The European Union and the Equal Opportunities Process

Abstract

In the 1970s, as the women’s movement gained momentum, the European Community (EC) began to include equality between women and men among its social policy concerns. Since the 1970s, equality policy has shifted from the focus on equal pay and equal treatment in the labour market to the reconciliation of paid work and family life. This chapter examines the role played by European institutions in the policy process and negotiation procedures that brought about this shift. It shows how the institutions of the European Union (EU) have both promoted and resisted change, and how the interaction between the intentions of the initiators of policy, interpretations of policy-makers and lobbying of women’s organizations provides the framework for policy formation.