The European Union’s idea of gender equality and its support among citizens of 27 European countries

Abstract

This article first describes the European Union’s idea of gender equality and its implementation into European policies. The second section analyses the extent to which citizens of different European countries support the idea of gender equality. The empirical basis for our analysis is the “Eurobarometer 63.1” from 2005. The descriptive findings show that while a majority of European citizens support the idea of gender equality, there are substantial differences between individual countries. In the third section we explain these differences by referring to the country’s level of modernization and degree of politically institutionalised gender equality, as well as the respondents’ religious orientation and level of education, among other factors.