In the last 20 years in Europe, the issues related to gender equality have become integrated part of the discourses and the institutional strategies. The 1995 the Fourth World Conference in Beijing is regarded as a turning point and the ¿Beijing Declaration¿ has become the key global policy document on gender equality all over the world. A year after, in 1996, the European Commission issued a statement entitled "Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all community policies and activities". In this document the term gender mainstreaming ¿ the main pillar of the Beijing strategy- is used to explain the position the European Union intends to assume to address the issues of the gender inequality. An approach that is not intended as a substitute of the equal opportunities policies, but in addition to them. Gender Mainstreaming is an integrated approach that can be described as the reorganization, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes. This involves the inclusion of a gender perspective in all policies, at all levels and at all stages of policy making.