Week 3
Dates: 6th to 12th June
Moderator: Nite Tanzarn (more about Nite)
Theme: Examining Policy gaps – how to bridge the gap between transport policy and gender policy and translating policy into practice.
Click here to view introduction to the theme
Click here to view discussion archive
Questionnaire: As part of this weeks theme we have compiled a questionnaire to capture the policy environment for transport and gender in different countries. Please help us by taking 10 minutes to download the questionnaire (word doc 35kb), fill in your responses and email to gatnet@ifrtd.org.
Click here for the results so far..
Summary of discussions:
On General Experiences of Mainstreaming Gender in Transport
South Africa has established an enabling framework for transformation of gender inequalities and has put in place institutional mechanisms to facilitate the achievement of gender equality goals. Lesotho has a gender strategy for transport and an officer taking on the function of gender within the ministry responsible for transport.
In Peru, PROVIAS RURAL, a special project for rural transport has a gender policy and strategy. The project’s Promotion and Transference Management Unit is responsible for mainstreaming gender.
Uganda’s Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications (MoWHC) has prepared a Policy Statement that provides the operational framework for mainstreaming gender in the roads sub-sector. The Policy Statement commits the MoWHC to mobilise and allocate financial and technical resources to implement strategic actions, many of which require modifying, reorganising and improvement of the sub-sector institutional, operational and regulatory procedures and processes. The policy statement has inbuilt incentives to mainstream gender. The ministry has also prepared gender-mainstreaming guidelines to translate the policy statement into action at planning and project levels. Institutional mechanisms to mainstream gender include an environmental liaison unit as well as a gender focal point.
In the UK, a gender and transport auditing checklist provides the operational framework for mainstreaming gender in the sector. The checklist is also used for monitoring the progress of implementation. The Mobility and Inclusion Unit of the Department of Transport provides the technical oversight for incorporating gender.
On Lessons Learnt and Good Practices
1. A wide gap between policy and practice.
2. Mainstreaming guidelines and strategies that are not supported by policies
or statutory instruments are largely disregarded.
3. Men predominate in national decision making and shape policies. Therefore,
mainstreaming initiatives that do not specifically target them are not
effective.
4. Mainstreaming is a long-term process that requires dedicated technical
and financial resources.
5. Gender mainstreaming is a relatively new concept that requires awareness
creation of policy makers and capacity building of transport practitioners.
6. Projects or programmes that deal with labour-based road maintenance
initiatives provide scope for promotion of gender equality in road maintenance
teams and in the promotion of small-scale women contactors.
Gender mainstreaming initiatives have, in many countries, not been sustained for long enough. As such, there are very few examples of practice from which to determine good practice. The few good practices that were highlighted include:
1. The UK Gender and transport checklist
2. The Transport for London Action Plan on gender.
3. Having women in decision-making is likely to attract other women to
senior positions.
On Challenges
1. Inadequate conceptualisation of gender mainstreaming in the transport
sector at policy and implementation levels.
2. A substantial gap between bilaterals, multilaterals and other 'northern'
development agencies rhetoric and practice. Donors either have a poor
understanding of gender, are not committed to gender mainstreaming, do
not have the capacity “to do gender”, or mainstream gender
insufficiently.
3. The relatively strong national commitments to gender are not translated
into action in the transport sector.
4. Gender mainstreaming is perceived to be donor-driven, something to
be done as a condition for accessing funds.
5. Putting gender on the transport agenda and keeping it there, is difficult.
6. Under-representation of women in transport decision-making.
7. Inadequate institutional support essential for networking on gender
and transport.
8. Under-resourced women’s professional networks.
9. Policy shifts towards the delivery of public services by the private
sector whose overall motive is profit maximisation rather than promotion
of (gender) equity.
10. Inadequate technical and financial resources to sustain gender mainstreaming
initiatives.
11. Transport policy not informed by comprehensive gender focused research.
12. Inadequate capacities to mainstream gender in the transport sector.
13. Gender increasingly being subsumed in diversity debates: race, ethnicity,
and disability thus becoming more invisible.
14. Assigning the responsibility of mainstreaming to institutional units
or focal points results into compartmentalisation of gender with the rest
of the staff feeling it is not their responsibility.
15. In much of Africa, women are unable to take advantage of employment
opportunities in the transport sector due to lack of information, domestic
work burden, and established societal norms.
16. Conventional transport planning approaches emphasise technical aspects
and economic returns on investments. Gender is regarded as secondary and
is categorised in the “cosmetic” design aspects.
On how gender can be made explicit and verifiable at institutional and operational levels including phases of transport policy formulation
1. Political will to develop inclusive gender sensitive policies that
are not instrumentalist in nature, i.e. women should be beneficiaries
of policy and not be used as the means to implement policy.
2. Develop robust audit tools and processes to assess the progress of
gender integration into the transport sector.
3. Develop methods to review, revise and improve the performance ('retrofit')
of existing transport policies and projects to integrate gender.
4. Develop a strong body of evidence located in a sustainable data base
that can be used to present the “gender” case as and when
required.
5. Policy makers should motivate the private sector, possibly through
incentives, to be sensitive to gender in the delivery of transport services.
6. Policy makers should allocate adequate financial and human resources
to mainstream gender in transport.
7. Push for the reconstitution of a fuller gender and transport programme
at the World Bank.
8. Request DFID for a targeted programme on gender transport such as addressing
the high maternal mortality rates in Africa.
9. Build women’s capacity to take advantage of opportunities inherent
in transport.
Concluding Remarks
The week’s discussion showed that something is being done to incorporate gender in transport. There are a number of lessons learnt but a few good practices. Many challenges remain and in order for these to be addressed, there is need to work towards a more active, calculated and conscientious engagement between theory and policy/practice. This requires networking and community-building and gatnet is well-positioned to provide the fora for this to happen.
1. How do we institutionalise gender auditing in the transport sector?
2. How do we develop and sustain a good moderated gender and transport
data base?
3. How do we stimulate change among bilaterals, multilaterals and other
'northern' development agencies?
4. How do we move from policy rhetoric and minimise “evaporation”
of gender in practice?
5. How does gatnet use the forthcoming Gender and transport conference
(May 2006 in Port Elizabeth South Africa) and other fora to promote/strengthen
gender sensitivity in transport policy and practice?
