Between April and June 2019, EIGE collected information to complete the general version of the tool for the national parliaments of all 28 EU Member States and the European Parliament, based on publicly available data. Information was collected across five areas, each dedicated to measuring a specific aspect of gender sensitivity in parliaments. The main findings for each of these areas are presented in this factsheet.
2019 results from EIGE’s Gender-sensitive Parliaments tool This report assesses gender sensitivity of national parliaments in the European Union and the European Parliament. The report draws on EIGE’s Gender-sensitive Parliaments tool, which is part of EIGE’s Gender Mainstreaming Platform. Specifically, the assessment is based on the general version of the tool (shorter questionnaire focused on political functions relying mostly on publicly available data).
A gender audit is a tool to assess and check the institutionalisation of gender equality into organisations, including in their policies, programmes, projects and/or provision of services, structures, proceedings and budgets. Gender audits allow organisations ‘to set their own houses in order, and change aspects of the organisational culture which discriminate against women staff and women “beneficiaries”’. As a method for gender mainstreaming, gender audits help organisations identify and understand gender patterns within their composition, structures, processes, organisational culture and management of human resources, and in the design and delivery of policies and services.
This briefing introduces gender statistics and indicators and explains why they are important tools to promote gender equality and implement a gender mainstreaming approach. Put simply, gender statistics and indicators integrate a gender perspective in the collection, analysis and presentation of statistical data. Gender statistics play a key role in measuring gender gaps on the basis of agreed indicators that are relevant to the lives of women and men.
This report presents the main research results of the gender budgeting (GB) projects implemented by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The projects supported European Union (EU) and EU Member State policy makers and practitioners to take a consistent and systematic approach to implementing gender budgeting as the main gender mainstreaming tool within EU economic governance and budgetary processes.
Gender analysis provides the necessary data and information to integrate a gender perspective into policies, programmes and projects. As a starting point for gender mainstreaming, gender analysis identifies the differences between and among women and men in terms of their relative position in society and the distribution of resources, opportunities, constraints and power in a given context. In this way, conducting a gender analysis allows for the development of interventions that address gender inequalities and meet the different needs of women and men.
Gender awareness raising aims at increasing general sensitivity, understanding and knowledge about gender (in)equality. Awareness raising is a process which helps to facilitate the exchange of ideas, improve mutual understanding and develop competencies and skills necessary for societal change. Gender awareness raising means providing reliable and accessible information to build a better understanding of gender equality as a core value of democratic societies.
Mainstreaming a gender perspective into policies, programmes and projects requires that both women’s and men’s needs are taken into consideration at all stages of the policy cycle. Gender planning refers to the process of planning and designing the implementation phase of policies, programmes, or projects from a gender perspective, and it takes place in the second stage of the policy cycle.
Gender stakeholder consultation promotes the participation of women and men in the policymaking process to ensure that their voices are heard and their priorities are reflected in policies, programmes and projects. Gender stakeholder consultation is the process of engaging and ensuring the meaningful participation of women and men, including civil society organisations and gender experts, in the policymaking process. Gender stakeholder consultation promotes evidence-based and participatory decision making, which takes into consideration the different priorities and needs of women and men, including the most marginalised groups and those that are traditionally excluded from decision-making processes.
About half of EU students graduate in two main fields of education. In both of them, the lack of one gender is striking. Almost a quarter of students (24 %) graduate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and most of them are men. The other big study field is education, health and welfare (EHW) with one fifth (19 %) of all EU graduates.
Use EIGE’s Gender-sensitive Parliaments online tool to see how responsive your parliament is to the different needs of women and men. Find out what changes are needed to make your parliament more gender-sensitive. Further information Go to the Gender-sensitive Parliaments online tool Read our leaflet on the Gender-sensitive Parliaments online tool Discover EIGE's other gender mainstreaming tools
In national parliaments across the EU, women make up less than a third of parliamentarians. This is bound to have an impact on parliamentary decisions. One way to balance the decision-making power in Europe is to have more gender-sensitive parliaments. Parliaments not only make laws but they are also working places. Like other organisations, they have their own rules, customs and ways of working.
