Creators of Change: A comparative analysis on the collaborative network of the feminist triangle in Iceland and the Netherlands and their contribution to the developments of gender equality policies

Abstract

Gender equality is currently a hot topic in international policymaking. Since the UN’s Decade for Women (1976-1985) several countries have integrated gender equality as one of their goals in governance. In recent studies, gender equality policies in global governance are criticised for being insufficient in improving the lives of women (Ellerby 2017). Governments are according to Ellerby (2017) taking ‘shortcuts to change’ because they only focus on adding women without challenging gendered structures. Although Ellerby calls for more intersectional gender equality policies, she does not present concrete solutions. After evaluating numerous theories on gender equality policies I realised that the solution may lie within a collaborative network of people that work in the government, academia and women’s movement. The hypothesis that can be drawn from the theoretical discussion of Gouws (1996), Woodward (2003), Verloo and Lombardo (2007), Holli (2008), Outshoorn and Kantola (2007), and Findlay (2015) is that the creators in this triangle can improve gender equality policies through an active collaboration and gendered awareness inside and outside of the government. From this point, I decided to focus on the people that create the gender equality policies and see how they contribute to the development of these policies. I selected two western liberal welfare countries for a comparison: Iceland and the Netherlands. Iceland is known for excelling in gender equality according to international measurements whilst the Netherlands is dropping. By interviewing the people working and advising on gender equality policies (22 in Iceland and 11 in the Netherlands), I contribute to answering the question on how gender equality policies can become more intersectional and sustainable through a collaborative network of people. This research shows another angle of policy making, namely the experiences, aspirations, and expertise of the ‘creators of change’.