Mainstreaming gender into healthcare: A scoping exercise into policy transfer in England and Germany

Abstract

Across the globe the concept of gender mainstreaming is indicative of substantive transformations, and healthcare is a particularly important policy arena. Yet existing research reveals only modest success in the implementation of gender policies in national healthcare systems, despite the availability of complex tools and guidelines. This article introduces an approach that links gender mainstreaming with approaches into policy transfer as dynamic processes of translation involving active players. In a scoping exercise the authors select England and Germany as case studies and draw on document analysis, other secondary sources and additional expert information. The analysis reveals varieties of translation of gender mainstreaming into national healthcare systems – even within the legal framework of the European Union – and the crucial relevance of feminist actors. The study raises more general questions on the nature of international policy-making in relation to national and local healthcare institutions and policy entrepreneurs.