Launch of Phase II of the EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk puts gender at the heart of Eastern Neighbourhood reforms
Phase II of the “EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk” project (2024–2027) is now underway, funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by NIRAS. The Reform Helpdesk aims to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Eastern Neighbourhood region by supporting gender mainstreaming in the planning and implementation of reforms, policies, and legislative work across six countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus*, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.
“Gender equality is a priority for the EU. The EU’s Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 provides the EU with a policy framework for accelerating progress towards meeting international commitments and a world in which everyone has the same rights and opportunities. It makes the promotion of gender equality a priority of all external policies and actions. The Reform Helpdesk project is building on these commitments and provides demand-driven support to governments and EU delegations in EaP countries. The second phase of the project will build on the achievements of the first phase,” said Lena Karlsson, Expert and Advisor on Gender Equality for the Eastern Partnership: Good Governance & Security, DG NEAR, Unit C2.
Building on Phase I
This second phase builds on the successes of Phase I of the Reform Helpdesk project (2021–2024), which provided demand-driven assistance to governments and EU Delegations in Eastern Neighbourhood on mainstreaming gender in new laws, programmes and strategies. This assistance ran the gamut from expert advice and technical assistance, to capacity development, knowledge products, and support from an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the launch of the Helpdesk in 2021, its capacity building and coaching has strengthened the capacities of 1,902 government officials (1,510 women and 392 men), as well as of EU Delegation and civil society representatives on gender-responsive budgeting, addressing gender-based violence and implementing gender mainstreaming, among many other priority issues.
The Reform Helpdesk supported the mainstreaming of gender across a range of legislative frameworks, such as Ukraine’s National Recovery Strategy, as well as the Economic Response Programme and Action Plan of the Republic of Armenia, amendments to Azerbaijan’s Law on “Guarantees of Gender (Men and Women) Equality”, Georgia’s Draft Law on Food Loss and Waste Reduction, Food Recovery and Redistribution, and the Socioeconomic Development Strategy 2021–2025 of the municipality of Bălți in Moldova, among many others.
Governments in the Eastern Neighbourhood region are increasingly committed to gender mainstreaming following the Helpdesk’s support, and are taking concrete steps to undertake gender-responsive budgeting. To date, the Helpdesk has developed 49 knowledge products on gender equality issues, including mapping care policies and practices in the region, and regional good practices on women’s economic empowerment. The Helpdesk has also supported EU Delegations to develop and update Country Gender Profiles and Country Level Implementation Plans for the EU Gender Action Plan III. Aligned with EU standards and best practices, the Helpdesk’s publications have contributed to the knowledge base needed to inform responsive decision-making.
Focus of Phase II
Phase II of the Reform Helpdesk will expand the scope of this support to ensure the delivery of effective results for both women and men in the Eastern Neighborhood countries. It will place a greater focus on assisting civil society organisations, particularly women’s rights groups, alongside governments, public administrations and EU Delegations. Key activities will include deploying technical experts to provide gender-sensitive advice across key policy areas, such as labour market policies, economic development, public administration, justice reform, healthcare reform, social services, education, family policies, the environment and climate, emergency response, recovery, security (in particular the women, peace and security agenda), digitalisation, the EU acquis related to gender equality, EU accession and enlargement reform.
The Reform Helpdesk will also provide capacity building and training sessions for government officials, civil society and EU representatives to address key gender gaps. Support will further involve developing knowledge tools, including research papers, guidance notes, and gender analysis frameworks, alongside facilitating learning events, workshops, and study visits to share best practices in gender mainstreaming. These efforts will advance knowledge-sharing between Eastern Neighbourhood countries, as well as with EU Member States and civil society, in addition to providing specific support for EU enlargement reform.
In these ways, Phase II of the Reform Helpdesk will strengthen the ability of public institutions to integrate gender perspectives into public policies and reforms, in addition to empowering women’s rights and other civil society organisations to increasingly engage in evidence-based dialogue with governments on advancing gender equality.
“Eastern Neighbourhood countries face similar gender equality challenges, such as gender-based violence, gender pay gaps, women’s underrepresentation in decision-making positions, and the unequal distribution of care work between women and men. Every woman, man, girl and boy in the region should have the opportunity to thrive, contribute and shape a more inclusive future. Gender mainstreaming is the only way to realise these ambitions by making laws, policies and reforms truly gender-responsive. The EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk is an important regional EU project supporting Eastern Neighbourhood countries to strengthen the use of gender analysis and gender mainstreaming in decision-making and reforms. This support is critical for improving the lives across the region,” said Oksana Kisselyova, Team Leader of the EU4Gender Equality Reform Helpdesk project.
*Note: With regard to Belarus, the Reform Helpdesk only provides support to Belarusian civil society organisations.
Learn more about the EU’s support for gender equality in the Eastern Neighbourhood region
Factsheet on the EU4Gender Reform Helpdesk Phase II
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