Parliamentary panel suggests gender auditing of public, private organisations

These audits must be made mandatory, the panel suggested

The Centre must carry out a gender audit of all organisations to analyse gender equality at the workplace for both public and private organisations, a panel of lawmakers has suggested.

These audits must be made mandatory, and the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) should implement the process, the panel suggested.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on education, women, children, youth and sports, headed by BJP MP Vinay Sahasrebudhe said that the time has come to consider auditing organisations on the parameter of gender, especially with the efforts of social mainstreaming of the third gender.

“The Committee recommends that the assessment process through Gender Audit in which the gender equality status of the organisation gets analysed, and the main gender biases are identified, be made mandatory for organisations — public or private. The Committee feels that efforts in this regard would bring to the fore the status of gender equality in policy and decision-making structures, organisational culture and processes leading to organisations formulating and implementing Gender Equality Plans,” the panel’s report suggested.

Speaking to DH, Sahasrabudhe said there should also be stress on ensuring textbooks are gender-neutral. “Gender justice is all-encompassing, and today we have a Gender Budget. We must also ensure that all textbooks and reading material should be gender-audited so that there are no prejudices,” the lawmaker said.

NIPCCD, an autonomous body under the women and child development ministry, conducts research and evaluation studies and organises training programmes, seminars, workshops, conferences, etc., to create awareness about women’s empowerment and gender issues among children.

From April 2021 to December 2021, NIPCCD organised 296 online programmes, including orientation courses, sensitisation and skill training programmes, workshops and consultations, and reviews covering various schemes and programmes of the Ministry. In all, 18,154 participants attended these training sessions.

The Committee recommended that NIPCCD should explore providing internships to research students pursuing research projects in the field of women and child and gender issues. It also suggested that the research body create a platform to share its findings with universities, educational institutions, and the general public.

“NIPCCD should restructure itself to provide consultation or consultancy services and make impact assessment studies of various schemes, programmes relating to women and children,” the panel suggested.

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