"Contains all the Community legislative acts relating to gender equality, as well as other Community acts ... including recommendations, resolutions, communications, conclusions and other texts"-Foreword.

Monitoring reports on existing institutional mechanisms, policies and programs on gender equality in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The research and statistics in the reports highlight ongoing areas of concern, such as the gender pay gap, gender stereotypes in education, a lack of women in decision-making positions, and obstacles faced by women in reconciling family and professional life.

Recoge: 1. The EU's tools for gender equality. - 2. Policy areas. - 3. Looking forward : future initiatives for gender equality.

"Contains all the Community legislative acts relating to gender equality, as well as other Community acts ... including recommendations, resolutions, communications, conclusions and other texts"-Foreword.

This broad ranging new text provides a systematic assessment of the emergence of gender as a significant issue on the EU agenda and of the EU's impact on gender inequality, both in terms of specifically gender-related policies and the gender dimensions of other policies.

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.