EU – Promoting Gender Equality in EU Development Aid

Author
– Debusscher,
Petra

Published
2011

Summary

Among international organisations the European Union (EU)
stands out in its support for gender equality. The Lisbon Treaty considers
?equality between women and men? among its values and objectives, and since
1996, the EU has committed to integrate gender considerations into all
aspects of its operations and policies. The Union (Commission and member
states) is also the world?s largest development aid donor, providing 55
percent of official development assistance globally. But to what extent has
this been used to advance gender equality goals? Has the EU promoted gender
equality in its development policies in a transformative way? Or has the
approach towards gender equality in its foreign aid remained rather
?mainstream?? This paper examines the gender perspective in European
Commission (EC) development aid by critically investigating the twin-track
strategy. After elaborating on gender equality policies in the EU and in its
development policies I delve into the analysis of the financing of measures
which directly support women?s empowerment. Next I analyse formal and
substantial aspects of gender mainstreaming in EC development aid. The paper
concludes that only part of the twin-track strategy is travelling well within
EC bureaucracies and that gender policies in EC development policy are
realized in an limited, interest-guided and expert-bureaucratic manner. Such
an approach severely limits the transformative potential of the twin-track
strategy.