No longer invisible: Gender impact assessments bring everyone into focus
There are a lot of well-intentioned laws and frameworks to support gender equality.
But:
- None of them are legally enforceable
- They call for ‘due regard’ to inequalities
- There are no sanctions for ill-informed decisions or polices
Current legislation does not go far enough. There is no consistency of data collection or collation to spot trends and inconsistencies, there are no technical tools or training to ensure considered and effective implementation of policies, and institutional inertia and underinvestment still exists when it comes to gender impacts.
The UK’s population is evenly balanced between 51% women and 49% men. Gender is not just one characteristic—it shapes every experience. When policy begins with gender, followed by layered metrics for age, race, disability, income etc, it better reflects real, intersecting challenges and delivers more just outcomes.
What gets measured gets managed! Revealing trends can drive solutions, mitigations and remedies as a result.
Soroptimists are calling for:
This table reveals the gaps between the current Equality Impact Assessments and Soroptimists proposals for mandatory GIAs.
Soroptimists believe that embedding GIAs into policymaking brings us closer to gender equality as a lived reality for all.
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