77 7 ORGANIZING NHRIs TO ACHIEVE WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY 7.4 INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND FOCAL POINTS To complement gender mainstreaming, NHRIs can foster expertise within their organization by creating a central point with accountability for women’s rights and gender equality. NHRIs bring a variety of organizational responses to this challenge, ranging from individual staff focal points to senior officials who are designated with specific responsibilities, to the establishment of units, departments or even centres dedicated to gender equality, in whole or in part. Gender mainstreaming can also be made more effective if there is an internal point of expertise and accountability for protecting and promoting women’s rights and achieving gender equality. Whatever format of internal structure is chosen for the responsibility of women’s rights and gender equality, it needs to be supported by adequate funds, so as to strengthen its role and ensure its effectiveness. Questions to consider ? Is there a focal point in the organization for women’s rights and gender equality? ? What protocols are in place to ensure that the NHRI knows about this resource person and when to consult her/him? How is the work of internal focal points integrated into the work of the rest of the organization? ? Are external stakeholders made aware of these focal points, and are they encouraged to communicate with them and share information? ? Does the internal focal point have adequate responsibility and authority in the NHRI to ensure that gender perspectives are properly integrated and managed? SURVEY RESULTS 47% of NHRIs have established an internal focal point in the organization by assigning this responsibility to a particular staff person or a group of staff. The strategy requires relatively little institutional investment compared to other strategies. It does, however, permit NHRIs to identify a point of responsibility and accountability both internally and externally. 24% of NHRIs opted for a senior official with responsibility for gender issues, although in most instances these officials had multiple responsibilities. 10% of NHRIs reported that they had a department, division, unit or centre on women’s rights. In many cases, the NHRI grouped women’s rights with other rights, such as children’s rights, in a single department or division. ! Despite the fact that most NHRIs have some form of an internal focal point, either a staff focal point or an organizational unit, only 42% report that they actually consulted these internal resources or focal points consistently when developing projects.