Gender Mainstreaming in the EU

Book excerpt: 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.