Evaluation of the National Programme 2008-2015 for Gender Mainstreaming in the Swedish Municipalities and Counties Presentation at the Mayors Conference “Improving Municipal Service Delivery and Democracy: The Role of Innovation and Intergovernmental Cooperation” Miami, June 13-16, 2016 Arne Svensson, Professional Management, Sweden

The Programme for Sustainability Gender Equality The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) was granted SEK 240 million by the Swedish government through the Programme for Sustainability Gender Equality 2008-2015 to support the work of integrating the gender equality perspective as a natural part of all decision-making, i.e. gender mainstreaming.

Gender Equality Gender equality means that structures and decision-making processes neither privilege nor discriminate women or men, in all their diversity.

Gender Mainstreaming The European Commission defines gender mainstreaming in the following way: “Gender mainstreaming is the integration of the gender perspective into every stage of policy processes – design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation – with a view to promoting equality between women and men. It means assessing how policies impact on the life and position of both women and men – and taking responsibility to re-address them if necessary.”

Goal and Strategy Gender equality is the goal Gender mainstreaming is the strategy to achieve this goal and positive actions are one way to compensate for existing inequalities

Dual Approach The European Union recommends the dual approach – gender mainstreaming as well as specific actions for men or women.

Evaluation Methodology Desk studies, including all Project reports and the the annual reports from the Programme to the Government Web survey to all Project owners Web survey to all Project leaders Web survey to all participants in training (Training package) Interviews with users of the services and other stakeholders Case studies Statistical analysis

Each Project Analysis (Is it the group of women or men that benefits most from the present situation? Which group would gain most from a change?) Objectives and results indicators Design (changes of policies, routines, behaviour etc) Implementation (changes of policies, routines, behaviour etc) Monitoring progress (statistics etc)

Results (1) Significant effects for the users of services in 5 % of the municipalities Improvements in behaviour among staff in most municipalities (76 %) Improvements in policies, routines and working methods in every second municipality Improvements in M&E in one third of the municipalities

Results (2) The most significant results were achieved in municipalities that combined a number of means: New management systems New policies Specific goals from the politicians and the most senior level of management, with a requirement to provide feedback on defined indicators at regular intervals Training including  awareness-raising sessions New M&E system providing statistics based on gender Benchmarking with other organizations providing examples of good practice

Results (3) No effects of the special Training package when provided isolated

Example 1: Home care for elderly 80+ Before (average) Women 39 hours/week Men 30 hours/week After (average) Women 43 hours/week Men 40 hours/week

Example 2: Education – Merit rating after compulsary school Before (average) Girls 216 Boys 193 After (average) Girls 220 Boys 215

Conclusions (1) Working effectively for increased gender equality in services demands a long-term approach and a continuous process of change. Political commitment and demand for results, specific assignments and follow-up of results and feed-back. Politicians and management therefore need to establish both long-term and short-term goals with results indicators.

Conclusions (2) Requires inventiveness – no single method works everywhere. It entails testing different methods and learning from experience. CD approaches need to be highly contextual, iterative and flexible. Local adaptation is required to build on capacity assets and bridge the gaps.

Conclusions (3) The evaluation confirms the need for an approach working at three levels: System level (Enabling environment) Organizational level Individual level The evaluation clearly shows the importance of understanding the relationship between all three levels in the design of the process of change.

Conclusions (4) In order to ensure that all key actors are mobilized developing the following skills are required: An understanding of the nature of gender inequalities and their negative impact on society and the economy; Awareness of the role which effective programme implementation can play in ensuring better gender equality; Knowledge about concrete actions which can be undertaken to ensure gender mainstreaming at all stages of the implementation process.

Conclusions (5) Knowledge and change in behavior should be brought about by a combination of a variety of means including: New management systems New policies Specific goals from the politicians and the most senior level of management, with a requirement to provide feedback on defined indicators at regular intervals Training including  awareness-raising sessions Providing data (statistics) Providing examples of good practice