• Why use Gender Impact Assessment

    Traditionally, government policy and legislation have been viewed as gender-neutral and value-free instruments, on the assumption that the formulation and administration of public policy benefits all members of the public equally. However, structural gender inequalities are still embedded in our society. Even if laws treats women and men as equals, women still do not have equal access to and control...

  • What is Gender Impact Assessment

    Gender impact assessment has been defined as an ex ante evaluation, analysis or assessment of a law, policy or programme that makes it possible to identify, in a preventative way, the likelihood of a given decision having negative consequences for the state of equality between women and men. The central question of the gender impact assessment is: Does a law...

  • More on EIGE’s work on gender-equality training

    References to all publications Quality assurance mechanisms for gender training in the European Union [ - 6.18 MB] Investing in gender competence [ - 361.48 KB] Mapping gender training in the European Union and Croatia: Synthesis report [ - 794.05 KB] Advancing gender training to support effective gender mainstreaming – Reflections from the conference [ - 559.55 KB] Advancing Gender...

  • More resources on gender-equality training

    EIGE’s Gender Training Resources Database EIGE’s Gender Training Resources Database is a collection of generic and tailor-made tools and resources produced in EU Member States and at the EU and international level. They aim to improve the skills of policymakers and administrations when mainstreaming gender in their fields of work. The database contains useful materials, guidelines, tested practices, ideas, suggestions...

  • Gender equality training in the European Union

    Legal and policy framework Provision Challenges Previous efforts Commitment to mainstreaming gender in the EU Gender mainstreaming has been adopted as a strategy by EU institutions to promote gender equality in policies and programmes and ensure gender equality between women and men. Several EU treaties emphasise that the Union should work to eliminate gender inequalities and promote transversal equality in...

  • Designing effective gender equality training

    1. The existence of a legal framework and policy commitment to gender mainstreaming. Read more This should set concrete gender competence development goals and be combined with an organisational strategy for gender equality competence development that sets a clear framework for action (goals, target groups, resources, responsibilities, timeframes, etc.). The development of gender competence (for example, through training) should be...

  • Step 12: Give space and support to participants to implement new knowledge in their work

    Gender competence development initiatives do not end with the provision of training, and to ensure the long-lasting effects of the outcomes, follow-up activities need to be set up. In order to make the best use of the newly acquired knowledge that staff have gained during the gender competence development initiative, additional tools and procedures should be developed and offered to...

  • Step 11: Assess the long-term impacts of training at the individual, organisational and societal level

    Further on, an evaluation of the impact of gender competence development activities should be carried out. This requires revisiting the aims, objectives, rationale, inputs and outputs of the programme and exploring the extent to which the initiative had the desired long-term impact. An impact evaluation examines the deeper changes that have resulted from the implementation of the gender competence development...

  • Step 10: Set up an evaluation framework

    Along with the design and implementation of the initiative, an evaluation framework needs to be developed to measure the outcomes of the initiative. Outcome evaluation looks at the changes that have occurred as a result of the implementation of the programme. At the individual level, the gender competence development initiative should have the immediate outcomes of: Raising awareness about the...

  • Step 9: Plan and implement a monitoring framework and procedures

    Monitoring is a process that consists in the ‘systematic and continuous collecting, analysing and using [of] information for the purpose of management and decision-making’. This process aims at ensuring the continuing relevance and effectiveness of the initiative. Regular monitoring needs to be planned and carried out on a regular basis throughout the implementation phase of the gender competence development initiative...

  • Step 8: Encourage people to attend the activity

    The gender-learning needs assessment and the gender organisational assessment should aim at identifying resistance among staff and obstacles to the effective implementation of gender training in the organisation. Commissioning authorities and gender-equality trainers should work together to implement a strategy to target this resistance. They should look for the appropriate rationale to promote training (e.g. demonstrate the financial advantages of...

  • Step 7: Actively participate in the design of the gender competence development initiative, keeping in mind the mandate of the organisation

    The commissioning authority’s participation in the elaboration of the training activity is necessary to help the trainer identify priorities, select the best learning approaches and ensure the relevance of the training content to the activities of the organisation. Participation of the commissioning authority is also advisable to ensure the sustainability of training over the long term. Commissioning authorities should recognise...