After Equality

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité-few political promises are more famous than that of the French Republic. But this promise was incomplete from the outset. For decades, women stood outside the political community, later on the margins of its institutions, and to this day often in the shadow of its structures.
This book tells the story of women's emancipation in France as it really is: not a linear progression, but a conflict-ridden, contradictory process that remains unfinished to this day. Its future is still open. From the French Revolution to women's suffrage, the second wave of feminism, and the major reforms of the 20th century to current debates on care work, violence, migration, digitalization, and democracy, this work traces how equality has been fought for, limited, institutionalized-and repeatedly renegotiated.
At its core is a clear thesis: emancipation is not a marginal issue, not identity politics, and not a completed project. It is an infrastructure issue. Whether women have real freedom is determined by the labor market, the welfare state, the legal system, the distribution of time, health care, and political representation-not solely by laws or symbols.
With analytical acuity, historical depth, and a consistently forward-looking perspective, the book combines political theory, social science, legal analysis, and contemporary diagnosis. It shows why republican universalism was both a resource and an obstacle to equality-and why the future of French democracy is inextricably linked to gender equality.
Bremen University Press has published over 5,500 specialist books in various languages since 2005.
February 2026