This document examines how the European Union frames gender equality in its development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa compared to civil society organizations. It analyzes 28 EU policy documents and compares them to 10 texts from civil society groups using critical frame analysis. The document finds that while the EU promotes gender mainstreaming, its approach focuses more on using gender equality to achieve existing development goals rather than challenging gender relations or power structures, which is more in line with the frames of civil society organizations. There is a gap between the EU's policy framing of gender issues and the views expressed by civil society that can be partly explained by the EU's reluctance to fully incorporate civil society perspectives.
Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy.
Gender equality means equal visibility, empowerment, responsibility and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. Achieving gender equality is central to the protection of human rights, the functioning of democracy, respect for the rule of law, and economic growth and competitiveness.
More information - www.coe.int/equality
More publications - https://book.coe.int/eur/en/
Making Budgets Gender- Sensitive: A Checklist for Programme-Based Aid Making...Dr Lendy Spires
MAKING BUDGETS GENDER-SENSITIVE: A CHECKLIST FOR PROGRAMME-BASED AID "Aid is only effective if it achieves good development results and good development re- sults are not possible if gender inequalities persist, environmental damage is accepted or human rights are abused." Mary Robinson, at the workshop "Strengthening the Development Results and Impacts of the Paris Declaration through Work on Gender Equality, Social Exclusion and Human Rights", London, March 2008 1. Introduction Since the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (March 2005) a new emphasis is laid on effi ciency of aid flows for achieving greater development effectiveness. The principles of ownership, harmonization, alignment, managing for development results and accountability build the opera tional framework of the Paris Declaration. New aid modalities like Joint Assistance Strategies (JAS), Sector Budget Support (SBS), General Budget Support (GBS), or Basket Funds should guarantee alignment with a government’s development plans and donor priorities as well as stimulate donors to harmonize their efforts. Very early, the OECD DAC Gendernet, the European Union and UNIFEM seized the opportunity the PD was providing for a sound gender mainstreaming effort. Several conferences, workshops and meetings were held during the last three years to gather experiences and best practices for engendering the PD. These exchanges lead to consensus on the importance to bring gender equality and women’s rights as drivers of change into policy dialogue, donor-partner countries negotiations, and public finance management (PFM). Helpful for this process is the methodology of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) that is al ready available since the later 1980s and is used now by almost 100 countries of the South and the North. In Austria, since January 2008 a new constitutional law requires gender equality princi ples in budgets at all governmental levels (communes, provinces, state). 1 Feminist economists2 have developed several tools of GRB which allow the analysis of budgets in terms of inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact. In addition, budget circulars are used for the inte gration of gender mainstreaming in financial planning.
Regional Social Policy for Sustainable Human Development A Southern African ...Ndangwa Noyoo
This document discusses the concept of regional social policy for sustainable human development in Southern Africa. It argues that institutionalizing regional social policy at the supranational level could help crystallize regional integration efforts. Regional social policy could enhance cross-border cooperation, provide social protections, and allow for a stronger voice in negotiations. However, challenges include financing, existing bilateral agreements, leadership, and long-term policymaking. Overall, the document makes the case that regional social policy could help accelerate development in Southern Africa if articulated within frameworks of democratic governance and sound economic policies.
Strengthening the Role of Women in the NeighbourhoodENPI Info Centre
The document summarizes information from the 2010 and 2009 editions of EuropeAid's Gender Equality drawing competition. It discusses the EU's commitment to promoting gender equality as a fundamental right and core value. It highlights efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to strengthen women's roles and achieve gender equality through measures to prevent discrimination and protect women's rights. It also describes the Enhancing Equality Programme which aims to implement CEDAW and combat gender-based violence in the EuroMed region through capacity building and training.
This article reflects, from a holistic and interdisciplinary perspective, on the challenges surrounding the development of eParticipation in Europe, with special focus on EU programs. To this end, we firstly assess the field’s practical and theoretical achievements and limitations, and corroborate that the progress of eParticipation in the last decade has not been completely satisfactory in spite of the significant share of resources invested to support it. We secondly attempt to diagnose and enlighten some of the field’s systemic problems and challenges which are responsible for this unsettling development. The domain’s maladies are grouped under tree main categories: (1) lack of a proper understanding and articulation with regard to the “Participation” field; (2) eParticipation community’s ‘founding biases’ around e-Government and academy; and (3) inadequacy of traditional Innovation Support Programmes to incentivize innovation in the eParticipation field. In the context of the ‘Europe 2020 Strategy’ and its flagship initiative “Innovation Union”, our final section provides several recommendations which could contribute to enhance the effectiveness of future European eParticipation actions.
1. Local administrations, especially cities, are on the frontlines of dealing with the transformations brought about by migration as over 9.3 billion people are expected to move to urban centers by 2030. Cities in both sending and receiving areas are shaped by diaspora groups and local governments are increasingly aware of the opportunities that international migration presents.
2. There is a need to move beyond isolated local migration and development initiatives towards more structured cooperation between cities in sending and receiving areas to jointly manage migration flows. Local governments have greater responsibilities for migration issues given their impacts are felt most strongly at the local level.
3. The session aims to discuss challenges local authorities face in co-development initiatives and identify tools and partnerships
The african-union-s-mechanisms-to-foster-gender-mainstreaming-and-ensure-wome...Dr Lendy Spires
This document summarizes the African Union's mechanisms for promoting gender mainstreaming and women's political participation. It outlines the AU's institutional and legal framework, which is informed by international frameworks like CEDAW and UN conferences. The framework includes the AU Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, reporting structures like the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the AU Gender Policy and Action Plan, and financing mechanisms like the Fund for African Women. It also discusses cooperation between the AU, EU, and UN on these issues and identifies ongoing challenges and recommendations.
1. The document discusses women's participation and inclusion of gender perspectives in mediation and dialogue processes. It notes that women remain underrepresented in such processes and gender is often ignored.
2. The document provides background on EU commitments to promoting women's participation and addressing gender. It discusses key issues like low representation of women as mediators or negotiators and lack of gender considerations in peace agreements.
3. The document emphasizes that ensuring women's participation at all levels of mediation and dialogue as well as incorporating gender perspectives throughout is essential for sustainable and inclusive processes and outcomes.
Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy.
Gender equality means equal visibility, empowerment, responsibility and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. Achieving gender equality is central to the protection of human rights, the functioning of democracy, respect for the rule of law, and economic growth and competitiveness.
More information - www.coe.int/equality
More publications - https://book.coe.int/eur/en/
Making Budgets Gender- Sensitive: A Checklist for Programme-Based Aid Making...Dr Lendy Spires
MAKING BUDGETS GENDER-SENSITIVE: A CHECKLIST FOR PROGRAMME-BASED AID "Aid is only effective if it achieves good development results and good development re- sults are not possible if gender inequalities persist, environmental damage is accepted or human rights are abused." Mary Robinson, at the workshop "Strengthening the Development Results and Impacts of the Paris Declaration through Work on Gender Equality, Social Exclusion and Human Rights", London, March 2008 1. Introduction Since the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (March 2005) a new emphasis is laid on effi ciency of aid flows for achieving greater development effectiveness. The principles of ownership, harmonization, alignment, managing for development results and accountability build the opera tional framework of the Paris Declaration. New aid modalities like Joint Assistance Strategies (JAS), Sector Budget Support (SBS), General Budget Support (GBS), or Basket Funds should guarantee alignment with a government’s development plans and donor priorities as well as stimulate donors to harmonize their efforts. Very early, the OECD DAC Gendernet, the European Union and UNIFEM seized the opportunity the PD was providing for a sound gender mainstreaming effort. Several conferences, workshops and meetings were held during the last three years to gather experiences and best practices for engendering the PD. These exchanges lead to consensus on the importance to bring gender equality and women’s rights as drivers of change into policy dialogue, donor-partner countries negotiations, and public finance management (PFM). Helpful for this process is the methodology of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) that is al ready available since the later 1980s and is used now by almost 100 countries of the South and the North. In Austria, since January 2008 a new constitutional law requires gender equality princi ples in budgets at all governmental levels (communes, provinces, state). 1 Feminist economists2 have developed several tools of GRB which allow the analysis of budgets in terms of inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact. In addition, budget circulars are used for the inte gration of gender mainstreaming in financial planning.
Regional Social Policy for Sustainable Human Development A Southern African ...Ndangwa Noyoo
This document discusses the concept of regional social policy for sustainable human development in Southern Africa. It argues that institutionalizing regional social policy at the supranational level could help crystallize regional integration efforts. Regional social policy could enhance cross-border cooperation, provide social protections, and allow for a stronger voice in negotiations. However, challenges include financing, existing bilateral agreements, leadership, and long-term policymaking. Overall, the document makes the case that regional social policy could help accelerate development in Southern Africa if articulated within frameworks of democratic governance and sound economic policies.
Strengthening the Role of Women in the NeighbourhoodENPI Info Centre
The document summarizes information from the 2010 and 2009 editions of EuropeAid's Gender Equality drawing competition. It discusses the EU's commitment to promoting gender equality as a fundamental right and core value. It highlights efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to strengthen women's roles and achieve gender equality through measures to prevent discrimination and protect women's rights. It also describes the Enhancing Equality Programme which aims to implement CEDAW and combat gender-based violence in the EuroMed region through capacity building and training.
This article reflects, from a holistic and interdisciplinary perspective, on the challenges surrounding the development of eParticipation in Europe, with special focus on EU programs. To this end, we firstly assess the field’s practical and theoretical achievements and limitations, and corroborate that the progress of eParticipation in the last decade has not been completely satisfactory in spite of the significant share of resources invested to support it. We secondly attempt to diagnose and enlighten some of the field’s systemic problems and challenges which are responsible for this unsettling development. The domain’s maladies are grouped under tree main categories: (1) lack of a proper understanding and articulation with regard to the “Participation” field; (2) eParticipation community’s ‘founding biases’ around e-Government and academy; and (3) inadequacy of traditional Innovation Support Programmes to incentivize innovation in the eParticipation field. In the context of the ‘Europe 2020 Strategy’ and its flagship initiative “Innovation Union”, our final section provides several recommendations which could contribute to enhance the effectiveness of future European eParticipation actions.
1. Local administrations, especially cities, are on the frontlines of dealing with the transformations brought about by migration as over 9.3 billion people are expected to move to urban centers by 2030. Cities in both sending and receiving areas are shaped by diaspora groups and local governments are increasingly aware of the opportunities that international migration presents.
2. There is a need to move beyond isolated local migration and development initiatives towards more structured cooperation between cities in sending and receiving areas to jointly manage migration flows. Local governments have greater responsibilities for migration issues given their impacts are felt most strongly at the local level.
3. The session aims to discuss challenges local authorities face in co-development initiatives and identify tools and partnerships
The african-union-s-mechanisms-to-foster-gender-mainstreaming-and-ensure-wome...Dr Lendy Spires
This document summarizes the African Union's mechanisms for promoting gender mainstreaming and women's political participation. It outlines the AU's institutional and legal framework, which is informed by international frameworks like CEDAW and UN conferences. The framework includes the AU Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, reporting structures like the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the AU Gender Policy and Action Plan, and financing mechanisms like the Fund for African Women. It also discusses cooperation between the AU, EU, and UN on these issues and identifies ongoing challenges and recommendations.
1. The document discusses women's participation and inclusion of gender perspectives in mediation and dialogue processes. It notes that women remain underrepresented in such processes and gender is often ignored.
2. The document provides background on EU commitments to promoting women's participation and addressing gender. It discusses key issues like low representation of women as mediators or negotiators and lack of gender considerations in peace agreements.
3. The document emphasizes that ensuring women's participation at all levels of mediation and dialogue as well as incorporating gender perspectives throughout is essential for sustainable and inclusive processes and outcomes.
Gender stereotypes are generalised views or preconceived ideas, according to which individuals are categorised into particular gender groups, typically defined as “women” and “men”, and are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their sex. Stereotypes are both descriptive, in that members of a certain group are perceived to have the same attributes regardless of individual differences, and prescriptive as they set the parameters for what societies
deem to be acceptable behaviour. Stereotyping becomes problematic when it is used as a vehicle to degrade and discriminate women. Abolishing negative
gender stereotypes is essential to achieving gender equality, and the media are central to prompting this change.
More information:
www.coe.int/equality
gender.equality@coe.int
This document summarizes a keynote presentation on the "local turn" in diversity management and political discourses in Europe. The presentation argues that [1] European citizens are increasingly urban citizens and migration is an urban phenomenon, requiring a shift from focusing on citizens to focusing on cities. [2] Cities now play a prominent role in diversity governance but face challenges of multi-level governance and coordination between levels of government. [3] Internally, cities must manage diversity and related socio-political discourses, policies, and public opinion. The presentation aims to justify this "local turn" and discuss challenges for developing a European framework centered around diverse cities.
popular participation-decentralization-in-africa-minJamaity
This document provides an introduction to the concepts of decentralization and popular participation in Africa. It discusses definitions of political and fiscal decentralization, and explains why decentralization is occurring globally and the potential benefits it can provide if implemented well through improved services and poverty alleviation. However, decentralization can also fail if done poorly. The document emphasizes that popular participation is important for giving sustainability to decentralized systems of governance. It explores concepts of public and social accountability and how these relate to participation. Country examples of decentralization frameworks in Mozambique, South Africa, and Ethiopia are also provided.
The document provides background information on the Management Centre of the Mediterranean (MC-Med), including its establishment, aims, and activities. MC-Med operates several programs focused on civil society and reconciliation, professional development, organizational development, and communication. It provides training and conducts research to inform strategy and support other organizations. Notably, MC-Med has established an Independent Media Centre to enable alternative reporting from a civil society perspective and organizes public discussions on reconciliation in Cyprus. It also initiated the Cyprus NGO Network and distributes grants with NGO SC to encourage cooperation across the divide.
Social Dialogue - Social dialogue for a competitive, fair and modern Europe 2015Eurofound
social dialogue, industrial relations,ndustrial relations, industrial relations, european industrial relations, industrial relations in Europe, labour relations, employment relations, social dialogue, trade, unions, crisis, cross-sector, employers, european company, european framework agreements, european works council, industrial action, industrial action, industrial relations, law, minimum wage, sectoral social dialogue, social dialogue, trade unions, wages, working time, bargaining in the shadow of the law, collective agreements, European commission, EU law, EU treaties, decentralization of collective bargaining, single employer bargaining, multi-employer bargaining, extension of collective agreements, favourability principle, opt-out, opening clause, erga omnes, commodity, ILO, dispute settlement, varieties of capitalism, coordinated market economy, liberal market economy, bi-partite, tri-partite, Val Duchesse, macro-economic dialogue, tri-partite social summit, social dialogue committee, working time, labor productivity, labor cost, trade union density, collective bargaining coverage, pay, autonomous agreements, telework, parental leave, BUSINESSEUROPE, ETUC, CEEP, UEAPME, mega trends, information and consultation, liberal market economy, coordinated market economy,years of European social dialogue since its launch in Val Duchesse in Brussels,eprésentativité des partenaires sociaux européens interprofessionnels, les partenaires patronaux,European social dialogue, European Union, social dialogue, industrial relations, IR, European industrial relations, social policy, Val Duchesse, employers, trade unions, collective bargaining union, European works councils, European framework agreements, European company statute, représentativité, partenaires sociaux européens interprofessionnels, syndicats
The document discusses the Volunteer and Citizenship Program for Local Government Units in the Philippines. It aims to establish Volunteer and Citizenship Desks in local governments to better coordinate volunteers and promote citizenship. The program draws on theories of neorepublicanism and aims to give more citizens a voice in their communities. It also discusses using volunteerism to help the Philippines achieve its UN Millennium Development Goals by taking advantage of the large number of potential volunteers in the country.
Presentation given at the OECD Gender Budgeting Experts Meeting, Vienna, Austria. 18-19 June 2018
For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/gender-budgeting-experts-meeting-2018.htm
This document discusses innovation and regional policy in the European Union. It outlines how the EU focuses regional policy on research and innovation, information and communication technologies, supporting small and medium businesses, and moving to a low-carbon economy. Regional policy is implemented through the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund, and managed by national and regional authorities in cooperation with the European Commission.
The document discusses proposals by the 1989 Generation Initiative to reform the European Union by making it more people-centered. It calls on the "89ers" generation born around 1989 to lead this reform process. The Initiative proposes three principles to guide EU policy: connectivity between citizens, solidarity with citizens, and opportunity for citizens. It also makes two specific policy proposals: 1) Better regulate lobbying in the EU through a mandatory registry and legislative footprint. 2) Reform the selection of the European Commission President to increase democratic accountability. The goal is to make the EU more transparent, representative and trusted by its citizens.
The document calls for a change in the European political culture from a consensus-oriented model to one that embraces political conflicts like at the national level. The current consensus model is depoliticized and expert-dominated, making voters' voices irrelevant and decreasing trust and interest. It lacks transparency and clarity on political responsibility. In contrast, political conflicts at the national level better define positions, increase responsiveness and voter control over leaders through punishment or reward of their actions. A shift towards a more conflict-based political culture at the European level could help revitalize democracy.
OECD International Forum on Open Government - AgendaOECD Governance
The International Forum on Open Government gathers open government leaders from around the world in order to debate the contribution of the principles of transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation to good governance and socio-economic development. For more information see www.oecd.org/gov/international-forum-on-open-government.htm
Carrots or Sticks: The Choice and Impact of EU Democratic Sanctions and AidPaulina Pospieszna
Both the provision of democracy aid and the imposition of sanctions are tools to promote
democracy. Yet, it is unclear under which conditions states choose to set positive or negative
incentives. In order to answer which tool—democracy aid or democratic sanctions—is more
effective, one has to analyse the actual form of the provision of aid. Sanctions and democracy aid
can also be employed at the same time. The goal of this study is to determine their joint effect on
democratization in recipient countries. We argue that sending civil society aid or democracy aid
channeled through NGOs and the civil society when sanctions are in place, enhances the
effectiveness of sanctions as a democracy promotion tool because the civil society can be
empowered to introduce democratic changes in its country—so additionally to the top-down
pressure created by sanctions, there is bottom-up pressure exerted by the civil society. Our results
suggest that democratic sanctions are more likely to be successful if democracy aid bypasses the
government in a target state. Conversely, other forms of aid provision tend to decrease the
effectiveness of sanctions. In order to precisely explain the joint impact of positive and negative
incentives on democratization, we employ a new comprehensive dataset on economic sanctions
for the period between 1989 and 2015 which integrates and updates the Threats and Imposition of
Economic Sanctions and the GIGA sanctions data sets, merged with disaggregated OECD aid data
and V-Dem as well as PolityIV democracy scores.
Evaluation of the impact of the free movement of EU citizens at local levelBarka Foundation
This document provides an evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at the local level. It examines local policies and impacts in six cities: Barcelona, Dublin, Hamburg, Lille, Prague, and Turin. The study finds that intra-EU mobility has led to economic and social impacts in these cities, with EU mobile citizens filling jobs and supporting key industries. However, EU mobile citizens do not always have the same opportunities as locals in areas like employment, housing, and education. As a result, cities have implemented inclusion policies across domains such as employment, entrepreneurship, cultural dialogue, housing, education, attitudes toward migration, and civic participation to foster successful integration and maximize the benefits of mobility. The report identifies best practices
Contextualising Public (e)Participation in the Governance of the European UnionePractice.eu
Authors: Simon Smith, Effie Dalakiouridou.
This paper contextualises the benefits and challenges of participation and eParticipation in the EU in two respects: historically and theoretically.
Resilient Cities in Ageing Societies - International Roundtable , AgendaOECD Governance
This International Roundtable will provide a platform for policy dialogue on addressing the challenges of ageing societies. More information available at www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/sustainable-urban-development-policies-in-ageing-societies.htm
The document discusses open government and the role of open data. It provides an overview of freedom of information and data privacy legislation around the world, noting that Europe leads in these areas. It also examines open government data catalogues and e-participation/e-government indices by region. Key challenges discussed are ensuring adequate "openness" while meeting growing citizen expectations and addressing digital divides. The document advocates moving forward with demand-driven, high-quality open data and services to help create a culture of open government.
TAIEX and Twinning are instruments used by the European Commission to help build strong institutions in EU enlargement and neighborhood partner countries through peer-to-peer assistance and expertise sharing between public administrations. In 2014, over 1660 activities were carried out through TAIEX, reaching over 30,000 participants. TAIEX provides workshops, expert missions, and study visits to help partners implement EU legislation and best practices. The report shows that TAIEX continues to be an effective way to support reforms and modernization in partner countries.
European Summit on Innovation for Active and Healthy AgeingRunwaySale
The report consolidates the discussions held throughout the 2-day event and is organised in a clear set of actions that we will explore jointly with interested stakeholders in the coming 18 months.
The final report includes possible measures to better convert innovation into economic growth and jobs, mobilize public and private investment, transform health and care systems to meet the needs of the ageing population, leverage technological breakthroughs and build a more inclusive "ageing society".
Rolling Back the Rollback - Program and Participant BiographiesFabio Venturini
This document provides an agenda and descriptions for a forum program on the rollback of democracy that will take place on April 7, 2014 at CEU Octagon Hall. The program includes 4 panel discussions in the morning and afternoon on topics related to the rollback of democracy, followed by parallel working groups and a concluding plenary session. Brief biographies are provided for many of the panelists and moderators, who represent a variety of academic, political, and civil society backgrounds from different countries in Europe.
The document discusses the role of networks in the EU's foreign policy toward Colombia. It examines three stages of policymaking: 1) the external issue (Colombia), 2) the inter-institutional perceptions and debates between the EU Council, Commission, and Parliament, and 3) the creation of external networks with NGOs to execute cooperation policies. Regarding Colombia, the EU is concerned with security issues like drugs and terrorism more than economic factors. The EU provides aid but its role is overshadowed by the US. Internally, the Council is most important but the Commission and Parliament also influence policy. Networks with NGOs are crucial for implementing programs on the ground.
1) The UN DESA-DSD and UN-NGLS are establishing a 16-member Steering Committee to ensure stakeholder participation in negotiations for a post-2015 development agenda.
2) The Steering Committee will manage preparation for a January 16 stakeholder forum, facilitate outreach, and help identify speakers for the forum and January 19-21 negotiations.
3) Selection will ensure regional, gender, and age balance among experienced representatives from major groups and civil societies. The Steering Committee is expected to commit around 88 total hours to complete these tasks over 6 weeks.
This document lists over 200 organizations that attended an event. The organizations are listed alphabetically and span several sectors including foundations, non-profits, inter-governmental organizations, universities, and corporations from around the world.
Gender stereotypes are generalised views or preconceived ideas, according to which individuals are categorised into particular gender groups, typically defined as “women” and “men”, and are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their sex. Stereotypes are both descriptive, in that members of a certain group are perceived to have the same attributes regardless of individual differences, and prescriptive as they set the parameters for what societies
deem to be acceptable behaviour. Stereotyping becomes problematic when it is used as a vehicle to degrade and discriminate women. Abolishing negative
gender stereotypes is essential to achieving gender equality, and the media are central to prompting this change.
More information:
www.coe.int/equality
gender.equality@coe.int
This document summarizes a keynote presentation on the "local turn" in diversity management and political discourses in Europe. The presentation argues that [1] European citizens are increasingly urban citizens and migration is an urban phenomenon, requiring a shift from focusing on citizens to focusing on cities. [2] Cities now play a prominent role in diversity governance but face challenges of multi-level governance and coordination between levels of government. [3] Internally, cities must manage diversity and related socio-political discourses, policies, and public opinion. The presentation aims to justify this "local turn" and discuss challenges for developing a European framework centered around diverse cities.
popular participation-decentralization-in-africa-minJamaity
This document provides an introduction to the concepts of decentralization and popular participation in Africa. It discusses definitions of political and fiscal decentralization, and explains why decentralization is occurring globally and the potential benefits it can provide if implemented well through improved services and poverty alleviation. However, decentralization can also fail if done poorly. The document emphasizes that popular participation is important for giving sustainability to decentralized systems of governance. It explores concepts of public and social accountability and how these relate to participation. Country examples of decentralization frameworks in Mozambique, South Africa, and Ethiopia are also provided.
The document provides background information on the Management Centre of the Mediterranean (MC-Med), including its establishment, aims, and activities. MC-Med operates several programs focused on civil society and reconciliation, professional development, organizational development, and communication. It provides training and conducts research to inform strategy and support other organizations. Notably, MC-Med has established an Independent Media Centre to enable alternative reporting from a civil society perspective and organizes public discussions on reconciliation in Cyprus. It also initiated the Cyprus NGO Network and distributes grants with NGO SC to encourage cooperation across the divide.
Social Dialogue - Social dialogue for a competitive, fair and modern Europe 2015Eurofound
social dialogue, industrial relations,ndustrial relations, industrial relations, european industrial relations, industrial relations in Europe, labour relations, employment relations, social dialogue, trade, unions, crisis, cross-sector, employers, european company, european framework agreements, european works council, industrial action, industrial action, industrial relations, law, minimum wage, sectoral social dialogue, social dialogue, trade unions, wages, working time, bargaining in the shadow of the law, collective agreements, European commission, EU law, EU treaties, decentralization of collective bargaining, single employer bargaining, multi-employer bargaining, extension of collective agreements, favourability principle, opt-out, opening clause, erga omnes, commodity, ILO, dispute settlement, varieties of capitalism, coordinated market economy, liberal market economy, bi-partite, tri-partite, Val Duchesse, macro-economic dialogue, tri-partite social summit, social dialogue committee, working time, labor productivity, labor cost, trade union density, collective bargaining coverage, pay, autonomous agreements, telework, parental leave, BUSINESSEUROPE, ETUC, CEEP, UEAPME, mega trends, information and consultation, liberal market economy, coordinated market economy,years of European social dialogue since its launch in Val Duchesse in Brussels,eprésentativité des partenaires sociaux européens interprofessionnels, les partenaires patronaux,European social dialogue, European Union, social dialogue, industrial relations, IR, European industrial relations, social policy, Val Duchesse, employers, trade unions, collective bargaining union, European works councils, European framework agreements, European company statute, représentativité, partenaires sociaux européens interprofessionnels, syndicats
The document discusses the Volunteer and Citizenship Program for Local Government Units in the Philippines. It aims to establish Volunteer and Citizenship Desks in local governments to better coordinate volunteers and promote citizenship. The program draws on theories of neorepublicanism and aims to give more citizens a voice in their communities. It also discusses using volunteerism to help the Philippines achieve its UN Millennium Development Goals by taking advantage of the large number of potential volunteers in the country.
Presentation given at the OECD Gender Budgeting Experts Meeting, Vienna, Austria. 18-19 June 2018
For more information see http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/gender-budgeting-experts-meeting-2018.htm
This document discusses innovation and regional policy in the European Union. It outlines how the EU focuses regional policy on research and innovation, information and communication technologies, supporting small and medium businesses, and moving to a low-carbon economy. Regional policy is implemented through the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund, and managed by national and regional authorities in cooperation with the European Commission.
The document discusses proposals by the 1989 Generation Initiative to reform the European Union by making it more people-centered. It calls on the "89ers" generation born around 1989 to lead this reform process. The Initiative proposes three principles to guide EU policy: connectivity between citizens, solidarity with citizens, and opportunity for citizens. It also makes two specific policy proposals: 1) Better regulate lobbying in the EU through a mandatory registry and legislative footprint. 2) Reform the selection of the European Commission President to increase democratic accountability. The goal is to make the EU more transparent, representative and trusted by its citizens.
The document calls for a change in the European political culture from a consensus-oriented model to one that embraces political conflicts like at the national level. The current consensus model is depoliticized and expert-dominated, making voters' voices irrelevant and decreasing trust and interest. It lacks transparency and clarity on political responsibility. In contrast, political conflicts at the national level better define positions, increase responsiveness and voter control over leaders through punishment or reward of their actions. A shift towards a more conflict-based political culture at the European level could help revitalize democracy.
OECD International Forum on Open Government - AgendaOECD Governance
The International Forum on Open Government gathers open government leaders from around the world in order to debate the contribution of the principles of transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation to good governance and socio-economic development. For more information see www.oecd.org/gov/international-forum-on-open-government.htm
Carrots or Sticks: The Choice and Impact of EU Democratic Sanctions and AidPaulina Pospieszna
Both the provision of democracy aid and the imposition of sanctions are tools to promote
democracy. Yet, it is unclear under which conditions states choose to set positive or negative
incentives. In order to answer which tool—democracy aid or democratic sanctions—is more
effective, one has to analyse the actual form of the provision of aid. Sanctions and democracy aid
can also be employed at the same time. The goal of this study is to determine their joint effect on
democratization in recipient countries. We argue that sending civil society aid or democracy aid
channeled through NGOs and the civil society when sanctions are in place, enhances the
effectiveness of sanctions as a democracy promotion tool because the civil society can be
empowered to introduce democratic changes in its country—so additionally to the top-down
pressure created by sanctions, there is bottom-up pressure exerted by the civil society. Our results
suggest that democratic sanctions are more likely to be successful if democracy aid bypasses the
government in a target state. Conversely, other forms of aid provision tend to decrease the
effectiveness of sanctions. In order to precisely explain the joint impact of positive and negative
incentives on democratization, we employ a new comprehensive dataset on economic sanctions
for the period between 1989 and 2015 which integrates and updates the Threats and Imposition of
Economic Sanctions and the GIGA sanctions data sets, merged with disaggregated OECD aid data
and V-Dem as well as PolityIV democracy scores.
Evaluation of the impact of the free movement of EU citizens at local levelBarka Foundation
This document provides an evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at the local level. It examines local policies and impacts in six cities: Barcelona, Dublin, Hamburg, Lille, Prague, and Turin. The study finds that intra-EU mobility has led to economic and social impacts in these cities, with EU mobile citizens filling jobs and supporting key industries. However, EU mobile citizens do not always have the same opportunities as locals in areas like employment, housing, and education. As a result, cities have implemented inclusion policies across domains such as employment, entrepreneurship, cultural dialogue, housing, education, attitudes toward migration, and civic participation to foster successful integration and maximize the benefits of mobility. The report identifies best practices
Contextualising Public (e)Participation in the Governance of the European UnionePractice.eu
Authors: Simon Smith, Effie Dalakiouridou.
This paper contextualises the benefits and challenges of participation and eParticipation in the EU in two respects: historically and theoretically.
Resilient Cities in Ageing Societies - International Roundtable , AgendaOECD Governance
This International Roundtable will provide a platform for policy dialogue on addressing the challenges of ageing societies. More information available at www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/sustainable-urban-development-policies-in-ageing-societies.htm
The document discusses open government and the role of open data. It provides an overview of freedom of information and data privacy legislation around the world, noting that Europe leads in these areas. It also examines open government data catalogues and e-participation/e-government indices by region. Key challenges discussed are ensuring adequate "openness" while meeting growing citizen expectations and addressing digital divides. The document advocates moving forward with demand-driven, high-quality open data and services to help create a culture of open government.
TAIEX and Twinning are instruments used by the European Commission to help build strong institutions in EU enlargement and neighborhood partner countries through peer-to-peer assistance and expertise sharing between public administrations. In 2014, over 1660 activities were carried out through TAIEX, reaching over 30,000 participants. TAIEX provides workshops, expert missions, and study visits to help partners implement EU legislation and best practices. The report shows that TAIEX continues to be an effective way to support reforms and modernization in partner countries.
European Summit on Innovation for Active and Healthy AgeingRunwaySale
The report consolidates the discussions held throughout the 2-day event and is organised in a clear set of actions that we will explore jointly with interested stakeholders in the coming 18 months.
The final report includes possible measures to better convert innovation into economic growth and jobs, mobilize public and private investment, transform health and care systems to meet the needs of the ageing population, leverage technological breakthroughs and build a more inclusive "ageing society".
Rolling Back the Rollback - Program and Participant BiographiesFabio Venturini
This document provides an agenda and descriptions for a forum program on the rollback of democracy that will take place on April 7, 2014 at CEU Octagon Hall. The program includes 4 panel discussions in the morning and afternoon on topics related to the rollback of democracy, followed by parallel working groups and a concluding plenary session. Brief biographies are provided for many of the panelists and moderators, who represent a variety of academic, political, and civil society backgrounds from different countries in Europe.
The document discusses the role of networks in the EU's foreign policy toward Colombia. It examines three stages of policymaking: 1) the external issue (Colombia), 2) the inter-institutional perceptions and debates between the EU Council, Commission, and Parliament, and 3) the creation of external networks with NGOs to execute cooperation policies. Regarding Colombia, the EU is concerned with security issues like drugs and terrorism more than economic factors. The EU provides aid but its role is overshadowed by the US. Internally, the Council is most important but the Commission and Parliament also influence policy. Networks with NGOs are crucial for implementing programs on the ground.
1) The UN DESA-DSD and UN-NGLS are establishing a 16-member Steering Committee to ensure stakeholder participation in negotiations for a post-2015 development agenda.
2) The Steering Committee will manage preparation for a January 16 stakeholder forum, facilitate outreach, and help identify speakers for the forum and January 19-21 negotiations.
3) Selection will ensure regional, gender, and age balance among experienced representatives from major groups and civil societies. The Steering Committee is expected to commit around 88 total hours to complete these tasks over 6 weeks.
This document lists over 200 organizations that attended an event. The organizations are listed alphabetically and span several sectors including foundations, non-profits, inter-governmental organizations, universities, and corporations from around the world.
This document provides guidelines for good governance in emerging oil and gas producing countries. It focuses on seven key objectives: 1) attracting qualified investors, 2) maximizing economic returns through licensing, 3) earning public trust, 4) increasing local content and broader economic benefits, 5) ensuring national oil company participation, 6) gradually building capacity, and 7) increasing accountability. Specific recommendations are provided under each objective, such as using flexible fiscal terms, building public consensus, and disclosing information to reduce corruption and manage expectations. The guidelines acknowledge that best practices from major producers may not apply to emerging countries and recommend incremental improvements tailored to their context and capacity.
The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012 participation rates at low levels of income per capita that decrease as countries develop before rising again at higher income levels. This makes it difficult to disentangle the effect of the eco- nomic crisis on female participation rates from institutional or cultural factors. Temporary employment and part-time work: Transition or trap? Around the world, many youth are trapped in low-productivity, temporary or other types of work that fall short of their aspirations and that often do not open opportunities to move to more permanent, higher-productivity and better-paid positions. In developed economies, youth are increasingly employed in non-standard jobs and the transition to decent work continues to be postponed. The growth of temporary employment and part-time work in the past decade, in particular since the global economic crisis suggests that this work is increasingly taken up because it is the only option available. For example, in the European Union youth part-time employment as well as youth temporary employment has grown faster than adult part-time and temporary employment both before and during the economic crisis. The trend towards an increasing incidence of temporary contracts has fuelled the debate over labour market flexibility in general, and labour market duality in particular. Although the evidence on the impact of employment protection legislation (EPL) on aggregate employ- ment/unemployment levels is inconclusive, EPL could affect the position of particularly vul- nerable labour market groups such as young people. A partial (dual-track) reform strategy of EPL – involving labour market reforms only at the margin and for new hires while leaving the employment security entitlements of incumbent workers unchanged – could have been felt disproportionately by youth. In addition, the trend towards shorter tenure among young workers in many European countries could be due to the combination of easing in the legis- lation governing dismissal costs and procedures of regular contracts (and not of temporary contracts) with the weak individual bargaining power of young people.
Monitoring indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights through ILO ConventionsDr Lendy Spires
This document discusses the ILO's system for monitoring compliance with international labor conventions regarding indigenous and tribal peoples' rights. It provides an overview of the ILO's supervisory bodies and reporting procedures. The document then shares excerpts from the supervisory bodies' comments on several countries between 2009-2010, noting issues of noncompliance, and calls for further action to protect indigenous groups' rights as outlined in ILO Convention 169 and other conventions.
La Unión Europea ha anunciado nuevas sanciones contra Rusia por su invasión de Ucrania. Las sanciones incluyen prohibiciones de viaje y congelamiento de activos para más funcionarios rusos, así como restricciones a las importaciones de productos rusos de acero y tecnología. Los líderes de la UE esperan que estas medidas adicionales aumenten la presión sobre Rusia para poner fin a su guerra contra Ucrania.
Prospects for Financial Sector Reform in the Context of Regional Integration ...Dr Lendy Spires
Prospects for Financial Sector Reform – Reforming the Financial Sector 7 SECTION I: REFORMING THE FINANCIAL SECTOR 1.1. Paradigms: Financial sector liberalisation and reform There is still some debate as to the role of the financial sector in promoting economic growth, and the appropriate measures to use in developing a sound and efficient national financial system. This section will look at some of the arguments that have been made in the literature. 1.1.1. The financial sector and economic growth Growth requires the mobilisation of long-term savings, which can then be channelled into productive investment. Financial institutions act as intermediaries for this process. It follows then that a more efficient and diversified financial system will assist in increasing the level of domestic savings as well as promoting foreign capital inflows. A well-developed financial system also assists business and government in better managing risk. Intuitively, then, the financial system is important in that it creates an environment for growth to occur. There is some debate as to whether the financial sector is essentially passive, following developments in the real economy, or whether the financial sector can actually induce growth. Studies have shown that the domestic savings rate is an important determinant of growth in developing countries (Ikhide, 1996). Looking at 77 countries between 1960 and 1989, King and Levine (1993) found that initial financial depth helps to explain subsequent growth performance. They found, too, that financial indicators were closely correlated with GDP growth. King and Levine also looked at the success of adjustment lending by the World Bank and its relationship with financial depth, concluding that adjusting countries with greater financial depth tended to grow faster.
This document summarizes a workshop held in Kampala, Uganda that explored the relationship between reparations and development with the aim of strengthening gender-just reparations for victims of human rights violations. The workshop brought together human rights practitioners, transitional justice experts, and development actors to discuss tensions and opportunities for partnership between reparations and development. Key points discussed included leveraging development resources and expertise to support reparations programs, ensuring such programs do not create new divisions, and the need for integrated approaches and coordination between justice and development actors to most effectively deliver redress and support post-conflict recovery.
This document discusses empowering the poor through human rights litigation. It notes that while progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty through measures like the Millennium Development Goals, the most vulnerable groups remain marginalized and excluded. Applying a human rights-based approach to development can help ensure all people, especially the poor and marginalized, benefit equally. Discrimination against people for being poor prevents them from accessing tools to fight poverty. Empowering the poor requires overcoming this discrimination through measures like human rights litigation that uphold their economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights.
Are We Overestimating Demand for Microloans? Dr Lendy Spires
This document discusses whether demand for microloans is often overestimated. It notes that not all poor individuals want or qualify for microloans for various reasons, including insufficient or irregular income. Studies from several countries find that less than a quarter of eligible individuals actually borrow from microfinance institutions. Bangladesh appears to have higher loan penetration rates, with some estimates of 3/4 of eligible households borrowing. However, most other countries have significantly lower penetration rates. Overall, the evidence suggests that demand is often overestimated by wide margins. Careful consideration needs to be given to factors that reduce demand when estimating microloan needs.
1) The UN DESA-DSD and UN-NGLS are establishing a 16-member Steering Committee to ensure stakeholder participation in negotiations for a post-2015 development agenda.
2) The Steering Committee will manage preparation for a January 16 stakeholder forum, facilitate outreach, and help identify speakers for the forum and January 19-21 negotiations.
3) Selection will ensure regional, gender, and age balance among experienced representatives from major groups and civil societies. The Steering Committee is expected to commit around 88 total hours to complete these tasks over 6 weeks.
The document summarizes the current state of knowledge on gender-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding and statebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected situations. It finds that while the literature addresses some thematic areas like peace agreements, justice and security reforms, and service delivery, the evidence on how gender equality goals can be advanced through these approaches is limited. There are also gaps in understanding how different thematic areas intersect and affect each other. Overall, the linkages between adopting gender-responsive approaches and achieving the goals of peacebuilding and statebuilding remain unclear due to weak and fragmented evidence across various sectors.
This document provides a summary of UNESCO's efforts toward gender equality and equity since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. It discusses the evolution from focusing solely on "women in development" to a "gender and development" approach that mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programs. The key principles of gender mainstreaming outlined are empowerment, accountability, and integration of effort. UNESCO's commitments and achievements are reviewed in three parts: reaffirming its commitment to gender equality, summarizing accomplishments across five priority areas from 1995-2000, and outlining elements for a new strategy from 2001-2006 with a multidisciplinary approach and further integration of gender mainstreaming.
The document summarizes the 10-year partnership between UNDP and the EU. It provides context for the partnership, noting that UNDP and the EU naturally partner given their shared values and objectives of advancing peace, security, human rights, and development, including achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In 2004, UNDP and the European Commission signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement to foster cooperation through common policy approaches, joint programming identification, and knowledge sharing to promote synergies in both field programming and best practices. The partnership aims to build on each institution's comparative advantages to advance effectiveness and strengthen coordination roles.
The European Commissioner for Development addressed civil society organizations at a forum on Africa-EU relations. He emphasized the important role of CSOs in promoting democracy, participation, and inclusive policymaking. He outlined the EU's commitment to supporting CSOs, including by channeling over 5 billion euros in development aid through them and seeking stronger links and dialogue with CSOs. The Commissioner expressed hope that CSOs would play a central role in debates at an upcoming EU-Africa summit and in shaping a post-2015 development framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals.
This document provides an executive summary of a report by the European Women's Lobby assessing the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action over the past 20 years in Europe. It finds that while progress has been made in some areas, gender equality has not been fully achieved and new challenges have emerged. The summary highlights that women now participate in all areas of society but still face discrimination. It also notes that a renewed feminist movement has emerged but is facing a strong backlash. Overall, the assessment finds that gender mainstreaming has not been fully implemented in the EU and gender stereotypes persist. The report aims to inform EU policies and actions over the next 5 years to further advance women's rights and gender equality in Europe.
This document provides an overview of the social economy in Africa and its potential role in local economic development. It finds that while the term "social economy" is not widely used, Africa has a large number of organizations that pursue both social and economic objectives through collective action, serving as the social economy. Case studies of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Morocco reveal various social economy organizations contribute to communities' wellbeing but face barriers like weak legal frameworks. The social economy has potential to support inclusive and sustainable growth if given adequate policy support and its traditional, community-focused forms are recognized.
Brazil and Regional Integration in South America: Lessons from the EU’s CrisisFGV Brazil
Social Sciences article by Elena Lazarou, Head of the Center for International Relations at FGV and Assistant Professor at FGV’s School of Social Sciences (CPDOC).
http://ri.fgv.br/en
EED provided over 114 grants in 19 countries in 2015 to support democracy in challenging environments. EED tailors its support to the specific political and legal contexts in each country. It operates in contexts including challenging transitions, shrinking civil society space, authoritarian regimes, and conflict zones. EED supports initiatives fighting corruption, increasing youth voter registration, and encouraging more women in local government. EED plays a vital role in providing flexible support to pro-democracy activists where other donors cannot due to restrictions or sensitivities.
In the 20th century, one of the greatest changes to democracy around the World was the inclusion of increasing numbers of women, both as voters and as members of parliaments.
European Good Governance Policies Meet China in Africa: Insights from Angola ...Dr Lendy Spires
Chinese engagement in Africa with „no strings attached‟ has been blamed for reducing the effectiveness of traditional actors‟ policies of promoting democracy, human rights and good governance. Using the example of Angola and Ethiopia, the paper analyses how Chinese en-gagement influences the effectiveness of the European Commission‟s policies to promote good governance. While the paper argues that the EC‟s policies of promoting good governance face considerable difficul-ties in both countries, the findings suggest that China‟s activities have little to no immediate negative consequences for the EC‟s policies of promoting good governance. Although the EC and China indeed have different objectives and set up different instruments of engagement, in practise their policies in Angola and Ethiopia have few points of contact and do not conflict directly, since they engage mostly in different policy fields. Effects of Chinese policies for the effectiveness of the EC‟s poli-cies of promoting good governance therefore might not be the greatest challenge for the EC stemming from Chinese engagement in Africa. Rather, Chinese engagement reveals more clearly the gap between normative aspirations in European rhetoric on the one hand and the quality of concrete EC interventions on the other.
Emerging powers in global covernance eu parnership with the un system in deve...Dr Lendy Spires
The document summarizes the development of the EU-UN partnership in development and humanitarian cooperation. It discusses how their partnership was described as "natural" due to shared values, objectives, and responsibilities regarding issues like the Millennium Development Goals. The partnership covers a wide range of issues from governance to emergency relief. However, the document notes that the EU's development policies and relationship with the UN developed strategically over time, rather than the EU simply accepting existing frameworks.
Cm rec(2019)1 on preventing and combating sexism.pdfSashaKhudyakova
The document discusses a recommendation adopted by the Council of Europe to prevent and combat sexism. It defines sexism and establishes a continuum between gender stereotypes, sexism, and violence against women. The recommendation encourages governments to take measures to prevent sexism in public and private spheres, drawing on an appended definition and guidelines. These include developing legislation, policies and programs, and monitoring progress in implementing the recommendation. The goal is to create a Europe free from sexism and its manifestations.
Concord Europe Anual Report 2016. European NGO Confederation for Relief and D...Dominique Gross
In 2016, CONCORD embarked on a new seven-year strategy.
The process started two years ago when members decided to
shift our priorities and change the focus as well as the way the
confederation works so far. The main objective was to work
transversally and avoid thematic sillos. Twenty sixteen was the
first year of implementation of the strategy.
This new strategy is based on two pillars of work supported by
key principles:
1. Making sustainable development a reality for all. European
policy promotes sustainable economic, social and human
development, addressing the causes of poverty and inequality,
and is based on human rights, gender equality,
justice and democracy.
2. An enhanced sharing and learning space to support our
sector in transition. The rights and responsibilities of citizens
and organised civil society, to influence those representing
them in governments and EU institutions, are
promoted and respected.
Competing World-Visions? China’s and the EU’s Africa-PoliciesGlobusHamburg
As European politicians realized that China’s successful Africa-strategy potentially undermines their traditional influence in Africa, they started to question their normative policy-approach. While Europe conducts a policy that is based on ethical and normative considerations, such as good governance, democracy, human rights and the promotion of sustainable economic development, China promotes a no-strings-attached, business-like approach. In contrast to the EU, China presents itself rather as an investor who wants to do business rather than donor who wants to provide aid.
This paper will shed light on the differences between China’s and the EU’s Africa policies. It argues that China’s engagement has contributed to the fact that Africa has again become a priority of the European political agenda.
The document summarizes the second Siena Cultural Relations Forum held in June 2019 in Siena, Italy. Over 60 cultural relations policymakers and practitioners attended along with academics to discuss bridging theory, policy, and practice of the EU's international cultural relations strategy. The forum covered topics related to implementing the EU's strategic approach. Day one included discussions on the impact of European elections and institutional sessions on progress and next steps in European cultural policy. Day two featured panels on key issues and preliminary findings from a related research project. Day three focused on design thinking sessions discussing the intersections of politics, culture, and communication in cultural relations.
This document discusses the key implementation challenges for the post-2015 development agenda. It begins by setting the scene on what may change in the post-2015 framework compared to the MDGs, including a more inclusive process, focus on structural transformation, and addressing growing inequalities. It then examines case studies of ongoing transformation processes and challenges in Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Ukraine. The main implementation challenges identified are: recognizing complexity in socio-economic and political systems requiring experimental approaches; balancing global goals with national ownership; using multi-actor approaches requiring negotiation; applying the subsidiarity principle with local implementation; requiring integrated, coherent approaches across sectors; shifting from financial aid to knowledge exchange; developing accountability frameworks through inclusive processes; and overha
Supporting cultural actors_change_belarus_moldova_ukraineGhenadie Sontu
This document provides a synthesis report of the East European Reflection Group process examining the role of cultural actors in promoting change in Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.
The report finds that while the cultural communities in each country play a role in developing democratic culture and public debate, they face similar challenges including lack of sustainable resources, difficulties communicating with government sectors, and needing improved advocacy and fundraising skills.
The report recommends several strategic lines of action for the European Cultural Foundation and German Marshall Fund partnership to support these cultural actors, including advocacy with European institutions, research on cultural community needs and situations, and capacity building for international organizations to work with cultural sectors in promoting change.
This document discusses measuring social inclusion in a global context. It summarizes the conclusions of a 2010 United Nations report on this topic.
The report finds that while social and economic development has progressed in recent decades, inequality and exclusion persist and are expanding in many areas. It argues that societies need tools to assess social challenges and address imbalances in a constructive way.
The report reviews international agreements on social development goals from the 1995 World Summit for Social Development and the 2000 Millennium Declaration. It emphasizes the importance of promoting social integration and inclusion to create safer, more stable societies and support sustainable development.
Measuring social inclusion is presented as a practical tool to evaluate policies and monitor progress on social goals. The report
The document proposes the development of a European Union policy for Roma inclusion to address the failure of mainstreaming approaches and lack of coordinated action. It recommends establishing an EU Framework Strategy on Roma Inclusion modeled after existing strategies. This would set objectives, guidelines and benchmarks for national policies. It also proposes a Roma unit within the European Commission and an intergovernmental high-level group to facilitate cooperation among member states.
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Gender equality in European Union
development policy: incorporating
women’s voices or confirming
hierarchies?
Petra Debusscher
Department of Political Sciences, Ghent Universty, Belgium
This paper examines gender mainstreaming in European Union (EU) development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to detect how gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa is framed by the EU by critically assessing the nature and range of the differences between EU and civil society framings of gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using the method of Critical Frame Analysis, 28 EU programming documents have been analysed and compared to 10 civil society texts on gender equality. I conclude that the EU’s approach to gender mainstreaming in its development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa is to a large extent integrationist and predominantly instrumentalist as it is framed as a way of more effectively achieving existing policy goals. The more transformative issues that are put forward by Sub-Saharan African civil society organisations do not fit within the EU’s dominant development paradigm that is focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and does not significantly challenge gender relations or power structures. The gap between the analysed civil society views and those expressed by the EU can be explained by the EU’s reluctance to include in its policy drafting the promotion of gender equality by civil society organisations. Moreover, the gap seems to have both practical and ideological grounds.
Key words: gender equality, European Union, Sub-Saharan Africa, development policy, civil society,
millennium development goals, critical frame analysis
Introduction
The EU (Commission plus the 27 member states) is the world’s largest donor of development aid, collectively distributing 55 per cent of official development assistance. The EU’s oldest relationship in development cooperation is with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) groups of countries, which since the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000 are organized in this respect through a comprehensive partnership including aid, trade and political dialogue. In its policy documents and public statements, the European Commission frequently stresses gender equality as a goal in its own right; one that has been part of the European integration project since
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its beginning (McCrae, 2010). The Lisbon Treaty considers “equality between women and men” among the EU’s core values and objectives (Article 2 TEU), which should be integrated into all operations and policies. Since the nineties the EU has adopted a range of high-level policy documents1 confirming that gender is a cross-cutting issue that has to be mainstreamed in all areas of development and into all programs and projects at regional and national levels. In the European Consensus on Development, the EU explicitly articulates gender equality as one of the five essential principles of development cooperation, and in its 2010 Gender and Development Work Plan it stresses that it “has been increasingly active in promoting gender equality in its external action” (European Commission, 2010: 3). Given the growing importance of gender equality across a broad spectrum of EU policy domains, including external action, it is not surprising that some authors have singled out the EU from among other international organisations for its support of gender equality (Debusscher & True, 2009). But the question arises as to what kind of gender equality goals have been promoted in EU development policy. Over the decades, EU–African relations have changed profoundly because former colonies gained both their independence and a voice in bi-regional policy development. The legitimacy and effectiveness of old policy paradigms were contested by African governments, non- governmental and inter-governmental organisations. The position of women is one of the issues which should have undergone a paradigmatic change , from a marginal, conservative approach called Women in Development to Gender and Development or gender mainstreaming, a wide-ranging transformative approach that includes the voices of African women and their organisations.
This paper critically examines gender mainstreaming in European Union development aid towards Sub-Saharan Africa and assesses the nature and range of the differences and similarities between EU and civil society framings of gender (in)equality in Sub- Saharan Africa using the method of Critical Frame Analysis. In particular I look at the framing of gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa and at the genderedness of these frames. Before delving into the analysis I will sketch the development of gender equality in EU-ACP development policy, discuss the concept of gender mainstreaming and outline the data-set. In the concluding part I will summarize the findings and reflect on why the frames of these actors overlap or diverge, and what the consequences are.
1 Including the 1995 Council of Ministers Resolution on Integrating Gender Issues in Development Cooperation; the 1998 Council of Ministers Regulation on Integrating Gender Issues in Development Cooperation; the 2000 European Commission Communication on the European Community's Development Policy; the 2001 European Commission Communication on the Programme of Action for the Mainstreaming of Gender Equality in Community Development Cooperation; the 2004 European Parliament and Council Regulation on Promoting Gender Equality in Development Cooperation; the 2006 Joint Statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on EU Development Policy: ‘The European Consensus’; the 2007 European Commission Communication on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Development Cooperation and the 2010 European Commission Staff Working Document ‘EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Development 2010-2015’.
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Gender equality in European Union development policy
Gender in EU-ACP development policy
In EU development cooperation with sub-Saharan Africa the first references to women’s rights are found in the Third Lomé Convention signed in 1984 with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). It states that “co-operation shall support the ACP States’” efforts aimed at enhancing the work of women, improving their living conditions, expanding their role and promoting their status in the production and development process” in view “of the arduous nature of their tasks” (ACP-EEC, 1984: Article 123). The recognition of women was still low-key and included a few socio-economic sectors only (health, training and production) (Lister, 2006). This ‘Women in Development’ approach often reinforced women’s secondary roles and focussed “on what development could get from women” rather than on social justice and how development policies could be transformed to be more gender equal (True, 2010: 191). The Women in Development approach was increasingly criticised by feminist development scholars and activists, especially from the South, who questioned its focus on economic efficiency gains and pointed out that its narrow focus on women was ineffective as it ignored the underlying societal problems, namely unequal gender relations (Moser, 1993). The Fourth Lomé Convention, signed in 1989, contained a full subsection on women. Article 287, which stated that projects and programmes should take into account “cultural, social, gender and environmental aspects”, could be seen as a first step towards a somehow broader equality agenda including the strategy of gender mainstreaming (ACP-EEC, 1989).
Following the 1995 United Nations (UN) Beijing Conference, the international community officially replaced the conservative Women in Development paradigm by a more transformative Gender and Development paradigm and embraced the strategy of gender mainstreaming. The Gender and Development paradigm drew from socialist feminist theories of women’s subordination and “sought to develop a theory of gender… informed by gender analysis of world economy” and taking into account women’s unpaid reproductive work (True, 2010: 191). The new paradigm was considered innovative; it focuses on gender without dislodging women as the central subject, as it recognises that improving women’s status requires analysis of the relations between women and men. Instead of privileging “the efficiency gains” that could be gained from “utilizing women’s labour for economic development, the analysis focused on gender power relations and bottom-up development involving women’s NGOs and participatory planning.” (True, 2010: 191). The concept of ‘gender mainstreaming’ represented a further development and can be seen as a “more institutionally palatable version” of the Gender and Development paradigm (True, 2010: 191). Gender mainstreaming would widen the scope from add-on, small-scale projects for women, to the integration of a gender equality perspective into all policies (Johnsson- Latham, 2010).
In 1997, the commitment to gender mainstreaming was written into the EU Treaty, stating that “in all the activities [...] the Community shall aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between men and women” (EU, 1997: Article 2). Accordingly, the EU has adopted a range of high-level policy documents confirming that gender has to be mainstreamed in all areas of development and into all programmes and projects at
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regional and national levels. Gender mainstreaming was also explicitly taken up in EU– African development policy when, in 2000, the Lomé Convention was replaced by a new Partnership Agreement between the ACP states and the EU, signed in Cotonou. In many respects, the Cotonou Agreement meant a break with the past: gender equality and gender mainstreaming were made priorities and references to civil society participation and the promotion of women’s organisations were included in the Agreement. In Article 1 for example, it is stated that “systematic account shall be taken of the situation of women and gender issues in all areas – political, economic and social” (ACP-EC, 2000).
Gender mainstreaming: the concept
As the ultimate aim of gender mainstreaming is to alter discriminatory gender norms, structures and practices in society, it is generally regarded as a transformative approach. However, some approaches to gender mainstreaming are more transformative than others. In the debate about the usage and meaning of gender mainstreaming, Jahan (1995) has identified two approaches: an ‘agenda-setting’ and an ‘integrationist’ approach. Prerequisite to a transformative development agenda is an ‘agenda-setting approach’ towards gender mainstreaming, where women or organizations affected by development interventions have a voice in “ shap[ing] the objectives, priorities and strategies of development.” (Jahan, 1995: 127). Gender mainstreaming as a “strategy [that] aims at a fundamental transformation” (Verloo, 2001: 3) is different from an ‘integrationist approach’ which addresses “gender issues within existing paradigms” (Beveridge & Nott, 2002: 300) and reduces “gender mainstreaming as a way of more effectively achieving existing policy goals.” (Walby, 2005: 323). A transformative agenda not only “implies the transformation and reorientation of existing policy paradigms” (Walby, 2005: 323), but also “requires efforts to create constituencies that demand change” (Mukhopadhyay, 2007: 137). This condition is reflected in Naila Kabeer’s idea of transformative agency, which entails the “greater ability on the part of poor women to question, analyse and act on the structures of patriarchal constraint in their lives” (Kabeer, 2005: 15). Mukhopadhyay shows how mainstreaming gender without including women’s voices leads to a de-contextualisation of policies and the ending of initiatives specifically directed towards women, which is detrimental to women’s interests in countries where extreme gender segregation requires that women’s issues be addressed separately (Mukhopadhyay, 2007). The inclusion of different civil society perspectives gives “women’s groups the possibility of gaining ownership over processes of policy making on issues of concern for them” and “increases the possibility that policy-makers become more aware of their own biases” (Krizsan & Lombardo, 2012: 9-10). Therefore, the concept of gender mainstreaming as a transformative strategy involves the naming and challenging of existing gender and power relations through policy interventions wherein formerly disempowered women and their organisations participate in questioning, analysing and acting upon the gendered world. Of course this does not mean that civil society organisations and women’s groups can be seen automatically as inherently democratic (Vervisch, 2006) nor that participatory processes are the only way of ensuring qualitative
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gender equality policies (Krizsan & Lombardo, 2012). However empirical research has shown “that policies developed with the participation of civil society tend to be framed in more transformative ways” as this “increases the possibility that policy-makers become more aware of their own biases” (Krizsan & Lombardo, 2012: 9).
Dataset and methods
In order to examine the integration of gender equality in EU development policy towards sub-Saharan Africa, I have analysed Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) and National Indicative Programmes (NIPs). CSPs and NIPs are bilateral agreements between the EU and the government of the partner country. CSPs consist of three parts: the country analysis, which depicts the social, political, economic, trade and environmental situation; the overview of past and on-going development aid; and the response strategy, which establishes the development priorities in order to tackle the problems described in the country analysis. The NIP makes the priorities from the response strategy operational by outlining the specific programmes in selected focal and non-focal sectors and adds timetables, budgets and measurement indicators.
In theory, the drafting process of these agreements is initiated in the respective countries. The National Authorising Office (the unit dealing with the programming of EU Aid, mostly located in the Ministry of Finance or Economic Affairs and Planning), along with the EU Delegation, draws up a first draft of the CSP, including an indication of the main priorities for EU action in the country. This draft is then presented to the European Commission (notably the country desk officer in Brussels), which produces a second draft, which is in turn circulated to the National Authorizing Office for another round of consultations. Once redrafted, the CSP is sent back to the Commission for final adoption (Cotonou Working Group, 2006). According to Article 4 of the Cotonou Agreement, civil society representatives should be involved in this programming process.
I have analysed the CSPs and NIPs of 14 countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.2 In total I have analysed 28 CSPs and NIPs: the first generation CSPs and NIPs (2002–2007) from these fourteen countries and the second generation CSPs and NIPs (2008–2013). In addition to analysing EU programming documents I have analysed the views of a selection of civil society actors3 working on gender equality (10 texts of activist networks and NGOs) to detect possible silences in the CSPs
2 Country Strategy Papers and National Indicative Programmes 2002-2007 and 2008-2013 are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/development/geographical/methodologies/strategypapers_en.cfm and
http://ec.europa.eu/development/geographical/methodologies/strategypapers10_en.cfm.
3 I have chosen texts of activist organizations or networks grounded in an “[a]wareness and rejection of patriarchal privilege and control” as well as “an understanding of gender as an important relationship within the broad structure of social relationships of class, race and ethnicity, age and location.” (Antrobus, 2011: 391). All organisations and networks have members in several Sub-Saharan African countries to guarantee a wider representation. As the choice of the analysed texts was subject to availability on the internet and in English, the selected documents are only a snapshot of what gender activists in Sub-Saharan Africa might have to say or even of what the selected organisations might have to say.
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and NIPs (what is not said), and to determine the extent to which the approach is convergent with “the substantive objectives of the women’s movement” (Jahan, 1995: 127). The selected civil society organisations include the African Feminist Forum (AFF)4, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)5, Gender-Based Violence Prevention Network (GBVPN)6, Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA)7, Gender Links8, JASS Southern Africa9, and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR)10. To examine these documents I have used Critical Frame Analysis which is a methodology that builds on social movement theory and was further developed by the MAGEEQ project11 to identify how gender equality policies are framed (Verloo, 2005b). From this methodology I selected two aspects which are of importance to answer the research question. First, what are the problems and solutions relating to gender (in)equality put forward and how are they framed? Second, how gendered are these problems and solutions. I start by examining how gender (in)equality is put forward in the CSPs and NIPs and contrast this with the views that come forward in a set of civil society documents on the same topics to detect possible silences in EU programming. A transformative frame would constitute a broad conception of gender inequality problems and solutions (in
4 The AFF is a biennial conference hosted by the African Women’s Development Fund that brings together African feminist activists to deliberate on issues of key concern to the African women’s movement. The first conference took place in 2006 in Accra, Ghana. See http://www.africanfeministforum.com/
5 FEMNET is a membership-based pan-African Network set up in 1988 by national women's networks to co-ordinate African preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It aims to advance African women's development, equality and other human rights and operates through a Regional Secretariat based in Nairobi Kenya and National Focal Point organisations most of which are national women's networks, consortia or umbrella organizations spread out in over 30 countries in Africa. See: http://femnet.co/index.php/en/
6 The GBV Prevention Network consists of activists and practitioners committed to preventing gender- based violence in the Horn, East and Southern Africa. It was founded during a Regional Dialogue hosted by Raising Voices and UN-Habitat’s Safer Cities Program in 2003. Today it has over 380 members (both women and men, survivors of violence, witnesses to violence) from 24 different countries, including organizations, individuals, academics, social justice activists, development workers, feminists, donors, and so on (from small, rural, community- based organizations, national organizations, international organizations, foundations, government institutions, universities and the UN) See: http://www.preventgbvafrica.org/
7 The GEMSA network is an umbrella organisation of individuals and institutions who work to promote gender equality in and through the media. The network has its roots in the Southern African Gender and Media Summit attended by 184 participants from around the region in 2004. See: http://www.gemsa.org.za/page.php?p_id=1
8 Gender Links is a Southern African NGO, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa that promotes gender equality and justice across the fifteen countries of the region. It was founded in March 2001.
See: http://www.genderlinks.org.za/
9 JASS Southern Africa is a movement-building organisation that analyses and challenges women’s inequality through the lens of power and HIV/AIDS. JASS Southern Africa is a part of JASS which is an international feminist organization founded in 2003 as a community of practice by activists, popular educators, and scholars from 13 countries.
See: http://www.justassociates.org/en/jass-southern-africa.
10 The Solidarity for African Women's Rights is a coalition of 36 civil society organizations across the continent working towards the promotion of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa and to urge all African leaders to safeguard the rights of women through ratification and implementation of the Protocol. See: http://www.soawr.org/en/
11 The MAGEEQ (Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Europe) Project has compared policy frames on gender equality in six European countries and the European Union. See: www.mageeq.net.
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terms of policy domains and issue areas) as well as a long-term agenda to tackle deeply rooted societal norms and practices within which inequalities are embedded (in terms of a deeper content). In a transformative frame gender equality is a goal in itself. This is different from an instrumental framing, which reduces gender mainstreaming to “a way of more effectively achieving existing policy goals” (Walby, 2005: 323) and addresses gender issues within existing development policy paradigms. Next I examine what roles are attributed to men and women in achieving gender equality (genderedness) and I compare this with the roles civil society actors attribute to them. In a transformative strategy gender equality can only be realised if change reaches both women and men and if gen¬der relations are transformed (Lombardo & Krizsan, 2012). In this part I look explicitly at references and representations of men and women as well as at the male bias in the development process. The latter refers to the non-recognition of women’s work and has been at the core of feminist critiques of the gendered nature of development policy12 (Rai, 2011) as (unpaid) work of women is directly related to gender inequality in the organization of intimacy, labour and citizenship (Verloo, 2005b). In the next section I will examine how gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa is framed by the EU by assessing the nature and range of the differences and similarities between EU and civil society framing of gender (in)equality in Sub-Saharan Africa using the method of Critical Frame Analysis.
Gender equality in EU development policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa
Frame
Gender inequality in sub-Saharan Africa is mainly framed by the EU as a problem of high levels of maternal mortality (14 CSPs) and lack of access to education (12 CSPs). Other important frames are the link between gender inequality and poverty (11 CSPs), HIV/AIDS (10 CSPs) and gender-based violence (9 CSPs). The most frequently mentioned solutions put forward in the NIPs are focused on gender-equal access to education (10 NIPs), supporting civil society organisations that promote women’s rights (8 NIPs), reducing HIV/AIDS (7 NIPs), promoting maternal and reproductive health (3 NIPs), integrating gender equality issues in the transport sector (3 NIPs) and employment (2 NIPs). Two important frames can be detected in these solutions: a major MDG frame and a minor economic growth frame. First, of the dominant solutions, three out of six are framed within the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Indeed, “promoting the achievements of the MDGs in Africa” is an important EU objective and supporting gender equality is “considered as [a] prerequisite ... for attaining these goals”. (European Commission, 2007: 18) In contrast, women’s organisations have extensively criticized the MDGs for their narrow scope and minimal agenda as they distract attention from the implementation of the more radical Platform for Action that was agreed upon during the 1995 UN Women conference in Beijing (Saith, 2006). Furthermore the MDGs ignore systemic political and power issues concerning gender inequality and do not use a human rights framework, which depicts people as rights holders who can mobilise to demand
12 See for example Amartya Sen’s’s critique of “the altruistic family” showing “how women’s contributions to the household income are being appropriated without acknowledgement.” (Rai, 2011: 15, 20)
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realisation of their rights, rather than as passive recipients of policies (Barton, 2005). This criticism was also voiced in one of the examined civil society texts, where Hilda Tadria, cofounder of the African Women’s Development Fund was quoted stating that the MDGs do not go far enough because, “achieving gender equality has more to do with socially accepted cultural beliefs and ideologies that uphold male privilege than with educational or economic goals.” (SOAWR, 2005: 28) Second, solutions for gender inequality are often framed economically as a means to create economic growth or reduce poverty. This is, for example, the case in the Ethiopian CSP where it is stated that “women’s contribution to household income and production is crucial for fighting poverty” (European Commission, 2002a). In this case, gender equality is used instrumentally to reach the goal of poverty eradication and not as an aim in itself. Such instrumentalist policies serve to maintain traditional gender roles rather than to dismantle gender inequalities. Another example is found in the Mauritian NIP which looks to provide jobs for previously unemployed women. Although this could potentially be an empowering programme, the NIP mainly aims “to ease the burden of unemployment”, “increase the skills base available to employers” and “reduce labour and skills mismatches”. (European Commission, 2008a: 25-26). Gender equality as an objective in itself is not discussed. Furthermore in the Namibian NIP, gender parity in literacy is among the measurement indicators for the “human resources development” programme. Again gender equality is used instrumentally “to meet the labour market demands and support overall national development goals.” (European Commission, 2008b: 6).
Sometimes less evident policy areas are also framed economically. For example in the Botswana NIP “the further fall in HIV/AIDS prevalence ... especially [among young] women” is a crucial aspect of the “human resource development” focal sector with the main aim of reducing poverty “through economic growth” (European Commission, 2008c: 38).
A comparison of EU policy texts with civil society sources shows that the latter are concerned with problems and solutions that do not appear in the CSPs and NIPs. Important silences in the gender inequality diagnosis were the effects of “internationally- imposed neoliberal economic policies” and trade liberalisation on (poor) women (JASS Southern Africa, 2007: 5; 2010; SOAWR, 2005), the exclusion of African women from ICT in daily life (GEMSA, 2006), the use of culture as a smokescreen to curb women’s rights (Gender Links, 2010), the domination of old boy networks (JASS Southern Africa, 2010), the link between HIV/AIDS and poverty (SOAWR, 2005), sexual harassment (Gender Links & GEMSA, 2009), the role of masculine identities in gender-based violence (GBVPN, 2008; Gender Links & GEMSA, 2009), the impact of old and “new colonization of the region” (JASS, 2010: 9; AFF, 2006), and sexist images of women that dominate television, newspapers and magazines (GEMSA, 2006; GBVPN, 2008).
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Furthermore, in general civil society actors offer more structural and systemic gender analyses. The gender effects of globalisation for example are a major concern in several of the examined civil society texts. Equally, the system of patriarchy is discussed extensively by civil society, yet it is barely mentioned in the CSPs and NIPs. The analyses of civil society are more systemic-critical and aim at “structural transformation” (AFF, 2006: 6), for example approaching patriarchy explicitly as a changeable system over time and space and stressing its interrelation with systems “of class, race, ethnic, religious and global-imperialism” (AFF, 2006: 11).
Important omissions can also be noted in the outlining of solutions. Civil society texts give significantly more attention to “question[ing] the underlying structural inequalities between women and men” (Gender Links, 2010: 3) and discussing ways out of the “deeply rooted societal norms, attitudes and practices” (GBVPN, 2008: 2) that are causing gender inequalities. They propose a “50/50 campaign” to push for more female political representation (Gender Links, 2010: 6), access to decent jobs (and not just the creation of jobs where women can “dust... the seats”) (JASS Southern Africa, 2010: 7), a “new masculinity television campaign” (GBVPN, 2008: 3); education programmes on exemplary women’s lives, which can serve as “role model strategies” (FEMNET, 2007, 7), the involvement of local levels in the campaign for women’s rights “to have a critical mass of support” (SOAWR, 2005: 9), popularising the feminist charter, which includes translations in as many languages as possible and diffusion through different media (AFF, 2006) and “transforming the … mindset of both women and men” (GEMSA, 2006: 3). Analysing civil society voices on the topic of gender equality thus reveals that the EU’s gender mainstreaming approach is missing important aspects in outlining problems and designing solutions for gender equality and risks losing sight of African realities.
Genderedness
In EU programming documents women are seen as the main problem holders, since it is mainly women who are mentioned when analysing problems concerning gender inequalities. Men on the other hand, rarely appear in the country analysis and are almost never problematized. When men are mentioned in the analysis, this is mostly numerical (for example percentage of boys/girls in schools) or in a general phrase referring to equality between men and women. Moreover, women are not only seen as the main problem holders in the country analysis, they are also made responsible for the solutions in the NIPs, since men are completely absent from that part of the planning phase and are never explicitly addressed as a target group to solve gender inequalities. The absence of men in the solutions for gender equality implies that women have to catch up with the silent male norm and are made to bear sole responsibility for that. For that matter, this observation of women as a single problem and solution holders is not unique to EU-Sub-Saharan African development policy, but is just as common in internal EU policies on gender equality (Lombardo & Meier, 2008).
Opinions on the role of men in civil society texts differ from the EU perspective. Some civil society groups see the involvement and commitment of men as crucial in the
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struggle for gender equality (GEMSA, 2006; Gender Links, 2009) while other groups stress the importance of women-only spaces and see challenges in the involvement of men and men’s organisations as they fear that they will show “no accountability to women or women’s movements” and take a large share of “the shrinking pot of gender equality funding” (JASS Southern Africa, 2010: 6). Another criticism that was voiced in this respect is related to “binary thinking”. A view of the world in polarities – such as women versus men, black versus white, old versus young – is becoming more accepted but does not reflect reality and is a limiting factor to finding solutions for equality. Power works dynamically in different moments and a more nuanced understanding is much needed (JASS Southern Africa, 2010: 30).
It is also remarkable that references to the unequal division of unpaid care work between men and women (household tasks and care for family members) are scarce in the diagnoses and absent in the prognoses. In the country analysis, only four out of 28 CSPs mention “women’s workload” as an obstacle to gender equality (European Commission, 2002b: 13), although it is widely recognised that “unpaid care work is a major contributing factor to gender inequality and women’s poverty” (Budlender, 2004: v; Gammage, 2010). When this topic is mentioned it is depicted as a women’s problem only. In most cases women’s disproportionally large burden (and the relatively small burden carried by men, in relation to socially necessary but economically invisible care work are left out of the analysis. This neglect is problematic for several reasons. While the silence on this topic implicitly legitimises the unequal division of care work between men and women, it also implies that such work is valueless and ignores its connection to economic growth and development in general. Furthermore, not taking account of women’s disproportionally large share in non-market care work in the analysis has implications for the quality of the overall gender analysis. This is because the gender bias in unpaid care work creates a gendered “time and income poverty” (Gammage, 2010) that has a direct impact on several of the issues that are put forward in the EU’s programming documents, such as poverty, domestic violence and women’s access to (full-time) education and jobs. These links remain invisible in the analysed documents. Care work analyses are notably present in all civil society documents examined. In the examined civil society texts it is clearly stated that stereotypes about caring as ‘women’s work’ should be eradicated and that “men should be involved in care work as they also benefit from [it]” (Gender Links & GEMSA, 2009: 53). Several groups also want to “transfer... the burden of home-based care from women to government” as “‘home-based care’ programs have had the effect of exploiting women’s devalued care-giving role, while letting governments and the international aid community off the hook for providing basic healthcare” (JASS Southern Africa, 2007: 16, 5).
Also of note when analysing the genderedness of roles in EU development policy documents is that women are often described alongside children, as a ‘vulnerable group’. Such language that depicts women as vulnerable and implies that women can be grouped with minors is not only paternalistic, but also particularly disempowering. Some sub-Saharan African civil society groups explicitly resist such an approach stating that “gender
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equality language has been watered down, as the key terms have shifted from ‘women’ to ‘gender’ to ‘vulnerable groups’, thereby losing the essential element of power and injustice at the heart of women’s inequality.” (JASS Southern Africa, 2010).
Conclusions
The critical frame analysis reveals a limited agenda in EU-Sub-Saharan African development cooperation, showing that gender is mostly mainstreamed in typical sectors (such as education and health) and that policies are directed at women only. The approach consolidates the status quo since conceptions of masculinity and femininity, as well as the gendered division of care work, are not questioned. Women are consistently singled out, while men are rarely mentioned. In general, men are the silent norm and women are the problem- and solution-holders who have to catch up with the male norm. This conception of women as sole problem- and solution-holders resembles a conservative Women in Development approach and is contradictory to a transformative gender mainstreaming approach, where men and women share responsibility in removing imbalances in society. The approach is integrationist to the extent that apart from the ‘usual suspects’ gender issues have been included in a few new domains. Furthermore, the approach remains predominately instrumentalist as gender issues are framed within the dominant development policy paradigms and as they are ‘sold’ as a way of more effectively achieving other policy goals such as the MDGs. As Roggeband argues, the acceptance and implementation of gender mainstreaming depends on the resonance between the framing of gender mainstreaming and the dominant development frames (Roggeband, 2009). For the EU, the MDGs constitute the dominant development frame within which gender mainstreaming has to be realised. Indeed, since 2005 the EU has taken a front position in achieving the MDGs and declared its determination to step up efforts (European Commission, 2005). This course was reconfirmed in 2008 by a Commission Communication stressing “the EU’s key role on the international scene and its commitment to the MDGs” (European Commission, 2008b: 3). Although “the more optimistic readings of the MGDs” have stressed their contribution “to ‘en-gendering’ the global development agenda” (Chant, 2007: 10), feminists around the world have criticised the MDGs for their narrow scope and minimal agenda as they barely represent “women’s concerns with gender-based and sexualized violence, reproductive health and rights, reproductive work and other issues that manifest gender inequality and injustice.” (Kabeer, 2005; Barton, 2005; Mukhopadhyay, 2007; Chant, 2007; Visvanathan et al., 2011). In their view, the problem of gender inequality is constructed as a technical and depoliticised issue. Also, the emphasis is on girls’ rather than women’s voices and rights and “far-reaching but controversial areas” such as land rights, male violence and sexual and reproductive rights are ignored (Johnsson-Latham, 2010: 44). Feminists “struggling against the vice of neoliberal theory and policy” even view the MDGs as “a significant step, but in the wrong direction” (Saith, 2006: 1174). Furthermore, the role of men and masculinities has largely been ignored in MDG discourses. Olowu argues that the conceptualisation of the MDGs was flawed from the start as it does not tackle systems
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of patriarchy and constructions of masculinities and femininities. He argues that effective efforts to combat gender inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa are doomed to fail unless they move beyond dominant approaches. Only “when women as well as men at the grassroots level are socially empowered to speak for themselves and … own the gender equality project in such a way that oppressive patriarchal structures of traditional African societies are questioned openly, will a cogent agenda for attaining MDG 3 become realistic in [Sub- Saharan Africa].” (Olowu, 2012: 104) However, this ownership is exactly what is missing in EU development policy as previous research has shown that civil society working on gender equality is poorly integrated in the programming phase of EU aid (Debusscher, 2011; Debusscher & van der Vleuten, 2012). The failure of gender mainstreaming and the gap that exists between civil society views on gender (in)equality and EU views can be explained by the reluctance to include sub-Saharan African civil society organisations promoting gender equality in the CSP drafting process. According to the Cotonou Agreement, civil society representatives should be involved in this programming process. Critical observers agree, however, that the drafting process does not allow any “democratic ‘ownership’” and that the programming process is “often used as a way of imposing Europe’s economic and geostrategic interests upon ACP countries, at the expenses of the populations’ actual needs” (CONCORD, 2010: 1). Although civil society is called upon to implement policies and some aid is earmarked for supporting civil society that promotes women’s rights, the drafting process is not gender mainstreamed. Women’s organisations are written about, but they do not write. Women’s organisations are called upon to implement policies, but their views are rarely incorporated in the drafting of these policies.
The EU’s reluctance to include women’s groups in policy drafting seems to have both practical and ideological grounds. On the practical front, interviews13 with EU delegation staff and women’s organisations have indicated that the exclusion of women’s organisations from the drafting process can be attributed to a lack of resources to conduct proper consultations and attract the relevant civil society actors, but also to a disinterest in gender equality issues at the delegation level. Ideologically, the more transformative issues that are put forward by African civil society organisations, such as radically questioning gender relations and power structures, do not fit within the EU’s dominant development paradigm, which is focused on achieving the MDGs. Unless the voices of Sub-Saharan civil society are included in EU development policy, the applied gender mainstreaming approach will continue to confirm the existing hierarchies between dominant and alternative development paradigms, between state and non-state actors and ultimately between men and women.
13 Interviews conducted with EU staff and civil society in Kigali and Monrovia between May and July 2011.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) for the financial support as well as the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.
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