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Department of Premier and Cabinet

International Models

The Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand Governments are known for adopting models of excellence in gender analysis. Below is a synopsis of these models.

Canada

Canada has been a strong leader in the promotion of gender analysis. In the mid 1990s, the Status of Women Canada produced a working document entitled: Gender Based Analysis (GBA), A guide for policy-making. The GBA guide provides a framework for those instrumental in developing policies, programs or service delivery. The guide proposes eight steps that can be followed in order to analyse policy or programs from a gender perspective. In 2007 an updated guide: An Integrated Approach to Gender-based Analysis, was released which included much of the same eight steps as previously outlined in 1995.

The Status of Women Canada have strong resources and a training arm. They have managed to obtain approval for a GBA senior official for each central agency to be responsible for integrating GBA within their agency and ensuring the agency trains its staff on the appropriate use of GBA. The senior official also sits on a Steering Committee on Gender Equality. 

The Netherlands

Gender based analysis (GBA) has been implemented in The Netherlands for over 15 years.  They are recognised as world leaders in gender based analysis.

The Netherlands model, using Gender Impact Assessments, is based on five steps. Very briefly, the steps involve: 

• describing the gender relations in the situation;
• describing probable developments without new policy;
• describing and analysing the new policy plan;
• describing potential effects of new or existing policy on gender relations; and
• evaluating the positive and negative effects on gender relations.

New Zealand

In 2002, the New Zealand Cabinet agreed that a gender implications statement was required for all papers submitted to the Cabinet Social Equity Committee (SEQ). 

The purpose of the gender implications statement is to ensure that policy proposals include an assessment of the impact of proposed and existing policies and programs on women and men, and whether they advantage or disadvantage women and men.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs devised a step-by-step guide to gender analysis to assist managers and policy practitioners with their gender impact statements.