Step 2: Allocating resources
Key aspects
Financial resources
Financial resources may be needed for a variety of activities, including external consultants and trainers, commissioning the development of tailor-made methods and tools, data collection and research, for exchanging information with stakeholders, publishing brochures or launching a website (communicating gender mainstreaming) as well as other subsidiary activities.
Recommendations
Using external experts not only supports the introduction of gender mainstreaming in terms of providing gender expertise and a fresh, objective perspective, but may also help to relieve staff workload regarding the introduction of gender mainstreaming.
Time
- consider the organisation’s annual timetable and start the process during the least busy time of the year.
- make explicitly clear how much working time is to be dedicated to this process and if this is acknowledged as being a valuable part of the regular job.
- the workload of the gender mainstreaming support structure should be calculated.
- In organisations that already have gender equality staff, this assignment of new tasks should be accompanied by a corresponding increase in the amount of working time made available for this purpose - by redistributing other tasks, by extending working hours or by recruiting additional staff.
Example
The ILO Action Plan for Gender Equality 2010-2015 explicitly considers allocating resources such as time and money for implementing gender mainstreaming. It shows that for a thorough implementation of gender mainstreaming it is also necessary to allocate both financial and human resources.