ODIHR releases new publication to help lawmakers include a gender perspective in their work

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released a new publication providing guidance on the development and implementation of gender-sensitive legislation at a working lunch on gender issues organized on 7 July 2017, during the 26th annual summer session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), in Minsk.

Making Laws Work for Women and Men: A Practical Guide to Gender Sensitive Legislation  focuses on what gender-sensitive legislation is, why it is important, and how it can be integrated it into the regular work of lawmakers.

“Gender-sensitive legislation is a central part of mainstreaming gender considerations into legal systems,” ODIHR First Deputy Director Katarzyna Gardapkhadze said at the event, which focused on the topic of women’s leadership. “While anti-discrimination legislation provides the basis for ensuring equality of opportunities and outcomes for all, mainstreaming gender into any piece of legislation is another way to ensure equal rights in the distribution of resources and access to services. It also helps ensure that the interests and needs of both women and men are considered taken into account in all stages of making laws – from the drafting stages all the way through implementation.”

“Women face unique challenges, one of which being that we are underrepresented at virtually all levels of public life. This means that if we want to build secure and just societies, we must apply gender-based analysis to prioritize gender mainstreaming and ensure that gender-sensitive strategies are incorporated into both the long-term thinking and the daily work of parliamentarians,” said OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Gender Issues and Member of the Canadian Parliament Hedy Fry. “Public policy must benefit from the equal and effective participation of women as leaders and decision-makers. The time has come for commitments to gender equality to be transformed into decisive action that reflects our highest standards and ensures that the needs of all members of society are met.”

The Guide was produced by ODIHR to support to the implementation of the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, by helping increase the participation of women in politics, and will be distributed to support ODIHR’s further work in the field of gender-sensitive parliaments. ODIHR is currently working with parliaments in several OSCE participating States on gender equality issues.