Assessing gender democracy in the EU Methodological challenges

Sara Clavero and Yvonne GalliganCentre for Advancement of Women in

Politics

Queen’s University Belfast

Background RECON project

Brings EU democracy debates to the test Develops a set of indicators of

democratic performance in EU RECON-gender

Constructs a methodology for assessing gender democracy in EU

Assessment focused on multi-level system

Uses results for comparative research

1. Defining ‘gender democracy’ Four desiderata

1. A substantive rather than procedural definition

2. Focus both on political equality and public control

3. Informed by feminist thinking on democracy

4. It can be rendered operational in a set of observable indicators

Deliberative democracy Good framework for fulfilling desiderata 1-2 Not so great for desiderata 3-4

2. Deriving indicators Four normative criteria:

Inclusion, political equality, publicity and reasonableness

Conditions: Coherence Universality Objectivity Feasibility

3. Methods

Four questions: Quantitative measures or qualitative

judgements? How are attainment standards

decided? How to produce data that is

unavailable? Who carries out the assessment?

Some lessons learnt

Need to draw on previous practice Tough methodological decisions at

every step of the way Need to keep into view both

internal and external constraints Open-ended process

www.reconproject.eu