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21 February 2006: No 12/06

THE DOD INTEGRATED GENDER MAINSTREAMING STRATEGY PROJECT IS CONDUCTED BY WAWETH AGENCY FOR EQUALITY LAW & LEADERSHIP STUDIES

The Department of Defence has invited Waweth Agency for Equality Law & Leadership Studies, together with the Equal Opportunities Chief Directorate, to conduct research into matters of ‘Gender Mainstreaming’.

The EOCD is coordinating project Gender Mainstreaming. Project Gender Mainstreaming was formed in early January 2006 to execute this project, for which a Steering Committee, and a Technical Committee had to be established.

The Waweth Agency for Equality Law & Leadership Studies works very closely with the Steering Committee/ Technical Committee, which are constituted from all the Services and Divisions. The Gender Mainstreaming project seeks to accelerate the pace of gender transformation in the Department of Defence.

This is to be achieved through effective planning, implementation and monitoring of women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming strategies in pursuit of the advancement of women, the realisation of their human rights and the achievement of gender equality in the Department of Defence.

The project is accordingly a gender mainstreaming capacity enhancement exercise. It will focus on a Gender Audit or Assessment with the aim of assessing the extent to which gender is currently mainstreamed in all policies, plans, decisions and operations of the Department of Defence.

The end product will be a gender Mainstreaming Assessment Report. The findings will then be used as a basis for developing an outline for an Integrated Gender Mainstreaming Strategy (IGMS). The Gender Mainstreaming Strategy will strengthen planning, coordination, monitoring and accountability on gender transformation. Its content is to be mainstreamed into all strategies, budgets and Management Information Systems.They are also to be integrated into all performance appraisals and management systems.

The strategy’s success ultimately lies in the cooperation of every person and institution in the Department of Defence. The Waweth Law and Policy Research Agency has the MMP 12 Dimensional Gender Mainstreaming Matrix, and the needs assessment questionnaire readily available from the DOD intranet (http://www.mil.za:8080) DCC intranet website.