Introduction

The issue of achieving equality between the two human genders is one of the important issues, as Gender Equality is one of the basic rights that must be provided to every human being. It has become the core of Sustainable Development Goals and among the main goals of the United Nations. It requires rigorous efforts of the international community, governments, international organizations and civil society. Therefore, several international initiatives and programs have been launched to support this objective, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which aims to achieve gender equality in all fields to reduce the disparity between men and women.

SAIs play a crucial role in enhancing this goal as they are responsible for monitoring the use of the public funds as well as ensuring that governments are accountable for their actions by incorporating a gender perspective in their audits and evaluations, SAIs can determine gender disparities and recommend corrective measures to foster gender equality.

SAIs started their work by showcasing the successful initiatives and identifying areas of improvement in order to ensure that gender equality remains a priority in their respective countries. Also, through providing valuable insights with regard to how successful initiatives would be replicated and expanded. In this article, we will explore how SAIs would lead the way in enhancing gender equality and the steps they would take to make this a reality.

First, the reasons for gender equality and its importance:

• 1- According to the Gender Development Index, the Arab countries’ region is considered the second largest gender gap in the world after South Asia where women do not effectively participate in both income and work.
• 2- Gender Equality is an important global goal that all countries strive to achieve, as realizing gender equality in societies reaps many social, economic and political gains.
• 3- It reduces discrimination between segments of society, which contributes to improving the quality of life for all.
• 4- It assists in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and ensures the effective use of public resources for the benefit of all citizens.

Second, professional organization's role in achieving gender equality:

The professional organizations led an important role in achieving gender equality which is:

1 The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with UN Women, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and ESCWA, launched the initiative “Gender Justice and The Law Study in the Arab Region” which provides the governmental and non-governmental actors at the national, regional and international levels with a model to track down the progress achieved in 2030 Agenda as well as a platform for the regional actors to exchange expertise to enhance the change.

2. During the COVID-19 crisis the United Nations' priorities focused on 5 main priorities:

• Mitigating and reducing the gender-based violence, including domestic violence.
• The social protection groups and economic incentives would serve women and girls.
• Inviting citizens to exercise equal care for sharing work.
• Women and girls would lead and participate in the planning and decision making process with regard to the COVID-19's response.
• The data and coordination mechanisms should include gender perspectives.

3. The European Union and the United Nations have embarked on a multi-year global initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls entitled “Spotlight Initiative” that was developed in line with the Sustainable Development Agenda.

4. SDG 5 guarantees for gender equality.

Where this goal included a set of basic determinants in order to achieve its aim and purpose, as follows:

• Eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls in the public and private fields.
• Eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage.
• Recognizing and appreciating the unpaid care and domestic work as well as enhancing the sharing responsibility within the household and the family.
• Ensuring the complete and effective participation of women, and ensuring equal opportunities for them.
• Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and reproductive rights.
• Undertaking the necessary reforms in order to provide women with equal rights in the economic resources.
• Enhancing the use of the enabled technology, especially the information and communication technology.
• Adopting and strengthening sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

Third, SAIs' role in achieving gender equality:

There are numerous ways through which SAIs could contribute to building a more just and equitable society which are:

• 1. Ensuring the gender-sensitive audit methodologies.
• 2. Evaluating the impact of government policies, programs and projects on the gender equality. This approach recognizes that the gender inequality has a social and an economic impact not only social one, it aims to ensure that public resources are used effectively to enhance gender equality and reduce the gender disparities.

The audit process is carried out through the following steps:

• 1. Identifying the areas where gender disparities exist which require an understanding of the gender-specific impacts of policies, programs, and projects.
• 2. SAIs conduct a gender analysis to determine the root causes of gender disparities which involves examining the social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to gender inequality.
• 3. Producing recommendations to promote gender equality.

It is worth mentioning that, the gender equality impacts audit requires following a non- discriminatory approach, which means that SAIs need to ensure that their audit methodologies consider the gender-specific impacts of policies, programs, and projects. This includes examining the gender composition of beneficiaries as well as identifying the gender-based barriers during the participation in the audit process.

Also, it should be noted that the audit process in this regard faces many challenges illustrated as follow:

• 1. Lack of gender-specific data and indicators.
• 2. Lack of capacity and expertise in the field of auditing that considers the gender perspective.
• 3. Lack of reliance on technological methods in conducting audits, which requires a lot of time and effort.
• 4. Financial restrictions represent a significant challenge.
• 5. The legal challenges related to laws that do not adequately protect women's rights, and provide men with some advantages and privileges that distinguish them vs. women. This could create an obstacle to realizing equality.

With regard to the African SAIs they have recognized the importance of gender equality in their audit and have taken steps toward implementing inclusive strategies which ensure that women are not left behind that has been subtly reflected in the strategic plan (2022-2027) of the African organization of Supreme Audit institutions (AFROSAI), where one of its current specific objectives no.1.5 states that “African SAIs and AFROSAI support gender equality as a necessary social precondition to ensure full and sustainable economic, social and political development”(1).As a result, and according to the resolution no.9 of the 2nd part of the 15th AFROSAI General Assembly held in March 2022 in Dakar, Senegal, the Institutional Capacity Building Committee (ITCBC) was established consisting of four Working Groups where the Working Group of Emerging Issues focuses on addressing the challenges of some topics such as Gender Equality, as well as taking all the necessary measures to deal with such issue.

Given that gender inequality is a significant issue in Africa, where women suffer from limited opportunities in various sectors, the African SAIs' inclusive strategies aim to promote gender equality in governance, public finance management, and social accountability. Such inclusive strategies are necessary to address gender disparities in these sectors as they ensure women's access to the decision-making processes and consideration of gender issues in public institutions.

Recommendations:

There is a need for greater collaboration and coordination between SAIs, civil society bodies, and other stakeholders to enhance the gender equality's audit impact.

Committing to building the capacity and expertise in the gender-sensitive auditing.

Committing to ensuring that gender equality remains a priority in the audit process through working together, in order to enable us to create a more fair and equitable society from which citizens benefit.

Publishing several laws and legislations that ensure gender equality.

Enhancing the community's social and cultural awareness on gender equality through all means of communication.

References:

• - International Journal of Government Auditing (IJGA) , Winter 2022 Article of "auditing gender equality" Author: Jane Fuller
• - The strategic plan (2022-2027) of the African organization of Supreme Audit institutions (AFROSAI)
• - Engaging Parliaments in Gender Responsive Budgeting , 2022
• - Author: Kevin Deveaux, Geoff Dubrow
• - Annual report of "spotlight initiative", 2021.
• - UNIFORMED GENDER PARITY STRATEGY 2018-2028 – UNODC
• - www.UN.org
• - Arabstates.unwomen.org