ABSTRACT
Formally equal in rights, women are still unequal in reality. This is particularly true in the employment sphere, where it is clear that although equality has been instituted as a principle it is far from being fully translated into fact, either with respect to pay or the types of jobs occupied by women and men respectively. Affecting women more than men, mounting unemployment and precariousness, along with the development of part-time work, are further obstacles to the achievement of gender equality. While many countries have put equal opportunities and equal pay on their agenda, viewing them as fundamental dimensions of women's citizenship, the uneven sharing of family and domestic work continues to underpin inequality between men and women on the labour market, and to restrict women's autonomy. The legitimacy of policies favouring women's "reconciliation' of paid and unpaid work differs from one country to another.
