Regional Symposium on Gender Mainstreaming in the Asia-Pacific Region

Gender mainstreaming was endorsed as a global strategy for the promotion of gender equality in the Platform for Action from the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). A definition of gender mainstreaming and clear directives on what the implementation of gender mainstreaming implies were provided in the ECOSOC agreed conclusions 1997/2. Gender mainstreaming is defined as: “…the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.”

The mandate for gender mainstreaming was further reinforced in the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly in June 2000. In 2001, ECOSOC resolution 2001/41 called for greater attention to gender mainstreaming in the work of ECOSOC and its functional commissions, including through follow-up to the implementation of the ECOSOC agreed conclusions 1997/2.

Efforts are underway within the United Nations to encourage greater attention to gender perspectives in the work programmes of all entities in the system and to support the efforts of Member States at national level. The regional commissions support implementation of the gender mainstreaming strategy at regional and sub-regional levels.

Experience from both the United Nations and Member States contexts has shown that the provision of opportunities for exchange of ideas, experiences and good practice on gender mainstreaming is a fruitful means of increasing awareness, commitment and capacity to implement the strategy. During a five-year period, 2000-2005, symposia on gender mainstreaming will therefore be organized in all regions to encourage increased dialogue and exchange of experiences on gender mainstreaming within the regions. The symposia will be organized through a collaboration between the Office of the Special Adviser on Women and Gender Issues and the Division for the Advancement of Women in New York and the five regional commissions.