Gender Policies in Spain: setbacks and resistance in times of austerity

Abstract

Gender Policies in Spain: setbacks and resistance in times of austerity

This article analyses the setbacks experienced by gender equality policies in Spain. First, changes in regard to key elements of this policy field, like the institutional mechanisms, the budgets or the equality policy agenda, are mapped. Second, transformations concerning key policies such as the ones related to the welfare state, and their impact on the situation of women, are reviewed. Finally, the article addresses the resistances of the feminist and the women’s movements against these remarkable setbacks. To conclude, it is argued that both the economic crisis and the presence of conservative governments in power represent explanatory factors to understand this involution.