Assessing equal opportunities in the European Union

To usefully evaluate the extent of equal opportunity demands innovative methodology. The authors select indicators of the relative opportunities of men and women (the 'gender gap'), including differences in employment, wages, and the sharing of unpaid work; and also indicators of women's absolute situation in the labour market. These indicators are then estimated empirically for 15 Member States, with highly revealing results. To close the circle, the main determinants of equal opportunity are posited - including the rate of economic growth, tax systems, working-time regimes, childcare facilities and parental leave arrangements. Seeing country performance in that light produces compelling lessons for policy.