Gender and public policy

Abstract

The long-standing field of public policy has finally begun to recognise that policy and the policy-making process are both gendered. A new breed of scholars are conducting work looking at the gendered impact of certain policies, and at whether it is possible to address these problems through incorporating awareness of gender into the policy-making process. The papers presented in this panel are typical of the progress being made in this field. Firstly, using quantitative methods, Charlotte Silander analyses the expansion of higher education in order to see if the system of higher education has an impact on gender balance in academia. This issue will doubtless be of concern to the many doctoral students at the conference considering academic careers! In the second paper, Andrew Clifton will critically analyse the merits and limitations of Gender Mainstreaming as a strategy for promoting gender equality in the European Union. Gender mainstreaming is often seen as the ideal solution for ensuring the gender is taken into account in every area and at every stage of the policy process, but the practice is often rather more complex than the theory. The effectiveness of gendering the policy process also depends on how responsive political actors are to feminist ideas, and this is a theme considered in the final paper. Using a State Feminist framework, Torunn Eskedal looks at the relationship between the Brazilian National Women's Machinery and the feminist movement in creating a law on violence against women. Together, the papers demonstrate the gendered nature of the policy process and policy outputs, and provide some insights into what progress is being made to ensure that women’s needs are being addressed.

Title	Details
Gender Mainstreaming in the European Union: A “potentially revolutionary concept” or a “toothless rhetorical device”?	View Paper Details
State feminism in Brazil? The feminist movement and the women's secretariat creating a law on violence against women	View Paper Details
Citizenship in the Newly Enlarged Europe: Contested Strategies of Achieving Gender Equality	View Paper Details