Book excerpt: Equality in law between men and women in the European Community is an integral part of the EC's social policy and crucial to its economic and social cohesion. This encyclopaedia analyzes the legal framework for equal opportunities in Portugal which now exists in the Community due to the adoption of EC Directives on equal treatment, equal pay and social security, and to the work of the European Court of Justice in this area. It looks at how the EC Directives have been implemented and interpreted in each Member State, and at the other legislative and constitutional provisions affecting the principle of equality. All the principal legal provisions are reproduced or translated. Extracts from or digests of national case law are also included. Each volume in the series is structured so that Member States's provisions on equality can be directly compared.