Gender Politics in the Expanding European Union

In May 2004, after bringing their legislation into accordance with EU regulations, ten more countries joined the European Union. The contributors to this volume assess the impact of this historical development on gender relations in the new and old EU member states. Instead of focusing on either western or eastern Europe, this book investigates the similarities and differences in diverse parts of Europe. Although initially limited, gender equality was part of the original framework of the European Union, an organization often more open than national governments to feminist demands, as this volume illustrates with case studies from eastern and western Europe. The enlargement process thus provides some important policy instruments for increasing equality between men and women.

Silke Roth obtained her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Connecticut. From 2000 until 2005 she was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She is now Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK. Her publications include Building Movement Bridges: The Coalition of Labor Union Women. (Praeger 2003; honorable mention of the Collective Behavior/Social Movements Section of the American Sociological Association 2005); “Sisterhood and Solidarity? Organizing for Gender Issues and Women’s Equality in the Enlarged European Union,” in Social Politics.