Description
This project aims to develop and validate assessment instruments of legislative measures to promote gender equality in Portugal. The methodological strategy is based on the exchange of experiences between institutions in the Donor states (The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities) and national institutions, including an Interdisciplinary Research Centre dedicated to gender studies and the two municipalities Odivelas and Seixal. The municipalities will be used as case studies in order to develop and validate instruments to assess legislative measures. The project will focus on Strategic Area 1 "Integration of Gender Equality in Local and Central Government" included at the Portuguese National Plan for Gender Equality, Rights and Non-Discrimination 2014 -2017 (VPNI). In brief, the project aims to create an evaluation instrument for legislative measures to promote gender equality in Portugal and, at the same time, contribute to the effective fulfillment of the goals established in the VPNI, namely to ensure the centrality of policies for gender equality in governance structures; to promote the mainstreaming of policies for gender equality in all other policies besides gender policies; to enhance capabilities of central and local public administration staff through training; and to strengthen cooperation with local authorities.
Summary of project results
The IGOS Project made a broad contribution to assess measures intended to promote gender equality: Portugal can now be included in the group of countries with an instrument to assess legislative measures promoting gender equality. The Manual (one product of the project) promotes municipalities and central administration to know better the process of conceiving an assessment instrument and to better understand the advantages of using a participative approach in planning and evaluating legislative measures assessing their impact in personal and work conciliation. In order to fulfil the main goal, IGOS developed one needs assessment study, to diagnose and distinguish between strategic and basic needs of man and women, at local level and to understand the use of time and time management by man and by women, in order to identify gender obstacles to conciliate personal and familiar dimension of life with the professional and social ones. The results of this study have been used in the design of the assessment instrument, namely defining it as an instrument. Among the biggest advantage of the IGOS Project is replication - guaranteed through the design of 4 autonomous products, published on the Project site (guaranteeing wide dissemination) and recorded in a pen-drive (distributed to 50 entities in Portugal and Norway): 1.Assessment instrument of legislative measures to promote gender equality (suitable to be applied in Portugal and in other countries); 2. One Guidebook; 3. One Manual containing some of the practices developed in Working Sessions held under Project IGOS with decision makers at local level; 4. Policy Brief to general public. These products are available at IGOS site (
www.igos-cieg.org) for free download.
Summary of bilateral results
The exchange of experiences between municipalities and between municipalities and KS was promoted by maintaining a site for the IGOS project, updated with resources for information/training of those interested in promoting gender equality and/or in the project, given that it has open and free access. The site, as well as a webpage in a social network (Facebook), does not imply presence in the exchange of ideas, remaining active beyond the period of duration of the project and allowing access to translated information (from Portuguese para English). The bilateral exchanges between Portugal and Norway (the donor country) should have been more intense with benefits for both parties. The bilateral exchanges would have benefited from field visits so that the actors involved in the elaboration of instruments for the evaluation of legislative measures promoting gender equality, and the protagonists in the application of these measures, could report on their experiences, advantages and difficulties experienced and how they dealt with difficulties.