Gender Equality in the European Union Lessons for Democracy?

The gendered nature of democratic decision-making in the EU is the focus of this paper. It outlines a theoretical model of democracy that looks at public decisionmaking processes through a gender lens: gender democracy. It then takes two instances of democratic decision-making in the European Union relevant to gender equality: the Goods and Services Directive and the Recast Equality Directive. Using the concept 'gender democracy', the paper illuminates the contingent treatment of gender interests in democratic politics at EU level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]