Gender mainstreaming and evaluation in the EU: comparative perspectives from feminist institutionalism

This article presents a focused comparative analysis of the institutionalization of two governance practices in the European Commission that levy distinct challenges to the gender status quo: gender mainstreaming (which overtly challenges gender bias) and evaluation (which does not have explicit feminist aspirations). With reference to five dimensions, we identify evaluation as relatively strongly institutionalized, and gender mainstreaming as relatively weakly institutionalized. We draw on the explanatory power of feminist institutionalism to unpack these findings, arguing that a feminist institutional perspective can shed light on this variation, as it provides greater insight into the formal and informal institutions that constrain, enable and shape the implementation of evaluation and gender mainstreaming. We assert that the notion of path dependency, the logic of appropriateness, and the concept of layering serve as useful tools to understand the gendered nature of the European Commission. This research provides insights into the institutional factors that impact the implementation of gender equality strategies (such as gender mainstreaming). In turn, this contributes to the development of more effective strategies to promote institutional change toward greater equality

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on institutional change processes and the collective capabilities of higher education and research institutions

Funding. This article has received funding from the GEARING-Roles and RESISTIRE European Union's Horizon 2020 projects, under grant agreements 824536 and 101015990, respectively.The COVID-19 pandemic and the public policies adopted to cope with the ensuing crisis had a significant impact on higher education and research institutions, and this captured the attention of numerous scholars. However, most of the analyses, especially those adopting a gender perspective, have focused on the impact of the pandemic on women as individuals (individual capabilities), while little attention has been paid to the impact on institutions and processes of structural change (collective capabilities). The capabilities approach (CA) is useful for analysing gender inequalities in higher education, and has also been used to examine the impact of the crisis on certain groups and situations. Based on the adaptation of this approach by Robeyns (2003) and Baser and Morgan (2008) to emphasise the importance of collective capabilities for individuals, institutions and society at large, this paper examines the institutional impact of the pandemic by drawing from the experiences of the six institutions in the GEARING-Roles project implementing gender equality plans (GEPs). To this end, we combine desk research of secondary sources with qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of the GEP implementers and observations of project meetings carried out between April 2020 and June 2022. Our findings indicate a considerable impact on the collective capabilities of the change agents in the participating institutions, which stem mainly from a lack of institutional commitment to the gender equality agenda, mobility restrictions and limited social relations. However, some positive elements also emerge, such as the teams' exceptional capacity to adapt to adverse circumstances.La pandèmia de COVID-19 i les polítiques públiques adoptades per fer front a la crisi subsegüent van tenir un impacte significatiu en les institucions d'ensenyament superior (ES) i de recerca, la qual cosa va captar l'atenció de nombrosos estudiosos. No obstant això, la majoria d'aquestes anàlisis, especialment les que adopten una perspectiva de gènere, s'han centrat en l'impacte sobre les dones com a individus (capacitats individuals) i han prestat poca atenció a l'impacte sobre les institucions i els processos de canvi estructural (capacitats col·lectives). L'enfocament de les capacitats (CA) és útil per analitzar les desigualtats de gènere en l'ES i també per examinar l'impacte de la crisi en determinats grups i situacions. Partint de l'adaptació d'aquest enfocament de Robeyns (2003) i de Baser i Morgan (2008) per subratllar la importància de les capacitats col·lectives per als individus, les institucions i la societat en general, aquest article examina l'impacte institucional de la pandèmia basant-se en l'experiència de sis institucions implementadores dels plans d'igualtat de gènere (GEP) en el projecte GEARING-Rols. Per fer-ho, combinem la recerca de fonts secundàries amb l'anàlisi qualitativa d'entrevistes en profunditat realitzades a representants d'aquestes entitats i observacions de reunions del projecte dutes a terme entre abril de 2020 i juny de 2022. Les nostres troballes indiquen un impacte considerable en les capacitats col·lectives dels agents de canvi de les institucions participants, que deriven principalment de la falta de compromís institucional amb l'agenda d'igualtat de gènere, les restriccions de mobilitat i les limitades relacions socials. No obstant això, també emergeixen alguns elements positius, com l'excepcional capacitat dels equips per adaptar-se a circumstàncies adverses.La pandemia de COVID-19 y las políticas públicas adoptadas para hacer frente a la crisis subsiguiente tuvieron un impacto significativo en las instituciones de enseñanza superior (ES) y de investigación, lo que captó la atención de numerosos estudiosos. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estos análisis, especialmente los que adoptan una perspectiva de género, se han centrado en el impacto sobre las mujeres como individuos (capacidades individuales) y han prestado poca atención al impacto sobre las instituciones y los procesos de cambio estructural (capacidades colectivas). El enfoque de las capacidades (CA) es útil para analizar las desigualdades de género en la ES y también para examinar el impacto de la crisis en determinados grupos y situaciones. Partiendo de la adaptación de este enfoque de Robeyns (2003) y de Baser y Morgan (2008) para subrayar la importancia de las capacidades colectivas para los individuos, las instituciones y la sociedad en general, este artículo examina el impacto institucional de la pandemia basándose en la experiencia de seis instituciones implementadoras de los planes de igualdad de género (GEP) en el proyecto GEARING-Roles. Para ello, combinamos la investigación de fuentes secundarias con el análisis cualitativo de entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a representantes de estas entidades y observaciones de reuniones del proyecto llevadas a cabo entre abril de 2020 y junio de 2022. Nuestros hallazgos indican un impacto considerable en las capacidades colectivas de los agentes de cambio de las instituciones participantes, que derivan principalmente de la falta de compromiso institucional con la agenda de igualdad de género, las restricciones de movilidad y las limitadas relaciones sociales. No obstante, también emergen algunos elementos positivos, como la excepcional capacidad de los equipos para adaptarse a circunstancias adversas

Policy evaluation and gender mainstreaming in the European Union: The perfect (mis)match?

This article assesses the ability of the European Commission’s current approach to policy evaluation to evaluate gender mainstreaming and, in turn, other cross-cutting social agendas (Articles 8–10 TFEU). Taking European Union research policy as a case study, through our analysis, we reveal mismatches between current evaluation standards adopted within the Better Regulation framework and requirements for effectively assessing progress towards cross-cutting social objectives, such as gender equality. The article concludes with a series of recommendations to overcome the identified shortcomings. Our analysis constitutes a key contribution to the development of feminist scholarship on the post-implementation phase of the policy process

The concept and measurement of violence against women and men

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The extent of violence against women is currently hidden. How should violence be measured? How should research and new ways of thinking about violence improve its measurement? Could improved measurement change policy? The book is a guide to how the measurement of violence can be best achieved. It shows how to make femicide, rape, domestic violence, and FGM visible in official statistics. It offers practical guidance on definitions, indicators and coordination mechanisms. It reflects on theoretical debates on ‘what is gender’, ‘what is violence’, and ‘the concept of coercive control’. and introduces the concept of ‘gender saturated context’. Analysing the socially constructed nature of statistics and the links between knowledge and power, it sets new standards and guidelines to influence the measurement of violence in the coming decades

The concept and measurement of violence against women and men

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The extent of violence against women is currently hidden. How should violence be measured? How should research and new ways of thinking about violence improve its measurement? Could improved measurement change policy? The book is a guide to how the measurement of violence can be best achieved. It shows how to make femicide, rape, domestic violence, and FGM visible in official statistics. It offers practical guidance on definitions, indicators and coordination mechanisms. It reflects on theoretical debates on ‘what is gender’, ‘what is violence’, and ‘the concept of coercive control’. and introduces the concept of ‘gender saturated context’. Analysing the socially constructed nature of statistics and the links between knowledge and power, it sets new standards and guidelines to influence the measurement of violence in the coming decades

A study of collected narratives on gender perceptions in the 27 EU Member States : synthesis report

The ‘Study of collected narratives on gender perceptions in the 27 EU Member States’ has been commissioned by the European Institute for Gender Equality with the aim of mapping the persistence of stereotypical gender attitudes and perceptions. The study has as its central objective the collection of real-life stories related to gender perceptions in the form of narratives. The specific aim with this study is to map stereotypical gender attitudes/perceptions through stories and put these in their narrative form and original language in an online database. These narratives have been analysed with a view to identifying how stereotypical gender perceptions influence people’s lives, as well as to provide background information on possible obstacles for increased gender equality in various contexts and on how stereotypical gender perceptions can be overcome. For the purpose of this study, gender perceptions are defined as “people’s perceptions with regard to (asymmetric) gender roles and attributes of ‘femininity’ / ‘masculinity’”. It is the purpose of this Synthesis report to make a broad, rather than a detailed and focussed analysis of the narratives. The analysis will seek to identify belief systems, patterns and norms of behaviour that reinforce gender stereotypes, including how these may evolve over time. The study wants to point to possible ways of how and why people change their ways of thinking about gender. In this context, the study looks for triggers of change such as key actors or factors that have contributed to breaking a pattern of stereotypical gender perceptions.peer-reviewe

Resistance to implementing gender mainstreaming in EU research policy

In this article, we analyze the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the European Union (EU) through the study of ‘resistance’ to gender equality initiatives in EU research policy. Contributing to feminist institutionalist theories, we identify resistance to gender initiatives within the Directorate General Research and Innovation, showing that there have been obstacles to an effective implementation of gender mainstreaming in the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme (FP6). We argue that the encountered resistances reveal tensions between the European Commission’s official mandate of mainstreaming gender equality into all policies and its actual implementation, which results in the ‘filtering out’ of transformative gender equality goal