Gender Mainstreaming An Innovation In Europe

The concept of gender mainstreaming has experienced an unexpected boom in the European Union and beyond since the United Nations World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995. Starting from the evolution of gender mainstreaming, this book examines the extent to which gender mainstreaming can be regarded as an innovation and as an institution in a complex organisation like the European Commission. By ensuring that the effects on both genders of all policies and organisational processes are taken into account, gender mainstreaming seeks to bring what are often marginalised as ́women ́s concerns ́ into the mainstream of the analysis. Gender mainstreaming is often regarded as a paradigm shift compared to previous concepts of equal treatment and positive action programmes.

With gender equality so prominent in public debate, this timely book reviews the impacts of gender mainstreaming on political, social and cultural issues around Europe. It explores the origins and evolution of mainstreaming, the theory’s contribution to gender legislation so far and its potential to drive change in the future. Drawing on extensive data, the book compares and contrasts progress in various European countries and considers the limits of gender mainstreaming amid economic and migration challenges. This important book is a welcome contribution to discussions about society’s attitudes to men and women.

In theory, the EU’s ‘Gender Mainstreaming’ policy should mark it out as a trail-blazer in gender equality, but gender equality activists in Europe confront a knotty problem; most civil servants and policy makers can’t understand how to ‘mainstream’ gender. Making Gender Equality Happen argues that we should take this problem seriously. In this book Cavaghan uncovers the social processes that make gender appear irrelevant to so many policy makers using a new method, gender knowledge contestation analysis. Building on this new perspective Cavaghan identifies: barriers to effective gender mainstreaming; mechanisms of resistance to gender mainstreaming; and the steps towards positive change, which gender mainstreaming can yield, even when results stop short of ‘transformation’. These findings present fresh perspectives for policy makers and activists aiming to make gender equality happen. Cavaghan’s new method also opens fresh avenues in feminist EU studies, which are particularly relevant in the wake of the financial crisis, as the EU seems to be stepping away from its commitments to gender equality.

An exploration of European integration as seen through a gender lens. This book looks at integration theories, institutional relationships, enlargement, the development of gender law and the role of formal actors, scholars and expert networks in the EU policy-making process. With a focus on gender mainstreaming as a new approach to gender policy.

In theory, the EU’s ‘Gender Mainstreaming’ policy should mark it out as a trail-blazer in gender equality, but gender equality activists in Europe confront a knotty problem; most civil servants and policy makers can’t understand how to ‘mainstream’ gender. Making Gender Equality Happen argues that we should take this problem seriously. In this book Cavaghan uncovers the social processes that make gender appear irrelevant to so many policy makers using a new method, gender knowledge contestation analysis. Building on this new perspective Cavaghan identifies: barriers to effective gender mainstreaming; mechanisms of resistance to gender mainstreaming; and the steps towards positive change, which gender mainstreaming can yield, even when results stop short of ‘transformation’. These findings present fresh perspectives for policy makers and activists aiming to make gender equality happen. Cavaghan’s new method also opens fresh avenues in feminist EU studies, which are particularly relevant in the wake of the financial crisis, as the EU seems to be stepping away from its commitments to gender equality.