Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T21:26:54.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stories from the Front Lines: Making Sense of Gender Mainstreaming in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2018

Francesca Scala  and
Stephanie Paterson
Francesca Scala
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Stephanie Paterson
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Gender mainstreaming (GM) is a strategy used by governments to promote gender equality. It entails integrating gender and intersectional considerations into all aspects of policy work, including policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. However, its success in achieving gender equality and social transformation has been limited. Drawing on implementation research and narrative analysis, this article explores the micro-level dynamics and the local actors that help shape the character and outcome of gender mainstreaming. Using narrative analysis, we explore how GM specialists within the Canadian public service make sense of their role, and we identify the strategies they use to make gender matter in policy work. By examining their stories of isolation, disempowerment, and resistance, we uncover the administrative and political forces that shape not only the “space” for gender work but also the opportunities for individual activism and resistance. These stories convey how, by engaging in these micro-level strategies, GM specialists both challenge and reinscribe, at the macro level, technocratic representations of GM and of policy work in general. We conclude with some reflections on the insights that micro-level analysis and implementation research can bring to the study of gender mainstreaming.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 208 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bacchi, Carol Lee, and Eveline, Joan. 2010. Mainstreaming Politics, Gendering Practices and Feminist Theory. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press.Google Scholar
Ball, Stephen J. 1993. “What Is Policy? Texts, Trajectories, and Toolboxes.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 13 (2): 10–17.Google Scholar
Ball, Stephen, Hoskins, Kate, Maguire, Meg, Braun, Annette. 2011. “Disciplinary Texts: A policy Analysis of National and Local Behaviour Policies.” Critical Studies in Education 52 (1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Barrett, Susan, and Fudge, Colin. 1981. “Examining the Policy-Action Relationship.” In Policy and Action: Essays on the Implementation of Public Policy, eds. Barrett, Susan and Fudge, Colin. London: Methuen, 3–34.Google Scholar
Benschop, Yvonne, and Verloo, Mieke. 2006. “Sisyphus’ Sisters: Can Gender Mainstreaming Escape the Genderedness of Organizations?” Journal of Gender Studies 15 (1): 19–33.Google Scholar
Bevir, Mark. 2004. “Government and Interpretation: What Are the Implications of Postfoundationalism?” Public Administration 82 (3): 605–25.Google Scholar
Bevir, Mark, and Trentmann, Frank, eds. 2007. Governance, Consumers and Citizens: Agency and Resistance in Contemporary Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Caglar, Gülay. 2013. “Gender Mainstreaming.” Politics & Gender 9 (3): 336–44.Google Scholar
Chappell, Louise A. 2003. Gendering Government: Feminist Engagement with the State in Australia and Canada. Vancouver: University of British Colombia Press.Google Scholar
Clandinin, D. Jean, and Connelly, F. Michael. 2000. Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative-Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Colebatch, Hal K. 2007. “What Work Makes Policy?” Policy Sciences 39 (4): 309–21.Google Scholar
Colebatch, Hal K., Hoppe, Robert, and Noordegraaf, Mirko. 2010. “The Lessons for Policy Work.” In Working for Policy, eds. Colebatch, Hal K., Hoppe, Robert, and Noordegraaf, Mirko. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 227–45.Google Scholar
Côté, André, Baird, Katherine, and Green, Ian. 2007. A Vital National Institution: What a Cross-Section of Canadians Think about the Prospects for Canada's Public Service in the 21st Century. Ottawa: Public Policy Forum. http://www.ppforum.ca/sites/default/files/National%20Roundtables%20-%20Final.pdf (accessed October 11, 2017).Google Scholar
Council of Europe. 1998. Gender Mainstreaming: Conceptual Framework, Methodology and Presentation of Good Practices. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Daly, Mary. 2005. “Gender Mainstreaming in Theory and Practice.” Social Politics 12 (3): 433–50.Google Scholar
deLeon, Peter, and deLeon, Linda. 2002. “What Ever Happened to Policy Implementation? An Alternative Approach.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 12 (4): 467–92.Google Scholar
Dinham, Adam, and Lowndes, Vivien. 2008. “Religion, Resources and Representation: Three Narratives of Faith Engagement in British Urban Governance.” Urban Affairs Review 43 (6): 817–45.Google Scholar
Durose, Catherine. 2009. “Front-Line Workers and ‘Local Knowledge’: Neighbourhood Stories in Contemporary UK Local Governance.” Public Administration 87 (1): 35–49.Google Scholar
Eyben, Rosalind. 2012. “Preface.” In Strategies of Feminist Bureaucrats: United Nations Experiences, ed. Sandler, Joanne and Rao, Aruna. London: Institute of Development Studies, 6–7.Google Scholar
Ferguson, Kathy E. 1984. The Feminist Case against Bureaucracy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Findlay, Tammy. 2015. Femocratic Administration: Gender, Governance and Democracy in Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Ginger, Clare. 2006. “Interpretive Content Analysis: Stories and Arguments in Analytical Documents.” In Interpretation and Method: Empirical Research Methods and the Interpretive Turn, eds. Yanow, Dvora and Schwartz-Shea, Peregrine. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 331–48.Google Scholar
Grace, Joan. 1997. “Sending Mixed Messages: Gender-Based Analysis and the ‘Status of Women.’” Canadian Public Administration 40 (4): 582–98.Google Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emelie M., and Pollack, Mark A.. 2002. “Mainstreaming Gender in Global Governance.” European Journal of International Relations 8 (3): 339–73.Google Scholar
Hajer, Maarten A. 1993. “Discourse Coalitions and the Institutionalization of Practice: The Case of Acid Rain in Britain.” In The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning, eds. Fischer, Frank and Forester, John. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 43–76.Google Scholar
Hankivsky, Olena. 2005. “Gender vs. Diversity Mainstreaming: A Preliminary Examination of the Role and Transformative Potential of Feminist Theory.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 38 (4): 977–1001.Google Scholar
Hankivsky, Olena. 2008. “Gender Mainstreaming in Canada and Australia: A Comparative Analysis.” Policy and Society 27 (1): 69–81.Google Scholar
Hankivsky, Olena, and Cormier, Renee. 2011. “Intersectionality and Public Policy: Some Lessons from Existing Models.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (1): 217–29.Google Scholar
Haussman, Melissa, and Sauer, Birgit, eds. 2007. Gendering the State in the Age of Globalization: Women's Movements and State Feminism in Postindustrial Democracies. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Howlett, Michael, Wellstead, Adam, and Craft, Jonathan, eds. 2017. Policy Work in Canada: Professional Practices and Analytical Capacities. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Hudson, Bob. 1993. “Michael Lipsky and Street Level Bureaucracy. A Neglected Perspective.” In The Policy Process: A Reader, ed. Hill, Michael. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 393–403.Google Scholar
Ingram, Mrill, Ingram, Helen, and Lejano, Raul. 2015. “Environmental Action in the Anthropocene: The Power of Narrative Networks.” Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning. Published online November 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2015.1113513.Google Scholar
Lipsky, Michael. 1980. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Lombardo, Emanuela, and Mergaert, Lut. 2013. “Gender Mainstreaming and Resistance to Gender Training: A Framework for Studying Implementation.” Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research 21 (4): 296–311.Google Scholar
Lombardo, Emanuela, and Mergaert, Lut. 2016. “Resistance in Gender Training and Mainstreaming Processes.” In The Politics of Feminist Knowledge Transfer, eds. Bustelo, María, Ferguson, Lucy, and Forest, Maxime. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Lowndes, Vivien, and Roberts, Mark. 2013. Why Institutions Matter: The New Institutionalism in Political Science. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Maynard-Moody, Steven, and Musheno, Michael. 2003. Cops, Teachers, Counselors. Stories from the Front Lines of Public Service. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Mazey, Sonya. 2002. “Gender Mainstreaming Strategies in the E.U.: Delivering on an Agenda.” Feminist Legal Studies, 10(3/4): 227–40.Google Scholar
Mazmanian, Daniel A. and Sabatier, Paul A.. 1983. Implementation and Public Policy. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.Google Scholar
McBride, Dorothy E., and Mazur, Amy G.. 2010. The Politics of State Feminism: Innovation in Comparative Research. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
McNutt, Kathleen. 2010. “An Integrated Approach to Gender Equality: From Gender-Based Analysis to Gender Mainstreaming.” Working Paper, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.Google Scholar
Meier, Petra, and Celis, Karen. 2011. “Sowing the Seeds of Its Own Failure: Implementing the Concept of Gender Mainstreaming.” Social Politics 18 (4): 469–89.Google Scholar
Meltsner, Arnold J. 1976. Policy Analysts in the Bureaucracy. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Neysmith, Sheila, Bezanson, Kate, and O'Connell, Anne. 2005. Telling Tales: Living the Effects of Public Policy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Fernwood.Google Scholar
Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG). 2016. Report 1—Implementing Gender-Based Analysis. http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201602_01_e_41058.html (accessed October 11, 2017).Google Scholar
O'Manique, Sophie. 2015. “Gender and Austerity in Post-Crisis Canada.” Harper Record 2008–2015, 293–305.Google Scholar
Orsini, Michael, and Scala, Francesca. 2006. “‘Every Virus Tells a Story’: Toward a Narrative-Centred Approach to Health Policy.” Policy and Society 25 (2): 109–30.Google Scholar
Paterson, Stephanie. 2010. “What's the Problem with Gender-Based Analysis? Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Practice in Canada” Canadian Public Administration 53 (3): 395–416.Google Scholar
Power, Michael. 1994. The Audit Explosion. London: Demos.Google Scholar
Pressman, Jeffrey L., and Wildavsky, Aaron. 1973. Implementation: How Great Expectations in Washington Are Dashed in Oakland. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Prügl, Elisabeth. 2011. “Diversity Management and Gender Mainstreaming as Technologies of Government.” Politics & Gender 7 (1): 71–89.Google Scholar
Rankin, Pauline, and Vickers, Jill. 2001. Women's Movements and State Feminism: Integrating Diversity into Public Policy. Ottawa: Status of Women Canada.Google Scholar
Rankin, L. Pauline, and Wilcox, Krista D.. 2004. “De-Gendering Engagements? Gender Mainstreaming, Women's Movements and the Canadian Federal State.” Atlantis 29 (1): 52–60.Google Scholar
Rhodes, R. A. W. 1994. “The Hollowing Out of the State: The Changing Nature of the Public Service in Britain,” Political Quarterly 65 (2): 138–51.Google Scholar
Roe, Emery. 1994. Narrative Policy Analysis: Theory and Practice. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Schön, Donald A., and Rein, Martin. 1994. Frame Reflection: Toward the Resolution of Intractable Policy Controversies. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Squires, Judith. 2005. “Is Mainstreaming Transformative? Theorizing Mainstreaming in the Context of Diversity and Deliberation.” Social Politics 12 (3): 366–88.Google Scholar
Squires, Judith. 2009. “Intersecting Inequalities: Britain's Equality Review.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 11 (4): 496–512.Google Scholar
Status of Women Canada. 2009. Departmental Action Plan on Gender Based Analysis. Ottawa: Government of Canada. http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/gba-acs/ap-pa-eng.pdf (accessed October 11, 2017).Google Scholar
Stivers, Camilla. 2002. Gender Images in Public Administration: Legitimacy and the Administrative State. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Stone, Deborah. 1988. Policy Paradox and Political Reason. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Stone, Deborah. 2002. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision-Making. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Subrahmanian, Ramya. 2004. “Making Sense of Gender in Shifting Institutional Contexts: Some Reflections on Gender Mainstreaming.” IDS Bulletin 35 (4): 89–94.Google Scholar
Taylor, Marilyn. 2002. “The New Public Management and social exclusion: Cause or response?” In New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects, eds. McLaughlin, Kate, Osborne, Stephen P., and Ferlie, Ewan. London: Routledge, 109–28.Google Scholar
Teghtsoonian, Katherine. 2003. “W(h)ither Women's Equality? Neoliberalism, Institutional Change and Public Policy in British Columbia.” Policy and Society 22 (1): 26–47.Google Scholar
Tiessen, Rebecca. 2007. Everywhere/Nowhere: Gender Mainstreaming in Development Agencies. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.Google Scholar
United Nations. 1995. Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 4–15 September 1995). New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Van Meter, Donald S., and Van Horn, Carl E.. 1975. “The Policy Implementation Process: A Conceptual Framework.” Administration & Society 6 (4): 445–88.Google Scholar
Verloo, Mieke. 2001. “Another Velvet Revolution: Gender Mainstreaming and the Politics of Implementation.” IWM Working Paper 5/2001. Vienna: IWM.Google Scholar
Verloo, Mieke. 2005. “Displacement and Empowerment: Reflections on the Concept and Practice of the Council of Europe Approach to Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Equality.” Social Politics 12 (3): 344–65.Google Scholar
Verloo, Mieke, and Walby, Sylvia. 2012. “Introduction: The Implications for Theory and Practice of Comparing the Treatment of Intersectionality in the Equality Architecture in Europe.” Social Politics 19 (4): 433–45.Google Scholar
Wagenaar, Hendrik. 1995. “Urgent Stories: Morality and Narrative in Public Administration.” Administrative Theory & Praxis 17 (1): 92–104.Google Scholar
Wagenaar, Hendrik 1997. “Policy as Fiction: Narrative and its Place in Policy Practice.” Beleid & Maatschappij 1: 55.Google Scholar
Walby, Sylvia. 2005. “Gender Mainstreaming: Productive Tensions in Theory and Practice.” Social Politics 12 (3): 321–43.Google Scholar
Wellstead, Adam, and Stedman, Richard. 2010. “Policy Capacity and Incapacity in Canada's Federal Government: The Intersection of Policy Analysis and Street-Level Bureaucracy.” Public Management Review 12 (6): 893–910.Google Scholar
Woodward, Alison E. 2004. “Building Velvet Triangles: Gender and Informal Governance.” In Informal Governance in the European Union, edited by Christiansen, Thomas and Piattoni, Simona. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 76–93.Google Scholar
Yanow, Dvora. 1993. “The Communication of Policy Meanings: Implementation as Interpretation and Text.” Policy Sciences 26 (1): 41–61.Google Scholar
Yanow, Dvora. 1996. How Does a Policy Mean? Interpreting Policy and Organizational Actions. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Yanow, Dvora. 2000. Conducting Interpretive Policy Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar