April 11, 2014

Law, Justice, and Citizenship in the Twenty First Century

António Casimiro Ferreira

This thesis focuses on the relationship between gender equality and the issue of reconciliation of family and professional responsibilities in the EU law and policies. The scope of gender equality has expanded over time to become one of the most developed social policies of the EU. But, this field has remained closely connected to the labour market. The very concept of equality has acquired a new significance. There are in fact different notions of equality within the EU sex equality law, a dominant one defined by the absence of discrimination and a more enriched notion based on the positive duties to promote equality between men and women. Regarding the specific issue on reconciliation of work and family life, the EU has developed legal and political instruments and a solid body of case law on this matter. The EU's action in this area is responsible for further developments in the member states and in the last few years, efforts have been made by the EU to reform and update its regulatory framework on this issue.

The guiding question for our research is: "How can EU action in the field of labour and employment contribute towards a more equal and caring society?" In our thesis, the reconciliation of work and family life is framed within the broader approach of care in society. We analyse the ways gender equality attainment is dependent on the social organization of care work and also the implications of considering care as a fundamental value of a good society. Not only is the political recognition of the value of unpaid care work and its supporting role for economic and social sustainability at stake, but also what we ought to do to satisfy the care needs of specific individuals. This requires that law recognizes the interdependence between different spheres of life and that it supports a more refined and complex conceptualization of equality.

The dissertation consists of six chapters. The first three provide the theoretical/conceptual framework as well as relevant contextual information. Each of the chapters focuses on one of the three structural concepts of the thesis: equality, work and care. The final three chapters explore the EU gender equality law and policies in the field of employment, with special attention given to the issue of reconciling unpaid care work with professional responsibilities. In the last chapter, we present a proposal of a directive that establishes an integrated system of family leaves based on a life cycle approach and a set of more diverse proposals in order to promote men's involvement in care giving. It is our understanding that a proactive approach centered on men as caregivers is required in order to address the inequalities and the rising needs of care, which have been identified herein.

Keywords: Gender equality, care, reconciliation of work and family life