ABSTRACT
The year 1975 was a time of important events in the history of Spain, and one of the events was the public appearance of feminism. Women studies emerged from the feminist movement and was introduced into the universities by academic staff and students in order to make women visible, and to introduce gender into academic disciplines. Discourse on the invisibility of women's work is very highly developed in rural gender studies in Spain, and reached its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The original 'feminist studies' soon became 'women studies' and more recently 'gender studies'; a term that is less conflictive to academia, and that has introduced a new theoretical dimension. The Women's Institute has played a crucial role in supporting research and publications. Moreover, the entry of Spain into the European Union, in 1985, prepared the way for the participation of university research groups in European networks.
