Equalities in EU Institutions and Policies

Abstract

This panel examines how equality norms related to gender and sexuality are constructed, contested, and implemented within European Union institutions and policies. The panel analyses the EU as both an institutional arena of political struggle and an actor that seeks to advance equality internally and externally, while facing growing contestation from member states and anti-gender movements. Empirically, the contributions address multiple EU institutional and institutional actors and policy fields. The papers examine gender equality policymaking within the Council of the European Union; the agenda-setting role of European Commission presidents on gener equality; the stalled politics of banning conversion “therapy” at the EU level; discursive constructions of LGBTIQ* equality within EU institutions; and the implementation of gender equality and Women, Peace and Security principles in the EU’s engagement with Ukraine before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Together, these cases highlight tensions between formal commitments to equality and policy outcomes. Theoretically and methodologically, the panel draws, among others, on feminist institutionalism, gendered diplomatic practices, policy responsiveness, anti-gender politics, transnational advocacy networks, and critical and queer frame analysis.

Title	Details
How Do Member States Legislate Equality Files in the Council of the EU? The Cases of the Pay Transparency and Anti-Violence Directives	View Paper Details
Queer Frame Analysis as a Novel Approach for Studying EU Discourses on SOGIESC Equality	View Paper Details
Supranational Gender Equality Policy and the Agenda-Setting Role of EU Commission Presidents 2004-2024	View Paper Details
Promoting Gender Equality and the WPS Agenda in a Conflict-Affected Country: the Case of the European Union in Ukraine	View Paper Details
Unwilling or Unable?: Why the European Union Has Not Banned Conversion 'Therapy'	View Paper Details