EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 A number of mechanisms for the protection and promotion of women’s rights and gender equality exist at the international and regional levels. NHRIs should engage actively in international and regional human rights forums and should make such engagement part of the overall strategy to promote and protect women’s rights and gender equality. This includes collaboration with ODIHR. They should also support civil society actors to engage with UN and other relevant mechanisms. In addition, NHRIs should seek to engage actively with the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and its regional groups. NHRIs can employ a range of organizational tools to strengthen their effectiveness in addressing women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s rights and gender aspects should be included in all stages of NHRI planning, decisionmaking and policy and programme development. In addition, NHRIs should designate particular resources to women’s rights and gender equality by appointing an internal focal point, with adequate funding and staffing. While 47 per cent of NHRIs surveyed have established internal gender focal points, approximately two-thirds of the NHRIs identified lack of financial and human resources as a barrier to systemic work on women’s rights and gender equality. Equal representation of women and men at all staffing levels within the NHRI is an important aspect of gender mainstreaming. Steps must be taken to ensure equal opportunities for promotion and human resource policies that take into consideration particular needs of pregnant women and persons with parental and/or caretaking responsibilities. Staff should receive regular training on women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s rights and gender equality priorities, as assessed by NHRIs in their own national contexts, are largely similar across the OSCE region. These shared priorities also suggest opportunities for NHRIs to co-operate more actively on a  regional or thematic basis, through information sharing, exchange of good practices and referral of individual cases, as relevant. Such co-operative arrangements or partnerships can have the advantage of leveraging individual NHRI’s resources and capacities. The NHRIs surveyed demonstrate impressive knowledge, skills and commitment to protecting and promoting human rights, including women’s rights and gender equality. Their work is central to strengthening protection and promotion at the national level. All relevant national, regional and international bodies should support NHRIs in the important task of advancing women’s rights and gender equality. It is hoped that this Handbook can serve as a contribution in this direction.