Equality between women and men is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union (EU). Over the years, the principle of gender equality has been reinforced with legislation, both generic and specific, obliging Member States to ensure equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women and to combat any form of discrimination on the grounds of gender. European laws have evolved in their nature and scope, with their focus shifting from the protection of individual rights in the 1970s, to the introduction of specific or positive actions addressing the disadvantages experienced by women in the 1980s, to a policy directed toward gender mainstreaming - recognising that existing structures are not gender-neutral but favour one sex or another in a variety of subtle and not so subtle ways - in the 1990s. Most laws in European countries concerning equal pay, maternity leave, sexual harassment or equal access to financial services, amongst others, have been adopted first by the European institutions and new and better EU laws and policies promoting equality and gender mainstreaming are continuously being discussed and implemented.
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