A feminist perspective on the Romanian Governmental Strategy for Roma Inclusion

Abstract

In this paper investigate how the gender dimension is configured in existing public policies regarding the Roma minority. For this purpose, l analyze from a feminist perspective The Strategy of the Romanian Government for the Inclusion of the Romanian Citizens Belonging to the Roma Minority for the period 2012-2020. The main question of the present paper is: How can Romanian and European policies increase the social inclusion of Roma women and improve their socio-economic status? In the first part of the paper I argue why 'gender matters' and why public policies have an important impact on the status of men and women. Next, I draw attention to the fact that gender awareness has appeared in Romanian policies primarily because of pressure from European institutions. Therefore, feminist speech and the values of gender equality have not yet been internalized by Romanian policy makers. The Government's Strategy reflects how state institutions value men and women differently inside Roma communities and how power is unequally distributed between the two genders. For the purpose of this paper, l examine whether the interests of Roma women in Romania are represented in each one of the Strategy's directions for action: education, employment, health, housing, culture and social infrastructure. This analysis sheds tight on the inability of the Romanian state to account for gender issues, particularly ones faced by Roma women.