Legislation

The policy field of legislation is one of the most important structural elements in democratic states under the rule of law and the European Union. In other words, laws are the main policy tools of government and parliament.
The principles of the legislative process in Germany are set out in the Basic Law and in the rules of procedure for the various bodies involved in legislation; legislation in the EU is subject to the EC Treaty etc.

Gender Mainstreaming in legislation means that all concerned take account of gender perspectives in all legislative phases and that legislation contributes to real promotion of gender equality in gender relations. This means in particular carrying out a gender impact assessment of the impact in terms of gender equality of a piece of legislation. Some countries and organisations have therefore developed “gender impact assessment” tools which simplify this. The German Federal Government now uses a Working Aid Gender Impact Assessment - Gender Mainstreaming in the Preparation of Legislation for the implementation of the strategy of Gender Mainstreaming. This working aid is designed to be applicable to all projected legislation.

There are several gender aspects that are frequently important in the legislative process.