IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/erp/eiopxx/p0247.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender mainstreaming on the ground? The case of EU development aid towards Rwanda

Author

Listed:
  • Debusscher, Petra

Abstract

This article investigates why gender mainstreaming has not occurred in European Union (EU) development aid towards Rwanda despite a two-sided receptiveness from Rwanda and the EU’s Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation. I use a feminist institutionalist approach to examine formal and informal institutions as well as the actors, networks and processes involved in policy formation and implementation. I argue that the largest stumbling block to effective implementation is an institutional weakness at the EU level which involves a decoupling of formal and informal institutions and leads to the ‘ceremonial’ behaviour of gender policy actors and a limited, instrumental policy guided by gendered assumptions. These reproduce further stereotypes and contribute to an asymmetrical power play within the institutions. This can disadvantage women and staff working on gender equality. Finally, the EU’s institutional practices structurally marginalize the voices of Rwandan women and their movement which is problematic in the context of an increasingly authoritarian state.

Suggested Citation

  • Debusscher, Petra, 2014. "Gender mainstreaming on the ground? The case of EU development aid towards Rwanda," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:erp:eiopxx:p0247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eiop.or.at/eiop/texte/2014-004a.htm
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://eiop.or.at/eiop/pdf/2014-004.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anouka Eerdewijk & Tine Davids & Nathalie Holvoet & Liesbeth Inberg, 2014. "Gender Mainstreaming In The Context Of Changing Aid Modalities: Insights From Two Paris Declaration Champions," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 317-331, April.
    2. Petra Debusscher & An Ansoms, 2013. "Gender Equality Policies in Rwanda: Public Relations or Real Transformations?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 44(5), pages 1111-1134, September.
    3. An Ansoms & Donatella Rostagno, 2012. "Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(133), pages 427-450, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Allwood, Gill, 2014. "Gender mainstreaming and EU climate change policy," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 18, November.
    2. Annica Kronsell, 2016. "The Power of EU Masculinities: A Feminist Contribution to European Integration Theory," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 104-120, January.
    3. Weiner, Elaine and Heather MacRae, 2014. "The persistent invisibility of gender in EU policy: Introduction," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 18, November.
    4. Petra Debusscher, 2020. "Budget Support Through a Gender Lens: The Case of EU Development Cooperation with Botswana," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 718-737, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abbott, Pamela & Mugisha, Roger & Mtika, Peter & Nzabalirwa, Wenceslas, 2020. "Failing adult learners: Why Rwanda’s adult literacy education is not delivering," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Devon E.A. Curtis, 2015. "Development assistance and the lasting legacies of rebellion in Burundi and Rwanda," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(7), pages 1365-1381, July.
    3. Dr. RWABUTOGO ZOGEYE Marcel (PhD) & Dr. Benard Nuwatuhaire (PhD), 2020. "Effect of Performance contract “Imihigo†on Socio-Economic Development in Rwanda. Gakenke District," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 4(6), pages 717-723, June.
    4. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu & Chris Pyke, 2019. "The Comparative Economics of ICT, Environmental Degradation and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1271-1297, June.
    5. Pritish Behuria & Tom Goodfellow, 2016. "The political settlement and ‘deals environment’ in Rwanda: Unpacking two decades of economic growth," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-057-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    6. Karolin Andersson & Katarina Pettersson & Johanna Bergman Lodin, 2022. "Window dressing inequalities and constructing women farmers as problematic—gender in Rwanda’s agriculture policy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1245-1261, December.
    7. Ernestina Coast & Marie Merci Mwali & Roberte Isimbi & Ernest Ngabonzima & Paola Pereznieto & Serafina Buzby & Rebecca Dutton & Sarah Baird, 2021. "‘If She’s Pregnant, then that Means that Her Dreams Fade Away’: Exploring Experiences of Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood in Rwanda," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(5), pages 1274-1302, October.
    8. Petra Debusscher, 2020. "Budget Support Through a Gender Lens: The Case of EU Development Cooperation with Botswana," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 718-737, July.
    9. Tadros, Mariz & Shutt, Catherine, 2024. "Gender in development: What lessons for addressing inequality on the grounds of religion or (non)-belief?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    10. Sam Desiere & Lotte Staelens & Marijke D’Haese, 2016. "When the Data Source Writes the Conclusion: Evaluating Agricultural Policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(9), pages 1372-1387, September.
    11. Meniago, Christelle & Asongu, Simplice A., 2018. "Revisiting the finance-inequality nexus in a panel of African countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 399-419.
    12. Andrea Guariso & Bert Ingelaere & Marijke Verpoorten, 2017. "Female political representation in the aftermath of ethnic violence: A comparative analysis of Burundi and Rwanda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-74, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "CO2 emission thresholds for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/023, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    14. Klege, Rebecca A. & Visser, Martine, 2019. "Competition and Gender in the Lab vs. Field: Experiments with Off-Grid Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs in Rural Rwanda," EfD Discussion Paper 19-24, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    15. Rutayisire, Théoneste & Richters, Annemiek, 2014. "Everyday suffering outside prison walls: A legacy of community justice in post-genocide Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 413-420.
    16. Andrea Guariso & Bert Ingelaere & Marijke Verpoorten, 2018. "When Ethnicity Beats Gender: Quotas and Political Representation in Rwanda and Burundi," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(6), pages 1361-1391, November.
    17. Klege, Rebecca Afua & Visser, Martine & Barron A, Manuel F. & Clarke, Rowan P., 2021. "Competition and gender in the lab vs field: Experiments from off-grid renewable energy entrepreneurs in Rural Rwanda," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. Erin Stern & Katie Carlson, 2019. "Indashyikirwa Women’s Safe Spaces: Informal Response for Survivors of IPV within a Rwandan Prevention Programme," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Andrea Guariso & Bert Ingelaere & Marijke Verpoorten, 2017. " Female political representation in the aftermath of ethnic voilence. A comparative analysis of Burundi and Rwanda," Working Papers of LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance 610137, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
    20. Mariola Acosta & Margit van Wessel & Severine van Bommel & Edidah L. Ampaire & Laurence Jassogne & Peter H. Feindt, 2020. "The power of narratives: Explaining inaction on gender mainstreaming in Uganda’s climate change policy," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(5), pages 555-574, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:erp:eiopxx:p0247. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Assistant (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ecsaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.