Gender Equality Norms In Regional Governance

This book analyses the diffusion of norms concerning gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming of aid and trade between the EU, South America and Southern Africa. Norm diffusion is conceptualized as a truly multidirectional and polycentric process, shaped by regional governance and resulting in new geometries of transnational activism.

“A very valuable and much needed book on a central element in the processes of social change: the construction and reconstruction of social norms as they move between global and local levels.” —Naila Kabeer, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK “This book explores how gender equality norms are ever-evolving and argues convincingly that we cannot take their effectiveness, nor their acceptance, for granted.” —Judith Kelley, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, USA “In an era of increasing resistance to gender equality, this is a much-needed volume that attends to how gender equality norms are interpreted and contested in governance organisations ranging from the UN and the EU to Mercosur and women’s NGOs in India and Uganda.” —Ann Towns, University of Gothenburg, Sweden This edited collection provides a new theoretical approach to the study of how global norms influence social processes. It analyses the institutional and highly political processes whereby actors – be they local, national, regional or trans-national – engage with global norms of gender equality. The editors bring together key thinkers who emphasise how context and history effect norm engagement and how particular groups and actors tend to be marginalised from discussions of global norms. By proposing a situated approach that underlines the contingent, multi-level processes that occur when actors interpret, use, manipulate, bend, or betray norms, notions of norm diffusion are fundamentally challenged. This book makes a further crucial contribution to the study of norms and gender equality in global governance by analysing very different empirical contexts, from New Delhi and St. Petersburg to the Organisation of American States, and from Kampala and New York to the European Union.

Until recently, few gender scholars took notice of the impact of state architecture on women's representation, political opportunities, and policy achievements. Likewise scholars of federalism, devolution and multilevel governance have largely ignored their gender impact. For the first time, this book explores how women's politics is affected by and affects federalism, whether in Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia or the US. Equally, it assesses the gender implications of devolution and multilevel governance in the European Union, including case studies of the UK and Germany. Globally, multilevel governance is providing new arenas for women's politics. For example, CEDAW (the UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) has led most governments to adopt gender-equality norms while other UN instruments have supported Aboriginal self-government. Gender scholars will find especially valuable what is revealed about the impact of political architecture on a broad range of policy issues, including gay marriage, reproductive rights and childcare. Federalism scholars will benefit from the book's wide range of cases, comparative themes and combination of gender and federalism perspectives. Written by leading experts, this book fills an important gap in both literatures.

This book analyses the diffusion of norms concerning gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming of aid and trade between the EU, South America and Southern Africa. Norm diffusion is conceptualized as a truly multidirectional and polycentric process, shaped by regional governance and resulting in new geometries of transnational activism.

"This sourcebook aims at providing local governments with the tools to better understand the importance of gender in the decision-making process and to reach better solutions for the communities they serve. For this publication the following key issues of local governance have been selected: participation in local government, land rights, urban planning, service provision, local government financing, violence against women and local economic development. Each of these issues is introduced by a brief gender analysis. Numerous case studies illustrate what local governments can do. Reflection questions and training exercises help trainers to develop successful training events. [...] [The manual] is designed as a companion to other UN-HABITAT training tools, providing local government trainers with the background and tested training methods they need to strengthen the gender dimension in their day-to-day training activities. The source book may also be used as a stand-alone tool, introducing local governments to gender issues and their importance for local government policy-making and project implementation." -- P. iv.

Gender inequality holds back not just women but the economic and social development of entire societies. This atlas presents a new measure of gender inequality which examines women’s status according to family situation, physical integrity, son preference, civil liberties and ownership rights.

Based on focus groups and interviews with nearly 4,000 women, men, girls, and boys from 20 countries, this book explores areas that are less often studied in gender and development: gender norms and agency. It reveals how little gender norms have changed, how similar they are across countries, and how they are being challenged and contested.

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the role Nordic countries have played as exporters and importers of gender equality policies, and of how Europeanisation has framed the development and harmonisation of legislation and politics between the countries, with global consequences. The diverse range of contributors present the argument that the European Union increasingly exerts influence on Nordic equality policy, without undermining the recent significance of the Nordic countries’ gender policy as models for countries all over the world . It demonstrates that differentiation and variation at national and regional levels in the Nordic countries, as well as in Europe in general, matter as much as integrational processes and inner adaptation to EU legislation and international laws. This book explores the limitations of the Europeanisation process and the political diversity of national and regional policies, together with the crucial ways practices in the family life and the labour market concerning gender equality depend on cultural and religious norms and group interests. Nordic Gender Equality Policy in a Europeanisation Perspective is a key text for students and researchers seeking to understand the interrelations of Nordic and European Union gender policies.