Gender Mainstreaming | Asia-Pacific Portal for Gender Equality

A group of women smiling at the camera © UN Women

What is Gender Mainstreaming?

Gender mainstreaming has been adopted internationally as a strategy to achieve gender equality. It involves the integration of a gender perspective in the preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, with an overall aim to promote equality between women and men and to fight against all forms of gender-based discrimination.

During the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, gender mainstreaming was recognised and highlighted as a critical and strategic approach to achieving gender equality commitments. The resulting Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action mandates all stakeholders in development policies and programmes, including UN organisations, member States and civil society actors, to take action in this regard.

The 1997 agreed conclusions of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) defined gender mainstreaming as: “The process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.”

As such, gender equality is the overarching and long-term development goal, while gender mainstreaming is a set of specific, strategic approaches as well as technical and institutional processes adopted to achieve that goal. Gender mainstreaming integrates gender equality in national public and private organizations, in central or local policies, and in services and sectoral programmes. In the long run, it aims to transform discriminatory social institutions, laws, cultural norms and community practices, such as those limiting women’s access to property rights or restricting their access to public space.

Regional Consultation on CSW68 © UN Women/Ploy Phutpheng

Mainstreaming Gender at ESCAP

ESCAP is dedicated to leading by example through its firm commitment to gender equality and gender-sensitive initiatives. We actively integrate a gender perspective into all stages of our activities—from preparation and design to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Our efforts are guided by the comprehensive UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP 3.0), the central UN framework driving results for gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals. ESCAP has consistently excelled in implementing this framework, having met or exceeded 94 per cent of SWAP 2.0 indicators—significantly outperforming the broader UN system average (see ESCAP SWAP Report for 2024). While UN-SWAP 3.0 introduces higher standards, ESCAP views these as opportunities to strengthen our accountability and impact further. ESCAP also fully supports the United Nations System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan and the United Nations System-Wide Gender Parity Strategy.

The ESCAP Gender Equality Steering Committee provides strategic direction and cohesive oversight for ESCAP’s gender equality initiatives. Chaired by the Executive Secretary, the Committee includes senior leadership and representatives from substantive divisions, sub-regional offices, and regional institutions. It guides the implementation of SWAP 3.0 as well as the United Nations System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan and the United Nations System-Wide Gender Parity Strategy.

A key priority for the Steering Committee is overseeing the implementation of ESCAP’s Gender Equality Policy and accompanying Action Plan. This policy sets forth ESCAP’s comprehensive commitments to gender equality, identifies clear institutional responsibilities, and ensures systematic integration of gender considerations across all ESCAP activities and programmes.

ESCAP highlights its gender mainstreaming efforts across its divisions, sub-regional offices, and regional institutions through detailed Gender Mainstreaming Progress Reports. These reports outline institutional policies, mechanisms, and strategies that embed gender considerations into ESCAP’s organizational culture, and highlight key achievements, SWAP results, training resources, and outcomes from commissions and committees addressing gender issues. Explore ESCAP’s latest gender mainstreaming progress report here.

Our Work on Gender Mainstreaming

At ESCAP, we are committed to mainstreaming gender in the work of all our divisions, subregional offices and regional institutions, as well as in our organisational culture.

The ESCAP Gender Equality Policy (2019-2023) details ESCAP’s commitment to the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of women in all its areas of work and in the equal representation of women in its staff. The Policy is accompanied by the ESCAP Gender Equality Implementation Plan (2019-2023) which aims to operationalize policies and commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women. The plan outlines the responsibility and accountability mechanisms to implement ESCAP’s policies and commitments. The Policy and its accompanying Gender Equality Implementation Plan have been fully aligned with the UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Complementing the Gender Equality Policy, ESCAP developed its Gender Parity Implementation Plan (2021-2023) to achieve equal representation of women and men in ESCAP.

ESCAP continues to regularly monitor and report on the implementation of its gender equality policy. Following the UN-SWAP requirements, ESCAP ranks its activities according to the Performance Indicators that are common to the UN system. In line with the UN-SWAP 2.0, the ESCAP Report for 2023 reflects key results contributing to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The summary, analysis and key insights from this report are included in the ESCAP UN-SWAP 2.0 Report Card.

Moreover, ESCAP reports annually on the gender mainstreaming efforts made by its different divisions, sub-regional offices and regional institutions. Our latest Progress Report on Gender Mainstreaming thus highlights the institutionalized policies, mechanisms and plans that integrates gender mainstreaming into ESCAP’s organizational culture, structures, and processes. It also provides evidence of direct and indirect interventions promoting gender equality in its work.

Rural girls in Myanmar using digital device © iStock

Induction Modules on Gender Equality

ESCAP offers interactive online Gender Equality Induction Modules tailored for national and local institutions, practitioners, and stakeholders across Asia and the Pacific. These short, self-paced modules provide an engaging introduction to core concepts, regional commitments, and challenges in achieving gender equality, empowering participants to effectively identify gender inequalities and apply appropriate mainstreaming tools in their fields. By enhancing gender knowledge, the modules foster greater awareness, challenge gender stereotypes, and strengthen capacities to advance gender-responsive policies and programmes aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 5. Please see the induction modules below:

What are the Induction Modules on Gender Equality?

The gender induction modules are 15-minute online courses that allow anyone to access insightful introductions and general knowledge of relevant topics related to gender equality and gender mainstreaming. They allow learners to access gender-related content at their pace and from anywhere at any time. Each gender induction module is interactive and includes a video or animation and audio to enhance the learning experience.

The aim of the gender induction modules is to make participants more aware of the relevance of gender in their work and to help them identify the appropriate tools to be used when mainstreaming gender.

Our gender induction modules provide participants with the relevant knowledge, skills and values that allow them to contribute to the effective implementation of the gender-mainstreaming strategy in their field, organisation, institution or country. In order to effectively mainstream gender in Asia and the Pacific, adequate theoretical knowledge about gender is key to identifying gender inequalities and gender gaps in any field of study or policy implementation.

The Asia-Pacific Gender Induction Modules serve to:

Understand concepts and key conventions related to gender equality in Asia and the Pacific
Explain the importance of fostering SDG 5 to promote inclusive and equitable sustainable development
Create awareness of gender stereotypes and biased associated with gender roles
Enhance gender knowledge to advance gender mainstreaming in policy strategies and plans at a national level
Encourage the evaluation of national programmes from a gender perspective

Key Conventions and International Commitments

ESCAP's induction module on key conventions and international commitments offers an overview of the most relevant international treaties relevant to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is monitored by the Committee on the Discrimination Against Women. States parties are expected to submit a national report to the Committee at least every 4 years. The convention covers three dimensions of the situation of women: legal status, reproductive rights, and cultural factors.

Gender-Inclusive Language for Gender Equality

This module addresses the challenge of gender discriminatory language and offers valuable insights into combating unconscious bias through gender-inclusive language. It provides comprehensive guidance on incorporating gender-inclusive language and emphasizes the importance of using correct pronouns. Participants will gain practical knowledge and skills to promote communication that is respectful, inclusive, and gender-sensitive.

Gender-discriminatory language is language that reinforces stereotypes, biases, or unequal treatment based on gender. This can perpetuate traditional gender roles and contribute to the discrimination of individuals based on their gender identity. Given the key role of language in shaping cultural and social attitudes, using gender-inclusive language, which does not discriminate against any particular sex or gender identity and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes, is a powerful way to promote gender equality.

The Care Economy

This module offers a comprehensive overview of the care economy in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing its definition, gender-based workload disparities, and its impact on female labor force participation rates. This module provides an overview of ESCAP's work on the Care Economy including a conceptual framework for formulating care policies and various measures for effective care policy implementation.

The care economy is an umbrella term used in reference to all forms of paid and unpaid care work provided by people as a necessary element of human survival, welfare, and economic stability. The provision of care work is the foundation of human life and has an intrinsic value being the precondition for a thriving and sustainable economy with a productive workforce. On average, women in Asia and the Pacific spend 4.1 times more time than men in unpaid care work.

Time Use Surveys

This module provides a detailed introduction to the objectives and methodologies of Time-Use Surveys (TUS) for evaluating the time individuals spend on paid and unpaid care work. Participants will gain comprehensive knowledge in the measurements and the classification of time-use activities. The module also addresses the benefits, challenges, and limitations of TUS.

In order to achieve SDG Target 4 and recognize the value of unpaid care and domestic work, it is vital to have data and information on unpaid care and domestic work. TUS provide information on the time people spend in all types of work in a given time period (generally a day or a week) as well as how much time people spend on different specified activities. They are the main statistical sources of gender-disaggregated data on unpaid care work in households.

Female Labour Force Participation

Coming soon

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

This module provides a detailed introduction to gender discrimination in the workplace, discrimination in career advancement and promotion, and workplace harassment. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the reasons for these types of discrimination and ways to address gender discrimination in the workplace.

Gender discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employee, worker, or job applicant is treated less favorably because of their sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. This can happen at all stages of employment and in both formal and informal sectors. In Asia and the Pacific, women also face discrimination in career advancement and promotion, occupying only 17% of all senior and middle management positions.

Gender Equality and Climate Change

Coming soon

Other

Coming soon