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.

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.

Values and Gender Equality between Islam and the West

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Moulay Rachid Mrani
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
The West ◽  
Living Together ◽  
The Status ◽  
Muslim Intellectuals ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
And Gender

If the development of technology, means of communication, and rapid transportation have made continents closer and made the world a small village, the outcome of the ensuing encounters among cultures and civilizations is far from being a mere success. Within this new reality Muslims, whether they live in majority or minority contexts, face multiple challenges in terms of relating to non-Muslim cultures and traditions. One of these areas is the status of women and gender equality. Ali Mazrui was one of the few Muslim intellectuals to be deeply interested in this issue. His dual belonging, as an African and as a westerner, enable him to understand such issues arising from the economic, political, and ethical contrasts between the West and Islam. This work pays tribute to this exceptional intellectual’s contribution toward the rapprochement between the western and the Islamic value systems, illustrating how he managed to create a “virtual” space for meeting and living together between two worlds that remain different yet dependent upon each other. 

Narrative Identities and the Egalitarian Norm Among Hungarian Elite Couples

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 2107-2130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Csurgó ◽  
Luca Kristóf
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Cultural Elite ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Political Economic

Our article aims to study the attitudes of the elite to family life and gender equality. This is a social group who still experiences significant gender imbalances. We focus on attitudes to family life, which has thus far been underresearched in elite literature. With the help of the analysis of 34 individual interviews with members of the Hungarian political, economic, and cultural elite, we identify and present three types of narrative identities: dominant, deferential, and egalitarian. The main finding from our qualitative content analysis is that egalitarian partnership norms which were discussed in every narrative and gender equality appear in most cases as a norm among the elite. However, there is a narrative tension between this norm and the couples’ actual experiences of their family life. We conclude our article with some comments on how the ideology of egalitarian essentialism strengthens gender inequalities reinforcing the underrepresentation of women in elite positions.

CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION GENDER EQUALITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 373-388
Author(s):  
Oksana Vinska ◽  
Volodymyr Tokar
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
And Gender

Purpose – The article aims at discovering classes and clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality to foster the enhancement of EU cohesion policy. Research methodology – The methodology includes the grouping by two parameters, economic development and gender equality, and the cluster analysis, the “far neighbor principle”, agglomerative hierarchical classification algorithm and the usual Euclidean distance as the distance between objects. Findings – There are no gender equality laggards among EU member-states. More developed countries belong to gender equality leaders, while there are two gender equality leaders and one gender equality adopter among transition countries. The group of less developed countries consists of six gender equality leaders and seven gender equality adopters. Research limitations – The results of cluster analysis may be impacted by off-shore activity of Ireland and Luxembourg. Practical implications – The EU supranational bodies can use our results to develop more efficient cohesion policy tools to ensure the adherence to the principle of gender equality. Originality/Value – The study is a pioneer one in determining nine classes and five clusters of EU member-states considering their levels of economic development and gender equality, as well as in introducing three types of countries depending on their level of gender equality, namely gender equality leaders, adopters, and laggards.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Vera Lomazzi ◽  
Isabella Crespi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Policy ◽  
Local Implementation ◽  
Gender Culture ◽  
Socioeconomic Changes ◽  
Political Configuration ◽  
And Gender

The introductory chapter aims at presenting the most important aspects of the book exploring the European policy strategy for gender equality, known as gender mainstreaming. The book focuses on the historical and socioeconomic changes in Europe regarding gender mainstreaming strategy and gender equality as a concept, while previous contributions focused only on specific aspects (legislation, economy, and politics).Furthermore, the connection between the institutional level of policymaking and the local implementation of European laws in the field of gender equality is an innovative issue because that was not so often connected with the topic of the gender culture of European societies or with their individual opinions/attitudes on gender roles. Lastly, the book explores innovative intersections between the fields of gender policies and survey research in order to investigate how GM policies affect regional gender cultures. In this way the issue of gender mainstreaming is observed as an ‘evergreen’ topicin the context of the changing beliefs, social structure, economics and political configuration of the European Union from the beginning till now, and with some critical points to be addressed for the future (such as economic crises, migration and integration process).

Gender discourse in the social studies curriculum: an international literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Molly D. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Comparative Education ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
Social Studies Curriculum ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Discourse ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore research on the inclusion of women and discourses on gender in the social studies curriculum, with the goal of promoting gender equality.Design/methodology/approachTo gauge how issues on gender are being taken up in classrooms around the world, the process started by exploring Compare, Comparative Education, Comparative Education Review and International Journal of Educational Development. Initially, studies related to the social studies curriculum were examined. The research then expanded beyond the social sciences and these journals. The next level of research used a mixture of the key search terms “inclusion,” “gender discourse,” “women,” “gender equality” and “curriculum.” Studies conducted around the world were examined to broaden the understanding of global research on women and gender discourses in the curriculum.FindingsAlthough progress is evident, reform measures are necessary to ameliorate the inclusion of women and gender discourses in the curriculum. Implementing these strategies in social studies education may be effective steps to achieve gender equality: (1) consistently encourage students to critique power structures and systems of oppression; (2) include the exploration of gender fluidity, masculinity and the fluidity of masculinity in the curriculum; (3) examine intersectional identities such as race, gender and sexuality; and (4) utilize teacher education programs and professional development as key sites to help educators improve the amount of and approach to gender discourse in the classroom.Originality/valueAfter reviewing these studies, the combined findings offer potential steps to achieve gender equality.

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