Mainstreaming Gender: Shift from Advocacy to Policy

Introduction

Gender mainstreaming as a holistic strategy proposes to introduce the gender sensitivity and equality perspective to all policies at all levels and at all stages (Council of Europe, 1998) by changing the norms and practices that stand at the roots of gender inequality. Gender mainstreaming as a strategy has shifted the focus from channelling assistance to women, as a target group, to promoting gender equality as a development goal. Gender equality policy defines gender mainstreaming as its key strategy to promote gender equality. Gender mainstreaming is a complex process and even more challenging in the current context of an on-going shift. It is not an immediate sudden change rather a continuous sustainable process, in which the gender lenses are to be used by the policy makers to avert gender inequality be in the form of gender blindness or gender bias (Krizsn and Zentai, 2004). Lessons learnt from the past reflect gender-blind approach which tended to ignore the women’s need, opportunity and rights.

Gender is a dynamic concept which looks at the system formed by the interrelations between men and women in the context of society. Gender is a concept which is widely used but often misunderstood. For the last several decades the term gender has come into common usage particularly as a synonym for women or sex. Whilst the term is generally useful in our day to day conversations, a clear cut distinction between the two words, sex and gender, has not been definitely established. The term gender and sex are used interchangeably, therefore, lead to confusion, lack of understanding and misconception, often lost of the reality of gender mainstreaming as a strategic tool towards development. A clear conceptual distinction between the two words sex and gender and associated concepts is particularly helpful for the holistic understanding and intervention of issues pertaining to gender. However, the discrepant use, lack of clarity, accountability, knowledge and skills among officials and policy makers on gender issues, or lack of tracking mechanisms increased the challenges of implementation. Gender mainstreaming has been the pursuit of segregated activities for women or targeted interventions to promote women’s empowerment, whereas the essence of mainstreaming should be to infuse consideration of women’s issues and gender equality into all policy development, research, advocacy, legislation, resource allocation, planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects.

Although robust population-based quantitative and qualitative data on various aspect of gender is available, it is unclear as to how these findings are being used in national planning systems to determine priorities and to develop evidence-based policies and programmes. Currently, there is much discussion of evidence-based policy making, as against opinion-based policy making (Borwankar et al., 2010). Although there are several definitions for evidence-based policy making, the common language in these definitions is ‘putting the best available evidence at the heart or centre of policy development/process’ (Segone, 2008). Policies are developed in response to the existence of a perceived societal problem, including extent and nature of the problem. Although policy makers are looking for answers on the nature and extent of the problem in order to develop evidence-based policy and programmes to address gender issues, but to challenge societal norms that view gender issues as acceptable.

The term sex is used as a classification according to the reproductive organs and functions that derive from the chromosomal complement. While the term gender is used to refer to a person’s self-representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions on the basis of the individual’s gender role. Whereas biological sex differences interact with social determinants to define different needs for women and men. In actual practice men and women do not have equal access and control over various kinds of resources and a strict hierarchy exists between the two. This hierarchy is clearly evident in Indian society. Women are expected to eat only after the men of the house have eaten, girls are provided fewer years of formal education, women are expected to stay at home. Social biases that generate differentials in risks and outcomes, where no plausible biological reason exists for different outcomes, policies and actions should encourage equal outcomes. Still, some scientists are vaguely aware that a distinction exists between these terms or that this difference is an important one. These interrelations vary widely within and between cultures, and are affected by the values of society made explicit through law, religion and cultural practices (Östlin et al., 2007). Within the framework of Indian democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plans & programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. The learned behaviour is what makes up gender identity and determines roles which changes over time and over an individual’s life stages. A gender analysis reveals the power relations between men and women in which women are usually subordinate. In practically all cultures, women have a lower status than men. The societal factors have an influence on the cause, consequences and management of ill health of women resulted in inequitable health outcomes. These factors, such as age, disability, socio-economic position or belonging to a particular ethnic or racial group, could compound with discrimination on the basis of sex and create multiple barriers for women’s empowerment and advancement. Therefore, this resulted in facing disadvantages, obstacles and difficulties in the enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights as a result of the intersection of discrimination both in public and private domain.

In almost all developing countries, mainstreaming gender is the most pressing issue which influences various aspects of government and non-governmental developments. It became central to policy perspectives and strategies, because of its non-attainable MDG goals with the existing resources particularly in maternal and child health indicators (Barton, 2005). The article intends to discuss the process of development of gender issue resulted in shifting of policy particularly in India and the problematic process of implementation and putting into practice of the gender mainstreaming strategy. The Human Development Reports since 1999 demonstrate that practically no country in the world treats its women as well as men according to the measures of life expectancy, wealth and education (HDR, 1999). Gender stereotypes place women in an inferior position. The women already with subdued social status fail to contain sustainable growth and development with prevailing conditions of inequality, drudgery and poor nutritional health status. However, the fact remains that Indian women continue to be discriminated. The sex ratio is skewed against them (AHS, 2012–2013); maternal mortality is the second-highest in the world; more than 40 per cent of women are illiterate (Census of India, 2012); and crimes against women are on the rise (NCRB, 2012). The problem of gender related health consequences, beside the social, is present in our society and could be more damaging at individual level where culture of silence helps it to persist. Women’s stories from around the world speak of discrimination against them from birth (and some even before that) to death. This is evident in abortion of female foetuses (foeticide), infanticide, abandonment, malnutrition, neglect, incest, rape, lack of education, genital mutation, and work in and outside the home, prostitution, abuse, injuries and preventable agonies including widowhood and death.

However, during early 1990s, it was realized that the health and development were two co-existential phenomena and women’s empowerment was necessary for their health. But the fact is that the empowerment is a process and it takes a long time (Batliwala, 1994). The process involves not only political will and social support but education, career opportunities, economic independence and self determination to take appropriate decision. Between these three decades from 1970s to 1990s, women’s health movement all over tried to establish that women’s health was affected by social factors of unequal gender relationships. Since the 1990s, gender mainstreaming has been seen as a strategy to find support for gender-sensitive interventions. India has ratified international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The beginning of these changes started with the reform movement in the nineteenth century, which addressed practices like sati, child marriage, life of the widows, etc. The ubiquity of women empowerment can be gauged from the fact that it has been documented in different cultures and societies all over the world that when women are empowered, their children and whole families benefit and have ripple effects on future generations (Abadian, 1996; Tim et al., 2005). There is growing awareness of the substantial consequence of low status of women on their health and well being (Allendorf, 2007). Economic empowerment and control over the resources is one of the key indicators of empowerment. Women face discrimination in the economic sphere partly because much of the unpaid work within families and communities falls on the shoulders of women (Dube, 2001). Women’s low status continues despite the many eloquent words about equal opportunity, she is restricted to the private world without an identity. Studies have reported that wherever women’s status is low, women tend to face domestic violence and other health consequences which makes it all the more difficult for her to come out of the situation (Mahapatro et al., 2012).

It is after the women’s movement, policies and programmes started addressing the problems faced by women, such as violence, property rights, legal status, political participation and the rights of minority women (UN Report). Since 1975, when the first world conference on women was held in Mexico City, there have been many changes particularly the shift in thinking about the causes of women’s low status in society, and the measures required to change such a state. Since then there have been three other important conferences 1980 in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya. During 1980s women’s health issues of third world countries influenced the vision of development paradigm. World over, this vision had caught the attention of various donor agencies, government and non-governmental organizations who translated it into their mission and a movement for necessary action had begun. The women health advocates/activists developed, took proactive interest in mobilizing the governments in this process for their political will, policy and necessary programmes for the health benefits of women (Ashford, 2001). In the process, several governments realized the need for explicit focus of women perspective in their health & development policies and programmes. Thus, they re-oriented the existing health system for gender sensitivity which could ensure, particularly to the poor, un-reached women, children, adolescents and men as well, the services with quality and equitable standards. One of the important outcomes in India was a comprehensive legal framework.

The fourth world conference on women at Beijing in 1995 made several declarations which were agreed upon by the participants from 189 countries. It saw the culmination of the last 20 years of this shift in thinking, refining of analysis and coming together of concerns and constituencies from all parts of the world (UN World Conference on Women, 2014). It appealed to formulate strategies to ensure that policies are gender sensitive across the board. The conference strategies and later developments were reviewed for addressing the challenges and demands of the present millennium and a platform for action was adopted. Women’s unequal access to education and health, violence, discrimination against girl child besides nine other were the critical issues setting the scope of women’s perspective and action on gender issues (Vlassoff and Moreno, 2002; WHO, 2001). For women’s health, the strategy adopted in the conference could be understood as (a) health care provision throughout the life span, (b) preventive and promotional programmes/measures, gender sensitive approach to the needs of women. And existing policies need to be gender audited to check if they are biased towards men against women.

Although gender mainstreaming is an important issue with the donor which has entailed a shift from donor funding of isolated, individual projects towards programmatic approaches, closely working towards national government planning and expenditure frameworks. The emergence of these new aid modalities poses specific risks and challenges, as well as opening up new opportunities for the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming. Alongside the shift in aid modalities, the role of donors increasingly involves policy dialogue with recipient governments, as common policy goals, performance indicators and performance assessment frameworks. Despite official political commitment to gender equality, however, in practice the government institutions responsible to promote this outcome are generally weak with poor resources and capacity and in most ministries there is no budget for gender mainstreaming. In some sectors, gender equality is not seen as a national priority but as a donor-imposed agenda. Whilst the GoI and other partners have recognized the importance of addressing gender inequality for the overall success of programmes in some sectors—such as health and education, for example, where gender equality is clearly linked to achieving the MDGs—in other areas there is little gender sensitivity. It becomes even more challenging in the current context, of an ongoing shift from local micro-level towards engagement in policy dialogue at macro level (Subrahmanian, 2004b).

It is heartening to note that there does not appear a single member country which has not recognized the importance of the women’s views, their rights and development, and need to provide equal opportunities for health and better quality of life (UNFPA, 2005). In response to the agenda for women’s empowerment, almost 90 nations pledged specific follow-up intervention in their country statements including six countries from South and Southeast Asia Region; Bangladesh, DPR Korea, India, Maldives, Nepal and Thailand. The interventions cover a wide range of specific issues, such as education, mother and child care, violence against women, nutrition as well as integration of women’s issues within national development planning (WHO/SEAR, 1998). Actions were concern to women to reaffirm the significance of the issues of ensuring equal access and treatment of women and men for education, reproductive health and sexuality and protection of women from violence. This realization, backed by social and ethical imperatives at the highest level has become a political commitment and is being implemented through different programmes in the SEAR. Developing countries present especially urgent problems where caste and class result in acute failure of human capabilities of women.

The cumulative effect of the earlier mentioned seemed to have given vent to the ongoing movement of women empowerment and because of their health being critical to their labour force participation and economic emancipation. Although the power structure and authority existing in most of the societies were found strong impediments which could not help create conducive climate to enable women to be empowered (Duflo, 2012). However, considerable improvements have taken place and efforts continue in the area of socio-economic development and health wherein delegation of powers to women through local self-government Panchayati Raj institution, women’s increased representation in parliament, participation in labour force, equal education, career opportunities and employment have been priorities (Hust, 2004). The best example in this respect from India reflects that there has been National Perspective Plan for Women 1988–2000, prepared by a core group set up by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD, 2011), Government of India. The Prime Minister’s office had identified various beneficiary oriented schemes exclusively for women falling under various ministries but monitored by the MWCD. Several legislative amendments/enactments came into force in order to protect the interest of women. But the problem of women empowerment for their health and development remain still a major challenge in the present millennium (Sen et al., 2002). Thus, the health sector assumed greater important in the whole movement. Women’s empowerment policy was made to amend women’s position in the society by protecting women against exclusion and domestic violence against women.

The aim of women health and development policies and programmes are to help introduce and audit gender perspectives and priorities in national health policies and programmes. To increase awareness about the gender inequalities that adversely affects the health of the girl child and women. These programmes also help to analyze country’s specific profiles of women health & development, develop resource materials for dissemination, advocacy and training with an aim of policy-based implementation (Vlassoff and Moreno, 2002). Now the women health & development concerns are increasingly seen as essential to sustainable national development efforts in the National Five Year Plans. One of the goals of 11th Five Year Plan of India is more inclusive and faster growth. This has been to bring women and other excluded groups into the mainstream of development through programmes of poverty alleviation, free girls child education, provision of credit facilities, skilled development, and reduction of violence against women and generation of gender-sensitive data for planning. Special attention is being given to improving the health and well being of women and children in both rural areas and urban slums. The government is committed to allocating adequate resources to prevent maternal deaths and provide emergency obstetric care. There are new and exciting approaches that could be taken to build systems to ensure that women’s health needs are met. Essential to critical health and socially constructed health experience of the women, their health seeking behaviour and their access to health services are improved. Health belief models provides different paradigms of health behaviour strategies between beliefs, behaviour and health therefore, an association of personal, interpersonal and societal aspects of construction to reveal an evolving identity that moves away from the often fixed stereotypical models of medical illness towards the concept of wellbeing, and opens up further possibilities for identity, social justice, intervention and social change.

It is envisaged that women’s empowerment leads to control on her own fertility, and assertion of her reproductive rights further curbing down Maternal Mortality Rate (Ravindran et al., 2005). Henceforth, various effective programmes were implemented addressing educational opportunity through education for all, economic opportunities through National Rural Employment Guarantee ACT (NREGA), empowerment of women through various schemes of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programmes and now National Rural Health Mission (NRHM, 2011). Gender sensitivity in allocation of resources started with the seventh plan (1987–1992) which introduced monitoring of beneficiary oriented schemes for women. The eighth plan (1987–1992) highlighted the need to ensure definite flow of funds from the general development sectors. The ninth plan (1997–2007) adopted the Women’s Component Plan as one of the major strategies to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. Eleventh plan entailed strict adherence to gender budgeting across the board. In 2004–2005, the MWCD adopted ‘Budgeting for Gender Equity’ as a mission statement (MWCD, 2014). National and State Commission for Women specifically works towards the empowerment and inclusion of women with respect to various facets of development across the country. Despite repeated findings of gender audit, the government is yet to respond to the gap between commitment for gender budget and the public expenditure.

Strategies have evolved to focus increasingly on addressing unequal power relations between women and men and ensure that women benefit from development. Government has established diverse mechanisms at different levels to mainstream gender in the formulation of policies, plans and programmes, as well as policy advocacy and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of international and national commitments. In India, health policy and the Common Minimum Programme aims to reduce the burden of diseases, maternal, infant and child mortality by improving antenatal and postpartum care. The NRHM and RCH programmes are focused on women and child health which aim to make services accessible, available, appropriate and affordable. India’s universal immunization programme against preventable diseases in children, antenatal women, RTI/STD, HIV/AIDS, contraception and adolescent reproductive and sexual health programmes are based on clear policies ensuring ethical, equitable and quality care to women free of cost through government health institutions for optimal utilization of domain knowledge where women enjoy their health right. Programmes for education of girls & women in India have reinforced gender roles. These programmes not only grant equality to women, but also empower the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. This gradual transition responds to several concerns, including those around the poverty elevation, food security, employment, education and health.

Despite many women oriented programmes affirming their rights, women are still much more poor and illiterate; they have less access to medical care, property ownership, credit, employment opportunity, etc., than men (McDonough et al., 2001). Specifically, the national programmes and community-based service delivery programmes provides extension services, awareness campaigns and support activities, such as counselling, training, etc. to mobilize rural women and to enhance their participation in the development process (Grown et al., 2005). Priorities for research and intervention services should depend on the needs and availability of resources; mainly expertise, manpower, funds, time, political and administrative support, appropriate approaches and feasible strategies. The priorities should evolve keeping in view the context of people’s profile, economic and social status, education awareness about health facilities, accessibility and utilization of services and exert influence on research outcome. However, despite the clearly identifiable commitment of these organizations to the concept of gender mainstreaming, this concept is yet to be properly implemented with verifiable sustainable outcomes.

Conclusion

Advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment are cornerstones of development. The Beijing Platform for Action have displayed a variety of concerns affecting women from the issue of integrating women into development to highlighting the issue of women’s needs and rights. The conferences provided an opportunity to move forward and measure the progress. All the developing countries have converted commitment into numbers of key actions to advance women’s equality and empowerment (UNFPA, 2005). The women’s movement, which gathered strength after the 1970s, has led to progressive legislation and positive change, spurred on by the participation of women in local self-government. Women activists have mobilized and pressed for significant changes in the criminal code and police procedures in order to address various acts of violence against women. At the national level, various laws and policies have been adopted to end discrimination against women and ensure their mainstreaming in all matters pertaining to development. Several amendments were made and women police stations, family counselling cells, etc. have been established. Where households and communities are concerned, many programmes for gender education have focused on improving women’s awareness and knowledge. Yet the real strength has been to alter attitudes of men towards women and of women towards themselves. The numbers of people involved and the magnitude of the problems, taking action to improve gender equity and to address women’s rights is one of the most direct and potent ways to reduce inequities and ensure effective use of resources.

Mainstreaming strategy as a holistic approach, and introducing gender equality policy, the Indian government has brought changes in its amendments, policy and programmes. In the last two decades in India, feminists’ movements have contributed to growing public awareness of violence against women and other areas of women empowerment. However, a wide gap still persists between the goals enunciated and the situational reality of women’s status. Putting into practice has been an ongoing process in several countries, all with different social and economic circumstances, different policy cultures, different gender equality approaches (Jacqui, 2003). Despite the contentious effort of feminist researchers, advocates and policymakers, problems with implementation and putting into practice of the gender mainstreaming strategy seem to be several. Gender Mainstreaming is underdeveloped as a concept. Effective gender mainstreaming would require a convergence of multi-sector approach with gender sensitivity and equality perspective to all policies at all levels and at all stages.

The key to placing gender values firmly at all levels and in all sectors, a change in philosophy requires conceptualization of gender within the culturally defined roles, constraints and potentialities (Vlassoff and Moreno, 2002). Although men and women have different needs but have similar fundamental rights to respond. Their contribution to socio-economic development as producers and workers need to be recognized in the formal and informal sectors (including home-based workers). Women’s perspectives should be included in designing and implementing macro-economic and social policies. It must be recognized as a broader concept of gender equality, the incorporation of a gender perspective into the mainstream, equal representation of women, the prioritization of gender policy objectives and a shift in societal culture. The article suggests that gender mainstreaming would require a broader and more holistic conceptualization with greater gender equality. Consistently implementing human rights instruments can be a powerful mechanism to motivate and mobilize governments, people and especially women themselves. Policy efforts must address sex-specific needs to elaborate further on the areas of gender inequality and the relationship between gender mainstreaming, policy and societal change.