| One of the European Union's most pressing, yet delicate, policy challenges at the dawn of the 21st century is that of migration. The EU, its historical mission guided in part by a belief in lowering barriers to the free movement of peoples, now finds itself in the position of balancing the political unpopularity of liberalizing migration policies against the exigencies of increasing numbers of migrants clamoring to gain entry. The interplay of political self-interest and humanitarianism has spawned a multidisciplinary literature on EU migration policy. That literature, however, remains deficient in at least one particular area---e.g., in its neglect of the gender-specific dimensions of migration.; Since the formation of the European Communities in 1957, policymakers have sought the creation of a union that treats men and women equitably. While the European Union has been a leader in creating legislation that supports the equal treatment of female citizens, it has failed to extend these same protections to female migrants. Indeed, the striking disjuncture between standards for female European citizens and female migrants prompts a single, profound question that drives this study. Specifically, this study asks: Why have EU decision-makers failed to extend consistent gender considerations to the critical realm of migration policy even though broad EU standards on gender policy exist? The EU's success at adopting high standards for gender policies and its simultaneous failure to extend these standards in a uniform way to migrant women constitute a puzzle of significant theoretical import for those working at the intersection of migration, gender, and regional integration studies.; In order to explain the variation in the incorporation of gender that is evident in EU policymaking, this investigation tests the relative importance of five independent variables. While some of these variables are often seen in studies of EU policymaking, the main finding of this study is that the variable that best explains why female migrants receive inconsistent consideration in EU policy development is the powerful perceptions that policymakers hold regarding women and their roles in the each of the areas of migration policy scrutinized in this analysis, including immigration, trafficking, and asylum policy. |
