QUING - Quality in Gender + Equality Policies

Project description

The European Union is a multilayered, multicultural democracy claiming to be based on mutual respect for its diverse peoples and cultures, introducing goals that value diversity and inclusion while counteracting hierarchies, inequalities and exclusion. Yet, at the level of its member states, many examples of exclusion and polarization can be found, whether the focus is on ethnicity, religion or sexuality. Gender issues are constitutive of current polarizations. At the same time, gender equality policies, as the most developed policies against inequality, provide the best entrance to developing inclusive gender and equality policies.

Objectives
QUING will actively bring together and construct the knowledge needed for such inclusive policies. It will conceptualize how attention for intersectionality, the cross-cutting of diverse forms of inequality, can be integrated in policies and how technocratic tendencies in this field can be counteracted. It will also assess the current content, quality and problems of gender equality policies and formulate recommendations and standards for gender training so that policy making fits gender equal citizenship in a multicultural Europe.

Activities
QUING integrates five activities: LARG, WHY, STRIQ, FRAGEN and OPERA. These activities cover all present EU member states as well as Croatia and Turkey.

LARG - a comparative analysis of differences, similarities and inconsistencies in the field of gender+ equality between the EU and its Member States. Provides a systematic overview of these policies in terms of their design and content, giving particular attention to the voice and standing given to civil society voices. Develops a methodology that combines Frame Analysis with an innovative Voice Analysis.

WHY - explains similarities, differences and inconsistencies that are present in gender+ equality policies across the EU and its Member States (as will be delivered by LARG), giving specific attention to differences in civil society interfaces.

STRIQ - a study on how intersectionality is currently dealt with in gender+ equality policies across the European Union and its Member States, including the study of occurrences of intersectional bias.

FRAGEN - the construction of a database of gender+ equality frames that originate in feminist movements in Europe, leading to an open database.

OPERA - the integration of knowledge on gender, intersectionality and European gender equality policies into operational standards for gender training, including the training of trainers.

LARG & WHY will generate and bring together new concepts, knowledge and understanding on current practices across the whole of Europe on gender equality policies. FRAGEN will provide knowledge both on the origins of gender equality policies, and their current materialization. STRIQ will provide the necessary knowledge to address gender inequality in policy making without contributing to other inequalities. Finally, OPERA is an innovative contribution to provide standards, materials and training for gender+ equality. Together the 5 activities will contribute significantly to the quality of gender+ equality policies in the EU and its candidate countries.

Scientific Director : Mieke Verloo, Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM)