Rewiring institutions to empower women and girls
Europe’s political, academic and research, business and scientific institutions are tangled up in inequalities – particularly gender inequalities. “Our gendered institutions are the result of gender power hierarchies, which in turn are based on the gender stereotypes and biases that are fed via cultural and political drivers,” says Linda Senden(opens in new window), a professor of Law at Utrecht University. The good news is that addressing such institutional inequalities doesn’t necessarily require a wrecking ball. More often than not, a bit of rewiring can already bring considerable progress. But this rewiring requires a life-journey approach, given the compounding effects of the intersectional gender inequalities found throughout life. “If we can identify which wires are connected to gender inequalities, then an institution can essentially fix its wiring to be more functional and effective to the needs and rights of girls and women,” adds Senden. Helping institutions untangle those wires is the EU-funded RE-WIRING(opens in new window) project. The project combines Global North and Global South perspectives into a consortium comprising Utrecht University, the University of Portsmouth(opens in new window), Deusto University(opens in new window) in Bilbao, the University of Gdansk(opens in new window), Leuven University(opens in new window), the University of the Western Cape(opens in new window) and the Centre for Inclusive Leadership(opens in new window).
Rewired for transformative gender equality
Coordinated by Utrecht University, the project aims to rewire institutions towards transformative gender equality. “This means going beyond the symptoms and manifestations of gender inequalities and tackling the root causes that underlie them,” explains Senden. For such rewiring to be effective, Senden says a holistic, multidisciplinary and co-creation approach is required – one that simultaneously addresses the institutional, experiential and symbolical dimensions of gender inequality. “Only when actions are taken at these three levels at the same time will transformative equality be achievable,” notes Senden.
Creating institutional change together
The project’s multi-pronged approach to institutionalised inequalities was put into practice across a number of domains, including crises, law, policymaking, leadership, education, employment, pensions and media. “Our unique approach has proven to help people working on the same problem but from a different disciplinary angle to work together and more effectively towards bringing institutional change,” remarks Senden. For example, the approach contributes to helping children, parents and teachers rewire schools to avoid stereotypical school guidance and choices. It also enables policymakers to carry out gender impact assessments of proposed and existing legislation and ensure gender-responsive lawmaking. Businesses benefit by being able to implement guidance on equal pay for women and men and in avoiding actions that seek to ‘fix women’ in a discriminatory system. The approach was even used to design a model to rewire the marketing sector and address and prevent sexist advertisements.
Scrutinising what drives gender inequalities
Based on its work, the project has put together a ‘Handbook on Re-Wiring Institutions’, as well as numerous other tools and guidance(opens in new window), that institutions of all kinds can use to critically scrutinise the wires driving gender inequalities. “The idea of ‘rewiring’ institutions really resonates with people, allowing them to understand that there are both hidden and visible wires at play, and while some wires get crossed and others fail, with the right commitment and support, they can always be fixed,” concludes Senden.
