‘It's just been such a horrible experience.’ Perceptions of gender mainstreaming by practitioners in South African organisations

Gender mainstreaming experienced a boom of popularity in development organisations around the world following the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. This article contributes to understanding the current state of gender mainstreaming, with a focus on South Africa. Discussions with gender practitioners in South African non-government organisations point to the widespread rejection of gender mainstreaming across the country. While gender mainstreaming cannot be said to have failed in South Africa, these findings suggest that it may need to be drastically revised, and provide some insights on how to move forward.