Why invest in gender-equality training?
All rules relevant to gender have an effect on living conditions and access to resources for women and men. This effect is known as "gender impact." Assessment the gender impact of any initiative involves a process of analysis to determine the impact (tangible results) that the intervention could have on the effective equality of women and men.
In order to guide the analysis the following recommendations can be taken into account:
Immediate training outcomes can be defined as the reactions of trainees to the training. They can be measured at the individual level in terms of knowledge, skill acquisition and level of awareness attributed to the training.
Immediate training outcomes relate to the measurable change in working practice as a result of attending a training programme. They provide evidence that trainees actually learned from the training experience and apply that knowledge in practice within their organisation.
Long-term impacts are the final, high-level effects of the training, often understood as ‘societal goods’. Long-term impacts are usually related to the promotion of gender equality in society.
What needs and gaps can gender equality training overcome?
Individual level
Gender sterotyping by individuals results in an inability to acknowledge gender inequalities and a failure to notice the different impact that policies have on women and men.
Institutional level
Concerns of women and men are taken into account, leading to better informed policies and decision-making, as well as improved organisational practices.
Social level
More informed civil servants provide improved services that aim at reducing gender inequalities in different policy areas.
What changes can gender equality make?
Individual level
Improve civil servants ability to recognise and take account of gender issues in their own work.
Institutional level
Concerns of women and men are taken into account, leading to better informed policies and decision-making, as well as improved organisational practices.
Social level
More informed civil servants provide improved services that aim at reducing gender inequalities in different policy areas.
Gender training makes a difference. If implemented systematically it facilitates more efficient actions and a positive change in the attitudes of policymakers.