The record of gender policies in Greece 1980-2010: legal form and economic substance

Reforms promoting gender equality in Greece are held by many to be one of the few real success stories of the post-1974 period. Indeed, there has been considerable activity in changes in employment, family, social insurance and other legislation all centered around the constitutional provision on equal treatment which came into force in 1983. This activism, however, was mainly about statutory changes and lacked a feminist analysis of women’s real position in the Greek economy and society. The main argument of the paper is that gender equality-promoting policies, laws and measures - ‘Legalistic Formalism’- failed because they ignored the dual nature of the labour market and the economics of the family. By focusing on legal form and ignoring reality it allowed the reform momentum to be hijacked.