Mainstreaming Equality in the European Union provides a critical overview and evaluation of the potential role of the EU in perpetuating or breaking down gender segregation in the EU labour force. Teresa Rees draws upon feminist theoretical frameworks in assessing Equal Opportunitues policies and the role of training in the labour market. The same economic imperatives which put women's training on the agenda have heightened interest in designing training which attracts women into mainstream provision. Mainstreaming Equality in the European Union addresses the urgent need for academics, education and training providers, as well as policy makers to be aware of current thinking at EU level on training policy.

In theory, the EU’s ‘Gender Mainstreaming’ policy should mark it out as a trail-blazer in gender equality, but gender equality activists in Europe confront a knotty problem; most civil servants and policy makers can’t understand how to ‘mainstream’ gender. Making Gender Equality Happen argues that we should take this problem seriously. In this book Cavaghan uncovers the social processes that make gender appear irrelevant to so many policy makers using a new method, gender knowledge contestation analysis. Building on this new perspective Cavaghan identifies: barriers to effective gender mainstreaming; mechanisms of resistance to gender mainstreaming; and the steps towards positive change, which gender mainstreaming can yield, even when results stop short of ‘transformation’. These findings present fresh perspectives for policy makers and activists aiming to make gender equality happen. Cavaghan’s new method also opens fresh avenues in feminist EU studies, which are particularly relevant in the wake of the financial crisis, as the EU seems to be stepping away from its commitments to gender equality.

In 1996 the European Union formally adopted the equality strategy of gender mainstreaming. This strategy seeks to achieve equality between men and women by integrating a gender perspective into all public policies in order to ensure that the (often different) needs of women and men are taken into account. This dossier examines the impact of gender mainstreaming upon EU policy-making procedures and key EU policies. The discussion is divided into three parts. Part One clarifies the concept of gender mainstreaming, highlighting the theoretical justification for and policy-making implications of this approach. Part Two explains how and why gender mainstreaming came to be adopted by the EU. Part Three evaluates the impact of gender mainstreaming upon the EU policy-making process up to the time of publication.

‘Bridging European and gender studies, this volume deserves a great welcome to the literature. It not only offers a feminist reading of Europeanisation in general, but also discusses the process of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation of Turkey with regard to changes in gender policy. The book demonstrates that the EU is the leading body to advocate gender equality, and also proves that it is a firm gender actor compared to other international organisations. However, as the volume also shows, the EU is not yet a normative gender actor due to the absence of a feminist rationale in promoting gender equality abroad. The contributions offer significant insights into EU-Turkey relations from a gender studies perspective.’ Ayhan Kaya, Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics of Interculturalism, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey ‘Süleymanoğlu-Kürüm and Cin have curated a timely volume that applies a feminist lens to the well-known Europeanisation framework. Using the case of Turkey, the book extends the focus of European studies scholarship that analyses the adaptation of non-member states to EU policies and practices to setting a new feminist agenda in the adaptation to the EU. Beyond the new insights offered on the Turkish case study, the volume provides a powerful critique, and highlights the limits of the EU’s reach outside of its current border.’ Toni Haastrup, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, University of Stirling, UK ‘This pioneering volume, which extends feminist perspectives to the study of EU toward candidate countries, is a must-read for scholars of EU integration and gender studies.’ Bahar Rumelili, Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department of International Relations, Koc University, Turkey This book explores the Europeanisation of gender policies and addresses some of the challenges of the debates surrounding the EU’s impact on domestic politics. Using Turkey as a case study, it illustrates that Europeanisation needs a feminist agenda and perspective. The first part of the book critically engages with the literature on Europeanisation, the EU’s gender policies and gender policymaking, and the interaction between Europeanisation and gender policies to argue that the Europeanisation framework falls short in devising sustainable gender policies due to a lack of feminist rationale and theory. Subsequently, the book develops a feminist framework of Europeanisation by drawing on the work of key feminist philosophers (Carole Pateman, Onora O’Neill, Nancy Fraser, Anne Phillips, Iris Young) and uses this framework to offer a critique of the Europeanisation of gender policies in various areas where the EU has prompted changes to domestic policies, including in civil society, political representation, private sector, violence against women, education, and asylum policy.

Mark Bell explores the effect of anti-racism policies in topical areas of EU law and policy including employment, social inclusion, immigration, and the criminal law.

In a context of economic and budgetary crisis, this book presents a long-term analysis of the transformations of EU gender equality. It analyses the mechanisms of construction, consolidation and deconstruction of this policy and questions the effects of its current dismantling.

Political institutions profoundly shape political life and are also gendered. This groundbreaking collection synthesises new institutionalism and gendered analysis using a new approach - feminist institutionalism - in order to answer crucial questions about power inequalities, mechanisms of continuity, and the gendered limits of change.