Gender Mainstreaming

• "gender" is referring to the social, acquired, while “sex” is referring to the biological aspect of gender,

• "mainstreaming" means to turn something into normal, self-evident patterns of behavior.

“Gender Mainstreaming is the systematic inclusion of actual living conditions and needs of women and men into all areas of (university) policies. All general decisions, concepts and measures should be oriented towards the aim of gender equality. During the processes of planning, implementation and evaluation the possible impacts on the respective situation of women and men as well as gender relations have to be assessed.”¹

For every government action as well as administrative projects and measures the possible impacts on women and men have to be taken into account in every stage of the project (from concept development to implementation and evaluation).

It’s the aim of gender mainstreaming that women and men can equally benefit from all projects and measures taken.

Gender Mainstreaming is complementing the equal opportunities policy.

Gender Mainstreaming is not the aim, but rather a way to reach the aim of equal opportunities.¹

Austria is committed to implement the principles of Gender Mainstreaming. This is based on:

• Art. 8 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TFEU) (ex Art. 2, para. 3 TEC)

• Art. 7, para. 2 of the Federal Constitutional Law (B-VG)

• Ministerial Council Decisions dating from 11.07.2000, 03.04.2002, 09.03.2004 and 05.03.2008

Further information is available here (German):

• Interministerielle Arbeitsgruppe Gender Mainstreaming/Budgeting (IMAG GMB)
• Positionspapier des AKGL der Universität Graz zum Thema Gender Mainstreaming
• Gender Mainstreaming Newsletter vom Bundeskanzleramt (Frauen und Gleichstellung)

Gender Budgeting means a gender-related and gender-equal way of budgeting:

“Gender Budgeting is […] the fiscal instrument for implementing the strategy of Gender Mainstreaming. Is is an effective tool for analysis and control and is establishing gender equality by changes in budget management and fiscal policies. This implies that conventional fiscal policies may lead to unfair/unequal distribution effects and therefore girls/women and boys/men do not have equal access to government benefits.”

^{(Extract from: https://www.imag-gmb.at/gender-budgeting/was-ist-gb.html)}

The legal basis can be found in Art. 13, para. 2 and in Art. 51, para. 8, 9 of the Federal Constitutional Law.

Further information can be found here (German): Positionspapier des AKGL der Universität Graz zum Thema Gender Mainstreaming

^{1 More information: Arbeitskreis für Gleichbehandlungsfragen der Universität Innsbruck}