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The third chapter describes the changes in the main conceptualisations of gender equality and GM in relations with social and gender policies and their development over time in Europe. Is it clear that there are different potential instruments available in the gender equality perspective and the relevance of the gender mainstreaming strategy for social policies is to propose and pursue the introduction of a gender equality perspective to all policies at all levels of governance. In particular, the chapter analyseshow policies are addressing the gender mainstreaming perspective and if and how different welfare states and welfare regimes could influence the way in which gender measures and policies are implemented. The work-family issue is a field of application and verification in evaluating the degree of gender equality options within a welfare state system in a comparative way. The issue of evaluation of gender and social policies is also considered in the analysis of the gender budgeting and gender auditing strategies applied to measure the implementation and the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming.

Chapter 5, “Work,” explores mothers’ attempts to resolve problems of work-family balance, how their congregations support their solutions through opposed and competing visions of work and family, and how women's roles are intertwined with polarizing tendencies among Catholics. Whereas the religious meanings of work at Assumption equally emphasize all human work, St. Brigittasacralizeswork in the world; this has implications for each parish's mothers as the balance work and family. The central ecclesial metaphor as family at Assumption elevates motherhood as a vocation and encourages womento be stay-at-home mothers or conceptualize career as secondary. The central metaphor of church as community at St. Brigittaemphasizes social contribution through work in the world, supporting women's professional vocations but providing little religious understanding ofmotherhood. Women in each setting represent struggles against different social problems: at Assumption, protest against family decline, and at St. Brigitta, vexation at women's social inequality.

Wondering whethergender mainstreaming really supports the shift to a more gender-egalitarian Europe,this chapter explores the intertwined relation between individual gender role attitudes, gender regimes,and gender cultures in Europe. It investigates how structural aspects, which determine the opportunities available for men and women to achieve their goals, as well as cultural features, which establish socially constructed, predominant family models and legitimised gender roles, contribute to explaining individuals’ beliefs in gender equality. The chapter reports empirical evidence of the positive effect of work-family balance policies, which enshrines the gender mainstreaming principles, on the promotion of gender egalitarian beliefs. Thesepolicies and workplace practices allow working parents to combine their professional and personal responsibilities, directly affecting their opportunity structures. Because of such realistic opportunities, people tend to express more egalitarian views. At the same time, the implementation of work-family balance policies transmits a certain idea of a lifestyle model and family pattern, legitimising them through structural elements that contribute to changing current gender regimes.

This chapter covers Dorothy Wright Nelson’s pathbreaking work as dean of the University of Southern California Law Center. She was one of the early women deans in legal education for five years and in her term was the only female dean of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. Times were challenging: she dealt with protests against the Vietnam War and Kent State shootings, the nearby Watts riots, and the struggles of an early affirmative action program at USC. She used her mediation skills to deal with complaints from a variety of constituents: trustees, alumni, faculty, and students. She was an extremely successful dean, putting student interests first and raising funds and creating a national reputation for USC Law. She was active in national leadership work for legal education and court reform.