Institutional Perspectives: from the International to the Local

This section seeks to understand the extent to which gender mainstreaming has been – and, indeed, can be – institutionalized, or fully integrated in the culture, operations and processes of an institution. There is a practical, but also normative, element to this question. Which institutions have taken on responsibility for gender mainstreaming, as part of their core business, and what would it take for institutions to accept full responsibility for gender mainstreaming? The section considers this question from the perspective of various institutions, beginning at the international level with an examination of UN Women’s gender mainstreaming mandate within the UN System. The section then considers the regional level by exploring regional organizations – such as the African Union, the Pacific Community, the European Union, and the Organization of American States – within which there is significant variation in the adoption of gender mainstreaming practices and cultures. Chapters dedicated to each of these regional institutions outline the translation of gender mainstreaming norms from the international to the regional, and the challenges and opportunities apparent in that translation process. How do regional organizations aggregate the differing stances, objectives and motivations of their states and agree on gender mainstreaming practices? Alternatively, how does disagreement on gender mainstreaming impact these organisations’ commitment to international norms of gender equality? This question allows the section to then focus on specific countries, and the role of individual states in either supporting, or derailing, gender mainstreaming efforts. Contrasting the approach taken on gender mainstreaming in specific European countries and the United States helps us to understand when states are likely to embrace gender mainstreaming in principle and then allocate resources to its implementation across service delivery and government outputs. Paula Tavares (American University Washington) and Namira Negm (African Union) have already confirmed their participation.