Excerpt from Communities and Local Government's
Gender Equality Scheme
Annex 3
METHOD USED TO DEVELOP THE GENDER EQUALITY
SCHEME
DEVELOPING THE
BROAD CONTENT
1. The Gender Equality Scheme has been developed
using several parallel approaches to enable Communities and Local
Government to ensure that it delivers real progress towards gender
equality. A steering committee was set up to act as a sounding
board for developing the Scheme.
2. The content of the scheme evolved through:
— Screening of the Department's policies,
programmes and functions.
— Assessment of existing evidence and
research.
— Consideration of issues already known
to policy leads through regular involvement with gender organisations.
— Consultations involving gender equality
experts and groups who represented a range of gender equality
interests.
For internal activity
— Consultations with the Trade Unions
on pay and flexible working issues.
— Consultation with procurement colleagues
on how the gender duty might be integrated.
— A further top level audit of mainstream
programmes, policies and initiatives to compile strategic objectives
for the scheme.
SCREENING
3. A questionnaire was used to enable managers
to assess the impact of their policies, programmes or functions
on delivering gender equality, and to identify what evidence was
currently held, or needed to be gathered. Advisory sessions were
offered on a one-to-one basis to assist in this process.
4. Responses to the questionnaire gave information
on:
— Broad policy, programmes and function
aims.
— Assessment of how these may impact
differently on men and women.
— Availability of monitoring data on
the effect of policies in terms of promotion of equality between
men and women, and ensuring that services and functions take account
of the different needs of men and women.
— How policy evaluation and monitoring
could take account of outcomes for men and women.
— Inclusion of stakeholders representing
gender interests in policy development and evaluation.
— Any further actions that might be
taken.
ASSESSMENT OF
SCREENING RESPONSES
5. The policy leads on gender equality assessed
managers' screening responses, considered these against the priority
issues identified by stakeholder groups, and developed draft actions
based on these. The draft actions were discussed with managers
in preparation for inclusion into the Action Plan in the Gender
Equality Scheme.
CONSULTATIONS WITH
STAKEHOLDERS
6. Policy leads on gender identified a range
of issues to help focus discussions with stakeholders about the
Department's policies and programmes. These included views on
how to:
— Raise awareness about gender issues.
— Gain more evidence about gender impact.
— Contribute towards the reduction
of women's relative poverty.
— Enable more full participation by
women in the decision-making processes.
— Increase the number of women recruited
and retained in regeneration and built environment professions.
— Improve safety and perceptions of
safety in public places for women and young men.
— Ensure gender is addressed in planning
policy.
7. The Trade Union side was consulted on
issues of pay and flexible working proposals for staff within
the Department. Procurement colleagues were consulted on any gender
equality issues.
8. We also held three consultation events,
one organised by the Women's National Commission, one by Women's
Resource Centre, one by the Women's Design Service. Each event
was attended by representatives of 10-15 different organisations.
Others were given the opportunity to make written representations.
In addition, we had individual meetings with some stakeholders,
eg with Oxfam, Men's Health Forum, and A:gender
9. The result of all these discussions were
analysed to identify the specific actions which would be required
within existing and future policy, and a judgement made about
whether these were within the remit of this Department's responsibilities.
IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES
10. A top level audit of policies relevant
to the gender duty was carried out to identify where there were
strong gender equality interests. We have considered how new and
emerging policies and programmes can help to promote gender equality,
and reflected on how we might assess our past performance on gender.
This was combined with the consultation results and compiled within
headline themes. Out of this, three strategic objectives were
identified, discussed and agreed by the Department's Permanent
Secretary, Directors General and Directors as areas which should
be treated as a priority for gender equality objectives.
AGREEING THE
ACTION PLAN
11. An iterative process was used to secure
agreement on specific actions that supported the strategic objectives
from senior managers. Discussions took into account the proportionality
and relevance of the proposed actions, as well as the timescale
for delivery.
TESTING THE
OBJECTIVES
12. We obtained informal views from the
EOC about our general direction of travel for the gender equality
Action Plan.
AGREEING THE
GENDER EQUALITY
SCHEME
13. We brought the outcomes of all these
strands together and identified three strategic priority objectives
which we will deliver through our partners and stakeholders. Agreement
for the Scheme was secured from the Permanent Secretary and Departmental
Board, as well as from Ministers. The final product was published
on the Department's website on 30 April 2007.
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