Gender Mainstreaming Trajectory

This DPRN Gender Mainstreaming Trajectory covers three stages in three years (2008-2010). The first stage is devoted to ‘Taking Stock': review of what has been done on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the Ministry for Development Cooperation, Dutch NGOs and universities so far. It seeks to learn what policies and strategies are being pursued, and what can be learnt from evaluations that have been taken up so far. In addition to that, we aim to sketch the international context of gender mainstreaming by taking a close look at the recent review process of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: what does the Paris agenda imply for women's empowerment and gender mainstreaming, and more importantly how are gender issues addressed in the Declaration and the review process of the implementation of the Paris Declaration?

The outcomes of the reflection of the first year will set the stage for the second and third phase of the Trajectory. In those latter two years, specific thematic policy fields will be subject to further scrutiny. Which policies and strategies on women's empowerment and gender equality are formulated and implemented in those fields? How do they conceptualize women's agency and/or gender relation and inequalities? How effective are they, and what barriers hamper them? How are gender concerns addressed or silenced in those fields? What opportunities are present for furthering gender mainstreaming in those fields? The objective is to strengthen analysis, deepen insight, and strengthen policy formulation as well as strategies for implementation. A ‘Reversed Dialogue' with Southern institutes and experts on women's empowerment, gender equality and gender mainstreaming will take a central place in the second year. The exact policy domains on which the Trajectory will focus will be decided at the end of the first on the basis of the ‘Taking Stock' exercise. At the end of the third phase titled ‘Back to the Future', we intend to come full circle, and relate the insights on the policy domains back to the ‘taking stock' insights, in order to further strategize future collaboration.