internal assessment within the parliaments. Nevertheless, the 'General' version of the tool can be used to pursue collaboration with parliamentary members, bodies and parties, and to actively advocate for gender equality in political decision-making.