Define

In this phase, it’s recommended to gather information 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 youth statistics

At the EU level, relevant databases and indexes have been developed to address the dimension of gender in youth. Do not forget to check databases that may also exist at the level of the Member States.

Examples of studies, research and reports

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 for an 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.

Examples of gender analysis

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

Examples of a gender impact assessment

Consider consulting stakeholders (e.g. gender experts, civil society organisations) on the topic at hand, to share and validate your findings and 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. The stakeholders consultation process will start in this phase, but could also be considered as an important method to be applied throughout each phase of the policy cycle.

Examples of stakeholders that can be consulted

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. Gender budgeting shows how much public money is spent for women and men respectively and therefore it aim to ensure 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 youth

When planning, do not forget to establish monitoring and evaluation systems and indicators that will make it possible to measure and compare the impact of the policy or programme on women and men over the timeframe of its implementation. Remember to define the appropriate moments to monitor and evaluate your policy.

Examples of indicators for monitoring gender and youth

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), do not 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.

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 not, set up briefings and capacity-building initiatives according to staff needs. Think about researchers, proposal evaluators, monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers and programme committee members.

Example of capacity-building initiatives about gender and youth

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

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 the 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 the results to promote its learning potential.

Example of monitoring and evaluation on gender and youth