Gender mainstreaming and its New Challenges: Rethinking the Concept of Equality(ies)

This article focuses on exploring gender mainstreaming current challenges. In doing so, it begins by addressing literature centered on its conceptualization and introduction in practice. The main goal is to unveil its main strengths and weaknesses as well as its actual implementation. Subsequently, the text revises the two main venues of analysis posed by current literature, which seem clearly to affect the further development of this strategy.

First, it explores studies focused on developing “critical frame analysis” applied to gender policies. They aim at highlighting that there is not a clear idea of what does equality mean and by which means it has to be achieved. So far this concept has adopted multiple meanings. Second, this papers explores challenges posed by intersectionality, that is, the idea of taking into account several inequalities and their respective interactions while implementing public policies. Thus, this emerging strategy seems not only to entail a broader concept of equality but also a new equality architecture.

Key words: Public Policy; Intersectoriality; Gender Equality; Women; Europe