THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY POLICY ON WOMEN IN THE CONTEXT OF 1992

This article evaluates the European Community's policy on women in the light of feminist critiques of public policy on women's issues. The limitations of the policy derive from its reliance on the concept of equality, its focus on women in paid work, and its failure to recognise the specific needs of different groups of women. Nevertheless, the policy has had some power and provides a channel for gender politics at the level of the EC. The article looks in detail at developments in the 1980s and sets these in the context of the EC's 1992 Programme, the Single European Act, and the Social Charter. The effects of the two main strands of the women's policy are then discussed: the attempt to establish equal treatment through legislation and case law, and the development of broader equal opportunities strategies.