Gender, Ideational Analysis, and Social Policy

An increasing number of social scientists have argued that ideational processes can have major consequences on politics and policy. Focusing on social policy, the present article explains how students of gender have contributed to the contemporary literature on ideational processes. As suggested, all researchers interested in these processes would benefit from engaging with the gender literature because it draws our attention to at least three broad issues neglected by many non-feminist scholars: (i) the intersection between categorical inequalities and policy ideas; (ii) the role of identities and gendered cultural assumptions; and (iii) the relationship between welfare regimes and ideational processes. Overall, the main objective of this article is to favor a more fruitful dialogue between students of gender, on one hand, and other policy scholars who also explore the role of ideational processes, on the other.