Economy as a gender equality question The case of the EU’s budget and economic policies Anna Elomäki Senior Researcher University of Tampere anna.elomaki@uta.fi @AnnaElomaki

Gender equality vs. economy Gender equality and economy often seen as separate questions Hierarchy: economy comes first Collaboration between actors rare Gender knowledge not taken into account in policy-making Gender equality and the economy are part of the same coin Economic policies have gendered impacts Gender equality influences economic outcomes Economy is a gender equality question: more dialogue and collaboration

Towards gender aware economic policy Individual reforms (e.g. work life balance) not enough, need to rethink what the economy is Economic policies are based on gendered background assumptions and hierarchies These assumptions and hierarchies hide, legitimate and reproduce inequality

Gendered understanding of the economy Unpaid work and its providers marginalized in mainstream understandings of the economy Unpaid work mainly done by women: PT, IE and IT more than 70%, Finland 59% Unpaid work increases well-being and makes the functioning of economy possible… …yet not taken into account in national accounts and GDP Unpaid work has significant value: In Finland would increase GDP by 41% (2012)

Gendered ideas of economic value Systematic undervaluation of women’s work at micro and macro level Pay differences between male and female dominated sectors and professions Female-dominated sectors seen as less important and less useful for the economy than male-dominated sectors

Care as an economic question In economic policy debate care mainly seen as economic cost Unwillingness to pay for care: we are used in that someone cares for free or cheaply Care has always costs for someone: when public care services are cut, costs are transferred to households Feminist economics: ’reproductive economy’ as important part of the economy as ’productive economy’

Some ways forward Gender budgeting Goals of economic policy: from competitiveness to well-being, from budget deficits to care deficits Taking unpaid work into account: measure value, impact assessments, sharing Invest in social infrastructure

Gender equality in the EU’s budget A small and declining share of EU funding Disappearance of specific budgets for gender equality Visibility of gender equality objectives in ESIF has gradually declined Gender mainstreaming commitments = red tape? Commitment to gender budgeting weak, but some progress made in annual budget process Current negotiations on the MFF and funding programmes key moment for gender budgeting!

Gender equality in the EU’s economic policies and governance Declining visiblity of gender equality in the EU’s economic strategies Crisis has pushed gender knowledge into margins Gendered effects of crises responses and policy recommendations not assessed Integration of gender equality in the European Semester remains partial Bigger question: what do the EU’s narrow conceptualizations of the economy imply for the identification and addressing of gender inequalities?