Lights and Shadows in the Italian Gender Mainstreaming

The 1995 Beijing Conference was a watershed moment for the Gender Mainstreaming (GM) concept. Developed in previous conferences, it became an operational tool for policy concerned with gender inequalities thanks to the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. The following years saw the GM subjected to intense criticism. The introduction of GM into institutions and organizations was hampered by a series of issues regarding the institutional subject in charge of GM (for example, governments and public institutions), the surrounding environment (generally characterized by gender norms) and the lack of political will. The introduction of GM in Italy was a long and difficult journey, as shown by the reconstruction of the legislative process. Despite the importance of the Italian feminist movement of the 1970s, the lack of femocrats was particularly relevant, when it was necessary to bring GM into institutions. Furthermore, the lack of a precise political will, regardless of the political colour of the governments, in addressing gender inequalities is a constant in Italian life. This is demonstrated by the fact that Gender Auditing and Gender Budgeting, the two GM tools used in Italy, were introduced late, used badly and produced poor results.