"...This project was embedded in the philosophy that the implementation of equal opportunities policy for women and men is not something that trade unions do automatically and, thus, represents a challenge. In the history of union demands concerning women's rights, pressure from inside and/or outside was always required, in order for trade unions to make these issues their own and push for them in collective bargaining.When the EU Commission defined gender mainstreaming in the mid-90s to promote the equality of women and men, the European trade union movement was also being addressed to become active in this field. This project is a comparative study of trade union and collective bargaining policies, regarding the implementation of the gender mainstreaming strategy in the project's partner countries. The study was carried out in three phases. Firstly, trade union confederations, their policies on gender mainstreaming, as well as the representation of women in them were examined. Secondly, sector- level unions in three specific areas - namely metal industry, commerce and public services - were researched in detail. And thirdly, case studies were carried out at enterprise-level concerning examples of good practice in two areas of union work: equal pay and working time. The results of this study serve as the basis of this manual. ..."
(Extract from the Introduction)

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