Gendering citizenship: family change, political culture and gender equality policies in Spain

Abstract

[EN]This article argues that Spanish families have changed little because many women are less than full citizens. The analysis draws on an examination of gender equality policy-making, to discuss the often-neglected intersections between family strategies, women’s empowerment and family change. Citizenship is seen in an expansive way, to note not just the set of legal entitlements normally attached to the concept, but also the stock of social practices and rituals that allow individuals to enjoy full incorporation in their policies as well as full control of their personal and even intimate lives. Family life and organization, citizenship, and gender equality policy-making intersect in manifold and fundamental ways: badly conceived, and/or badly implemented policies could dislocate women to push them away from full citizenship; these, in turn, can contribute greatly to the consolidation of traditional family arrangements.