Gender mainstreaming - objectives

Gender mainstreaming wants to contribute towards a gender-sensitive society where solidarity, opportunities and responsibilities are shared by women and men in equal measure. Everyone is to enjoy the life they determine in accordance with their individual skills, their needs and their desires.

Once this is achieved equality, instead of being treated as an aside, will be a natural element of all processes and measures. Women and men will no longer be seen as a uniform group of human beings, but will have their social, ethnic and age differences taken into account.

General equality objectives include:

• Equal career opportunities for women and men
• Fair distribution of unpaid and paid work among women and men, wages and salaries that women and men can live on independently
• Equality of women and men with regard to political representation and participation
• Enhancement of gender roles and standards for women and men, elimination of restricting standards
• Same personal freedoms for women and men, protection against all forms of aggression

Identifying users of public services and their different expectations increases the chances for politicians and administration staff to really address people’s concerns. It allows them to reconcile public services and projects with citizens’ needs, while raising planning accuracy, quality and success of services.