Research Papers

During the last decade, numerous researchers have analyzed the influence of the European Union on member states’ gender equality policies. Though complying with the hard law regulations (e.g. gender equality and anti-discrimination directives) is primarily relevant at domestic level policy making, Europeanization literature also analyzes member states’ compliance with soft law and norms, and the latter have a much greater influence at lower (regional, local) levels of policy making as well. The influence of Hungary’s accession to the EU on cities and urban level policy making has mainly prevailed through cohesion policy and the local implementation of Phare, Urban, Urbact, Equal, and the Hungarian National Development Plan’s and New Hungary Development Plan’s projects. In my paper I examine the impact of these European projects on the process of gendering urban policy making in Budapest. The Budapest Resource Center and Capital Equal Opportunities Methodological Office, two institutions not well embedded into the Budapest City Hall’s hierarchy were the main implementers of these projects. I intend to analyze the result of Europeanization at the local level and examine whether these activities remained scattered and unconnected or they could start a process of gendering of the urban policy making of Budapest. This paper is part of my wider doctoral research where I search for the factors that shape the outcome of gendering urban policy making by analyzing the differing performances of Budapest and Vienna.