Gender mainstreaming as a driver of feminist theory? From policy to theory

Fiona Beveridge

Chapter 2 in Research Handbook on Gender Mainstreaming, 2026, pp 9-21 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: A scan of the gender equality policies of leading international organisations and national and sub-national governments quickly reveals the extent to which gender mainstreaming has become embedded as an organising approach to institutional agendas for gender inequality: gender mainstreaming has become the primary framing device for gender work, a device for conceptualising ‘the problem’ and ‘the solutions’ that is now ineluctable. But this claim glosses over a great deal of nuance and risks overlooking dynamic evolution in gender mainstreaming practices over time. This chapter considers how gender mainstreaming practice has responded to ongoing theoretical developments and, vice versa, whether there is evidence of theoretical innovation in contemporary gender mainstreaming practice. It considers the concepts of ‘gender’, ‘equality’ and ‘intersectionality’, ideas of vulnerability, the place of care in gender theory, and how gender theory and practice are impacted by contemporary re-shapings of state power.

Keywords: Gender; Equality; Intersectionality; Mainstreaming; Feminism; Care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035353415
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