The EU has long expressed a will to be a normative power and to externally promote the values it views as important. Seeing as the EU collectively is the largest donor of foreign aid in the world, development policies are a perfect platform for doing this. One value that has gained ground in recent years is the notion of gender equality. Bearing this in mind, this thesis explores how the EU’s largest institutional donor of foreign aid, the European Commission, has chosen to promote the value of gender equality in development policies. More precisely, by focusing on the concept of gender mainstreaming, it considers both a quantitative and qualitative method to answer the question: How has gender mainstreaming been used over time by the Commission in development policies? The study uses theories on gender, women and development and relies on policy documents from the years 1995, 2007 and 2015. The results show that gender mainstreaming has increased over the years. At the same time, today’s use of gender mainstreaming is found to circle around a discussion on whether gender equality should be promoted as something society gains from, through its contribution to economical gains, or whether it should be promoted solely on the basis of it being a right.

Gender mainstreaming is defined as “[the] efforts to scrutinize and reinvent processes of policy formulation and implementation across all issue areas to address and rectify persistent and emerging disparities between men and women (True 2001)”. This explanation serves to highlight the dynamic nature of the concept while recognizing the eternal presence of the relational aspect of female/male interaction within society. What strand of institutionalism is employed in the diffusion of gender mainstreaming in the process of development at the various levels of implementation; what are the consequences of improperly conceived institutions as they apply to gender mainstreaming and development; what are the implications for the future institution construction; What if anything is hindering the progress of gender mainstreaming and development; How was relatively similar gender mainstreaming progress achieved by two countries with such different economic capacities? This paper will further consider the answers to these questions as supplied by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, as shown through their development initiatives in Rwanda and South Africa. Gender mainstreaming is the innovative inclusion and dramatic reshaping of power hierarchies through the manipulation of both formal and informal institutions. This paper will reveal the importance of contextual considerations in the creation and reform of institutions in developing states, as they strive to adhere to international standards of gender inclusive development. KEYWORDS: Beijing Platform for Action; Development; Gender Mainstreaming; Institutionalism; Institutions; Transformation; Rwanda; South Africa

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Zugl.: Kassel, Univ., Diss., 2007

Thesis (D.Phil.)--University of Oxford, 2008. / Supervisor: Dr Cathie Lloyd. Bibliography: leaves 273-294.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl.: Zürich, Univ., Diss., 2008

Diss. Univ. Kassel, 2007.

Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss., 2010

This essay focuses on studying how Swedish authoritys implemented the program gender mainstreaming in their operation. The study uses the theoretical perspective of foucauldian discourse analysis and Kingsleys representation bureaucacy theory for help to answer the scientific question. In a qualitative analysis I used a WPR analysis on official documents for plans of gender mainstreaming from two choosen authoritys, both of which are part of the government's program of gender mainstreaming. The essay presented results that it is the management of the authoritys that decides which norms and values are to be raised in the authoritys business plans. And the concept of gender equality becomes a political measure based on the messenger's demand for a refund. The results of the representation bureaucracy theory analysis shows that gender mainstreaming is built on the demands from the outside world that make them highlight gender equality and a more representative core business in their plans. / <p>2021-06-04</p>