The diverse worlds of European patriarchy, part 1

Abstract

This theme issue examines geographical variations in the gender divisions in Western Europe and seeks to suggest how they might be explained. The first paper explores theoretical issues, analysing how gender inequalities in different contexts can be explained by reviewing Walby's reconception of six dimensions of partiarchy and suggesting its integration with Scandinavian ideas of the gender contract as the best means of conceptualising gender divisions. The second paper concerns the measurement of gender inequalities in paid work in EC countries and compares experience and policy frameworks. The subsequent papers examine the social construction of gender inequalities in labour markets in Southern Europe, Sweden, East Germany, and Ireland. -K.Brown