In this open access book the editors explicitly address the issue of measuring gender
equality. The book introduces readers to basic concepts of gender equality equity and equal
opportunities then discusses measuring these phenomena the methods of constructing indicators
and reviews the main indicators that have been proposed at the international level to measure
gender equality. It then sets the theoretical discussions against the findings from a Jean
Monnet project financed by the European Union to highlight the importance of a regional
analysis of gender equality in four main study areas: Italy Spain France and Germany. The
results make it clear that it is necessary to move from the purely national perspective
hitherto used in gender equality analyses to a regional one because differences can be highly
pronounced even within the same country. This is a self-contained volume requiring limited
statistical expertise for the reader and is aimed at social researchers and policymakers who
wish to address gender equality from a quantitative perspective.
