ABSTRACT

According to the defi nition of citizenship commonly adopted in social sciences that conceives citizenship as inclusive of “rights and full membership” (Marshall 1950) or “rights, access, and belonging” (Wiener 1998), women’s enjoyment of European citizenship is mediated by the economic, political, and social rights that enable them to be full members of a political community. European citizenship is interpreted here in a broad sense, that is, not only by strict reference to citizenship rights originally formulated in Articles 8-8e of the Treaty of the European Union and maintained in the Treaty of Lisbon (EU)2 nor just in terms of the existing legal and political provisions that enable citizens to fully participate in the life of a political community. Given the historical marginalization or exclusion of women, full inclusion of female citizens requires addressing basic structures of gender inequality in the unequal organization of labor, intimacy, and citizenship. Gender equality policies play a vital role in enhancing women’s citizenship in terms of both rights and full participation, as they address existing gender inequalities that hamper a more gender-equal citizenship (Lister 1997).