ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the changes in gender relations and different politics influencing these transformations throughout the 1990's and continuing in the 2000's in Europe. The traditional gender contract is dissolving and is being replaced by a variety of new arrangements between women and men with respect to the gendered division of paid and unpaid work. The increasing employment rate of women is a clear and general trend in Europe which influences gender relations both in the private and public spheres. Feminist theory seeks ultimately to understand the gendered nature of virtually all social relations, institutions and processes. Reconciling work and family pose different problems for men and women and this is gradually acknowledged as a central issue with respect to social inclusion and gender-equality at the level of the EU policy.
