‘It would have slowed down the work’ – the challenges of gender sensitive economic policy

The Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union (EU) provided member states with funds to counteract the economic consequences of the pandemic and required the submission of national action plans. The EU developed guidance on how member states should apply for and use these funds, directing applicants to include a gendered analysis. While there is significant variation in the levels of gender awareness within the national plans, the Irish plan is notable in that it lacks any substantial engagement with gender considerations. Using document analysis and policy maker interviews, this article examines the causes and outcomes of this disengagement, exploring this puzzle of a lack of gender sensitive economic policy-making in Ireland. We examine why, despite direction from the EU, those charged with Ireland’s economic policy framework omitted any significant consideration of gender. Drilling down into a specific example of how gender considerations were marginalised in economic governance, we argue for understanding more about how the interpretive or cognitive lens that policy makers apply reinforces long-standing norms about what matters. We contribute to feminist political economic analysis of the EU and national policy-making, highlighting where the blockages to gender equality lie.