La igualdad de genero en el Tratado Constitucional de la Unión Europea

The article analyses the treatment of gender equality in the 2004 European Constitutional Treaty, with particular reference to the incorporation of a gender perspective in the process. The assessment includes positive results, that are related to the maintenance of the acquis commmunautaire on equality, the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the mobilisation in favour of equality within and outside the body of the Convention. It also considers the negative results that have to do with the limited capacity to incorporate a gender perspective into the process and the text of the Constitution. This limits are attributed to the narrow concept of gender equality adopted in the document, the resistance to incorporate a gender perspective into ah policy areas, the low representation of women in the Convention, and the absence of a gender perspective in the institutional and administrative process. The conclusions discuss a number of hypotheses that explain these limitations.El artículo analiza el tratamiento de la igualdad de género en el Tratado Constitucional Europeo de 2004, con especial referencia a la incorporación de una perspectiva de géne ro en el proceso. Evalúa tanto los resultados positivos, relacionados con el mantenimien to del acervo comunitario en materia de igualdad, la inclusión de la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la UE, y las movilizaciones a favor de la igualdad dentro y fuera de la Convención, como los resultados negativos, concernientes a la limitada capacidad de incorporar una perspectiva de género en el proceso y en el texto constitucional. Esta se atribuye al concepto estrecho de igualdad de género adoptado en el documento, a las resistencias en incorporar una perspectiva de género en todas las áreas políticas, a la baja representación de las mujeres en la Convención, y a la ausencia de una perspectiva de género en el proceso institucional y administrativo. En la conclusión se avanzan algunas hipótesis explicativas de dichas limitaciones

Ending ghettoization? mainstreaming gender in spanish political science education

Mainstreaming gender in political science education requires legislation, structures, instruments, and critical actors, not to mention a favourable political context for putting the issue on the agenda. This article examines these issues in the Spanish context with particular reference to the opportunities afforded to the mainstreaming of gender in higher education as a result of the European Higher Education Area and the policies pursued by the Socialist Zapatero government (2004–2011). Upon the back of these initiatives, undergraduate gender and politics studies were introduced for the first time in Spanish universities, having from the most part until then been the reserve of interdisciplinary Masters programmes on gender. While the opportunities to embed gender within political science education have been opened up, this process of mainstreaming has also been characterised by resistance. These issues are unpacked through a case study of the development of the gender and politics network within the Spanish Association of Political and Administrative Science, as well as through reference to the project of a pioneering textbook on mainstreaming gender in political science

Gender regime change in decentralized states: the case of Spain

This article applies Walby’s systemic theory of gender regime to Spain’s decentralized state, to capture changes in the gender regime. Locating the “hegemon” at different levels of government for each domain (economy, polity, violence, and civil society) and considering interactions between governmental levels provided a clear understanding of changes in the gender regime. The relationship between governmental level acting as hegemon in specific domains and variations in political majorities across governmental levels explained changes toward a neoliberal– conservative type in the economy domain. Shifts toward a neoliberal gender regime in violence and polity, and toward a conservative type in civil society, were contested

Care policies in practice: how discourse matters for policy implementation

This article puts public policy research in dialogue with gender and politics studies to enhance our understanding of the implementation of care policies. Care policies present interesting problems of implementation because of the multiplicity of aims, values, inequalities, actors and levels of governance involved. Nonetheless, previous research shows two important gaps: 1) the neglect of discursive factors in studies of implementation; and 2) the lack of attention to implementation processes in the analysis of care policies. This article suggests a general framework to address these issues which considers discourse as a transversal factor connecting actors and institutions engaged in policy implementation. The articles in this special issue demonstrate that including discourses in the analysis of care policy implementation makes visible the influence of gender+ norms and the dynamic and contentious processes surrounding them in a variety of institutional arenas, levels, and national contexts

How opposition to gender equality is expressed by radical right MEPs in the European parliament

Issues affecting gender equality are frequently debated in the European Parliament. Drawing on a recent study, Johanna Kantola and Emanuela Lombardo present new findings on how radical right MEPs express opposition to gender equality during plenary sessions

Gender Equality Policies and Social Policies in Spain: Origin, Development and Dismantlement in a context of economic crisis

Este artículo hace un recorrido através de las políticas de igualdad en España, en relación con las políticassociales, desde su origen, desarrollo, y desmantelamiento en un contexto decrisis económica. Las políticas de igualdad de género han tenido un desarrolloespectacular en España desde principios de la democracia. Se haninstitucionalizado gracias a la creación de organismos de igualdad en todos losniveles de gobierno, han diversificado sus instrumentos incluyendo planes,leyes y unidades de género, y han generado unos avances que desde 2004 hasta2008 indicaban cierta consolidación. Sin embargo, el retroceso provocado porlas políticas de ‘austeridad’ adoptadas a partir de 2008 en respuesta a lacrisis económica ha mostrado una falta de priorización de las políticas deigualdad cuando estas entran en conflicto con otras prioridades económicas. Eneste contexto, a pesar de la movilización de la sociedad civil, las políticas deigualdad en España tienen por delante un camino tremendamente incierto.This article overviews gender equality policies in Spain, and their relation with social policies, from their origins, through their development and dismantlement in the economic crisis context. Gender equality policies have greatly developed in Spain from the beginnings of democracy. They have been institutionalized thanks to the creation of gender equality machinery at all governmental levels; they have diversified their instruments including plans, laws and gender units; and their progress from 2004 to 2008 indicated certain consolidation. However, the backlash provoked by austerity policies adopted in response to the economic crisis since 2008 have shown a lack of prioritization of equality policies when there are conflicting economic priorities. In this context, despite civil society’s mobilizations, the future of gender equality policies in Spain looks extremely uncertain