Gender Mainstreaming: Impact and Effects

Gender Mainstreaming Impact and EffectsThe Fourth World Conference on Wowork force in Beijing in 1995 ratified gender principal(prenominal)streaming as a key system for promoting equating between women and men. Many inter discipline organizations including the United Nation were entitled to implement the dodge in their carry.In 1997 the Economic and Social Council provided concrete guidelines on how the United Nations should work to incorporate gender spots in its work programmes (ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2).The importance of the gender mainstreaming strategy was reinforced in the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly to follow-up the implementation of the Platform for Action (June 2000).The strong focus on the furtherance of women and gender comparability has led to increased inter home(a) recognition of the importance of gender perspectives, such as poverty reduction, human rights and good governance. Moreover, these perspectives must be taken into a ccount in data collection, outline, constitution making and planning, to ensure the achievement of gender equality, effective and sustainable instruction and peace and security.Although, it is easy to ripe agreement for gender mainstreaming as an important strategy for promoting gender equality, implementation of this strategy has proven to a greater extent difficult than its predictions.The implementation of gender mainstreaming fuck mainly require significant changes in how business is d champion. Trying to bring the realities of both women and men to bear on data collection, analysis, planning and monitoring in altogether atomic number 18as of development, requires specific cognition and capacity.Gender Mainstreaming Definitionthe process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in whole argonas and at every(prenominal) levels. It is a strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns and exp eriences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and military rating of policies and programmes in all political, economical and societal spheres so that women and men good equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate remnant is to achieve gender equality. (ECOSOC 1997)Meaning that, gender mainstreaming in all decisions, get out take into account that thither atomic number 18 women and men in different situations which will pre discharge discrimination between the sexes. It is not somewhat few individuales dealing with gender issues, but all individuals be challenged to think about this equality between women and men. Never the less, gender mainstreaming is a strategy to ensure that equality is realized as a verbalise responsibility.However, gender means is not about being women or men, it is taking into considiration the variety and diversity of people, for the reason that we live in a world that is wedge by the allocation of gender roles. People are judged by their be progress tor based on gender expectations. Therefore, gender mainstreaming is an organizing principle, gender is the analytical point for gender-sensitive work, and equality is the goal to be achieved.The dimensions of gender mainstreamingGender mainstreaming is both of gendered political and constitution practice and a new gendered strategy for theory of development. As a practice, gender mainstreaming is a practice to promote gender equality. It is too intended to correct the effectively of mainlines of policy by making visible the gendered nature of assumption, process and outcomes. However, as a form of theory gender mainstreaming is a process of revision of key concept to grasp more adequate a world that is gendered, rather than establishing a separate gender theory. (Walby 2005).Reasons for implementation of gender mainstreamingGender mainstreaming is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. (Vijayakumar 2006). Gender mainstreaming does no t involve underdeveloped separate womens projects within work programmes, or even womens components within existing activities in the work programmes. It requires an attention to gender perspectives as an integral part of all activities across all programmes. This involves making gender perspectives more interchange to all policy development, research, development, implementation and monitoring of norms and standards.It is important to see the linkages between gender mainstreaming and the publicity of equal opportunities and gender balance within the organization itself. Organizational culture and organizational values are important in terms of creating work environments which are encouraging to gender mainstreaming.The gender mainstreaming strategy does not mean that targeted activities to support women are no longer necessary. Such activities specifically target womens priorities and inescapably, through, legislation and policy development.Women-specific projects play an import ant role in promoting gender equality. They are needed because gender equality has not yet been attained and gender mainstreaming processes are not well developed.Gender mainstreaming strategies and gender equality strategies are important for reducing existing gaps, serving as a channel for promotion of gender equality and creating a constituency for changing the mainstream. Gender mainstreaming can create an empowering space for women.Gender mainstreaming strategies, that focuses on men support promotion of gender equality by ontogeny male buddies. It is vital to understand that these two strategies, gender mainstreaming and womens empowerment, are in no route in competition with each other. (Braams 2007).Gender empowerment strategies have worked for year on capacity earning for women themselves. However, Gender mainstreaming can be one of the most effective Strategies supporting gender equality.Gender mainstreaming is a way of ensuring that policy and decision-making take acc ount of womens and mens different interests and needs. For gender mainstreaming, decision-making on policy measures and priorities has to be organized in a way as to do arbitrator to the differences between men and women. (EC 2007).Gender mainstreaming policy should respond to changes in requirements, interest and perception with regard to womens and mens social roles, as it promotes equality. Moreover, it cant be accomplishes by one actor, it is a combination on individuals and organizations at all level.Gender Mainstreaming helps in the following qualities at work first, gender mainstreaming it focus on equitable diffusion of resources between women and men. Second, Gender mainstreaming supports for equal opportunities policy at all levels of the organization. Third, Gender mainstreaming supports for equal opportunities policy at all levels of the organization engendering of knowledge, skills and attitudes.Never the less, Gender equality and the right to equal conflict in all se ctors of society are fundamental Human Rights. Gender mainstreaming is a process for ensuring equity, equality and gender legal expert in all of the critical areas of the lives of women and men. (Vijayakumar 2006). Moreover, it increases the effectiveness and eficiency of the work. It is known that men are more rational and women are more emotional, lets asume the assumption, then the brainstorming and decisions make will be better if they are taken by both sexes.The ImplementationGender mainstreaming should be implemented at two levels the organization and organization programmes, in order to benefit from it the most.( World Bank 2003).The OrganizationIn order for and organization to contribute to greater gender equality should have the following structures, policies and procedures in place.First, a receive policy on its commitment on gender police, and it is supported by ripened and middle management.Second, Human resources practices that is sensitive to the gender needs and in terests of both women and men on the organizations staff, as well as in their constituency.Third, Internal tracking and monitoring capacity to ensure that the strategy is being reached, and this whitethorn include whatsoever monitoring on staff recruitment and promotions and the performance of managers and supervisors in discussing and following up on gender equality initiatives.Fourth, a central gender mainstreaming unit with policy responsibility and mandate to guide the boilersuit gender mainstreaming process.Finally, a recognized network of staff responsible for gender equality issues in their respective work units, coordinated as a team by the policy unit.The organizations programmeEffective gender mainstreaming strategy in that locationfore includes at least the following programming elements.First, Project management that is technically proficient, aware of the implications of gender differences for project outcomes, remains in touch with the constituency, and establishes p ositive incentive and obligation mechanisms to ensure consistent results is highly important.Second, an effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms capable of reflecting how far the project is contributing to greater gender equality.Finally, Gender analysis that explores the national and international context in which the concerned communities are operating, clarifies the ways in which this context impacts differently on women and men and the implications of these differences for project activity.However, hat might expect to be minor actions actually represent major life-changing moves for women and men, given the dynamics that existed before gender mainstreamed programmes. Given the traditional and financial constraints hat merge to keep women a safe distance from making the inconsequential decisions and choices, these seemingly small-step decisions are massive.Gender mainstreaming outcomes and benefitsWomen are not newcomers to the working world as some may believe, but their role is changing, as are the socials values. Historically womens work has been relegated to the home. But, it was not always so, for most of human history, work and the rest of life were whole integratedwith the industrial revolution, the workplace moved out of the family, homethe workplace became mens domain and women came to bear the responsibility of supporting the family. (Rao, Stuart, Kelleher.1999)Today, women account for nearly fifty percent of the workforce but for less than 4 per cent of the nations top executives. Women managers are clustered into administrative and support functions. (Kaila.2005)Gender mainstreaming can be associated with many an(prenominal) benefits including assisting in achieving better gender data collection and analysis, ensures economic security for both sexes, achieving equal value for paid work, achieving a gender balance and achieving equal participation of women and men the rights of women and men. (Rea 2007)First, assists in achieving bette r gender data collection and analysis this will inform the integration of a gender perspective in the development of all organizations policies, processes, systems and structures. It will also provide the gender analysis which is critical to the development of effective gender action measures to tackle specific gender inequalitiesSecond, ensures the economic security of both men and women, as it addresses the gender inequalities which lead to poverty.Third, achieving equal value for paid work, equity, done by women and men including the equitable sharing of work and family and caring responsibilities.Fourth, achieving a gender balance, on all level of the organization.Fifth, ensures the active and equal participation of women and men at all levels of organization.Finally, promotes and protects the rights of women and men by change magnitude sentiency of their different needs and potential to have the same opportunity to live a fulfilled life.Never the less, Gender mainstreaming ca n be associated with many benefits including Quality improvements enhance the effectiveness of the administration process, Enhance participation process, financial benefits and improve the organizations image.Limitations and restrictions on gender mainstreamingThe limitations of gender mainstreaming are easy to solve, but their solutions are costly. Main limitations are identifying partner, commitment of senior management, fund raising, instruments and up- to date data on gender issues. (Taylor 1999).First, to effective implementation of gender mainstreaming partners are requires, identifying them, raising their awareness of the importance of this concept and making them write reportsSecond, commitment of senior managers is absolutely necessary. If senior managers pass on the message, support it and strengthen it, half the way is achieved. However, senior managers are generally only convinced to convey a message if their political superiors are committed to a cause.Third, Gender mai nstreaming is an investment in the overall quality of policy. The costs of this quality improvement should therefore be counted as regular policy costs. Staff, experts and budgets should be made availableFourth, adequate instruments of measurements, manuals, monitoring procedures and evaluation procedures for gender mainstreaming should be tailored to the address the organizations needs. This will need experts to perform them.Fifth, in order to benefit from gender mainstreaming implementation, staff members should have up-to-date knowledge and awareness of gender issues. Hiring experts to keep monitoring the updated material about gender issues and presenting it to the staff can be the solution and may be costly.ConclusionEquality, which is the watershed stone of democratic nations, successful organizations and a basic human right, are time and space dependent phenomena. At least three historical waves of approaches to equality between the sexes can be distinguished (Ress, 1998).Th rough the strategy of gender mainstreaming, different realities of women and men are aware of and made clear, the observance of the gender perspective is an essential decision criterion for suitability and quality of the measure.The gender mainstreaming process makes no institutional gender politics unnecessary, as shown by the present analysis indicates that women are disadvantaged in many areas yet. The instrument of women is therefore still need to be applied long What is new is that the gender mainstreaming approach also includes the situation of the men in our society in the analysis.A major obstacle to successful mainstreaming is the attitudes and cultures in our development organizations, which carry the baggage of their own instead traditional male cultures of work and power. These attitudes and cultures continue to be transferred in practice at home and in the field.Finally, International Labor organization should strengthen its policy and programmes on gender equality and decent work, support gender sensitive policy formulation, work with governments and social partners on employment and job creation, strive to improve the understanding and application of the principle of equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value.RecommendationsIncrease the involvement of men as partnersSuccessful gender mainstreaming calls for a deeper involvement of men at all levels. It is also requires a greater sensitization of men to the larger issues at stake. Activist women point to the need for men for men to become involved in Men in Development and Mens Empowerment program.Work on Government policy changeAccording to nongovernmental organization Activists Government is supportive are words, they make very good pronouncements yes, lip service, very good. Action is where we think there is a problem. We think that there is no political will real political will is to be able to implement.Sensitize women in powerEfforts must be also be made to deepen the sen sitization of those few women in power and ensure their gender consciousness.NetworkingNetwork is critical in moving women from immediate community activities into broader regional and national areas of related concern. Networking also presents opportunities to bridge the gap between urban and rural women as well as divides of class, religion and age in order to build strong cohesive force.Hazards of Volcanoes Minimising the RisksHazards of Volcanoes Minimising the RisksA natural hazard is defined as a natural process or phenomenon that may cause want of life, combat injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage (UNISDR, 2009). It is clear that outletes pose a huge curse to human life and can also have major economic impacts. This short essay aims to present the hazards that arise due to volcanoes and look at what measures are currently (or should be) being taken in order to minimise the seeks taken by living in close proximity to one.Primary volcanic Hazardshttp//earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/nazko/IMG012.jpgThe main and most obvious hazard that occurs due to a volcano (depending on the type) is the bang. For volcanoes such as Kilauea in Hawaii the effusive gonorrhoea is less heavy due to the lower pressure and lava tends to be erupted rather than other materials. The main hazard from these types of eruptions is the lava itself, which can reach widespread areas in some cases and destroys most things in its path. Volcanoes similar to Mount St. Helens in Washington, USA have extremely dangerous explosive eruptions (also known as Vesuvian eruptions) which involve many different hazards in themselves. Massive quantities of ash-laden gas are violently discharged to form a cauliflower-shaped cloud high above the volcano (Tilling, 1985). A report by (Myers Brantley, 1995) describes the cause of the blast from an eruption such as this An explosive eruption blastsmol ten and solid oscillate fragments (tephra)into the air with tremendous force. The largest fragments (bombs) fall back to the ground near the vent, unremarkably within 2 miles. The smallest rock fragments (ash) continue rising into the air, forming a huge, billowingeruption column. Eruption columns can be enormous in size and grow rapidly, reaching more than 12 miles above a volcano in less than 30 minutes. Once in the air, the volcanic ash and gas form an eruption cloud. boastful eruption clouds can travel hundreds of miles downwind from a volcano, resulting inash fallover enormous areasAnother hazard is known as a pyroclastic flow and is when High-speed avalanches of hot ash, rock fragments, and gas move down the sides of a volcano during explosive eruptions or when the steep edge of a dome breaks apart and collapses. Thesepyroclastic flows, which can reach 1500 degrees F and move at 100-150 miles per hour, are capable of knocking down and burning everything in their paths. A similar hazard is known as a pyroclastic pant which is more energetic and has a dilute mixture of searing gas and rock fragments. They can move over ridges easily whereas flows tend to follow valleys (Myers Brantley, 1995).Secondary Volcanic HazardsHazards that are not a direct result of the initial blast can be classed as secondary. Mud and debris flows are known as lahars and are initiated by large landslides of water-saturated debris, heavy rainfall eroding volcanic deposits, sudden melting of snow or ice near a vent or the breakout of water from glaciers, crater lakes or from lakes dammed by eruptions (Tilling, Topinka, Swanson, 1990). These are also very destructive and range greatly in size from some(prenominal) centimetres in size to kilometres and in speed from less than a metre per second to tens of metres per second.Most of the time an earthquake proceeds a volcanic eruption due to the imminent release of the pressures that have built up inside. An earthquake can be ex tremely dangerous in itself, so when coupled with an eruption it can be devastating. The main hazard is shaking and ground rupture which can lead to severe damage of buildings and in turn cause loss of life. They are largely dependent on the local geological and geomorphological conditions which can either amplify or reduce wave propagation (Perkins Boatwright, 1995). For example, a city built on a river bed is far more vulnerable due to the phenomenon of liquefaction which amplifies the size of the waves due to soil temporarily losing its strength and transforming into a liquid. Damage to electrical power lines or gas mains can also cause fires to break out and in some cases they may be extremely difficult to put out due to water mains bursting which would incur a loss of pressure.Reducing the risks from these hazardsOne of the most important processes involved in reducing the risks imposed by a volcano is monitoring. According to (Brantley Topinka, 1984) Volcano monitoring invol ves a variety of measurements and observations designed to detect changes at the surface of a volcano that reflect increasing pressure and stresses caused by the movement of magma, or molten rock, within or beneath it. There are many measurements that are taken in order to build up a large picture of the volcano and ultimately predict to the nearest accuracy possible when an eruption is dismissal to take place. The movement of the ground is closely recorded because increased movement can indicate an upcoming eruption due to the movement of magma underground. Standard levelling surveys are used to obtain changes in the elevation, the tilt is measured and electronic distance measurement is also used. When no earthquakes or measurable ground movement occurs there are geophysical properties which can be measured including electrical conductivity, magnetic field strength and the force of gravity. Once again, changes in any of these values can indicate the movement of magma. Changes in t he composition or emission rate of sulphur dioxide and other gases from a volcano can also indicate a variation in magma supply rate or a change in magma type. Modified from (Wright Pierson, 1992)In addition to monitoring, detailed hazard maps are skeletal which show the areas that are likely to be effected during an eruption event. Figure 3 is a simplified version for the Mount St. Helens volcano. These maps are extremely effectual because they allow resources to be allocated to the parts that need it the most. For example any settlements in immediate danger from the volcano must be evacuated first, and so on.The final blame in the hazard reduction puzzle is communication. No matter how precise the information regarding an eruption is, it is useless unless this information is successfully conveyed to the people at risk and they are in a position where they understand and can take action. The following is what the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program does in order to turn up and achieve thisparticipatesin volcano-emergency planning workshops and emergency-response exercisesconvenesinternational, regional, and local workshops focused on volcano-hazard issuesprepareseducational materials with partners, including exhibits, fact sheets, booklets, video programs, and mapscollaborateswith emergency-management specialists to develop effective warning schemesmeetswith community leaders and residents wanting information about potentially dangerous volcanoes in their areaworkswith the news media and media producersleadseducational field trips to active and potentially dangerous volcanoes for the public, officials, local residents, educators, and studentshelpseducators and students with classroom presentations, teacher workshops, field trips, and activities(U.S. Geological Survey, 2009).It is clear that volcanoes pose a huge threat to peoples safety. However, when a high amount of monitoring, planning and communication takes place it is usually possible to predict eruptions to a level accurate enough to save lives. The main limiting factor is the money available to spend (or the money willing to be spent) on all of these things by a countrys government. This means that for example, people in the USA and Canada can feel relatively safe about the threat to them from most of their volcanoes whereas people living in some countries of Africa cannot.