How to identify policy options using gender analysis
- Aim.
This step helps you translate your evidence, analysis and engagement into policy options.
- Question.
- How do I incorporate gender analysis into policy options?
- How do I effectively communicate policy options to decision makers?
- Understand.
The approach to developing policy options varies across APEC economies. Using evidence and insights gathered through your gender analysis and engagement with stakeholders will help build policy options that target gender equality and women's economic empowerment.
How do I incorporate gender analysis into policy options?
Bringing together insights from your research, engagement and analysis will enable you to bring gender into your policy options. Consider the following categories and questions and importantly, show evidence for your responses.
Mandate of your organization
- How do your policy problem that are presented to one or more political decision makers." class="has-definition">policy options align with your organization’s role?
Goals of the policy
- What are the goals of your policy?
- What are the specific gender goals of your policy? Why?
Gender equality insights
- How will this policy improve gender equality? Evidence?
- How will this policy worsen gender equality? Evidence?
- How does your policy challenge or transform gender stereotypes, biases and/or discrimination?
Targeted insights
- Are there any particular groups or communities that should be targeted by this policy?
- How will your option target APEC’s five pillars of economic empowerment for women and girls?
How do I effectively communicate policy problem that are presented to one or more political decision makers." class="has-definition">policy options to decision makers?
When communicating policy options to your decision maker, be sure to set out gender implications with concise arguments supported by evidence. This includes highlighting gaps and risks.
Recognizing what to omit and include in your policy options should be ethical, evidence-based and concise, and include:
- Clear, specific and comprehensive goals, including gender goals.
- Clear, specific and comprehensive summary of preferred option.
- Balanced, evidence-based summary of benefits and losses to women and men (and/or specific groups and populations)
- Balanced, evidence-based summary of risks and unintended impacts to women and men (and/or specific groups and populations)
- Overall contribution of the policy toward gender equality including economic empowerment of women and girls.
You may encounter resistance or reticence to your preferred policy options. Activity 3.3 will give you ideas and actions to overcome and advocate for gender equality, and suggest ways to move forward.
Case study: developing fair pay agreement options analysis
In New Zealand, policy professionals develop Regulatory Impact Statements (RIS) for proposed new legislation. A RIS summarises the advice relating to a proposed law change that has been given to political decision makers by a government department. It includes:
- A definition of the policy problem
- The objectives of the proposed solution
- The full range of practical options and an analysis of each one
- Stakeholder consultation
- How the solution will be implemented, monitored, and reviewed
The RIS developed for the Fair Pay Agreements system shows that gender analysis has been used to understand the gender implications of each policy option, and to inform policy recommendations. Disaggregated data shows that women, Māori, Pacific peoples, and young people are disproportionately on minimum wages; and that those who fall into more than one of these groups are more likely to experience barriers to fair pay.
Recognising this, the policy team recommended a system targeted to sectors showing evidence of labour market problems – which could disproportionately benefit these groups.
Source: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/15512-fair-pay-agreements-regulatory-impact-statement-pdf
