Auditing Gender Equality : Bringing it to the Next Level – Session delivered in French
The public sector, as a key actor of civil society has to demonstrate that it abides by the values of democracy, diversity and tolerance. Gender equality encompasses all these, and has been entrenched in a number of international agreements. However, in order to be a leader on this issue, the public sector must enact reforms and changes that are inherently disruptive. Auditors in the public sector can be a useful source of intelligence to public sector leaders, organizations and citizens to enable the monitoring of progress towards the achievement of gender equality.This presentation will provide an overview of areas of inquiries needed to assess the implementation of gender equality in a national government. It will also examine the main management activities used by an individual public sector organization to achieve gender equality. Examples and methodological tools will be discussed to illustrate how auditors can make a difference and help public sector organizations achieve gender equality. Finally, some challenges associated with auditing gender equality such as lack of appropriate benchmarks and availability of specialized expertise will be outlined.