General Management Activities
One approach to acquiring knowledge of business is to focus on some of the main management activities that foster gender equality in public sector organizations and programs. These activities are:
1. Commitment and tone at the top that promote gender equality and emphasize gender mainstreaming as an approach to its achievement
2. Strategic planning that includes gender equality as a key program outcome
3. Operational planning that identifies activities that will promote gender equality
4. Program and operations management that ensures gender equality issues are addressed
5. Performance monitoring and reporting that includes sex-disaggregated data, as well as gender equality indicators and targets
6. Continuous improvement and innovation aimed at achieving gender equality targets and goals
Examples of questions to ask about general management activities are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 – Knowledge of Business Questions About General Management Activities
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Management Activity
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Questions
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- Commitment and tone at the top that promote gender equality and emphasize gender mainstreaming as an approach to its achievement
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- Has management issued a statement (policy or strategy) clearly articulating its commitment to gender equality?
- Is there communication to ensure employees, service providers, and beneficiaries are aware of the statement?
- Has senior management provided a clear mandate and authority to a person or group in terms of program delivery, coordination, assessing results, and reporting on gender equality strategies and policies?
- Has senior management received training that is focused on high-level analysis and accountabilities that promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming?
- Have innovative and successful activities supporting gender mainstreaming been celebrated and communicated throughout the organization and with external stakeholders?
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- Strategic planning that includes gender equality as a key program outcome
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- Does the strategic planning process include requirements for gender mainstreaming considerations?
- Do corporate strategies take into account gender issues that have an internal focus (administrative) or an external focus (service delivery)?
- Is there a specific strategy or key component of a strategy set to achieve gender equality?
- Does the strategic plan include any baseline data, performance indicators, or targets relating to gender equality issues?
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- Operational planning that identifies activities that will promote gender equality
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- Are gender equality issues identified in the operational plans with specific targets, timelines, and goals?
- Are programs that support gender equality properly outlined and costed in the operational plan?
- Are these program allocated appropriate resources?
- Are operational plans supported by appropriate information and data analysis?
- Do performance measures at the program or activity level and individual level include achievement of the gender equality strategies and plans?
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- Program and operations management that ensures gender equality issues are addressed
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- Has a gender equality champion been established at a senior level (such as a director general or an assistant deputy minister)?
- Does the champion’s role include increasing awareness of the gender equality policy or directive and overseeing integration of gender equality into the organization’s research, programs, and policy development processes?
- Does management supervise and actively coach staff on the implementation of gender mainstreaming actions with both an internal and external focus?
- Is the process to plan and deliver the relevant programs or activities properly defined and documented?
- Does management at all levels review the achievement of gender equality goals, taking remedial action as needed?
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- Performance monitoring and reporting that includes sex-disaggregated data, as well as gender equality indicators and targets
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- Does the organization track program budget, inputs, outputs, and outcomes using sex-disaggregated data?
- Does the organization use gender-based analysis, including the determination of differential gender impacts, to support policy decisions and funding requests?
- Do program managers collect and provide the required performance information related to gender equality?
- Is this performance information integrated with other measures of performance to provide a complete picture of performance?
- Does the organization report on its gender equality program, activities, and initiatives?
- Do the reports include sufficient information to to enable the public to understand key results and the impacts on gender equality and gender mainstreaming?
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- Continuous improvement and innovation aimed at achieving gender equality targets and goals
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- Has the organization assessed its progress in implementing a gender equality strategy, policy, and/or program?
- Have comparisons among programs and divisions within the organization been made to identify success factors and lessons learned in implementing gender equality initiatives?
- Have lessons learned been used to improve strategic and operational planning processes?
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Auditors may also want to obtain information that will help them understand whether:
- management has any major concerns about the organization's performance in implementing gender equality, and
- the organization has to meet certain policy obligations that may limit its ability to achieve gender equality.
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Good Practice: During the planning phase, it is useful for auditors to discuss with the auditee the significance of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in relation to the program being audited. This could include discussing management’s attempts to achieve gender equality and plans for future improvements. Having such a discussion will help auditors to better understand the gender issue(s) from a management perspective.
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