This book is about change and how it happens. It draws upon the research and experiences of its contributors to provide glimpses into the challenges facing those who care to produce more egalitarian relationships between and among women and men, and into the ‘spaces’ found within constraints to advance such an agenda. Its specific topic is gender analysis, a form of policy analysis associated with the equality policy initiative called gender mainstreaming.

The setting for the production of the book involved a large Linkage Grant project funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), entitled ‘Gendering impact assessment: A new framework for producing gender-inclusive policy’. The authors of this volume, Carol Bacchi and Joan Eveline, located in South Australia and Western Australia respectively, were the Chief Investigators for the project. Our Linkage partners included, in South Australia, the Office for Women (OFW) and, in Western Australia, the Office for Women's Policy (OWP) and the Health Department. A number of other public sector agencies in both states were participants (for details see Chapter 3). The project involved a PhD student, Karen Vincent, and several Research Associates (Jennifer Binns and Susan Harwood in Western Australia; Katy Osborne, Zoe Gordon and Catherine Mackenzie in South Australia), who became co-authors of some papers and reports, some of which are published here.

The goal of the project was to design gender analysis procedures appropriate to the respective contexts of the public service in the two states.