Gender and Career Patterns in Light of EU Employment and Social Policy Strategies

Abstract

The article looks at the different employment patterns of women and men in the context of social change and examines the employment and social policy strategies of the EU with a view to their potential contribution to gender equality. Within the framework of a conceptual model, influencing factors on gender-specific employment patterns are identified over the life course, and their interaction is examined. It then focuses on the analysis of various EU employment and social policy initiatives from the perspective of gender equality. It becomes clear that although the EU was an early initiator and pioneer of gender equality, gender and gender equality issues have lost significance over time – and increasingly in the context of the financial crisis – or have been narrowed to a strong economic purpose with the aim of integrating women into the labour market as comprehensively as possible.