Policy paradigms, gender equality and translation: scales and disjuncture

Abstract

The growing influence of transnational process, institutions and policy communities has contributed to the emergence of a global public policy that is distinct (although not separate) from the national process of policy-making. In this context gender equality and gender mainstreaming have become dominant policy and political narratives for addressing gender injustice. The focus of this paper is on developing the conceptual and theoretical links between global policy paradigms and gender equality and incorporating multi-scalarity, translation and disjuncture into our understanding of the ways in which policies are made, processed and enacted. The discussion begins by extending Hall's concept of policy paradigm as a nationally bounded entity and highlighting the transnational processes and institutions contributing to the emergence of a global policy paradigm and global policy space. It then goes on to highlight the fluidity of policy paradigms and the importance of moving beyond the focus on techno-managerial "order" as the essence of the policy paradigm and indicators of change and instead to bring into sharper focus disjuncture and tensions.

Exploring social policy ideas and language

“…Keeping these remarks in mind, within the EU and beyond, when dealing with the diffusion of social policy ideas and their implementation at the national level, 'translation' is an especially relevant concept, as it refers to the ways in which actors adapt foreign or global policy ideas to make them fit into the dominant categories and institutions of their jurisdiction (Campbell 2004;Kennett and Lendvai 2014). Translation is a crucial concept to understand how social policy ideas travel and change from place to place, and how different ideas interact in a particular context.…”

Modernising the European Social Paradigm: Social Investments and Social Entrepreneurs

“…The power of quasi-concepts is their ambiguity, a polysemy that allows them to be used by policy-makers both to analyse the situation and to forge a consensus (Jenson, 2010: 71). As such, they contribute to the political consensus needed for policy action and to assemble supporters, both nationally and globally (Kennett and Lendvai, 2014). Both social investment and social entrepreneurship are quasi-concepts whose definitions vary among users and uses.…”

Gender and (Dis)advantage

“…Compliance with EU legislation has become in many countries the main force behind the introduction of gender equality norms and policies at national level (León, 2011). However, despite a common EU legal framework, benchmarks, and policy recommendations to address gender inequalities, differences between member states led to a variety of 'EU gender equality regimes' (Krizsan and Squires, 2014;Siim, 2014;Kennett and Lendvai, 2014). Outside the EU, other international agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank have since the 1990s been introducing gender equality and gender mainstreaming policies as strategic instruments to tackle discrimination against women, and poverty and disadvantage more generally.…”