Gender and Family in European Economic Policy : Developments in the New Millennium

This collection explores how pioneering gender equality policies have shaped women's economic presence in Europe since 2000. Equal pay policies, parental leave reforms, corporate quotas and electoral quotas have raised pressing questions about the effectiveness in promoting equal participation, as researchers quote both quantitative improvement in gender diversity and qualitative lag in cultural change. The chapters in this book present interlocking cross-national and cross-policy comparisons of the three most controversial reforms: equal pay, parental leave, and quotas for political representatives. The contributors address the cultural context in which reforms arose, internally contradictory policies, and the relative effectiveness of fast-track quotas and incentives compared to long-term efforts to change the overall culture of gender. This critical examination of the new millennium's groundbreaking gender policies will appeal to academics and practitioners interested in the progress of gender equality in the economic, political, and social welfare fields. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction: Rethinking Gender Equality Since the Turn of the Millennium....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Can We Call It a Revolution? Women, the Labour Market, and European Policy....Pages 15-39 Front Matter....Pages 41-41 Symbolic Policy Making for Gender Equality: Comparing the Use of Quotas for Civil Service and Corporate Boards in France and Germany....Pages 43-62 Overcoming the Gender Pay Gap: Equal Pay Policies Implementation in France and the United Kingdom....Pages 63-80 Equal Pay by Gender and by Nationality: A Comparative Analysis of Switzerland’s Unequal Equal Pay Policy Regimes Across Time*....Pages 81-107 Front Matter....Pages 109-109 Reconciliation of Employment and Childcare in Austria, Germany and Iceland. Examples for Gender Equality in Family Life?....Pages 111-128 From Implicit to Explicit Familialism: Post-1989 Family Policy Reforms in Poland....Pages 129-151 Social Investment or Gender Equality? Aims, Instruments, and Outcomes of Parental Leave Regulations in Germany and Sweden....Pages 153-176 Front Matter....Pages 177-177 The French Parity Law: A Successful Gender Equality Measure or a “Conservative Revolution”?....Pages 179-197 Political Representation of Women in Europe. What Accounts for the Increase in the 2000s?....Pages 199-225 Successes and Failures of Electoral Gender Quotas in a Global Perspective....Pages 227-250 Front Matter....Pages 251-251 Targeted Measures Versus Change of Political Culture: How Can Gender Equality Best Be Achieved?....Pages 253-264 Back Matter....Pages 265-267