1. Meeting of the ESF Committee, Vilnius, 26.09.2013
The benefits of ESF for increased gender equality in the EU Member States
Meeting of the ESF Committee,
Vilnius,

2. Vision:
Making equality between women and men a reality for all Europeans and beyond.
Mission:
Support better policy Making at EU
and Member States levels.
Build awareness among decision makers and the public of progress and challenges in implementing gender equality policies.

3. Gender-based Violence
Data
Indicators
Good Practices
Methods & Tools
EIGE Reports for the Presidency of the EU Council
EU Gender Equality Index
GE Index
EU Council
Gender-based Violence
Gender Mainstreaming

4. The Gender Equality Index

5. Relevant projects:
Review of the Institutional Mechanisms for gender equality in the EU;
Overview of gender mainstreaming implementation in the EU, including gender impact assessment;
Analysis of gender training in the EU.

6. Institutional mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in the EU Member States
Structures
Gender equality central structures
In all EU Member States institutional capacity to implement gender mainstreaming differs.

7. No countries were found as having truly institutionalised gender mainstreaming, protecting it against political and leadership changes.

8. Employment and education are the most mainstreamed areas

9. Main findings:
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10. Main findings: GM needs to be better embedded in the policy process;
Often is applied on a “a la carte” basis;
GIA and other MTs are used randomly;
Not enough attention is paid to the structural roots
of inequalities;
There is no automatic correlation between
the overall institutional capacity for gender
mainstreaming within a country and the ways
in which this is implemented in the selected
policy areas.
Image courtesy of -Marcus-/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

11. Main findings : Image courtesy of xedos4/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Tom Curtis/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

12. Driving forces and obstacles for gender mainstreaming:
Important drivers for gender mainstreaming:
Legislative framework;
Gender expertise;
Capacity development/Gender training
Some of the training organized with the financial support of major EU funding programmes like PROGRESS and ESF.
Image courtesy of digidreamgrafix/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

13. Recommendations for Member States:
Establish or strengthen an inter-ministerial structure and ensure enhanced networking and cooperation within the structure and consultation with the governmental body on gender equality;
Introduce legal obligations for the use of gender mainstreaming tools and methods, including gender analysis, gender impact assessments and gender budgeting;
Strengthen the legal and institutional commitment to improving gender competence of civil servants across the different sectors.
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

14. Slow progress towards the integration of gender considerations in the EU policy-making process: The case of EU structural funds
Three identified challenges:
Coherent approach to gender mainstreaming.
Structural support to help the actors working with the ESF to mainstream gender.
Availability of tools for assessing the impact of allocated funds to women and men.

15. Driving forces and obstacles for gender mainstreaming:
ESF OPs can contribute to advancements mainly by:
Innovating;
Reinforcing;
Complementing.
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuone/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

16. Recommendations for ESF Managing Authority:
Cooperation with gender equality institutions and gender experts;
Establishment of gender mainstreaming support structures;
Provision of technical assistance, including training for policy makers and implementers;
Facilitation of exchange of good practices:
ESF Jämt – Process Support in GM (Sweden),
The Valtava GM Development Programme (Finland),
The European Community of Practice on GM (European Commission).
Image courtesy of Graur Codrin /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

17. www.gendercop.com Recommendations :
Consult the European Standard on Gender Mainstreaming in the ESF
Build a “critical mass” of ESF key actors in MS with capacity to integrate gender into their working areas
Aggregate the learning on Gender Equality from ESF programmes into gendered policy messages
Use new gender knowledge to improve policies
Consider becoming a part of the Community of Practice on Gender Mainstreaming

18. Contacts Virginija Langbakk – Director
Therese Murphy – Head of Operations
Barbara Limanowska – Senior Gender Mainstreaming Expert
Priya Alvarez – Gender Expert
Indre Mackeviciute – Gender Expert
Maurizio Mosca – Gender Expert