Gender equality policy of the european union: Public policy evolution and the feminist evaluation

Abstract

Gender regime of the European Union is a distinctive regime characterized by a specific genesis, particular rules and complex procedures. Public policies belonging to the regime represent the gender equality portfolio of member states and candidate countries. It is, therefore, essential to be familiar with their content, as well as their history. The paper analyses the complex creation of the gender equality policy, marked by political conflicts over opposing visions of equality, influence of other international regimes and internal institutional conflicts. The main question is the following: How has gender equality policy developed in the last sixty years, how is it evaluated and what are the projections for its future? In order to address this question, original EU public policy documents are used, as well as insights from rich literature covering the politological aspect of gender and politics. The paper ends with a conclusion that after half a century of development, marked by episodes of public policy innovation (in which the EU was not a mere follower, but rather a leader of progress on the global scene), there is a worrying stagnation in the formulation and implementation of gender equality policy.