Liberal, Conservative, Social Democratic, or ... European? The European Union as Equal Employment Regime

Abstract

How do the dynamics of the multitiered European Union (EU) affect national equal employment policies for women? This article introduces the concept of equal employment regimes and asks if and how such regimes are being integrated in the EU. I argue that states cluster according to the equal employment policies they formulate, implement, and enforce. A review of existing national gender equality policies in Western Europe (such as equal pay and positive action) in relation to their timing, extent, and implementation investigates the robustness of the notion of equal employment regimes. This national-level review is then contrasted to an analysis of the supranational level and concludes that the EU equal employment policy regime is not the outcome of a simple convergence of existing national regimes but rather reflects the expanding Europeanization of gender politics. As such the EU can be conceptualized as a forth regime type with its own policies, institutional features, and mechanisms. Recent literature on Europeanization helps theorize the differences between the national and the EU level on this issue.