Too late for gender mainstreaming? Taking stock in Brussels

Abstract

Gender mainstreaming is one of the major strategies adopted by the European Union and member states for achieving gender equality. It is seen as a major success, and other social movements have begun to demand mainstreaming for their issues in European social policy. This article considers eight recent studies which include Belgium, a middle case as far as European gender equality is concerned. They show meagre results in terms of altering the understanding of equality policy to include a gender perspective, and applying efforts transversally. The article also evaluates the successes and challenges of the gender mainstreaming strategy ten years after its adoption. It then examines the changes in the organization of EU equality issues with regard to diversity and the implications for the gender mainstreaming strategy. These changes include efforts to address new target groups under Article 13 as well as the issues posed by enlargement. It thus addresses the question: To what extent can experience relating to gender mainstreaming be utilized to meet evolving demands? Recent developments in intersectional theory may offer fruitful new angles.

Gender mainstreaming and policy coherence for development: Unintended gender consequences and EU policy

“…The theoretical literature which informs this article and into which it feeds comprises studies of gender mainstreaming, many of which are concerned with why mainstreaming has failed to realise its radical potential (Beveridge, Nott, & Stephen, 2000;European Women's Lobby, 2010;Porter & Sweetman, 2005;Rao & Kellner, 2005;Squires, 2007;Stratigaki, 2005;Wittman, 2010;Woodward, 2008); and a separate, partially overlapping, literature on horizontal policy integration, which includes studies of policy coherence for development, environmental policy integration, sustainability and gender mainstreaming. The former is informed by, and contributes to, gender theory more broadly, and engages with theories of gender and organisations, as well as feminist institutionalism.…”

“…Instead, it refers to undifferentiated categories of men and women, and is often a shorthand for policies targeted at women or an excuse to discontinue such policies (Stratigaki, 2005). The integrationist version often consists of a set of tools and procedures, along with detailed instructions for their implementation and for the measurement of their success (Meier & Celis, 2011;Squires, 2007;Woodward, 2008), hence the frequent assertion that gender mainstreaming has become a box-ticking exercise, devoid of any substantive content.…”

Civil Society and International Governance

“…This is what Stevens (2009) argues with reference to gender representation in the EU Commission. Poor representation of ethnicity and gender within EU institutions is well documented (Woodward 2008). In view of this factor, while Stevens argues that bureaucrats should make up for the deficiencies of representation in the legislature (Stevens 2009: 121), an equally relevant strategy would be better inclusion of civil society.…”

Local Authorities’ Policies for Disseminating Gender Equality. Evidence from Italy

“…Woodward (2008) states that GM has been defi ned in many diff erent ways, so it has become a 'container concept' where every user can furnish it with its own meaning. Moreover, it is diffi cult to understand the public entity responsible for GM implementation: when gender perspective should be added to all strategies, then mainstreaming suddenly becomes everybody's business and nobody's business (Tiessen, 2007).…”