Gender Equality in the 21st Century

There is widespread concern regarding the failure to achieve gender equality at either an institutional or societal level. It is in such a context that a range of actors are rethinking and reimagining how to tackle and resist persistent gender inequalities, these include: civil society groups; political parties; governments; supranational institutions; the media; and individual citizens. Addressing gender inequalities requires innovative and creative approaches not least in light of the fact that some of the more incremental approaches have not proven entirely successful. Consequently, there are conceptual, empirical, and methodological challenges that need unpacking. How Gender Makes Parties and Parties Make Gender Political parties are important actors in promoting gender equality. One of the most fundamental (and often invisible) by-products of men’s historic domination of political parties (including party membership, party leadership, and candidate selection committees) has been their ability to set the institutional ‘rules of the game’. This Panel points to new directions for understanding the relationship between gender and party politics and provides new insights into the gendered politics of advantage and disadvantage within parties. Chair: Silvia Erzeel Discussant: Ekaterina Rashkova Gendering Equality in Practice There is a growing amount of research on equality policy, including on its gendered implications, but most of it is focused on the process of adoption, with analysis frequently stopping at the point at which a policy is formally made. The panel addresses the fate and impact of gender equality in policies once adopted. What are the challenges and resistances that equality policies come up against? Why are some equality policies more successful in their implementation than others? The Panel focuses on the related aspects of the promotion and implementation of gender equality policy, across policy sectors, countries and time. The Panel welcomes Paper proposals adopting a comparative perspectives and single case studies. Chair: Johanna Kantola Discussant: Isabelle Engeli Changing Institutions – Changing Opportunities for Gender Policies and Politics? For many decades, regional as well as international organizations like the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) were important institutional reference points for feminist mobilization. However, in the course of multiple crises (i.e. economic, financial and humanitarian crises), conservative and nationalist forces have gained momentum and have put the political legitimacy of regional and international institutions under question. How do feminist actors – both so-called femocrats as well as feminists from women’s movements and transnational women’s organizations – react to and cope with these institutional crises? Chair: Gülay Caglar Discussant: Stefanie Wöhl Women and Radical Right Politics Traditionally, women representation is seen as coming from and ‘being active’ more within parties with left or social-democratic political orientation. Recent research however has challenged this view and has shown that women not only take part in politics of the right, but they even occupy leadership posts in parties with extreme right views. This leads us to two questions: are some parties more attractive for women politicians than others (i.e. are radical right parties mobilization and recruitment strategies any different than regular parties, to what extent, and how)? Are female politicians in these parties different than their male counterparts? Chair: Ekaterina R. Rashkova Discussant: Silvia Erzeel Gendered Mobilization in Europe in Times of Crisis The EU has invested considerably in expanding its gender equality policies and in fostering transnational alliances among Europeans to promote equality agendas. Yet old inequalities persist as new ones arise, in particular along the intersections of class, gender, ability, LGBTQ and ethnicity. With this panel, we aim to contribute to a more rigorous application of intersectional analysis to the study of gendered social movements in the European Union in response to the on-going economic and refugee crises. How diverse are feminist/women’s/gendered social movements across Europe? To what extent are intersectional issues addressed? How do European-level, national, and/or subnational institutions shape intersectional mobilizations and alliances? Chair: Jill Irvine Discussant: Sabine Lang Feminism and the Women's Movement The women's movement currently operates within a hostile context and yet feminist organisation continues to thrive. This panel considers why this might be the case and explores the points of contention within feminist praxis. The panel questions some of the more controversial divisions within feminist activism and in particular the difficulty with which solidarity can be achieved. Chair Liza Mugge Discussant Elizabeth Evans Quotas and Women's Descriptive Representation Quotas are increasingly being used the world over as an effective means by which to guarantee women's descriptive representation. This panel explores some of the controversies surrounding quota implementation and the obstacles to effective quotas. Drawing upon examples from around the world the panel considers some of the challenges facing quota advocates. Chair Elizabeth Evans Discussant Meryl Kenny