A policy is an official plan or set of rules that guides decisions and actions in a government, company, or organization. It explains what should be done in certain situations.
From Middle French *policie* “civil administration,” from Late Latin *politia* “state, government,” from Greek *politeia* “citizenship, government,” related to *polis* “city.” It shifted from meaning the way a city is run to specific rules and plans.
A policy is basically a frozen decision: someone solved a problem once and turned the answer into a rule. That’s why policies can feel both helpful (clear) and frustrating (inflexible) at the same time.
Public policy has often been developed and implemented in institutions dominated by men, leading to blind spots around women’s and gender-diverse people’s needs. Gender-neutral language in policy has sometimes masked gendered impacts, such as unpaid care work or gender-based violence.
When discussing or drafting policy, explicitly consider gendered impacts and use language that recognizes diverse family structures, gender identities, and caregiving roles.
Women advocates, researchers, and policymakers have been central to developing gender-responsive and intersectional policy frameworks worldwide.
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