The (IN)Visibility of Gender in the New Regulation

Abstract

This article looks at the new co-ordination Regulation 883/04 from a gender perspective. The focus is on the provisions of the Regulation concerning its personal scope and some of its fundamental principles. The article considers whether these provisions function satisfactorily with regard to workers (often female) who have interrupted work because of child-rearing; as well as with regard to former spouses, who are covered by the Regulation in their capacity as family members of a Community worker, after the termination of their marriage. The article argues that, although the Reg. 883/03 provides some improvement with regard to the first category, namely workers interrupting work because of child-rearing, a great deal remains to be done. It also notes that no attention at all has been paid to the issue of marriage dissolution, qnd that this makes the situation of former spouses very uncertain and vulnerable. Finally, the article argues that the development of a gender dimension within the framework of the law of co-ordination is necessary in order to adjust the Regulation to new situations and for the satisfactory protection of a considerable number of persons, mainly women, who find themselves in situations such as those above.