The study which was conducted in Windhoek in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child
Welfare looked into the understanding of staff member of gender mainstreaming and their
contribution to gender equality in Namibia. The Ministry was established in 2000 with the
mandate to ensure gender equality and equitable socio-economic development of women
and men and the well-being of children. In 2003, a study was conducted by the University of
Namibia to assess the status of gender mainstreaming in my organisation and several
weaknesses were found such as lack of trained staff members and financial constraints to
implement gender mainstreaming programmes. Now, in 2011, I wanted to take stock and see if
improvement were made.
However, gender mainstreaming in Namibia is still hampered by lack of expertise, lack of
interest and cultural attitudes constraints in the field of gender.
The study focused on several questions: Field of specialization of staff members in the ministry,
their understanding of gender mainstreaming, workshop attended on gender mainstreaming,
their duties and responsibilities, program contribution to gender equality as well as challenges
faced in implementing gender mainstreaming programmes. Random sampling was used to
select respondents for this research. This thesis provides findings and analysis of responses to
the study, as well as conclusions and recommendations.
The results of the research indicated that the Ministry is committed to the promotion of gender
equality. The study also revealed that policies and programmes are in place to ensure that
gender is mainstreamed in all sectors. Limited capacity and lack of trained personnel on gender
issues remain a challenge for the ministry which affects the implementation of gender
mainstreaming programmes. It was clear that some staff members in other directorates had
limited understanding of gender mainstreaming. It is for this reason that the study recommends
that the Ministry should build capacity on gender mainstreaming for all staff members in order
to enhance their knowledge and understanding on gender mainstreaming, and analysis in order
to contribute effectively to gender equality in Namibia. There is a need for government to
allocate adequate resources for gender mainstreaming due to the fact that most funding has
been moved to cater for orphans and vulnerable children to change in donor interests with
priorities on HIV/AIDS.