Who Shapes Collective Decision Outcomes of EU Gender Equality Directives? Quantitative Examination of Bargaining Success under Co-Decision

The potential of EU legislation to address gender inequalities is considerable. In recent years, several EU Directives have been adopted to prevent and combat violence against women, promote a more equitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities between parents, encourage gender-balanced decision-making in companies, and strengthen the enforcement of equal pay for equal work. However, strong disagreements within the Council have limited the extent of policy change. This paper investigates the relative influence of member states and EU institutions on gender equality legislation, and examines the factors accounting for variation in preference attainment. The analysis draws on a new dataset capturing member states’ preferences across 18 contested issues within four recent gender equality dossiers. The findings reveal an uneven distribution of bargaining success that cannot be explained by countries’ power resources. Across the cases examined, the Council generally favored maintaining the status quo, while the European Parliament played a crucial role in steering outcomes toward policy change. These insights enhance our understanding of the EU’s capacity to address socio-economic inequalities and the prospects for further European integration in related policy domains.