Relevance of gender in the policy area

EU regional policy is an investment policy that targets all regions and cities in the European Union. In recognition of its importance, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU) devotes 5 articles to “economic, social and territorial cohesion” (Articles 174 – 178). The policy aims to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities between EU regions by supporting job creation, competitiveness, economic growth, improved quality of life and sustainable development.

Regional policy is embedded within the Regional Cohesion policy and gender equality is considered under this framework. Regional policy has a strong impact in many fields. Its investments help to deliver many EU policy objectives and complement EU policies such as those dealing with education, employment, energy, the environment, the single market, and research and innovation.

Regional policy is delivered through 3 main funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Together with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), they make up the European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds. Gender equality is addressed in the objectives of the ESI funds.

Gender equality is formally mentioned in the Regional Cohesion policy in relation to promoting economic development and pursuing women’s empowerment.

Promoting gender equality is important in reducing regional economic and social disparities and for ensuring the long-term development of regions, which are the 2 main objectives of the Cohesion Policy. Failure to overcome gender disparities means that the development objectives of growth, competitiveness and employment cannot be fully achieved. The economic theory of gender equality recognises that gender equality is an essential precursor for promoting economic development. A lack of gender equality between women and men implies that human resources are not being used to their greatest extent for the development of the economy, and society at large. In economic terms, gender equality means “utilising everyone and letting everybody – both men and women – be assets on which to build develop­ment through e.g. employment in the labour market, higher education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship”.

Gender equality thus broadly means women and men experience a city and its services and infrastructures differently. According to the World Bank, women’s and men’s priorities are often not the same for basic services such as urban housing, water and sanitation, solid waste management, and public transport. Applying a gender lens to ERDF funds and the Cohesion Fund when focusing on these intervention areas is essential to achieve gender equality in urban areas.

In term of investments, improvement in physical infrastructures can reduce at least 3 significant barriers that reinforce gender inequalities:

  • women’s lack of free time due to the unequal distribution of caring responsibilities
  • women’s exclusion from many local economic opportunities
  • women’s lesser presence in, if not complete absence from, well-resourced networks and important decision-making arenas.

However, the literature on gender equality in regional development reveals that developing infrastructure is not enough. Besides the lack of adequate infrastructures access to infrastructures, where they exist, is particularly relevant for people who may be exposed to a greater risk of social exclusion, such as women. Literature on gender equality and infrastructures emphasises that in looking at women’s access to infrastructures, it is important to consider the needs of women and men in the informal sector. Poor women, living in unplanned settlements, are generally less mobile and therefore more affected than men by living in overcrowded conditions and households. They are also more exposed to the risks of uncollected waste and the stress of looking after children in unsafe places. Thus, the provision of safe places for children to play and of social and cultural infrastructure contributes to advancing gender equality.

Investments affect women and men differently, according to their different positions and roles in society. This is true of ‘hard-core’ infrastructure investments into facilities such as roads, water supplies and railways, as well as of ‘soft’ investments into skills development in the job market and education. For example, if the EU invests strongly in sectors such as the automotive sector, aeronautics, engineering, space, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, there is a major risk that gender gaps will increase, as women workers account for only 20% of the workforce in these sectors and tend to work in lower-qualified and lower-paid jobs. However, if investments are made from a gender equality perspective (e.g. investing also in vocational training for women, childcare infrastructure), they will contribute to gender equality and will increase its effectiveness in terms of inclusive growth. Inequalities persist between women and men across most of the policy areas encompassed by the Cohesion Policy (e.g. the labour market, education and training). The EU’s strategy on equality between women and men is focused on promoting innovation, supporting job creation, increasing employment rates among women and men, and supporting the development of a higher-skilled labour market across the EU through ESI funding. Applying a gender lens to these areas is crucial to ensuring a fair and successful process of recovery.

Despite the relevance of gender equality in the Regional Cohesion policy area, there are still gender gaps to be tackled via regional policy and ESI funds. These are (i) fragmented/insufficient use of the gender mainstreaming approach in ESI funds, and (ii) weak involvement of women in participatory processes relating to the programming and implementation of the ESI funds.

Gender inequalities in the policy area

Gender equality policy objectives at EU and international level

As mentioned previously, regional policy is mostly tackled at European level. Responsibility for regional policy is divided among EU institutions and EU Member States. EU institutions set the general framework for regional policy by laying down the common strategic framework for Cohesion Policy and defining the regulations and investment priorities of Cohesion Policy funds (ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund). Following the common strategic framework (CSF) and ERDF/ESF/Cohesion Fund regulations, Member States sign a partnership agreement with the European Commission that afterwards translates into specific ERDF/ESF/Cohesion Fund programmes. Successively, these programmes are negotiated with and approved by the European Commission.

Policy cycle in regional policy

Click on a phase for details

How and when? Regional development and the integration of the gender dimension into the policy cycle

Below, you can find useful resources and practical examples for mainstreaming gender into regional development. They are organised according to the most relevant phase of the policy cycle they may serve.

Practical examples of gender mainstreaming in regional development

Timeline

Current policy priorities at EU level

At EU level, regional development is embedded within the Cohesion policy. Under the EU’s 2014 – 2020 budget, the Cohesion policy invests €325 billion in Europe’s Member States, their regions and cities to deliver the EU 2020 goals of creating growth and jobs, tackling climate change, energy dependence and reducing poverty and social exclusion.

In the period 2014 – 2020 the Cohesion policy focuses on 11 priority objectives:

  • strengthening research, technological development and innovation
  • enhancing access to, and use and quality of ICT
  • enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs
  • supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors
  • promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management
  • preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency
  • promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures
  • promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility
  • promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination
  • investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning
  • enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and efficient public administration.

The Cohesion policy also aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between regions. In fact, areas that are naturally disadvantaged from a geographical viewpoint such as remote, mountainous or sparsely populated areas will benefit from special treatment to address possible disadvantages due to their remoteness.

Three structural and investment funds (ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund) support the delivery of these objectives. Even though the ERDF addresses all thematic objectives, it is mainly targeted at the following priorities:

  1. productive investment which contributes to creating and safeguarding sustainable jobs, through direct aid for investment in SMEs
  2. productive investment, irrespective of the size of the enterprise concerned
  3. investment in infrastructure providing basic services to citizens in the areas of energy, environment, transport and ICT
  4. investment in social, health, research, innovation, business and educational infrastructure
  5. investment in the development of endogenous potential through fixed investment in equipment and small-scale infrastructure, including small-scale cultural and sustainable tourism infrastructure, services to enterprises, support to research and innovation bodies and investment in technology and applied research in enterprises
  6. networking, cooperation and exchange of experience between competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, economic and social partners and relevant bodies representing civil society.

Member States and regions are required to invest a significant part of the ERDF (between 50% and 80%) in these priority areas which receive up to €100 billion (close to 30%) of the ERDF budget.

Through the ESF, the Cohesion policy contributes to the EU 2020 priorities in the fields of employment, education and social inclusion (at least 20% of the ESF in each Member State will have to be used to support this objective). In detail, the main priorities of the ESF for the period 2014 – 2020 are:

  • promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility
  • promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination, including gender discrimination
  • investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning
  • enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders, and efficient public administration.

In addition, the ESF will also contribute to the following Cohesion policy objectives, complementing ERDF funding:

  • supporting the shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable economy
  • enhancing the accessibility, use and quality of information and communication technologies
  • strengthening research, technological development and innovation
  • enhancing the competitiveness and long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Cohesion Fund focuses on the following investment priorities:

  • supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors
  • promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management
  • preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency
  • promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures
  • enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities, stakeholders and efficient public administration through actions to strengthen the institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services related to the implementation of the Cohesion Fund.

Want to know more?