Conclusion


Further information

About the Author

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Conclusion

Mainstreaming is the integration of the gender issue into hitherto male-centred ways of thinking, forms of organizations and procedures, and is as such a promising new strategy. However, it should not be regarded as the only useful and effective one by brushing aside as superfluous all other tried and tested strategies. It cannot be used as a substitute for quotas, norm-setting or autonomous practice for women, any more than it is a response to successes achieved by women in connection with the gender issue. On the contrary, mainstreaming is based on the recognition that to halt gender-based discrimination requires a far greater and more profound effort than has been hitherto believed. Unless all the ramifications of political and administrative decision-making processes, procedures and concepts are thoroughly examined for their discriminatory core elements, people will continue to complain that the implementation of the Equality Article in the Basic Law leaves a great deal to be desired.

Further information

Further information and a list of publications in German language can be requested from the author, Mrs. Dr. Barbara Stiegler.

About the Author

Dr. Barbara Stiegler holds a degree in psychology and educational theory and is on the academic staff of the Division of Labour and Social Research of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn. Most of her research is in the field of women’s issues.