Current trends of HIV transmission and prevalence clearly show that the epidemic is fuelled by gender-based vulnerabilities. Close to 60 per cent of adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are women, and almost 75 per cent of young people living with HIV in southern Africa are female. It is also clear that issues of gender need to be mainstreamed into attempts to curb the further spread of the epidemic. Research on the gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS needs to be augmented. New and existing research must be integrated into policy. Policy must translate into action, and good practice must inform further policy. All presentations provided a gendered perspective on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Two of the papers provide an in-depth overview of gender mainstreaming and suggest tools for its application within the HIV/AIDS sector. Three papers provide examples from different countries of the application of gender mainstreaming. The title concludes with a summary of lessons learnt from the presentations, and briefly outlines ways of taking these lessons forward.