Grassroots Activism Project - Essay Example

GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM Affiliation Policy making for gender mainstreaming In modern times, gender debate has been on top of many debates. There has been concerted efforts to ensure that equity is achieved. To achieve gender equity, there need to be strategies to end the inequity that to date still exist. One of the strategy that is relevant in modern time is through boardroom agitation and making institutional based gender mainstreaming. The aforementioned method is healthy in bring equity within the realms of gender (Tiessen, 2010) other than street activism The field that is of interest in the process coming up with gender equity is institutional gender mainstreaming.

This gender mainstreaming is one of the best and very convenient to pursue. It involves looking at the way organization functions in terms of policy development and governance, agenda setting, the administrative function and the overall system as whole. According to Tiessen (2010) gender, mainstreaming is able to accommodate any institutional structure. Institutional gender mainstreaming policy should and must be equipped with channels that enables programmatic gender mainstreaming. Additionally, it is the line of action that ensure functionality of the organization that does not reinforce or conceal patterns of gender inequality in its staffing, functions and governance.

In pursuing this line of action, gender inequality will come to be history in the society because it takes a multi-pronged dimension in redressing the social problem of gender inequality In the spirit of programmatic gender mainstreaming a number of action are taken to ensure that the issue of gender inequality is solved. It is one of the means that if its action are fully implemented then the myth of masculinity will be broken, it encourage inter gender competition that is healthy, it will enable women to be respected especially in areas where gender based violence is endemic.

The issue or rather concern that is of priority to solve is the inequality that is being experienced because of the myth of masculinity, which is strongly held by a number of people in the society. It’s a myth that has crippled most of the institution that has led to a number social issues that is a concern that is related with imbalanced staffing in term of gender, administrative roles are biased toward one gender because of myth of masculinity (Inglehart, 2009). In order to break this myth of masculinity there is a number of actions that were taken.

First and foremost was coming up with the policies that will regulate recruitment a cross the gender. This will ensure that recruitment is not skewed toward one gender. Also a means of equal upward mobility in both gender was established so as to ensure either gender has means of reaching the administrative roles. In addition, I pursued means of building staff capacity to implement gender analysis methods required in the institution. Finally, I created a mechanisms that will ensure participation for male and female staff in decision-making procedures which included inclusivity in agenda making and democratic means such as voting (Pleck, 2009).

The action was very positive in reorienting the institution thinking about gender and breaking the myth of masculinity. It also helped indirectly in solving other problem that are tied together with other social issues such as gender based violence, domestic violence that for long they have been clandestine due to myth of masculinity. On the same breath, this topic has enabled me to learn some of the silent means that can solve many of the seemingly hard problems such as gender based violence.

Empowering women for example, indirectly and silently solves problem of gender based violence. ProofThe following certificate was issued for the contribution made in policy formulation for gender mainstreaming that was convened on date 10/10 /2014. The effort that I made was recognized for the policy making as discussed. ReferenceTiessen, R. (2010). Everywhere/nowhere: Gender mainstreaming in development agencies. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2009). Rising tide: Gender equality and cultural change around the world.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Pleck, J. H. (2009). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.