BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR CREATING A CULTURE OF GENDER EQUALITY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

 

INTRODUCTION

The private sector has an important contribution to make towards the achievement of gender equality. The increased participation of women in the labour market and economy in general is a positive, for developing a strong and broad skills base for the economy. The challenge is to ensure this leads to women's economic empowerment and does not further exacerbate inequalities between women and men. The guidelines proposed in this document have been developed through an analysis of internationally accepted definitions of gender equality and gender mainstreaming:

• Gender equality entails that the underlying causes of discrimination are systematically identified and removed in order to give women and men equal opportunities in every sphere of life. However, we must remember that same treatment does not always lead to equal results. Therefore sometimes there may be need to treat women and men differently, to achieve sameness in results.

• Gender mainstreaming involves the incorporation of gender considerations into all policies, programmes and practices so that at every stage, an analysis is made of the effects for women and men. There is no area of work, which is gender-neutral.

These guidelines have been drawn based on principles, values, and obligations contained in: The South African Constitution, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, the Charter for Effective Equality, the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the Employment Equity Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

The objectives of a Gender Policy are to:

1. Serve as a tool and framework for enhancing gender equality in the private sector, particularly in the work-place.
2. Enable business to integrate gender into key organisational practices
3. Stimulate reflection, provide some direction and to drive action.

 

FURTHER IN THIS DOCUMENT - SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

• The key goal of a gender policy
• Target Group
• Getting started
• Why a gender policy?
• The benefits of a gender policy for business
• Preparing for drafting a gender policy
• Knowing your organisation
• Being clear on why
• Choosing between a stand alone policy or mainstreaming
• Pros and Cons of a stand alone policy
• Pros and Cons of a mainstreaming policy
• Policy framework
• Human Resources Planning
• Recruitment
• Person specification
• Advertising
• Selection
• Remuneration and Grading
• Promotion and Advancement
• Training and Development
• Family Friendly practices
• Working environment, cultures and practices
• Affirmative Action
• Sexual Harassment
• Gender equality and a company's external focus
• Communication, Monitoring and Evaluation

 

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