Sex Equality Objective in the Implementation of Employment Policies in Seine-Saint-Denis and Berlin: between European Prescriptions, National Dynamics and Local Initiatives

In the late 1990s, the European Union gave a fresh impetus to its gender equality policy, which concerned first of all the employment sector. What impact does this impetus have on the member-states? To answer this question, the article analyses the implementation of the employment policy aimed at activating the long term unemployed in two countries, France and Germany. The analysis is focused on two local territories, the French département of Seine-Saint-Denis in the parisian region and Berlin. The article shows that even if the European prescriptions don’t have any direct effect, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have any effect at all. Indeed, these prescriptions constitute ressources for the female actors (at the national and local level) who want to promote gender equality. Yet, the Europeanization of the equality objective in the employment sector remains limited, because the dynamic of integration of the gender equality objective in the employment sector is largely based on the influence of local networks and of national legacy.