In this module we're going to look at how to conduct a Gender Impact Assessment.
At this point we're going to turn our attention to the Gender Impact Assessment toolkit. You'll be able to find a copy to download on the Commission's website and you might like to do that now so you can have it side by side as we take you through this module.
This toolkit is for defined entities under The Gender Equality Act 2020, but also any organisation in Victoria wanting to apply gender lens to their work. This toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to conducting a best practice Gender Impact Assessment. It's also flexible so that you can choose the information that best meets your needs. By no means do you need to read it cover to cover, but you can pick out the bits that suit you. It also recognises that the size and experience of your organisation as well as the impact of the policy, program or service you're assessing, will affect the time you spend on each step. It also contains tailored guidance for different types of organisations and includes useful resources practical tips and templates. So do take some time to go through the Gender Impact Assessment toolkit, and really have a look at what's on offer in there. Throughout the toolkit, you'll notice that there are several useful icons that will help you as you go through this process. The first icon there indicates suggestions and useful information to assist with applying a gender lens. The second icon signposts resources, which provide additional information and further reading. The third icon provides tailored questions and suggestions for defined entities, including local councils, universities and public entities. The next icon indicates information to support you to apply an intersectional approach to gender lens so that blue icon there. The next icon with the arrow suggests ways that you can extend your Gender Impact Assessment to go the extra mile, particularly if you’re experienced in Gender Analysis. And finally, perhaps one of the most important icons, the icon with the pencil there, indicates points at which you may wish to use the templates provided. It's also worth having a look at the Commission's website and downloading those templates, because the toolkit is really designed to use with those templates in mind and to be used in conjunction with those templates. If you follow those templates, they will take you through the process of conducting a GIA.
On page, 16 and 17 of the toolkit, you'll find a very handy two pager, an overview of the four steps of conducting a GIA. So, step one is where we define the issues and challenge our assumptions. Here we define the problem that our policy service or program is trying to address, and make sure that this definition considers how gender shapes the issues.
Step two is where we understand your context. So, we collect evidence to understand how gender shapes the context and the policy problem that you're looking at.
Step three is an options analysis and it's where we develop an option or options for your policy, program, or service, and weigh up the gendered impacts.
Step four is where we make recommendations. Here we make a final recommendation based on the evidence collected, and the analysis conducted, and this recommendation should be taken through to implementation. We like to think of GIA as a process. As you start to undertake GIAs in your organisations, you'll really start to notice that each GIA is going to be very different from the last. Essentially, if you follow these four steps, the process is what's going to be similar and the process is going to be the same.
So, we're going to take you through the process now turning our attention to a really simple hypothetical case study in which we can sort of think about how to apply this GIA template system, and these four steps to a hypothetical case study and how we might conduct a GIA. So, if we were to take a hypothetical Public Transport Safety Policy, and let's say in 2021, your organisation is developing a public transport safety policy to guide implementation of safety measures across the public transport system. This strategy will have a direct and significant impact on the public as it determines implementation priorities and processes for transport safety initiatives, and it responds to the most pressing safety challenges related to public usage of trains, buses and trams. So here as part of a policy development, you might think of yourselves as being responsible for determining the pressing safety challenges for users of your train, bus and trans network, how will you ensure a gender lens is applied to this work. Now, even if this is nothing like a GIA that you would conduct in your real roles and organisations, thinking about this as a process is going to help you understand the next steps for the GIA.
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