European Gender Mainstreaming: Promises and Pitfalls of Transformative Policy¹

Abstract

Gender mainstreaming requires a radical redefinition of policy values and practices. This initial discussion explores the way the mainstreaming approach attempts to change the definitions of the situation so that equality in gender relations becomes an element at the point of departure. Factors that may affect whether gender mainstreaming will become an institutional innovation include the extent to which there is a commitment to a gender mission, the level of sophistication in terms of gender and policy issues in the administrative setting, the level of resistance to gender equality, and the extent to which gender experts play a role. This article investigates the role of these contextual factors as related to experiences in the European Union Commission and several states in Northern Europe.

Understanding Policy Diffusion across Feminist Social Movements: The Case of Gender Mainstreaming in Eastern Germany

“…In spite of these problems, gender mainstreaming could be attractive to feminist social movement actors because it presents a unique opportunity to move women's issues out of the policy ghetto and offers an innovative and potentially revolutionary new model for gender relations (Woodward 2003). In their analysis of gender mainstreaming diffusion in 157 countries, Jacqui True and Michael Mintrom (2001) find that feminist transnational advocacy networks involving femocrats and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) play a key role in the dissemination and implementation of gender mainstreaming.…”

“…Up to now, the scholarship has focused on national-level analyses (Beveridge, Nott, and Stephen 2000;Booth and Bennett 2002;Squires 2005;Verloo 2001;Walby 2005;Woodward 2003) and on comparative analyses of national-level implementation (Daly 2005;True and Mintrom 2001;Woodward 2003). Although such efforts provide valuable insight into the policy diffusion process at the national level and the importance of feminist transnational networks in that diffusion process (True and Mintrom 2001), these accounts do not explain local-level factors that influence the adoption of gender mainstreaming among local feminist movements.…”

Making equality work : Ambiguities, conflicts and change agents in the implementation of equality policies in public sector organisations

“…To this might also be added the close relationship between some of the research carried out and researchers in the area and the development of gender mainstreaming practices and practitioners in the field, such as in the realm of the experts' groups of the Euro-pean Commission, Council of Europe and EIGE (the European Institute for Gender Equality). Research has also shown the importance of collaboration, such as in the example of the "velvet triangle" described by Woodward (2003), linking feminist bureaucrats, trusted academics and the women's movement in the development of gender mainstreaming (Woodward 2003). Many of the abovementioned issues, besides being concerns in research, are currently the subject of lively debate among policy makers who work with the day-to-day implementation of gender mainstreaming.…”

Sex in the city: gender mainstreaming urban governance in Europe. The case of Sweden and Italy

“…Moreover, municipalities organize projects on gender equality, which primarily touch on matters related to female representation in decision making (cf. Woodward 2003). Local Development Agreements (LDAs), furthermore, have been implemented in Sweden to stimulate civic participation and incite the deeper and broader citizenship of both women and men.…”