European Union legislation reflects the consensus reached by the governments of member states. Yet laws have to be implemented in widely differing national contexts and may not therefore achieve the same objectives or have the same effects. Proposals for regulating working conditions, promoting equality of opportunity and reconciling paid and unpaid work are often driven by the need to avoid competitive disadvantage, with little regard for their possible impact on the everyday lives of individuals. This paper examines the temporal dimension of European legislation from a gendered perspective, and its implications for the patterning of women's employment and family life.
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