Search

This article assesses the study of gender equality policies in European Union external actions with a focus on the theoretical and empirical routes to understanding the field in times of crises. It argues that the emerging body of literature on gender in European Union external relations makes it possible to explain, understand, and judge the European Union in global politics by rethinking the nature of power from a gender perspective. The article then argues that to develop gender and European Union external relations in its next decade, it is necessary to rethink the study of the European Union as a global gender actor. This encompasses a reassessment of the ‘European Union’, ‘gender’, and the ‘global’, as well as the development of a holistic macro-, meso-, and micro-analysis. The article concludes by proposing a distinctive theoretical and methodological approach which involves a holistic intersectional and inclusive study of gender+ in European Union external actions.

This article examines Rwanda’s gender equality policies with the intention to contribute to the ongoing debate in the literature on the meaning of gender equality initiatives in authoritarian states. The article evaluates the transformative potential of Rwanda’s gender equality policies with reference to deep-rooted societal norms and practices within which gender inequalities are embedded. To this end, the article draws on in-depth interviews conducted in Rwanda with a range of stakeholders, as well as on documentary research. First, we explore the factors informing the Rwandan commitment to gender equality. Second, we discuss the positive developments this has brought about. We then distinguish five trends that threaten the transformative potential of Rwandan gender equality policies. We conclude that while a strong political will and target-driven policies offer opportunities for promoting gender equality, the transformative potential is jeopardized by (1) the dominance of an underlying economic rationale; (2) the neglect of the ‘invisible labour’ of women; (3) the formalistic implementation of gender policies and their focus on quantitative results; (4) the limited scope for civil society voices to influence policy; and (5) the lack of grassroots participation.

Synopsis This article maps an application of gender mainstreaming with the aim of investigating how gender is institutionalised within EU development aid. I consider the case of aid towards Liberia from 2008 to 2013, examining first the extent to which gender was included in policy formulation and implementation. Next I attempt to explain this by analysing institutional inputs and networks at the EU Delegation in Liberia. Based on text analysis and expert interviews, I argue that gender factors were abolished in the actual implementation, despite relative support from the Delegation leaders, and the availability of training and expertise. The largest stumbling block to effective implementation was institutional weakness, represented by the disconnect between formal and informal institutional rules; gendered assumptions at the EU external services constraining the expression of marginalised perspectives; and a gendered double democratic deficit in the power play over which ideas matter and who accumulates resources.

This paper examines gender mainstreaming in European Union (EU) development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to detect how gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa is framed by the EU by critically assessing the nature and range of the differences between EU and civil society framings of gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using the method of Critical Frame Analysis, 28 EU programming documents have been analysed and compared to 10 civil society texts on gender equality. I conclude that the EU’s approach to gender mainstreaming in its development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa is to a large extent integrationist and predominantly instrumentalist as it is framed as a way of more effectively achieving existing policy goals. The more transformative issues that are put forward by Sub-Saharan African civil society organisations do not t within the EU’s dominant development paradigm that is focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and does not signficantly challenge gender relations or power structures. The gap between the analysed civil society views and those expressed by the EU can be explained by the EU’s reluctance to include in its policy drafting the promotion of gender equality by civil society organisations. Moreover, the gap seems to have both practical and ideological grounds. Key words: gender equality, European Union, Sub-Saharan Africa, development policy, civil society, millennium development goals, critical frame analysis

In Liberia, women's advocacy has been crucial in bringing peace after 14 years of conflict as well as in electing Africa's first female president. While the accomplishments of the women's movement have been widely praised, some authors have suggested that the once vibrant movement is crumbling. In this article we claim that one of the most important challenges for the Liberian women's movement comes precisely from its internationally proclaimed success, provoking four related outcomes: First, different women's organisations compete for the credit of the success story; second, the national government has tried to appropriate the movement and integrate it into governmental structures; third, the relationship between the movement and its international partners has evolved towards mutual disappointment due to a lack of sustainable funding and unmet expectations; and fourth, the movement seems stuck in the peacemaker label and unable to redefine itself to engage in new battles as international aid diminishes.

Can gender equality quality criteria developed for assessing EU internal policies be used unequivocally for evaluating EU external policies? Or might a methodological adaptation be necesary? To engage with this dilemma, the author evaluates the two-dimensional quality model of Krizsan and Lombardo and examines what a reorientation of the model would entail to better allow for the analysis of gender policy implemented outside of Europe. The author argues that to allow for an in-depth analysis of EU gender policy abroad, the model’s procedural criteria ‘empowerment of women’s rights advocates’ and ‘transformation with reference to the prevailing context’ need to be brought centre stage and mainstreamed throughout the research design. The author suggests doing this by explicitly involving the views of gender activists from the national context in the analysis and using their perspectives as a touchstone for the evaluation of quality. To examine the proposed methodological model’s suitability for analysing the quality of gender policies in EU external relations, this operationalization is applied to the case of EU–South African development cooperation. The article concludes that the inclusion of gender advocates’ perspectives is necessary to avoid stereotypical, paternalist and Eurocentric ideas about the meaning of gender equality abroad and allow for a contextually grounded reflexivity on the quality of gender policy. Finally, it is argued that it is the role of feminist research to enhance women’s capacity for self-determination methodologically and to hear the voices of national actors that might otherwise not be heard in EU external relations.

This article examines gender mainstreaming in European Union (EU) development aid toward the European Neighborhood through quantitative and qualitative research of policy documents. The objective is to evaluate whether a shift has been made from a “Women in Development” paradigm to a “Gender and Development” paradigm. First, documents are examined quantitatively, looking at language, format, and budget. Next, the qualitative analysis embarks on a deeper reading of how gender equality is approached. The data indicate that a shift toward the “Gender and Development” paradigm has not been made. The internal European agenda as well as the limited space for civil society are proposed as explanations.

An examination of gender mainstreaming in the Latin American development policy of the European Union through quantitative and qualitative analysis of policy programming documents suggests that the transformative potential of this approach has been neglected. The language used in the documents is more the typical “Women in Development” language than one that reflects the inclusion of both women and men in the planning for the achievement of gender equality. Exclusion of women’s organizations from the drafting process and the gap between civil society’s and the European Union’s framings of gender (in)equality in Latin America may be responsible for this situation. Un análisis de gender mainstreaming en la política de desarrollo de América Latina de la Unión Europea basado en el análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de los documentos de programación de la política sugiere que el potencial transformador de este enfoque ha sido abandonado. El lenguaje utilizado en los documentos es más típico del lenguaje de “Mujeres en Desarrollo” que uno que aspira a la inclusión de mujeres y hombres en la planificación para el logro de la igualdad de género. La exclusión de las organizaciones de mujeres en el proceso de redacción y la brecha entre los encuadros de la sociedad civil y de la Unión Europea de la (des) igualdad en América Latina pueden ser responsables por esta situación.

Synopsis This article examines gender mainstreaming in European Commission development aid through quantitative and qualitative analysis of policy documents. The research aim is twofold. First I evaluate whether a genuine shift has been made from a conservative Women in Development paradigm to a transformative Gender and Development paradigm. Secondly I examine whether the European Commission advocates a Europeanness in its gender policy towards developing countries. The quantitative analysis assesses language, format and budgets. Next, qualitative analysis embarks on a deeper reading of how gender (in)equality is approached. I conclude that the shift towards a transformative Gender and Development paradigm has only partly been made and that the Commission promotes a Europeanness in its gender policies, which links the internal and external agenda.

This article examines gender mainstreaming in European Commission (EC) development aid to Asian countries through quantitative and qualitative study of program documents. First, gender mainstreaming is assessed as a set of techniques of policy practice focusing on gender mainstreaming language, its place in policy texts and inclusion in budgets and indicators. Next, it is approached as a philosophy or frame of analysis, evaluating its transformative potential and analyzing how the issue of gender (in)equality is tackled. I conclude that gender mainstreaming in EC-Asian relations has flourished as an expert-bureaucratic tool, but its transformative potential has been neglected. The intra-European Union (EU) agenda, as well as the lack of space for Asian civil society voices, are proposed as explanations.

The Lisbon Treaty considers ‘equality between women and men’ to be among the EU’s core values and objectives (Article 2 of TEU), and since 1997, the EU has committed to integrating gender considerations into all aspects of its operations and policies (now Article 10 TFEU). In its policy documents and public statements, the European Commission frequently stresses that gender equality is a goal in its own right that has been a part of the European project of integration since its inception (MacRae 2010). Given the rich history and growing importance of gender equality in all kinds of policy domains, it is not surprising that observers have stated that the EU stands out among international organizations in its support for gender equality (Debusscher and True 2009). The EU (Commission and member states) is also the world’s largest development aid donor, collectively disbursing 55 per cent of official development assistance globally. In several high-level policy documents, the EU has stressed that gender equality is one of the five essential principles of development cooperation and that it ‘has been increasingly active in promoting gender equality in its external action’ (European Commission 2010: 3).

This chapter critically examines gender mainstreaming in EU development aid to assess whether or not the EU can be considered a leading and distinctive gender actor. To answer this question I will analyse the budget, gendered language and frame of high level policy programming documents. First I evaluate whether a shift has been made from a conservative Women in Development paradigm to a transformative Gender and Development paradigm to determine if the EU lives up to European and international commitments on gender equality and can be considered to be leading by example. Second I examine whether the EU advocates a distinctive ‘Europeanness’ in its gender policy towards developing countries. The chapter concludes that the shift towards a transformative Gender and Development paradigm has only partly been made. Moreover, I argue that rather than a distinctive ‘Europeanness’, the EU’s gender equality approach can be called a patchwork of approaches derived from other international institutions such as the UN or the World Bank. This implies that the EU is not the innovative leading gender power it claims to be.

Contains fulltext : 111709.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This article examines gender mainstreaming in European Union development cooperation with sub-Saharan African countries through quantitative and qualitative analyses of policy programming documents to evaluate whether a shift has been made from a conservative Women in Development paradigm to a transformative Gender and Development paradigm. First, a quantitative analysis assesses language, format and budgets. Next, a qualitative analysis embarks on a deeper reading of how gender (in)equality is framed and who has been given voice. We conclude that gender mainstreaming is only partly applied in a transformative way. The limited space for African civil society voices as well as the European Union's concerns about its global role and its internal legitimacy are suggested as explanations. 20 p.

1. From The Social Clause To The Social Dimension Of Globalization Jan Orbie And Lisa Tortell 2. In Search Of A Coherent Social Policy: EU Import And Export Of Ilo Labour Standards? Tonia Novitz 3. EU Enlargement And Social Standards: Exporting The European Social Model? Maarten Keune 4. The Social Dimension Of Eu Neighbourhood Policies Sieglinde Gstohl 5. EU-ILO Relations: Between Regional And Global Governance Ailish Johnson 6. Writing A New Normative Standard? Eu Member States And Ilo Conventions Robert Kissack 7. The EU And The ILO Maritime Labour Convention: 'In Our Common Interest And In The Interest Of The World' Lisa Tortell, Rudi Delarue And Jeffrey Kenner 8. The EU And The Health Dimension Of Globalization: Playing The World Health Organization Card Sebastien Guigner 9. The Social Dimension Of EU Trade Policies Jan Orbie, Myriam Gistelinck And Bart Kerremans 10. The European Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy: A Pole Of Excellence? Olga Martin-Ortega And Muzaffer Eroglu 11. Lobbying The EU For Gender-Equal Development Petra Debusscher And Jacqui True 12. Civil Society And EU Development Policies In Africa And Latin America An Huybrechts And Rafael Peels 13. The EU's International Promotion Of The Rights Of The Child Ian Manners