Conference Proceedings

Permanent URI for this collection

http://192.168.18.118:4000/handle/20.500.12661/352

Browse

Browsing Conference Proceedings by Author "Faustin, Stella"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Giving priority to gender mainstreaming in Development Activities: Education as a challenge for Gender Mainstreaming in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs), Tanzania, a case of Dodoma city and Mpwapwa district councils
    (The University of Dodoma, 2019) Mujwahuzi, Leonce; Faustin, Stella
    The continual need for gender equality in many development dimensions has been the global agenda since the time immemorial. Likewise, addressing this inequality has been also the global agenda so as to reduce the gap existing between both men and women girls and boys. The efforts employed to reduce the gender gap have been termed as gender mainstreaming. Among many challenges encountered in mainstreaming gender is the lack of education or low level of education. Upon considering the importance of education in many development initiatives, we would like to examine how far the lack or low level of education has been perceived as the challenge in eliminating gender inequality in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs). Our main argument rests in the fact that despite the fact of employing many initiatives, still gender inequality exists in LGAs. It is assumed that the persistence of this inequality may have underplaying challenges one of them being education. This paper, therefore, intends to assess education as a challenge in dealing with gender mainstreaming matters. A cross-sectional research design was employed using 358 respondents. The findings by this study show that majority (67.4%) of male respondents identified low level of education as a major challenge to the Gender Mainstreaming Strategies (GMSs). The phenomenon was seen in the study area such that few respondents had university education. It is, therefore, recommended that higher education should be reconsidered and used as a tool for Gender Mainstreaming (GM). It was, further, found that very little attention is given to implement gender mainstreaming strategies. Likewise, the same low level of education has been seen accelerating the lack of gender specialists at different levels of LGAs. The significant relationship between educational level and educational challenge encountered by the officials was noticed. Dodoma City Council (DCC) and Mpwapwa District Council (MDC) officials face educational challenges in the same way with slight difference due to locality and socio-economic development difference. It was recommended that gender sensitive training should be given priority by LGAs planners because it can help to combat other challenges. GM trainers should use a medium of communication which is understood by the majority of participants during training sessions. LGAs should ask the employing body of the government to employ gender specialists in different levels of LGAs. Gender specialist and community development officers should consider education of officials when mainstreaming gender. Lastly, the means of combating challenges encountered by officials should be done by policy makers and other gender stakeholders with respect to Mpwapwa District Council and Dodoma City Council basing on their differences in locality and social development.