Integrating or setting the agenda? : Gender mainstreaming in the european constitution-making process

The European Union (EU) constitution-making process has adopted an "integrating" rather than an "agenda-setting" approach to gender mainstreaming. This argument draws on analysis of both the European Constitutional Convention and its product - the Constitutional Treaty. Five indicators of application of mainstreaming serve as reference points for exploring how it has been applied in the EU Constitutional Convention: a broader concept of gender equality, the incorporation of a gender perspective into the mainstream, equal representation of women, the prioritization of gender policy objectives, and a shift in institutional and organizational culture. The article provides a tentative explanation for the failure of the EU constitution-making process to adopt an "agenda-setting" approach to gender mainstreaming.