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Gender

Gender refers to the socially determined ideas, beliefs and practices of what it is to be female or male in a society. In different societies there are different sets of rules, norms, customs and practices by which differences between males and females are translated into socially constructed differences between women and men, boys and girls. These culturally determined gender identities define rights and responsibilities and what is ‘appropriate' behaviour for women and men. This results in the two genders being valued differently, often reinforcing the idea that women are inferior and subordinate to men.

Gender is the most fundamental organising feature in all societies and gender inequality is the most prevalent form of social disadvantage within societies. The whole area of gender equality can be daunting in its use of jargon and concepts. Yet there are key concepts which can provide us with a common understanding and analytical framework. The international recognition of rights of women has not been translated into practice on the ground. Women suffer sustained violations of their human rights, particularly in societies torn by conflict. Domestic violence and other forms of violence against women, such as trafficking, forced prostitution and rape – including marital rape – are a common experience for women. Violation of women's human rights increases their vulnerability in many ways, not least by increasing their risk of contracting HIV. In this context, achieving gender equality is both a matter of human rights and of great urgency.

There are many obstacles to women's equal participation with men in political and economic decision-making and lack of time is one of the most serious. Women's involvement in unpaid work, which is invisible in economic statistics, is vital to the survival of families and communities and yet prevents women's participation in decision making at various levels. Discriminatory laws and customs are additional hurdles to participation in economic and political developments. Although gender mainstreaming is important, it does not replace the need to promote women-specific interventions aimed at eliminating gender inequality. Women's empowerment is a pre-requisite for gender equality.

Gender mainstreaming will be a centrally important strategy as it enables us to creatively and proactively adapt our ways of working in development to promote gender equality.

Gender inequality remains pervasive worldwide. It is exacerbated by poverty and is a key factor in the persistence of poverty. Gender inequalities manifest themselves in access to services and control of resources, in economic opportunities and in legal and political rights. As a result women's experience of poverty is different to that of men; it is more severe and more prevalent. The quality of life for society as a whole is adversely affected by gender inequality, hindering development and poverty reduction.

There is a strong basis in international covenants for promoting gender equality, framed by international agreements and conventions that most countries have adopted and ratified. In 1979 the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an international bill of rights for women, was adopted by the UN General Assembly. In the 1990s, Development Cooperation Ireland supported the outcomes of a series of UN Conferences and Summits, most notably the commitments made to gender equality contained in the Beijing Platform for Action, the final document of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women held in 1995. The Convention includes articles on the elimination of discrimination in public life, civil status, education, employment, healthcare and other aspects of social and economic life. More recently the UN Millennium Declaration, which explicitly reaffirms the commitment to full implementation of CEDAW, builds on and reinforces these obligations by requiring member countries ‘to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate development that is truly sustainable'.

Women's empowerment is critical to advancing gender equality. As women are a majority among the world's poorest and as women's and girls' societal status and livelihoods are disadvantaged relative to men's and boys', it is therefore necessary to undertake specific measures (including women's empowerment) to redress the power imbalance between men and women.

Gender equality can only be achieved through partnership. This includes partnership between men and women. Gender equality will benefit society as a whole and men have an important part to play in changing attitudes and behaviours and transforming received ideas on roles and responsibilities. Senior management acknowledges an institutional mandate to promote gender equality. Senior management hold all those who work with development cooperation accountable for the implementation and success of the gender equality policy. Experience shows that high level management commitment and a supportive organisational structure and culture is necessary for a policy on gender equality to succeed.

Since the 1970s laws have been passed in Ireland to ensure that women and men receive equal pay for work of equal value, and to tackle discriminatory practices in recruitment and promotion.. There is no doubt that these actions have helped to address gender inequalities in Irish society. For example women's labour force participation rate has increased from 28% in 1971 to 51% today. The proportion of women at senior civil service levels has increased from less than 1% to 12%. And women's representation in the Dail has increased from 2% to 12%.