The political transformation of Spain into one of the world's leading democracies is well-established, yet little is known about the differences between men and women's behavior, experience and achievements. How much did the women's movement contribute to the transformation? How far is sex equality institutionalized? Gender Politics and Society in Spain adopts an innovative approach, critically reviewing key institutional processes, policies and systems to reveal the way they function to promote or obstruct the achievement of gender equity. Both the transition to democracy, equality law reform and the social welfare regime are put to the test; policy-maker' ground-breaking efforts to combat the violence, sexual harassment and low political participation that are intrinsic to women's experience are scrutinized; and the constraints on equality in the field of employment and the family investigated.

The authors conclude that the recent re-balancing of the gender order in Spain is unexpected and contradictory, and was ultimately more effective in the political rather than the economic arena.

Gender Politics and Society in Spain breaks new ground in applying a systematic gender perspective to the analysis of established democracies, and is the first book in English to reveal the unique features of contemporary Spain's evolving gender order.