One of the solutions proposed by the European Union to remedy the effects of the 2008 economic crisis is to increase female labour participation. This book explores the policy changes in four new member states that may reduce the gender employment gap and improve women's equal participation in the labour force.

Zusammenfassung
'Drawing on rational choice, new institutional and feminist work, Ingrid Bego proposes a powerful new model for understanding contemporary democracy from her systematic qualitative analysis of the adoption AND implementation of two crucial areas of gender equality policy (reconciliation and equal employment) in four new member states of the EU: Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Latvia.' Amy G. Mazur, School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Washington State University, USA

'Drawing on an innovative blend of rational choice and sociological institutional work, and applying a critical feminist lens, Ingrid Bego offers a rich empirical study of gender equality policy in the Eastern European countries acceding to the European Union. This book uses mixed methods to offer an important and much needed examination that is both rigorous and nuanced. This work should be of interest to scholars broadly interested in gender politics, institutions, and democratization, as well as those specifically interested in the European Union and Eastern Europe.' Celeste Montoya, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies, University of Colorado Boulder, USA

'Ingrid Bego's Gender Equality Policy in the European Union: A Fast Track to Parity for the New Member States reclaims the core importance of domestic factors in conditioning the impact of European Union (EU) on its member states' policy and political practices. Its four in-depth country studies, of gender equality policy adoption and implementation in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Poland, are executed with exceptional care and clarity. More broadly, by placing gender equality at the center of post-communist transitions, it recalibrates our understanding of democratization and democracy itself.' Dr. Joseph Jupille, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Faculty Associate at the Institute of Behavioral Science, and Director of the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence (CEUCE), USA

Inhalt
List of Tables
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

1. Introduction
2. Adoption and Implementation of Equal Employment Policies in Four Countries
3. Beyond Employment: Addressing the Private and Public Divide through Reconciliation Policies
4. The Role of Formal and Informal Institutions in the Policy Process
5. Modernization and Cultural Explanations with a Strong Dose of Communist Legacy
6. Actors, Norms and Institutions: The Necessary Ingredients for a Successful Policy Model
7. Conclusion
   Appendix: Summary of Directives under Study
   Bibliography
   Index