Gender Mainstreaming and the Discursive Politics of Public Service Values

ABSTRACTIn this article, we argue that the introduction of gender mainstreaming invites tension between key public service values, such as fairness, equity, and responsiveness, on one hand, and efficiency, accountability, and neutrality, on the other hand. Using a Canadian case study, we further argue that, to reconcile this conflict, public servants deploy a number of discursive strategies, which shape the meanings of both gender mainstreaming and values. These tactics, we suggest, serve to both trouble and reinscribe traditional bureaucratic discourse in ways that might offer opportunities for transforming administrative practice and policy outcomes.