Since the end of the Second World War, the “founding fathers” of Europe have often been celebrated, yet the women who also helped to build a united Europe have often been forgotten. Louise Weiss, sometimes called the “grand-mother of Europe”, is undoubtedly the most famous among them. But what about the role of the various pro-European movements of the interwar period, such as the European Women’s Lobby, or of leading figures such Ursula Hirschmann, Jacqueline Nonon, Fausta Deshormes La Valle (founder of the periodical Femmes d’Europe) and many other female contributors to European integration? When, in what ways and with what means did they work to build a Europe that was more equal in terms of sex and gender?

On the occasion of the first meeting of the Institut du Genre in Lyon on 3 September 2014, the gender research group of the LabEx project “Writing a new history of Europe” organised a workshop on European integration. Two key observations were made: the scarcity of existing research on the subject and the desirability of reconsidering the history of European integration using a gender approach. We now propose to bring together a broader group of researchers working on these subjects in an interdisciplinary conference, to be held in Paris on 19 and 20 November 2015, on “Gender and European Integration”. European integration is to be understood here in the widest sense: this conference treats both the process of European integration and, more broadly, the emergence of a political space and a common identity on a European level since the beginning of the 20th century.

Since the end of the Second World War, the “founding fathers” of Europe have often been celebrated, yet the women who also helped to build a united Europe have often been forgotten. Louise Weiss, sometimes called the “grand-mother of Europe”, is undoubtedly the most famous among them. But what about the role of the various pro-European movements of the interwar period, such as the European Women’s Lobby, or of leading figures such Ursula Hirschmann, Jacqueline Nonon, Fausta Deshormes La Valle (founder of the periodical Femmes d’Europe) and many other female contributors to European integration? When, in what ways and with what means did they work to build a Europe that was more equal in terms of sex and gender?

The European Economic Community (subsequently European Union) and the Council of Europe are both law-making institutions. The European Union issues rules and directives, negotiated at length and then translated into national legislation. The Council of Europe, meanwhile, has the mission of protecting human rights and liberties in all the member states. Firstly, what was the impact of the founding treaties, notably Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (1949) regarding non-discrimination based on sex and Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome (1957) on equal pay between male and female works? What specific policies and forms of public action were implemented by these institutions to promote gender equality (in terms of parity, the protection of women from violence, etc.) and what effects did they have around the European continent? What structures enabled these policies to be carried out? And finally, how has “gender mainstreaming”, that favoured instrument in the promotion of gender equality, been applied within the European institutions and in different countries? It is necessary, moreover, to assess the influence of work of the Court of Justice of the European Union and that of the European Court of Human Rights on the protection of women’s rights and on gender relations.

The European institutions also offer men and women from diverse countries opportunities to work and to hold (elected or unelected) office, just as international organisations do. How are men and women distributed within the personnel of these institutions? How has this varied over time since the start of the European project, and how does it vary between different institutions and between different member states?

Finally, this conference seeks to analyse Europe as a political idea and political space through the prism of gender. How do European citizens use European law to promote gender equality? Are there specific forms of engagement, support or hostility among Europeans to the values and policies pursued by the aforementioned institutions? Did the different stages of the history European integration (such as the introduction of European citizenship through the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 or the successive enlargements of the European Union and Council of Europe) bring about particular changes in this respect? For instance, the refusal of Norway to join the European Union in 1994 has often been seen as the “no” of women voters, while the female vote was seen as decisive in bringing about the membership of Sweden and Finland. Does the way European women relate to the European project therefore also have to be considered from a geographical perspective? Given the frequent emphasis on the democratic deficit in Europe, how can civil society organise itself to allow gender questions to be heard at the heart of the European debate?

The issue of gender thus has a lot to do with Europe. Whether Europe is considered as a political space, as a market, or as a cultural area, questioning the relationship between gender and European integration allows us better to understand the latters origins, functioning and effects.

Paper proposals can treat one or more of the following issues:

- The individual and collective actors of European integration
- Foundational texts and their uses (Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome…)
- Gender relations in the European institutions and organisations (diachronic, synchronic and comparative approaches are welcome)
- Gender policies and the history of the structures that allow for their implementation
- European legislation, national legislation and gender relations. Is it possible to identify key moments on a European level and specific dynamics between the European institutions and the member states?
- Europe’s discourses of gender (as evidenced in, for example, legal texts, commissions, reports on violence against women in Europe, European programmes to support research into gender relations, gender mainstreaming).
- Forms of engagement, support and mobilisation of women and/or for gender issues on a European level (notably female or mixed networks mobilised around “women’s issues”).
- The effects of European policies and action on gender relations (What are these effects? How can they be assessed?)

Guidelines submission
Paper proposals of a maximum of 300 words, accompanied by a brief CV (1 page maximum) should be sent to genreeurope@gmail.com

before 1 March 2015.

Candidates will be informed of the scientific committee’s decision by 31 March 2015.

Scientific committee:

Anne-Laure Briatte-Peters (Université de Paris Sorbonne, LabEx EHNE),
Eric Bussière (Université de Paris Sorbonne, LabEx EHNE),
Yves Dénéchère (Université d’Angers-UMR-CRHIO),
Federica di Sarcina (Université eCampus- Novedrate),
Delphine Diaz (Université de Reims-Champagne Ardenne, LabEx EHNE),
Jean-Michel Guieu (Université de Paris I, IRICE),
Sophie Jacquot (Centre d’études européennes, Sciences Po),
Ariane Jossin (CNRS-Saisir l’Europe & LabEx EHNE),
Claire Lafon (Université Saint Louis, Belgium),
Julie Le Gac (Université de Paris Sorbonne, LabEx EHNE),
Yannick Ripa (Université de Paris 8, LabEx EHNE)
Régis Schlagdenhauffen (Université de Lorraine, LabEx EHNE),
Françoise Thébaud (Université d’Avignon, LabEx EHNE),
Fabrice Virgili (CNRS, LabEx EHNE).

Organising committee:

The gender research group of the LabEx EHNE:
Anne-Laure Briatte-Peters,
Delphine Diaz,
Ariane Jossin,
Julie Le Gac,
Yannick Ripa,
Régis Schlagdenhauffen,
Françoise Thébaud,
Fabrice Virgili.

Organisation of the conference

The conference will take place in Paris on 19 and 20 November 2015.

The languages of the conference will be English and French.