Governing Gender Equality Policy - Pathways in a Changing Nordic Welfare State

This book analyses the effects of public governance reforms on gender equality policy in Finland. Recent economic crises, rising austerity and increasing opposition to gender equality have led to the defunding of gender equality bodies, and the side-lining of gender equality as a political goal. This policy backlash has taken place alongside transformations to the state and governance, that have changed the discourses, knowledge, actors, and practices of gender equality policy. This book contributes to these discussions by demonstrating the subtleties of the constantly changing governance reform agendas, their operation in practice, and how they intertwine with other elements of the gender equality policy backlash. It is based on more than 100 interviews with civil servants, politicians, non-governmental organisations, social partners, and think tanks, and a broad range of policy documents and media material. It will appeal to students and scholars of gender studies, public policy and governance.




Anna Elomäki is Academy Research Fellow at Tampere University, Finland. Her research interests include economic policies and governance, EU politics and gender equality policy.

Hanna Ylöstalo is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Turku, Finland. Her research interests include knowledge-policy relations, welfare state reform and gender equality policy.