Gender mainstreaming in Spain: ¨The case of “Lidera Project” in Madrid Autonomous Community¨

Women continue to be under-represented in senior positions. In this paper we present a ¨best practice′ in the role of the public agents as gender mainstream key actors. Gender mainstreaming as a strategy is meant to actively counteract this gender bias, and to use the normal mandate of policy makers to promote more equitable relations between women and men. The rationale for pursuing gender mainstreaming via the Structural Funds is as much about promoting economic efficiency as it is about promoting equity. In this paper we analize an specific case launched by the Government of the Region of Madrid, three years ago, the “Lidera project”. To assess the overall effectiveness of the gender mainstreaming effort through the Lidera project, we analyze the impact in the individual level trough five constructs. We can conclude at individual level that LIDERA EFFECT exists and it has a positive and differential impact.