Women, Politics and Pensions

Pension reform is on the political agenda across European countries, however within the vast literature on this topic the gender dimensions of the pension problem are rarely addressed and often completely neglected. What explains this absence, and how is it possible to investigate it? This book draws on literature on problem representation and the policy-making process to analyse the gender dimension of the pension reform process in Greece between 1975 and 2002. Through the analysis of key policy episodes during this time, the book explores the nature of women's participation in the pension reform process. The book argues that the pension problem was conceptualised by policy-makers in a manner that prevented the constructive discussion of gender issues in the policy debate, while the fragmentation of the women's movement and the exclusive nature of the social dialogue further hampered women's mobilisation and participation in the policy-making process.