ABSTRACT
The principle of non-discrimination has been part of the DNA of European integration since the 1957 Treaty of Rome creating the European Economic Community (EEC). This treaty contained just two relevant provisions: Article 12 of the EEC Treaty (now Article 18 TFEU) on nationality and Article 119 of the EEC Treaty (now Article 157 TFEU) on equal pay between women and men. Both were introduced as mechanisms to support the creation of the common (now single) market: non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality is the fundamental principle underpinning the four freedoms – free movement of goods, persons, services and capital – while non-discrimination on the grounds of gender was intended to prevent any national economic advantage based on the exploitation of women. As such, it was more a market measure than a tool to promote equality between the sexes (van der Vleuten 2007). A first directive giving substance to this provision was created in 1976 – Council Directive 76/207/EEC on access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions. It required decades of case law and significant activism to give substance to the prevention of gender discrimination in EU law (Solanke 2009a; see also Guth and Elfving in this volume).
