The design and implementation of gender mainstreaming: a complex story

Petra Meier and Lis Van Herck

Chapter 10 in Research Handbook on Gender Mainstreaming, 2026, pp 122-133 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter presents the headlines of the overly prolific field of research on the design and/or implementation of gender mainstreaming in English since 1995. The three recurring approaches to gender mainstreaming by the literature are a technocratic, a normative, or a descriptive one. It describes five bottlenecks in the design and/or implementation of gender mainstreaming, many of which echo what early work on gender mainstreaming defined as critical conditions for it to be successful. These bottlenecks include conceptual ambiguity and a policy-making context not adapted to the logic of gender mainstreaming. They also reflect broader societal issues such as the genderedness of the latter, resistance to gender mainstreaming, and, subsequently, a lack of resources. Recent work points to the need for an intersectional approach. Discussing the need for such a fully intersectional approach, we point out the pitfalls of putting gender first and of reproducing a binary understanding of it.

Keywords: Gender Mainstreaming Design; Gender Mainstreaming Implementation; Intersectional Approach; Success of Gender Mainstreaming; Bottlenecks Design; Bottlenecks Implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035353415
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