The EU has recently launched a framework for policy development in education, training and the labor market. While equal opportunity is identified as important in the model framework, Mainstreaming Equality in the European Union argues that the gendered nature of these fields is not incorporated into the analysis upon which the policies are based.

This book traces and critiques the record of the EU on equal opportunities from equal treatment, then positive action, through to the current agenda--mainstreaming equality. The author combines insights from feminist theory on conceptualizing equality, familiarity with Eurospeak and original research on the programs and projects of the Commission to offer an accessible, jargon-free account of the EU's attempts to encourage equal opportunities.