The national machineries for the advancement of women undertake a catalyst role in the integration of a gender perspective in all government programmes and policies. They also follow up on the implementation of those policies and measure their impact on women status. Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the institutions aims to integrate the needs of both women and men in all aspects of activities and sectors. It constitutes one of the most efficient ways to achieve the change leading to gender equality. This publication contains an assessment of the work of national machineries for the advancement of women based on a survey conducted by ESCWA in 2010. Eleven member countries submitted their answers to the survey, namely: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The publication presents an analysis of the information submitted by member countries on the performance of their machineries in each of the 12 critical areas of concern listed in the Beijing Platform for Action. It offers a set of recommendations on the improvement of the work of the machineries in mainstreaming a gender perspective that would help member countries in the preparation of future plans aimed at achieving gender equality.