The Gender Mainstreaming (Essay Sample)

GENDER MAINSTREAMING
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Gender mainstreaming
As a concept, gender mainstreaming began as a initiative to understand the approaches tp promote gender equality as well as a platform on which people can become familiar with the entry points for optimization of gender equality and equity. Over the years, gender mainstreaming has evolved to the realization that failure to address gender issues results in unsustainable and ineffective results, which in turn escalate inequalities between men and women CITATION Qua16 \l 1033 (Quaye, Dowuona, Okai, & Dziedzoave, 2016). It also stems from the theory that men and women have very different priorities as well as constraints and as such, can take advantage of circumstances and opportunities differently.
However, it is important to appreciate that fact that most analysts and scholars in matters pertaining to gender equality opine that gender mainstreaming has not been successful over the years in achievement of gender equality. Several reasons have arises to explain the inadequacy of gender mainstreaming as a means of achieving gender equality. Among the most significant is the definition and scope of mainstreaming, which focuses more on instituting of changes to level the playing field for men and women rather than creating awareness and implementing policies that allow the global society to appreciate the role and importance of gender equality CITATION Muk14 \l 1033 (Mukhopadhyay, 2014).
A different factor inclining analysts to perceive gender mainstreaming as inefficient in creating equality is the fact that mainstreaming strategies seem to attempt to adjust the existing gender practices, roles, traditions and norms of the society rather than carry out a transformative overhaul of them CITATION Kle14 \l 1033 (Klein, Richardson, Grayson, & Fox, 2014). This strategy, though based on a sound foundation, has proven quite difficult to implement from the practical point of view. Still, a huge rift exists between men and women with regard to access to social goods, opportunities and resources. The reason for this is that the mainstreaming strategies in place today are highly formalized and bureaucratic, which means that their ability to reach grassroots is severely compromised.
There is need for gender mainstreaming to ensure that the experiences and concerns of men and women are incorporated into the design of various programs as well as the implementation and evaluation of programs and policies CITATION Tho17 \l 1033 (Thompson, 2017). In addition to ensuring that each activity and policy in any formal and informal context has a gender implication or perspective, gender-mainstreaming strategies need to ensure that the rights and needs of both genders are addressed effectively and efficiently CITATION Kle14 \l 1033 (Klein, Richardson, Grayson, & Fox, 2014). This way, gender awareness can become optimized and institutions may be in a position to transform their processes, structures and systems to streamline gender equality in all aspects of operation and management.
Furthermore, enhancement of gender mainstreaming can play a critical role in ensuring that societies