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Abstract At the intersection of the feminist ethic of care and critical studies of men and masculinities, this article develops alternative interpretations of men's practices of and attitudes about care in order to contribute to the loosening of gender dualisms in the perceptions and constructions of care. Empirical evidence collected in 23 individual interviews with men carers reveals that men in specific caring situations (intensive primary care) and in non-hegemonic social locations (according to class, age, ability and sexual orientation) resist dominant norms of masculinity to some extent and, in accordance with the feminist ethic of care, establish care as gender-neutral, complex, politically relevant and socially integrative disposition and activity. KEYWORDS: gender, care, multiple masculinities, critical studies of men and masculinities, feminist ethic of care

This article provides a comparative analysis of two different care systems, childcare and eldercare, in Slovenia, an Eastern-European post-transition country, with a dual-breadwinner full-time employment regime, a relatively low level of migration and a fast growing share of the 65+ population. The analysis shows that both care systems follow two different kinds of logic of egalitarianism, which means that the national care regime is internally diversified. While care for children is public, universally accessible and defamilialistic, care for the elderly follows the principles of marketization, economy-based inequality in access and familialization. Such policies also have different implications for care mobilities: while childcare demands daily transfers between multi-local sites of care, which remained confined within the state borders, eldercare increasingly demands cross-border care loops. The comparison of both care systems along with the empirical evidence on the presence/absence of migrant care workers in care support the thesis that cross-border care mobilities emerge at points where the state with its policies is failing to adequately meet care needs of the citizens.

In this article, some of the most important findings of the European research project The Role of Men in Gender Equality (2011–2012) are discussed. This project was the first systematic research study of all European Union member states and associated European Free Trade Association states regarding men and gender equality in the fields of education and paid labor, the involvement of men in care and domestic work responsibilities, men's health, gender-based violence, and men's participation in gender equality policy. The main objective of the study was to gain better knowledge on the role and positioning of men concerning gender equality. A number of themes were emphasized. First, as the situation of men and women in societies is relational, the role of men cannot be understood, if the role of women is neglected. Second, a perspective on men as a heterogeneous social group was chosen in order to gain insights into men's privileges as well as disadvantages according to class, ethnicity, disability, and other social indicators. This study shows that caring masculinity emerges as a central path forward, and one that is increasingly taken up in practice, together with women's increasing education and professional role, and rising expectations of gender-balanced task divisions. But there is a need for further research on the complex relationship between caring masculinities and gender-equal roles, including marginalized and unemployed groups and men who turn their frustrations against gender equality and women's new roles.

Gender relations have increasingly changed throughout the past decades, and European gender politics have productively accompanied these improvements. Still Europe is far from being a gender-equal society. For a long period gender equality policies have been contextualised mainly as a 'women's issue' – as women have been the driving force behind gender equality strategies and have been seen as the only ones who benefit from a more equal society. Men as the 'other gender' have been taken less into account in the context of gender equality. In the last decade, however, men and masculinities have increasingly become subjects of studies and gender policies in the EU. Under EU presidency, conferences on men, masculinities and equality took place in Sweden (2001) and Finland (2006). The Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-20101 specifically encouraged men to take up care responsibilities and to share leave entitlements with women. A horizontal priority on gender roles including the need for involvement of men in gender equality policies and addressing inequalities affecting men, such as early school leaving, literacy and occupational health, is present in the current European Commission's Strategy for Equality between Women and Men (2010-2015)2. Additionally, strategies like gender mainstreaming seem to have created an initial awareness of the issue of men in gender equality and the establishment of some pathways towards institutional practice. Therefore, contemporary gender equality strategies as well as scientific studies should involve both men and women and take into account analysis of the role of both genders in ; Prepared for European Commission, DG Justice - Unit D2 Gender equality, supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and SocialSolidarity - PROGRESS (2007-2013). Consortium led by L&R Social Research, with Dissens, abz*austria, INBAS. Elli Scambor, Katarzyna Wojnicka & Nadja Bergmann

This book aims to map the diversity of meanings of gender equality across Europe and reflects on the contested concept of gender equality. In its exploration of the diverse meanings of gender equality it not only takes into account the existence of different visions of gender equality, and the way in which different political and theoretical debates crosscut these visions, but also reflects upon the geographical contexts in which visions and debates over gender equality are located. The contextual locations where these visions and debates take place include the European Union and member states such as Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece, and Spain. In all of these settings, the different meanings of gender equality are explored comparatively in relation to the issues of family policies, domestic violence, and gender inequality in politics, while specific national contexts discuss the issues of prostitution (Austria, Slovenia), migration (the Netherlands), homosexual rights (Spain), and antidiscrimination (Hungary). The multiple meanings of gender equality are studied through Critical Frame Analysis, a methodology that builds on social movement theory and that was refined further with elements of gender and political theory within the context of the MAGEEQ research project