Women and men in the UBC cities

At the UBC GC in Kristiansand the Commission on Gender Equality presented the report Women and men in the Union of the Baltic Cities. The report is primarily intended to be used as a tool for disseminating knowledge and promote gender equality within the UBC. One of the major activities of the project has been to document and present good examples of gender mainstreaming, and other gender equality-related work, in the UBC-cities. To move on from the commitment to the goal of gender equality, to the actual implementation of gender equal policies, services and infrastructure, we need to translate a theory into practice. Sharing of knowledge and experience can enhance the local capacity to mainstream gender equality.

In the report, the Commission presents a picture of the state of gender equality across the UBC-area. The facts and figures presented show that there is still a lot of work left to do before the objective of gender equality - implicating an equal distribution of power, resources and opportunities between women and men - is attained.

As part of the work in raising awareness of these issues, a qualitative survey, how gender equal is your city, concerning the gender equality situation in the member cities was conducted at the conference. The objective of the survey was to collect facts of gender relations in certain aspects of the local governments, but also to promote gender equality awareness among the participants. A qualitative questionnaire with 15 questions was distributed among all of the participants of the general conference. The questions is helpful in evaluating if municipalities are doing well in implementing measures to promote gender equality and also raise awareness on things that can be improved.

Looking ahead, the Commission will continue promoting the gender equality goal within the UBC. Some successful experiences have been documented, providing good evidence that the objective of gender equality is in fact realistic and achievable and that it is possible to make our societies fair and equal for both women and men. We would like to ask you to continue sharing your experiences, difficulties, attainments and successes in gender equality work.