A study on the impacts of gender mainstreaming on men and women in the world

Abstract: The strategy of gender mainstreaming was implemented as a policy tool with its objective of achieving gender equality and benefitting both women and men. But it has been seen that the strategy had the tendency to present and focus only on one side of the gender coin, which are women and girls. Men and boys are hardly mentioned in gender related issues and appear as hazy background figures, which have further resulted in serious consequences for women and men, as well as the relationship between them in relation to gender equality efforts. This research analyzes the existing literature within the field of gender and development in order to comprehend the complexity surrounding gender equality concerning the policies with gender mainstreaming and its impact on women, men, and on the relationship between them. To increase the reliability of the research, an analytical model in the shape of a triangle was constructed to illustrate the symmetric correlation between gender policies, and their impact on women and men. The results of the research showed that with its main focus on women’s issues and empowerment, policies with gender mainstreaming appear to contribute to negative and threatened responses from men towards women’s increasing power. This is in relation to men’s sense of exclusion and disempowerment. The results further indicate a potential backlash in the objective of gender equality where men’s negative reactions can be seen to hamper women’s ability to perform their advanced role in households and communities, which further exacerbate the efforts of achieving equality.