Promoting gender equality in partner countries – an evaluation of Sida’s mainstreaming strategy

Mainstreaming Gender Equality: Sida’s support for the promotion of gender equality in partner countries. Britha Mikkelsen, Ted Freeman, Bonnie Keller et al. Sida Evaluation 02/01. Background Equality between women and men has been on the agenda for development co-operation since the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women, where a majority of the world’s states recognized that gender equality is not only a central human rights issue, but also an essential precondition for sustainable poverty reduction. In 1996, gender equality was established by the Swedish parliament as one of six goals for Swedish development co-operation. The following year, Sida presented its action programme for the promotion of gender equality in partner countries. The programme defines gender equality as equal rights of women and men to influence, participate in, and benefit from development co-operation. Sida’s action programme incorporates a mainstreaming strategy, whereby gender equality concerns should pervade all development policies, strategies and interventions. Mainstreaming aims to ensure that women as well as men are involved in all stages of cooperation planning, implementation and follow-up, so that development processes meet the needs and interests of both women and men.