Everywhere/Nowhere: Gender Mainstreaming in Development Agencies

Gender mainstreaming emerged in early gender and development work and gained strength following the 1975 Conference on Women in Mexico City. After three decades of gender and development approaches, and a more recent emphasis on gender mainstreaming, Everywhere/Nowhere presents a timely reflection on the challenges and opportunities development agencies have faced as they attempt to translate gender mainstreaming policies into practice. Reports on gender mainstreaming within development agencies tend to concentrate on technical solutions with little attention to the political changes necessary for transforming the mainstream. Technical solutions (such as quantitative information about the number of female staff members hired or the allocation of a certain amount of resources to gender-related activities) are more frequently reported and more easily measured. An emphasis on technical solutions has resulted in limited impact within organizations and minimal changes to gender inequitable relations. Development agencies and their staff members are, however, finding innovative - or subtle - strategies to transform the mainstream through networking, coalition-building, and leadership initiatives. This book examines these approaches and analyses their contributions to gender mainstreaming.