Soft law: booster or brake for the promotion of gender equality in the EU?

This chapter examines the use of soft law instruments in the context of EU gender equality law. We explore the role that soft law has played in the evolution and promotion of EU gender equality. In doing so, we develop a conceptual and methodological framework to identify the different functions of soft law and to test its potential effectiveness. We then apply this framework to three important areas of gender equality - equal pay for women and men, gender-balanced boards and gender-based violence - in order to explore whether soft law has acted as a booster or a brake in the development of EU gender equality law.