The EU approach to Gender: Limitations and Alternatives. European Policy Brief No. 40, December 2015

For several decades, the European Union has been at the forefront of significant progress in the struggle towards equality between women and men, among others in the fight against sex-based discriminations. The contemporary EU approach to gender has however become much more interested in representations and social norms. This paper analyses this stance and highlights its deficiencies – more specifically, it looks at the flaws entailed in an excessive focus on “gender stereotypes”. Finally, it briefly sketches out the principles of an alternative.