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Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Equality in the New (Market) Economy: An Analysis of Contradictions

Gender mainstreaming now forms part of many national and supranational policies and is mandatory in development projects such as those financed by the EU structural funds and by the World Bank. Yet gender equality remains elusive. Recent studies have highlighted institutional barriers or resistances to gender mainstreaming. This article takes a rather different approach by developing a conceptualization of the new economy that highlights the market tendency toward widening gender and class inequalities. The implication of the analysis is that effective gender mainstreaming would require a broader and more holistic conceptualization of the economy in order to secure greater gender equality. The theoretical argument has relevance to countries seeking to develop knowledge-based economies. The policy discussion relates to the European Union, and the specific empirical illustration to London. This multi-scalar approach reflects the way that different policy frameworks and local situatedness mediate the global neo-liberal trajectory in different ways. If the current efforts to transform the European social model by more neo-liberal economic policies succeed, these UK findings may reflect the shape of things to come in Europe and perhaps elsewhere.