Making sense of gender in shifting institutional contexts: Some reflections on gender mainstreaming

As long as gender mainstreaming has been an aspect of the feminist engagement with development, there have been those who have warned of the dangers of political dilution, those that have opposed the takeover of feminist agendas by the state, and the dangers of "co-option". Yet engagement with the state has been critical for furthering inclusive citizenship, and commitments to gender equality and women's empowerment are ubiquitous and often genuine. How do we make sense of these diverse trends? This article offers some reflections on gender mainstreaming, arguing for reviewing its achievements both in the wider context of transformative possibilities, and also in a more modest perspective, scaling down expectations of what it can achieve.