Welcoming remarks by
Mr. Luc Stevens
UNDP Resident Representative
Gender Sensitization Workshop for UNDP Staff and Project Coordinators
22, 23 & 24 July 2007
Dear Colleagues and staff,
Good morning,
I am delighted to welcome you all to this workshop and truly appreciate your willingness to learn more about gender equality, a topic that is high on the agenda of UNDP, the UN as a whole and International agencies. Gender equality also, receives increasing attention by the Jordanian Government as a national priority.
Gender equality is not a ‘women’s issue’ but concerns and fully engages men as well as women. Gender discrimination, violence, unequal access to resources, opportunities and basic services, women’s modest representation in politics and business, and the power imbalances that characterize personal relationships between men and women, not only leave women at a disadvantage but also hamper the progress of society at large. It is clear that holding hostage the talents, energies and aspirations of half the society impedes human development.
Dear colleagues,
The international community made strong commitments to gender equality at all the global and world summits of the 1990s, based on the common understanding that development that is not en-gendered is development that is endangered.
But these commitments still must be translated into concrete policies. Policies must value and support women’s demonstrated capacity to cope with poverty, exercise leadership, sustain fragile ecosystems and create community support mechanisms that can provide basic services. Moreover, the pursuit of gender equality should not be limited to increasing the number of women or integrating more women into mainstream development. It should also include analysis and transformation of the laws, institutions, structures and behaviours that underpin gender inequalities.
We are all proud to work for an organization that can contribute to advancing the implementation of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to translating the noble goals set forth in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into policy and practice. UNDP, in its mandate for delivering policy advice and capacity building, integrates gender through a series of multi-sectoral and cross-thematic interventions to achieve key development goals.
As a crosscutting issue, gender must be addressed in everything the organization does, therefore, UNDP made deliberate choice not to establish a separate practice area for gender equality, but to pursue the goal through gender mainstreaming.
This is not a license for inaction, but includes the responsibility to ensure that UNDP’s activities and policies are fully in line with that objective. Our policy advisory services should promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. We should support all interventions that benefit women, and we need to develop in-country capacities to integrate gender concerns in all practice areas.
But above all, we need first to start in-house within UNDP, we need to develop our own capacities, as, when staff does not believe that gender equality is a corporate priority, competing demands on their time will crowd out gender work.
We are gathered today to develop greater awareness of concepts and definitions of gender and gender mainstreaming among our staff, to discuss gender equality concerns, to identify entry points to develop ways that provide a more supportive environment for women and men.
Gender mainstreaming does not have to be complicated nor is it the task of specialists. Gender mainstreaming is everybody’s responsibility, everyone’s job.
Our workshop of today, will also address the need of the Organization to mainstream a gender perspective in work programmes, defining principles and identifying steps to incorporate a gender perspective in all aspects of the substantive work of the Organization.
In concluding, it is important to remember that at the end of the day, we’re not necessarily looking for one “right” path to gender equality, as there is no one-size-fits all model. But it is my hope that you will all be able to take away from this workshop useful ideas and insights that will help you as you proceed with your own daily work to better advocate gender equality and women empowerment for the benefit of all.
Thank you.