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LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE: LESSONS IN MAINSTREAMING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

SECTION 5 THE NORDIC MAINSTREAMING STRATEGY

The Nordic Council of Ministers provides a striking example of an inter-governmental institution which has taken active steps to incorporate gender equality issues into all areas of policy through its Programme for Nordic Co-operation on Gender Equality 1995-2000, adopted in March 1995. ¹⁴²

A three-year pilot Nordic Mainstreaming Project was launched in 1997, with the intention of developing methods and tools for mainstreaming. The Project runs both at the Nordic level, where common activities such as seminars, working groups, study visits and various programmes are arranged; and at the national level, with the development of specific sub-projects. The aim of the project at the Nordic level is to create a manual for a Nordic Model of Mainstreaming produced by the Group of Reference and Methodology. ¹⁴³ A training programme on mainstreaming methods has been developed in close co-operation with the Nordic Folk Academy. The 'umbrella' design of the Nordic project facilitates the sharing of experiences between the countries involved, while the co-ordination of activities through the Nordic Council of Ministers which commissions projects and reports, ensures that a range of different areas and approaches are addressed and provides a further level of monitoring and evaluation. The pattern of close, constructive co-operation which has emerged is founded on the strong cultural, historical and linguistic ties and firmly rooted democratic traditions which the Nordic countries share. ¹⁴⁴

Mainstreaming in the Nordic countries is aided by national machineries for equality work, the participation of women in public life and decision-making processes and political will to support the strategy. Results of the projects so far demonstrate that support from politicians and top-level management is essential, and that time must be allowed for the establishment of the projects. It has taken time for some of the national projects to get started due to difficulty in securing the active co-operation, rather than just the verbal agreement, of various managers and public officials. Mainstreaming project organisers have found that without this support it is not possible to identify and make visible the mechanisms which steer mainstreaming work. Problems have also arisen when 'champions' such as supportive managers have left their posts in the sector or organisation concerned. A need for more systemic collection and use of disaggregated data has also been identified, despite excellent practice in some areas; especially Sweden.

Tools and techniques used for mainstreaming differ between projects, many of which have involved developing new and innovative tools, for example the '3Rs method' for analysis and awareness raising developed by Swedish local government. ¹⁴⁵Mainstreaming project co-ordinators ,however, stress there is an ongoing need to develop new tools.

Training underpins the mainstreaming strategy: administrators in Sweden have had special training in equality issues and a training programme for politicians and top level managers is planned in Iceland. In Norway, there is a course for public officials on the gender perspective of labour market policies. Resources and training programmes for different target groups have been necessary to enable project leaders to carry out their projects, and knowledge of equality issues in general and in using the mainstreaming strategy in particular is seen as highly important.

Examples of national projects carried out under the Nordic Mainstreaming Project umbrella are given below.

MAINSTREAMING IN SWEDEN

Sweden has been identified as one of the most advanced examples of an integrated approach to equalities. ¹⁴⁶ Mainstreaming is proposed as a strategy to advance informal gender equality through its potential to challenge dominant norms and to change societal structures. In this way, mainstreaming may overcome continuing barriers to full equality, for example the 'gender neutrality' of Swedish equality law, the strong role of the male-dominated labour movement, and the tendency for the consensus, or corporatist model of governance to limit the access of non-traditional bodies to the policy-making and decision-making processes. ¹⁴⁷

Minna Gillberg distinguishes mainstreaming as the 'integration of a gender perspective' from the 'integration of women' approach which often views women rather than existing structures as the problem. She suggests that Swedish mainstreaming can be understood as being an umbrella term for various strategies and methods for achieving gender equality objectives. ¹⁴⁸

The Swedish government at national level works in partnership with regional administrative structures and with local government. In 1994, County Administrative Boards were given increased responsibility for equality and since 1995 they must have an equality expert who will co-operate with national authorities, unions, companies and other organisations and citizens. A medium-term strategic plan (1997-2000) for work promoting equality has been designed by each board and submitted to the Government. In common with other Nordic countries and the Netherlands, Sweden has a long history of state intervention in pursuit of gender equality and work is well advanced. Social attitudes are supportive and the policy environment is generally sympathetic. Sweden can be said to meet many of the conditions of an enabling environment including the existence of political will, strong national equality machinery with the ability to exert influence on the policy making process, research and training on gender issues, widely disseminated gender statistics, and high levels of participation of women in political and public life and in decision-making processes. ¹⁴⁹

Political Leadership

The Swedish approach involves high profile and long term political support and the use of a co-ordinated range of analytical, educational, organisational, and consultative strategies. Political commitment to mainstreaming at the highest level is restated each year in Prime Ministerial statements and progress is measured against specified national targets for gender equality. In 1994, the Swedish Government introduced a policy directive whereby gender equality perspectives must be taken into account in the preparatory proceedings of all decisions by the Cabinet. All ministers are responsible for gender impact analysis and work on promoting equality within their fields of responsibility.

Terms of reference have been introduced which state that all government committees of inquiry should analyse and discuss their proposals from a gender perspective. The gender impact - whether direct or indirect - of proposed changes in the labour market, in the economy, in the welfare system, in education, and so on, should be described. If the committee or the special commissioner considers it impossible or unnecessary to do so, the reason must be stated. Organisational and budgetary programmes also have to be analysed from a gender perspective.

Despite this high level political will, an evaluation by the Equality Affairs Division in 1997 found that only a third of reports to Cabinet has included a thorough gender perspective. The Government has initiated a project to identify ways of enhancing compliance and thus strengthening the Directive. The need for the development and systematic use of Gender Impact Assessment has been stressed and the Equality Affairs Division has proposed a simple Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) model which is currently being tested in different ministerial divisions. ¹⁵⁰

The responsibility for co-ordinating equality initiatives and for developing the mainstreaming strategy lies with the Minister of Equality Affairs. The responsibility for the promotion and enhancement of an equality and gender perspective in any specific policy area lies with the relevant Minister and all members of the government bear responsibility for achieving established gender policy objectives. The Minister of Equality Affairs is assisted by the State Secretary, Political Advisors and the Equality Affairs Division.

The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman is charged with the duty of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Equal Opportunities Act and initiating, directing and supervising efforts to promote equality. The Ombudsman has control of the existence of equality plans, and conducts random check-ups within different sectors and counties. The Ombudsman further has an educational role as a liaison between the Government and the public sphere and is head of the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, which has independent status.

Gender disaggregated statistics

Gender disaggregated statistics are seen as a central plank of 'mainstreaming' to raise awareness, inform policy making and to monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and programmes. Statistics Sweden, the official statistics services in Sweden first set up a special unit for the production and promotion of gender statistics in 1983. Since 1992 all statistics collected on individuals in Sweden have been disaggregated by sex in an annual publication: Men and Women in Sweden.¹⁵¹ In 1996 - as part of the overall gender mainstreaming strategy - work was carried out in the Ministry of Labour to present labour market gender statistics (see Section 2).

Organisation of 'mainstreaming'

Mainstreaming is co-ordinated by the Equality Affairs Division of the Ministry of Labour Law, Working Hours and Equality Affairs. The Division's responsibilities include:

• Ensuring that the terms of reference for government committees and commissions require them to analyse the gender perspective in their work and the gender impact of any proposals made;
• Scrutiny of (from an equal opportunities perspective) all proposals for government bills and other government decisions emanating from various ministries prior to discussion by cabinet, for example in planning processes and budgeting;
• Approval of public appointments to public boards and committees, including an evaluation of a particular recommended appointment against the targets and timetable to achieve equality on that body. The Swedish Government set the target that the official committees and government boards should have an equal representation of women and men by 1998;
• Co-ordination and the monitoring process. The Division arranges regular meetings with the State Secretaries of all Ministries on the development of mainstreaming;
• Initiation of promotional activities on equality and co-ordination of publicity; and
• Training: training courses on equality issues are offered to all Ministers, Commissioners (of government appointed committees) and their officials.

Although the responsibility for the development of mainstreaming tools and procedures to ensure that the gender impact of policy making is considered lies with the State Secretary of each ministry, the Equality Affairs Division has overall responsibility for developing tools and mechanisms for mainstreaming.

In 1995, the Government allocated funds to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities in order to stimulate the development of mainstreaming a gender perspective in local policy processes. A two-year programme was launched, JAMKOM, with the aim of examining how a committee or board can work systematically for gender equality in its own field of operation. The JAMKOM project led to the development of the '3Rs Method' for putting mainstreaming into operation which is used for initial identification and analysis of the problem. ¹⁵²

Methods: training seminars, gender experts

Awareness-raising and training seminars for top-level management were first organised in 1994 and are still high on the agenda. The Equality Affairs Division has developed a three-hour training course/seminar on equality issues for Ministers, senior civil servants, political advisors, special commissioners and the top management of public authorities. The main aim of the seminars is to provide information on the situation of women and men in Swedish society - using gender statistics and gender sensitive research. Other important topics raised at the seminars are how to implement the national goals for equality policy and what tools and mechanisms could be used in a mainstreaming strategy. To meet the need for gender training in the Government and the public administration, the Equality Affairs Division employs ten gender trainers, together with a gender expert and a representative from Statistics Sweden. The Swedish Government has made use of an academic adviser to assist in developing training programmes since 1995. Dr Agneta Stark has organised a series of seminars to which have been invited all Ministers, all press spokespersons, top officials in the civil service, the Swedish Bishops, vice-chancellors of all universities, the top regional state officers and all persons serving as director general of large state organisations. She notes that, 'as the Prime Minister attended the first seminar, it became impossible for anyone to claim that they could not spare the time!' ¹⁵³

In the Ministries, the seminars are followed up by regular meetings with the senior civil servant responsible for equality policy and the head of the Equality Affairs Division. Points discussed at these meetings include active measures to promote equality, gender impact analyses, the gender perspective of the budget and the representation of women on government boards and committees.

The Equality Affairs Division is piloting an analytical tool to assess the different effects of policy proposals on women and men. However, the government acknowledges that there is still a lack of experience on the use of gender impact assessment tools, both in the Government and in public administration. A mainstreaming working group of ministers, civil servants and local government politicians and practitioners has been set up which will sponsor seminars, hearings, research and pilot projects.

Swedish commentators note that the success of mainstreaming relies, in part, upon its legitimation and upon the ability of experts to demonstrate to other policy makers that a gender perspective adds knowledge to all kinds of work; 'flying experts' (see inset) have proved valuable in this respect. 'Flying experts' are temporarily seconded to various ministries and departments in order to help develop methods and routines which ensure a gender perspective in policy processes. The 'flying experts' are usually specialists from the Equality Affairs Division, but could also be outside experts.

Dr Agneta Stark, an academic who has advised the Swedish government on mainstreaming since 1995, argues that 'flying experts' need to adopt a listening approach and draw out the ideas that ordinary policy makers may have.

My tools are my ears. I sit down and listen. This initially surprises many of the civil servants and political officers I have worked with. They expected 'Gender Inspectors" rushing to tear them to pieces. And then their own thoughts, ideas and proposals emerge, slowly at first then at a faster rate from people who perhaps never presented such ideas before. Many women and men have great assets of gender awareness, and are mines of new and good ideas. Eventually, I have helped them to spread to others their new ways of working, the thing they have tried which failed and the actions that succeeded. It will be their responsibilities and their successes, not mine. That is, as I see it, the only way to safeguard lasting change. ¹⁵⁴

Figure 5.1 Sweden's 'Flying Experts'

Monitoring and follow-up

The Equality Affairs Division scrutinises budget documents which are crucial for progress towards equality between women and men. A gender perspective must also be taken into account in the budget dialogue between the Government and public authorities. In order to monitor the development of the mainstreaming process in government from 1994 to 1996, all ministries had to review the equality work in their own ministry and present a report to the Minister for Equality Affairs. The reports were compiled and presented to Parliament. In 1997 the ministries were asked to assess the effects of the special terms of reference (1994), stating that all government committees of inquiry should analyse and discuss their proposals from a gender perspective.

Some examples of mainstreaming projects are given below.

Youth project in Skelleftea

The Leisure and Recreation Department of Skelleftea municipality is conducting this project which aims to develop methods and procedures for guaranteeing a gender equality perspective in work with young people. ¹⁵⁵ The project was started in part in response to the migration of young people, and especially young women, from the area. A survey of men and women's cultural and leisure activities and interests carried out in 1998 found that young women had fewer possibilities to follow their interests than did young men. By incorporating a gender perspective into planning and delivery of leisure activities, the project aims to improve the facilities of the local authority and to better meet the needs of both young men and women.

The project participants, two youth centres, a youth activity "house", the Youth Council and four sports associations used the '3Rs method' to analyse their activities (see Section 2). Some examples of measures taken are:

• equal gender division in planning groups;
• mixed teams at competitions;
• bands with a majority of girls having priority at rehearsal halls;
• meetings where everyone is encouraged to talk;
• thinking before making decisions - what will be the consequences and who will be affected?

The project participants have reported that they are more aware of equality issues and think in a more gender-conscious way as a result of taking part in the project. According to the project organisers, although the project has had political support from the leaders of the participating organisations, some covert resistance was encountered, especially at the start of the project. Evaluations so far have stressed the 'giant step' between theory and practice in designing programmes and procedures aiming at effecting change. It is also noted that 'integrating a mainstreaming strategy demands knowledge, increased awareness and understanding and that this is a process and therefore will take time.' ¹⁵⁶

Committee for Gender Equality in a County in the North of Sweden:

The County Administrative Board of the County of Vasterbotten has taken the initiative to form a Committee for Gender Equality. The Committee, which is made up of leading officials and representatives from the public sector and trade-union organisations, sets the standards for the county's gender equality work. It also provides a forum for discussion on gender equality and space for the presentation of progress reports. The project aims to implement the regional strategy on gender equality 1996-2000 and to develop mainstreaming work within the respective authorities and organisations in the county. It aims to increase the representation of women on county boards, committees and working parties.

MAINSTREAMING IN NORWAY

Norwegian policy on equal opportunities has been influenced, as elsewhere, by global contexts, particularly the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and global conferences on women.

The Norwegian Government's Action Programmes (1986-1995) aimed to mainstream a gender perspective into the everyday work of all ministries. ¹⁵⁷ Since 1977 all Ministries have been responsible in principle for taking gender equality into account in their areas. Initially work was mainly concentrated in the fields of education and the labour market, development co-operation and the representation of women. With the increased representation of women in Parliament and Government in the mid 1980s, policies to promote better reconciliation of work and family responsibilities moved up the political agenda. At the same time, the Mainstreaming Action Programmes began to make this responsibility a reality in all Ministries by requiring them to take positive action measures to address inequality. The thrust of mainstreaming later turned to institutionalising this approach.

The first Action Programme to incorporate gender equality in the central administration ran from 1986-1990. Initially, 'integration' (mainstreaming) was seen as a way of initiating positive action measures in areas where equality issues were not previously considered. This definition evolved and, in the follow up programme 1991-1994, the government proposed that gender equality considerations be incorporated into all political decisions, including Bills to Parliament, all policy proposals and management tools, including the planning process and budgetary work. The programme was initiated by the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs and responsibility for implementation lay with the Ministry and the Unit of Gender Equality. In 1995 a brochure setting out the Government's commitment to gender mainstreaming was published and distributed to all employees of central government. The brochure was adapted and reproduced in English for the 1995 UN Fourth Global Conference on Women in Beijing. ¹⁵⁸ The guidelines outlined the Prime Minister's commitment to mainstreaming and set out the aims, objectives and requirements of mainstreaming. The then Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, set out her vision of mainstreaming:

To ensure gender equality, we must incorporate a gender perspective into all levels of public administration. This calls for an integrated approach, special measures and earmarked resources. ... Mainstreaming the gender perspective into all public activities is a more active policy of gender equality. Instead of having to introduce supplementary measures in order to make up for deficiencies, the gender concern must be incorporated from the very beginning. ... The long-term objective is that the gender perspective shall be an automatic reflex and influence all important decisions. ¹⁵⁹

In the Second Action Programme (1991-1994) the ministries were asked to incorporate gender-relevant objectives and measures into the newly introduced system of 'government by objectives.' The final monitoring exercise asked for results both in terms of gender sensitive political decisions and in terms of institutionalisation into administrative routines and practices. The two action programmes both involved regular reporting, placing of responsibility at both the decision-making and executive levels, bi-lateral meetings with each ministry with the co-ordinating ministry (national equality machinery), information/training seminars involving both external expertise and exchange of best practice among the ministries.

Follow-up action

In 1996 in a follow-up to the second Action Programme the Government agreed to:

• Organise a follow-up conference involving all the ministries, in the framework of follow-up to the Beijing Conference (April 1996);
• Continue monitoring of progress, and produce regular reports (at least every four years) to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament);
• Make State Secretaries (Deputy Ministers) responsible for ensuring gender equality is taken into account in the decision-making process in all ministries;
• Place responsibility also at the administrative level with named persons or specific positions;
• Develop guidelines to the implementation of a provision that all proposals are to be assessed for gender equality impact, and wherever major impact is identified, the proposal will be presented to the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs/national equality machinery for consultation and eventual further analysis; and
• Develop a training concept on gender equality to be made available to all the ministries, political and administrative decision-makers and other key persons.

Guidelines on gender impact assessment were published in March 1999. A seminar on gender equality based on one held in 1996 was held in February 2000, A seminar for politicians is planned for later in 2000. ¹⁶⁰

A report on gender equality was presented to the Storting in 1997 and 1999. A Committee of State Secretaries responsible for gender equality was set up in January 1998 and meets every six weeks. Regular members include the state secretaries, representatives of the Administration, of the Ministries for Employment and Administration, Business, Municipal and Regional Policy, Foreign Affairs, and Children and the Family. Other ministries are involved on an ad hoc basis. The committee is chaired by the representative of the Prime Minister's Office and the Secretariat is with the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. The committee discusses all policy and legislative proposals before they are presented to the Storting, with a view to ensuring that all relevant proposals incorporate a gender equality perspective.

A network of key persons for gender equality, involving both politicians and civil servants, has been set up and meets a minimum of once a year involving all the Ministries. In 1998, a seminar was organised to present the results of a three year evaluation of the Second Programme of Action and to present the challenges with a view to promoting gender equality in the fields of action of all ministries. While there is no current Action Programme, the mechanisms described above form the main instruments of the present strategy. ¹⁶¹

Assessment

The evaluation of the Action programmes are not available in English. According to the mainstreaming co-ordinators, while the programme was relevant to most policy areas, those of education, health, agriculture, trade and industry, violence and decision-making were particularly successful. The 'prerequisites' of political will, statistics and gender research were seen to have been met, but financial and human resources were argued to be lacking.

Consultative techniques were used as well as monitoring by reports, regular meetings, and networks. The participation of the ministries in developing their own policies with a gender perspective was viewed as essential. The actors involved in the project were the Government, State Secretaries, and the Administration. The regular meetings functioned as training which was needed to demonstrate the relevance of gender to the policy field.

The mainstreaming team encountered several problems. In particular, a sense in which gender equality issues were seen as no longer relevant had resulted in the exclusion of gender equality from the political agenda. A key issue for the programme was to enable participants to see the relevance of gender to their work, and this was not easy. Political will was found to be crucial in overcoming these problems, a guide to gender analysis has also been developed to raise awareness. This 'equality paradox' the sense in which equality was seen to have already been achieved - and therefore nothing else needed to be done - was identified as a barrier to mainstreaming in many of the Nordic countries.

Several examples of mainstreaming projects outside central government in Norway follow.

It is fun to be nice

Reinforcement Of Positive Behaviour - It Is Fun To Be Nice'¹⁶² is a project designed to change the attitudes and working methods of teachers and other education workers, to make parents more conscious of the gendered ways they may treat their children, and so to help boys and girls to better develop and interact together . Through raising awareness and challenging the assumptions of teachers, parents and pupils, the project aims to open opportunities for boys and girls to resist the constraining effects of gendered stereotypes. In particular, the project aims to encourage girls to articulate their own needs, set limits, have their say, raise their voices and take the lead. Boys have been encouraged to develop empathy and caring, practice intimate conversation, put feelings into words, solve conflicts without the use of violence and learn to take social responsibility.

The project is concerned with the policy areas of the labour market, education, social/family and research. It involves both national and local government and has been carried out by staff at a pilot school in co-operation with the Equality section in the Ministry of Education. The project is based on a belief that change should be practised at all levels of the system.

The project used a range of educational, consultative and participatory tools. At the time of the report, there were plans to develop an evaluation model with researchers at the University of Tromso to assess the impact of the project. Training was given to the staff of the school in the form of courses, filming of child-adult interaction, direct guidance, discussions and exchange of opinions. While the staff have come a long way in understanding their own reactions and attitudes, the need for more training has been recognised.

According to the project team, results so far appear positive: both staff and parents have discussed gender roles and have become more aware of their own attitudes and are to a certain extent able to alter their behaviour. Girls and boys at the school appear to have more respect for each other, to have learnt to express emotions, and become more able to handle insecurity and anger without taking it out on others. The working methods have made girls more visible due to the fact that they have practised voicing their own needs to fellow pupils and adults. They have learnt to a larger degree to draw up limits for themselves in addition to being systematically encouraged to take the lead. The project has given the boys the possibility to develop their caring behaviour. They have become better at expressing their emotions verbally and they have been taught how to resolve disputes and disagreements through discussion.

A number of problems were encountered during the project. They include difficulties in finding time to supervise staff sufficiently, the need to promote the project to parents, and the existence of other sources of influence on children's behaviour (e.g. television) which often conflict with the aims of the project. Motivating members of staff was sometimes difficult: some staff found working with attitudes that are related to 'private' and political issues frustrating, and the team noted that to work professionally with equality between the sexes makes people aware of the way they themselves have arranged their lives privately.

Mainstreaming requires reorganisation! The Ministry of Education, Research, and Church Affairs is rethinking organisation.

As a result of the Action Programmes on Mainstreaming, The Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs decided to reorganise its gender equality machinery to ensure that gender concerns were integrated more effectively into everyday work. The Ministry's Secretariat for Gender Equality, which had existed since 1981 was reorganised so that gender expertise was mainstreamed across all policy dimensions within the Ministry. The functions of the Secretariat had been to disseminate information on gender equality, organise lectures, conferences, and carry out the gender-proofing of text books; it had also conducted joint measures in co-operation with other agencies, particularly in the field of education. Resources were reallocated to provide a gender equality officer in each of the seven divisions of the Ministry with one-tenth of their time to devote to equality issues. A senior officer remains in charge of the Secretariat and co-ordinates the work and training of the gender equality officers. Each officer reports to the management of their division as well as to weekly joint equality officers meetings, and the co-ordinator has regular meetings with all heads of division. Responsibility for gender equality is organised both centrally, in the Secretariat, and in the daily routines of all divisions by these new structures.

FINLAND

Gender mainstreaming in Finland is being promoted through an extensive Equality Programme which was launched in 1997 to monitor the implementation of the National Action Plan agreed at the Fourth UN Conference on Women in Beijing(1995). The ambitious programme has plans for the implementation of around a hundred projects across a range of policy sectors and government departments. Mainstreaming is defined as the 'promotion of the equality of women and men in all policies and practices, irrespective of level or sector.' ¹⁶³ Every Ministry has contributed sector-specific mainstreaming projects to the programme, and programme implementation is monitored by a special committee which reports annually.

Developing Mainstreaming Methodology ( DMM) is part of the wider Equality Programme and forms one of its main target areas. DMM has also been selected as the Finnish contribution to the Nordic Mainstreaming Project (see above).

Funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (1998-2000), six Ministries are involved in the DMM project. Each runs its own pilot project which may vary in scope and focus but has a common goal of developing tools and methodologies which may be more broadly applied. The aim of DMM is 'to create a methodological package and an approach which can enhance the mainstreaming of equality in administrative activities and procedures as well as in staff development and training.' ¹⁶⁴The project is guided by the following questions:

• How should mainstreaming be defined and operationalised in different areas?
• What kind of techniques should be applied in the enhancement of equality in different areas?
• What kind of mainstreaming models can be constructed in different areas, and what is the impact of ethnic and socio-cultural factors?
• What is the added value of mainstreaming in current administrative culture?
• What are the characteristics of a Nordic mainstreaming methodology?

A Steering Board has been established comprising leaders of participating projects together with the overall project co-ordinator and the Secretary General of the Equality Office, who is also a member of the Equality Council. The Steering Board works in co-operation with the Monitoring Committee of the Equality Programme and with a group representing NGOs. The project co-ordinator is also a member of the Nordic Mainstreaming Project Group.

The following example of Mainstreaming in the Ministry of Labour is one of two projects selected as the Finnish contributions to the overall Nordic Mainstreaming Project. It is also one of the three case studies examined by the Sheffield Hallam team in their Criteria for the Success of a Mainstreaming Approach to Gender Equality project. ¹⁶⁵

Mainstreaming in the Ministry of Labour: Engendering Reorganisation.

An Equality Group, consisting of representatives of each of the seven departments of the Ministry of Labour was first created in 1980. This group decided to use the opportunity of large-scale structural change in 1997 to 'Engender the Reorganisation of the Ministry of Labour', and use this as their DMM project. ¹⁶⁶ The emphasis of the project is on promoting equality in the workforce.

The project was divided into three phases: firstly, an internal exercise aimed at assessing the position of men and women within the Ministry with reference to position and job content, and further using the process of reorganisation to secure a gender balance in these areas; secondly, involvement of several Ministries, led by the Ministry of Labour, in developing a National Action Strategy (NAP) to find new ways of breaking the sex segregated labour market; thirdly, discussion of findings with management in regional and local employment offices in order to raise existing gender consciousness and engender the provision of employment guidance and training.

While there were seen to be many desired outcomes of the project, the main aim was to test mainstreaming methodologies and tools and to identify those factors which may facilitate or impede implementation. The project team found that translating principles into practice was made difficult due to lack of 'gender know-how' and resources. The findings reinforce experience from elsewhere about the importance of high level support and political will, resources, and the need for understanding of equality issues for successful implementation. In practice, it has proved difficult to mainstream this work and progress has been achieved as a result of the commitment and will of the Equality Group and an informal women's network rather as a result of high level commitment. ¹⁶⁷

Highlighting the process

Looking at the process in more detail highlights the effect of these factors on mainstreaming. The first stage of the Labour project was to be the 'engendering of reorganisation', however, in the event gender mainstreaming was sidelined in this process. While reorganisation was carried out in a 'top-down' approach by two senior men, beginning in Autumn 1997, the task of highlighting the gendered implications was left to the Equality Group who decided to conduct a Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) in the Spring of 1998. At this point the 'engendering' part of reorganisation was still without a project co-ordinator or leader. The GIA involved collecting data on the position/rank and job content of male and female employees within the department. The data was used to design a questionnaire to assess the status and experience of equality within the Ministry. This stage was based on Levy's 'web of institutionalisation', a complex tool for gender mainstreaming which requires a high level of understanding of gender equality, relations and power structures ¹⁶⁸. The Ministry's web consisted of eleven elements describing external conditions for successful engendering and seven desired results. The questionnaire was used in three departments to assess the extent to which these criteria and outcomes had been met. The findings were that 'the conditions needed for engendering equality were not widely understood' ¹⁶⁹

An instrument for assessing the gender balance as part of annual human resources accounting procedures was created in autumn 1998, and the tool highlighted areas for improvement. This will be used again in 1999 and 2000 to assess the consequences of reorganisation.

The original intention for the second phase was that the Ministries would be responsible for the mainstreaming of their own contributions to the National Action Plan. Due to the lack of understanding and expertise of equality issues within the Ministries this was not possible. The mainstreaming specialist of the Labour Ministry was assisted by the personnel of the National Equality Office in gender proofing the texts. This process was combined with the 'nurturing of a creative dialogue' with the members of the NAP group such that this stage became a 'mutual learning process' ¹⁷⁰.

The third phase has not yet been implemented. While it has not been possible to implement the stages of this project as had originally been planned, the process has raised awareness within the Ministry of gender issues. Importantly it has demonstrated how much work there is still to be done, and the areas in which action is needed. The barriers experienced to mainstreaming, namely, the gender neutral organisational culture, weak managerial and political commitment, lack of resources, of gender knowledge and statistics, and of monitoring and evaluation, confirm previous findings on the necessary facilitating conditions for implementation.

ICELAND

The Icelandic plan for gender equality for 1998-2002 includes a commitment to integrating a gender perspective into all aspects of policy formulation, decision-making and outcomes by the state. Each minister undertakes to work on certain projects under the umbrella of his/her ministry, as well as working on joint projects decided by the government. A short description of the projects worked on under the government's umbrella is reproduced below: ¹⁷¹

Making all statistics gender specific: this project will be carried out by the Statistical Bureau of Iceland in collaboration with state institutions. Progress will be evaluated after two years by the Office for Gender Equality.

Evaluation of the extent to which policy formulation is based on gender equality: to be carried out by a government appointed committee.

Gender equality in state institutions: this project involves writing equal opportunities criteria into job descriptions for managers of state institutions and making particular reference to Article 6 of the Act on the Rights and Duties of Civil Servants in the Management Achievement Agreement. Article 6 addresses gender equality.

Women and economic affairs - women and economic power: a committee will be appointed to present a research proposal for a project regarding the economic power of women and men, and on where such power is embedded in Icelandic society. A recent publication by the Office for Gender Equality entitled Women and Power in Iceland demonstrates the need for such an analysis.

The Nordic mainstreaming project in Iceland: Sports and recreational activities of young people

The following project based in the City of Reykjavik and the town of Akureyri centres on the gender implications of sport and recreation in these two areas. The project aims to raise awareness and to train both elected representatives and officials (employees) who are responsible for policy formulation and implementation in the field of sports and recreational activities of young people. There are two main focal points to the project: the relations between the sports clubs and the municipal councils; and the organisation and activities of youth centres. There is political support for the project in the two municipalities, together with a special budget and designated project managers. The municipalities were chosen because of their established reputations for gender equality work.

The project began in Autumn 1997 and the first stage concentrated on the collection of disaggregated data on the sports clubs and youth centres. This led to the publication of a report in February 1998 of existing information on the status of young women and men at the sports clubs and youth centres. The report raised more detailed questions which formed the basis of the next stage of the project. The project runs until December 1999 and will concentrate on awareness-raising and changing attitudes and practices in the organisations involved. A final report will be prepared which will address the development of the project and include an evaluation of any change that has taken place and of the methods used for achieving this. There is also a second goal of evaluating and comparing the annual budget discussions of 1999 with 2000. It is hoped such comparisons will demonstrate an increasing awareness of gender issues amongst elected council members and the mainstreaming of equalities perspectives in spending and service plans.

Analytical, educational and consultative tools have been deployed in the project. These have included gathering and analysing existing information and data from a gender perspective, providing information and seminars for elected representatives and employees at all levels of activities, and consultation between the project managers, the staff at the Office for Gender Equality, and the equal status representatives of the municipalities.

Awareness-raising training has been carried out for elected council members - with assistance from a Swedish mainstreaming specialist. A more comprehensive course on mainstreaming is planned for elected municipal council members and top-level officials in the fields of sports and recreation.

The project is a joint initiative by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Office for Gender Equality in Iceland, and the Equal Status representatives of the two municipalities involved. The project managers and the two municipalities are in charge of implementation. Responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the project lies with the Nordic mainstreaming project, a special group of Nordic advisors/specialists, the Nordic project manager, and the Icelandic project managers and the Office for Gender Equality. The methods for monitoring are under discussion.

The actors involved in the project were the elected representatives, employees at the sports clubs and youth centres, and the two project managers. The employees of the sports clubs and youth centres were involved in the collection of data and information and received training on gender equality to enable them to do this.

The project team report that resistance was encountered in the form of lack of interest, even passivity, towards the project from the representatives of the NGOs responsible for the sports clubs, independent organisations which were usually managed/run by men. ¹⁷²

EVALUATIONS OF NORDIC MAINSTREAMING

Definitive evaluations of mainstreaming are probably premature - even in those countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Finland, which have considerable experience and expertise. Nordic experts stress that implementing a mainstreaming strategy is a long-term process with the need for ongoing investment and training. Mainstreaming is seen to promise much both in taking forward gender equality work and in improving the capacity of governments to deliver effective policy solutions to the complex socio-economic challenges facing the region. The Nordic mainstreaming strategy has attracted much international attention and the region continues to be viewed as one of the world leaders in gender equality. Mainstreaming has already effected changes in working practices and policy-making in some sectors, although implementation has been uneven. There is greater awareness of the connections between mainstreaming and effective governance:

Gender awareness and analysis are not supposed to ensure that all decisions will be 'good for women' - whatever that could mean. They instead form an essential basis for decision-making, ensuring that the relevant facts concerning women and men of all ages, classes and ethnic backgrounds are presented before decisions are made, not after. This is a question of efficiency. ¹⁷³

The following factors can be identified as contributing to the relative success of the Nordic mainstreaming project:

• Top level political support of mainstreaming. For example, in Sweden and Norway commitment to mainstreaming is regularly restated in prime ministerial statements; in Norway equality goals have been built into government Action Plans. The importance of specific resources for equality work is also recognised;
• High levels of women's representation in political and public decision-making;
• Integrated mainstreaming systems. For example, a strong co-ordinating structure exists at Nordic Council level including a Nordic Project Manager responsible for implementation and monitoring. Within individual countries, Sweden and Norway have particularly well developed systems with specialist co-ordinating structures, inter-departmental working and collaboration at different levels of government;
• Development of innovative tools and methodologies. There has been considerable investment in developing and testing tools and methodologies. For example, the use of 'flying experts' has been piloted in Sweden. Swedish local government has developed the '3Rs method' of awareness raising and analysis which has been adopted elsewhere. In Norway, Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines have been developed; and packages of mainstreaming methodologies and tools have been compiled in a number of participating countries including Finland. All countries are contributing to a Nordic Mainstreaming Manual;
• Gender disaggregated statistics are recognised to form a central plank of mainstreaming work. Sweden is well advanced in the collection and production of gender disaggregated statistics (see annual Men and Women in Sweden); Iceland's Statistical Bureau is also committed to produce gender disaggregated statistics.
• Sharing experiences and good practice. Collaboration between the Nordic countries has provided a supportive environment through which progress can be made in all countries. The Nordic Mainstreaming Newsletter provides a forum for dissemination of ideas and lessons as do common activities including seminars, working groups, and study visits. For example, mainstreaming training in Iceland has been facilitated through the assistance of Swedish expertise.

Mainstreaming experts in Sweden, Norway and Finland identify a number of key issues and difficulties which contribute towards the uneven development - and in some cases to the stalling - of mainstreaming initiatives. They include:

• A lack of knowledge. Shortfalls in knowledge of gender issues are reported amongst both politicians and officials. For example, The Swedish Equality Affairs Division reports that many do not understand what is expected of them or what it means (in a concrete way) to take a gender perspective into account in their everyday work. A common misunderstanding is that work on promoting equality only deals with personnel issues, for example, by setting targets for the recruitment of women or the promotion of women as managers. In Norway, many public officials are still unclear at to 'what mainstreaming is.'
• Insufficient resources. For example, external evaluation of Norway's two action plans (1986-1990 and 1991-1994) highlighted that insufficient human resources were allocated by the co-ordinating body to the co-ordination and day-to-day follow-up with the Ministries. ¹⁷⁴
• Risk to specialist units and projects. There have been instances where mainstreaming in the public sector in Nordic countries has been interpreted as the dismantling of specific equalities machinery. This version of mainstreaming is viewed as an excuse to stop gender equality work. ¹⁷⁵
• A lack of tools and techniques. Monitoring and evaluation are seen as common weaknesses in implementation strategies. For example, in Norway, the emphasis on integrating gender issues into management tools has not been entirely successful. The general guidelines for policy proposals are seen as too weak and lacking any decisive effect until there is active monitoring of implementation. The policy processes and day to day work in many ministries is not much influenced by the formally adopted plan of action or other formal management tools. The Swedish government acknowledges that it lacks experience in monitoring and impact assessment methods.
• The 'Nordic equality paradox'. Formal equality legislation in Nordic countries is well advanced. This has led to complacency in certain quarters and the assertion that mainstreaming and other equalities work is no longer necessary. The paradox ¹⁷⁶ exists in that while pride in status with respect to equality is projected outwardly, advances already achieved are used as an excuse for not continuing and strengthening equalities work.
• Covert and overt resistance. Negative attitudes remain a problem in some instances: gender equality may be considered outdated and politically not interesting. Nordic mainstreaming experts argue that the recognition and understanding of gender relevance in any given policy area relates to the level of enthusiasm with which the mainstreaming approach is met.
• Reliance upon individual champions/ vulnerability to political and organisational change. Changes in political leadership can lead to a dilution of support for mainstreaming. Lack of continuity at the executive level in many ministries has resulted in loss of knowledge and lack of sustained expertise. Gender equality remains in many instances dependent on individual commitment, with the danger that committed individuals experience 'burn out' from the overload of work. A self-sustaining process has not yet been established and ongoing training and awareness-raising is seen as necessary for the foreseeable future. ¹⁷⁷

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