Why Analysis of Gender Equality Policy Should Pay Attention to Risk: The Case of Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy in England

Policy strategies for managing risk are now well-established in British social policy. These strategies are highly individualized, placing emphasis on the capacity of individuals to mitigate risk in their everyday lives. Further, the paper argues that the dominance of individualized risk governance agendas has serious implications for the design of equality initiatives. Through a case study of sexual and reproductive health policy in England, the paper demonstrates that risk governance has the potential to “shrink” the meaning of equality by institutionalizing a narrow, individualized definition of “equality” in policy, and “bend” equality initiatives to fit a broader neoliberal policy agenda.