Europeanization of gender equality policy in post-communist Europe: Does it matter for women's substantive representation

In this dissertation I examine the role that the European Union (EU) has played in transforming women's substantive representation through gender equality policies such as equal employment and reconciliation policies. I select ten Central Eastern European countries already EU member states and two additional cases of aspirant and candidate countries to examine if and under what conditions the incentives for EU membership positively affect women's substantive representation. I operationalize women's substantive representation by looking at whether the gender equality policies selected are actually implemented. I measure implementation efforts using three indicators: the presence of legal procedures/out of court alternatives, the presence of informational campaigns and the presence of a 'sufficient deterrent' in the form of a set fine or fee. The research demonstrates that while there are differences in speed and scope between the adoption and implementation of gender equality policies, the new post-communist EU member states demonstrate a clear growth curve in implementation efforts. This dissertation develops models for explaining different rates of success on both adoption and implementation of EU-driven equal employment policies in the new post-communist member states. I argue that in most cases domestic mediating factors determine the rate of policy changes that take place as a result of external pressures for compliance. More specifically, when it comes to the transposition of legislative measures, functional equality governmental institutions play a critical role in ensuring the timely and proper adoption of all EU requirements. In contrast, women's movements actors in combination with an amicable policy environment serve as catalysts for the implementation of policies. While the EU has heavily affected equal employment policies, the implementation of reconciliation policies demonstrate no effect of Europeanization.