Gender mainstreaming in Europe: legislation and cultural changes

The exploration of the development of the gender mainstreaming strategy and its effect on, European legislation concerning gender equality, from its beginnings to today is the aim of this chapter.The focus is on the role of the European Union in promoting substantive equality for men and women improving legislation in the European Union context and favouring a cultural change in the gender equality perspective. Gender mainstreaming is analysed as the main legislative and cultural shift done for promoting gender equality in all European policies. Gender mainstreaming legislation requires the adoption of a gender perspective by all the central actors in the policy process and, even considering its limits and blunders, and is still the most crucial transnational strategy currently in existence that promotes gender equality in all domains of social life. The legislation enquiries raised at the beginning of the gender mainstreaming implementation process in the EU around 1996 focused on the potential role of the EU in bridging the gap between formal and substantive equality, until nowadays and most recent guidelines, are the issues of the discussion in the chapter.

Introduction

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).

European gender cultures

Wondering whethergender mainstreaming really supports the shift to a more gender-egalitarian Europe,this chapter explores the intertwined relation between individual gender role attitudes, gender regimes,and gender cultures in Europe. It investigates how structural aspects, which determine the opportunities available for men and women to achieve their goals, as well as cultural features, which establish socially constructed, predominant family models and legitimised gender roles, contribute to explaining individuals’ beliefs in gender equality. The chapter reports empirical evidence of the positive effect of work-family balance policies, which enshrines the gender mainstreaming principles, on the promotion of gender egalitarian beliefs. Thesepolicies and workplace practices allow working parents to combine their professional and personal responsibilities, directly affecting their opportunity structures. Because of such realistic opportunities, people tend to express more egalitarian views. At the same time, the implementation of work-family balance policies transmits a certain idea of a lifestyle model and family pattern, legitimising them through structural elements that contribute to changing current gender regimes.

Gender equality and gender mainstreaming: the issue of equal opportunities in the European context

This chapter deals with the definition, understanding and exploration of the issue of gender equality approaches that the EU has developed to promote equal opportunities between men and women. The chapter examines the different strategies used across time to implement gender equality in the EU and how this conceptualisation led to the current approach of gender mainstreaming. In particular, three phases are identified and discussedinthe chapter: equal treatment, positive action and gender mainstreaming. The last one is discussed deeply because itformed a substantial and important backbone in the context of the individual rights of citizens of the Union by creating a basis of equal rights guaranteed to all, regardless of gender. The goal pursued by gender mainstreaming approach consists of a deep change in the organizational culture of society, institutions and workplace, where gender equality should be implemented in a transformed cultural framework.

Conclusions

This chapter points out strength and weak elements of the gender mainstreaming strategy. On the one hand it represents one of the few attempts of installing a transnational strategy for gender equality proposing shared values and standards.Such a strategy boosted the development of a formal recognition of gender equality rights in institutions, workplaces and individual opinions. However, itentailsalso controversial aspects. For example, it still faces missteps in the conceptualisation of gender equality, with relevant consequences in the achievement of results. Furthermore, gender-equality policies have been marginalised progressively in the past decade as a result of political and institutional choices implemented at the European level and today risk being even more overlooked by the political debates at the national level. The future of gender equality depends by the awareness that establishing a legal basis for it is only the first step of a broader process that, to be effective, needs to promote a substantial cultural change within political, economic and social institutions, as well as public opinion.

Gender equality in Europe: measures and indicators

This chapter dealswith the complex task of measuring gender equality across European countriesby assuming two principal perspectives: the use of macro indicators, developed using gender statistics and describingthe country’s situation;and the employment of micro-level indicators, which are built on survey-population measurements, such as ISSP and Eurobarometer, and refer to individuals’ perspectives on gender issues. The critical overview provided on the international indicesspeaks to different conceptualisations of gender equality. This requires awareness not only among scholars interested in the study of gender equality, but also among policymakers and audit bodies that evaluate policies. The EIGE Gender Equality Index, developed in the gender-mainstreaming perspective’s framework by the European Institute for Gender Equality,appears particularly meaningful for evaluating gender equality according to the overall European strategy. The measurement of gender-equality issues through surveys needs better conceptualisations, which so farmainly refer to women’s double role as working mothers, thereby neglecting gender equality’s multidimensionality and the fact that it encompasses the status of both women and men.

Gender mainstreaming and social policies in Europe

The third chapter describes the changes in the main conceptualisations of gender equality and GM in relations with social and gender policies and their development over time in Europe. Is it clear that there are different potential instruments available in the gender equality perspective and the relevance of the gender mainstreaming strategy for social policies is to propose and pursue the introduction of a gender equality perspective to all policies at all levels of governance. In particular, the chapter analyseshow policies are addressing the gender mainstreaming perspective and if and how different welfare states and welfare regimes could influence the way in which gender measures and policies are implemented. The work-family issue is a field of application and verification in evaluating the degree of gender equality options within a welfare state system in a comparative way. The issue of evaluation of gender and social policies is also considered in the analysis of the gender budgeting and gender auditing strategies applied to measure the implementation and the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming.

Current challenges to gender mainstreaming in Europe

This chapter discusses some of the most urgent challenges to gender equality policies in Europe. The European gender-mainstreaming strategy represents one of the few attemptsto promoting gender equality through a transnational legislative framework.However,theachievements reached so far cannot be given for granted. Political changes, as the rise of right-wing Eurosceptic parties supporting traditional-family models and ethnocentric views, may address new political agendas in which gender equality is marginalised. Furthermore, economic changes can impact on family patterns and gender arrangements, with policy budgets affected as well. The chapter also points out the technocratic approachto gender equality adopted by European laws,whichneglected the cumulative and simultaneous effect of multiple inequities. However, gender often intersects with other differences that can exacerbate inequities. The chapter discusses therefore the gendered consequences of the economic crisis and of defamilisation policies, implemented to deal with the ageing population; and the risks connected with the adoption of ethnocentric, gender-blind policies in the management of the refugees crisis and integration.