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The ups and downs of European gender equality policy
Author(s) -
Rubery Jill,
Figueiredo Hugo,
Smith Mark,
Grimshaw Damian,
Fagan Colette
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.2004.00336.x
Subject(s) - gender equality , gender mainstreaming , political science , european union , directive , consolidation (business) , unemployment , pillar , mainstreaming , affirmative action , public administration , labour economics , economic growth , sociology , economics , gender studies , economic policy , law , engineering , special education , accounting , structural engineering , computer science , programming language
In 2003, equal opportunities policy in the European Union suffered both ups and downs. New opportunities came in the guise of the hotly contested new directive on gender equality outside the field of employment, in the invitation to present the first of an annual report on equality between women and men to the Spring Council, in the consolidation of gender mainstreaming within the second round of the National Action Plans on social inclusion and in the new commitments to ‘substantial reductions by 2010’ in gender gaps in employment, unemployment and pay that were included in the new employment guidelines in 2003. These new guidelines presented, however, a major challenge to gender equality as the new phase of the European Employment Strategy dispensed with the four pillars, and therefore the equal opportunities pillar. Instead gender equality became just one of 10 new guidelines. In December the launch of the Employment Taskforce report appeared to push employment policy back more to a ‘full employment with flexibility’ approach and away from concerns with job quality. The focus was therefore more on the integration of women into employment rather than on closing the equality gap.