This Far, but No Further?

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Spehar
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
Gender Policy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gender Equality Policy ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Strong Contrast

The European Union (EU) is one of the world’s most important policy promoters for gender equality. This article examines the benefits and limitations of EU gender equality policy making in two Western Balkan countries, Croatia and FYR Macedonia. Besides analyzing specific gender policy developments that can be attributed to the EU, particular focus is put on the women’s movement activists’ perceptions of the impact that accession may have on women and gender equality. The study demonstrates that while the Croatian and Macedonian EU accession processes have been beneficial to the introduction of new gender legislation and institutional mechanisms for the advancement of gender equality, the EU gender strategy has also shown serious limitations. Among these—and perhaps the most fundamental—is the strong contrast between stated goals and their actual implementation. I argue that unless profound institutional changes as well as changes in political culture take place in Croatia and Macedonia, the poor compliance with EU gender equality norms and policies will be hard to overcome.

scholarly journals Gender, family and employment in comparative perspective: the realities and representations of equal opportunities in Britain and France

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosmary Crompton ◽  
Nicky Le Feuvre
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, we will explore how contrasting national discourses relating to women, and gender equality have been incorporated into and reflected in national policies. In the first section, we will outline the recent history of EU equal opportunities policy, in which positive action has been replaced by a policy of 'mainstreaming'. Second, we will describe the evolution of policies towards women and equal opportunities in Britain and France. It will be argued that whereas some degree of positive action for women has been accepted in Britain, this policy is somewhat alien to French thinking about equality - although pro-natalist French policies have resulted in favourable conditions for employed mothers in France. In the third section, we will present some attitudinal evidence, drawn from national surveys, which would appear to reflect the national policy differences we have identified in respect of the 'equality agenda'. In the fourth section, we will draw upon biographical interviews carried out with men and women in British and French banks in order to illustrate the impact of these cross-national differences within organizations and on individual lives. We demonstrate that positive action gender equality policies have made an important impact in British banks, while overt gender exclusionary practices still persist in the French banks studied. In the conclusion, we reflect on the European policy implications of our findings.

scholarly journals EU Social and Gender Policy beyond Brexit: Towards the European Pillar of Social Rights

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ania Plomien
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Equal Pay ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Gender Policy ◽  
Equal Work ◽  
Market Driven ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Eu

The analysis of EU level social and gender policies highlights uneven developments and concerns over the EU as not (always) beneficial to social progress and gender equality. The EU, although primarily market driven, has developed a range of social policies, with gender equality enjoying a long-standing status as EU's founding value, dating back to the 1957 principle of equal pay for equal work. Yet, sixty years later, social justice objectives and equality between women and men remain to be realised. Social and gender themes have been revived by the proposal to develop the European Pillar of Social Rights, the shaping and implementing of which post-Brexit UK will not take part in. This initiative entails some meaningful developments for social and gender progress. However, its current form and content represents an adjustment to, rather than a transformation of, the unequal European economy and society.

Economization of Expert Knowledge about Gender Equality in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Elomäki
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Gender Equality Policy ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The article analyzes (i) how the increasing demand for empirical evidence about the economic impacts of gender equality transforms expert knowledge about gender equality in the European Union (EU) and (ii) the implications of these transformations. The article argues that the much-debated discursive economization of gender equality in the EU context is underpinned by the economization of expert knowledge about gender equality—the increasing reliance on mainstream economics to support gender equality claims. This has increased the influence of gender-biased economics knowledge and its modes of knowledge production in EU gender equality policy.

scholarly journals Gender policy of the European Union in Ukraine: new trends and constant challenges

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Gender Policy ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Eu

This article is devoted to identifying new trends and constant challenges of the EU's gender policy in Ukraine, which has become especially relevant and even inevitable in the context of the post-pandemic global crisis provoked by the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. The subject of research in the article is the external and internal steps taken by the authorities to implement gender equality in all spheres of life of the Ukrainian people, from the 90s of the last century to the present day. The purpose of this work is to analyze the main stages of the European Union's gender policy in Ukraine and determine the main ways of its implementation at the economic, legal, social, scientific, and educational levels. Objectives: to draw analogies and identify the main differences in the implementation of various mechanisms of gender equality in our state and the EU member states; carry out a detailed analysis of the key gender milestones and concepts embodied in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP); trace the dynamics and main trends of gender ratings in Ukraine based on the Global Gender Gap Report and consider the prospects for overcoming any manifestations of gender inequality in our state with personal recommendations for their elimination. The general scientific methods that were used in this work are as follows: historical – for a clear chronology of certain phenomena of the international arena, which influenced the development of gender policy in Ukraine in a variety of ways; comparative and content analysis – to highlight the main trends in the development of equality between representatives of both sexes and different genders in the EU countries (taken as a model in this case) and in our country, taking into account the peculiarities of the mentality and the so-called "psychological" genotype of each of the selected peoples. The results obtained: the EU gender policy in Ukraine is a component of the social policy of our state and that is why it is still insufficiently supported by a number of leading institutions of national importance. Conclusions: the actualization of the issue of gender equality in our country is explained at the moment by two main factors - an increase in the number of suicides among males as a result of the psychological and economic crisis caused by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a significant "jump" in such a phenomenon as domestic violence due to the spread of the above-mentioned infection; it is necessary to introduce national educational programs to disseminate academic knowledge regarding gender equality issues among all clusters of Ukrainian society, especially among children, youth and the elderly, who are usually considered to be the most vulnerable categories of the population in any country.

scholarly journals Gender and the European Union

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
External Action ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Eu

Gender discrimination continues to be a reality in several parts of the world, also in Europe. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of both European Union’s (EU) gender policies and gender balance in EU institutions. It does so by looking at gender equality policies and the EU legal system concerning gender equality, women’s representation within diff erent institutions (and more particularly in the European External Action Service), gender rights as a type of human rights and the EU’s role in the external promotion of womens’ rights in third countries. The analysis shows that women’s representation in the EU institutions has increased in the last decades and that the EU has strengthened its att ention to gender rights in its external relations as well, however the results of both att empts are far from being fully satisfactory.

scholarly journals Effects of gender equality institutionalization in the EU

Sociologija ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-504
Author(s):  
Lilijana Cickaric
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Women In Decision Making ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The impact of the EU on the implementation of the policy of equal opportunities for women can be seen from harmonization of legislation and construction of institutions for protection of women?s rights, and through participation of women in decision-making processes. The first part of the article discusses the theoretical framework for research the effects of institutionalization of gender equality in the EU. In the second section the institutional and legal framework are represented as a part of the global strategy aimed at achieving gender equality. The problems dealt with in the third part of the article concerning the presence of women at different levels of decision-making in the European Union. The newest data base from gender research for European Commission and European Parliament is used for this research. Index of Gender Equality (EIGE) shows that there are huge differences between Member States and that the EU is only halfway to achieving gender equality. Therefore, the integration of gender perspective in all fields and searching for measures to achieve higher level of gender equality are the focal points in EU gender politics.

scholarly journals A Community of Shared Values? Dimensions and Dynamics of Cultural Integration in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Plamen Akaliyski ◽  
Christian Welzel ◽  
Josef Hien
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Shared Values ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Value Sharing ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Academic Discourses ◽  
The Eu

Whether the EU is a community of shared values is increasingly contested in public debates and academic discourses alike. We analyse the level and change in the acceptance of the EU’s officially promoted values in seven domains: personal freedom, individual autonomy, social solidarity, ethnic tolerance, civic honesty, gender equality and liberal democracy. We find that EU-member populations support the EU- values strongly and increasingly over time, especially in individual freedoms and gender equality. Regarding support for these values, EU-member populations are notably distinct from non-EU populations. Simultaneously, however, EU-member populations are internalizing the EU-values at different speeds—alongside traditional cultural fault lines that continue to differentiate Europe—in the following order from fastest to slowest internalization: (1) Protestant, (2) Catholic, (3) Ex-communist and lastly (4) Orthodox countries. In conclusion, the EU- population writ large evolves into a distinct value-sharing community at different speeds.

scholarly journals The Treaty of Lisbon and the gender–blind responses to the EU crises: impact on the quality of European democracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. e71939
Author(s):  
Alazne Irigoien
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
Treaty Of Lisbon ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Lens

This article analyses the state of democracy in the European Union (EU) using gender lens on the Treaty of Lisbon and three of the main European crises in the first decade since its entry into force (2009-2019): the economic crisis (2008-2014); Brexit (2017–2020) and the democratic decline and triggering of Article 7 TEU against Poland and Hungary (2017 and 2018 respectively). By drawing on feminist democracy theory, it shows the interdependent connections of democracy and gender equality in the analysed European crises. It examines the two dimensions of the double democratic deficit through gender lens –the underrepresentation of women and gender sensitivity– in the adoption and provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon and European decision-making and responses to the crises. It argues that the gender-blind European responses to the crises of the first decade of the Treaty of Lisbon have contributed –among other factors– to the deterioration of the EU’s democratic structures and procedures, and have also, in turn, contributed to restraining progress on gender equality and exacerbating gender inequality across different member states. Given Ursula Von der Leyen’s declared plans for a “new push for European democracy”, and the new EU crisis emerged by the Covid-19 virus pandemic, the article points to some key gender aspects that might be worth considering for the future of the European democratic project.

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