65 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with over 100 years history of fight for women rights, gender discrimination still permeates modern societies, institutions, private and public organizations. Notwithstanding the de jure basis for gender equality laid in national and international legislation, there is still a considerable lack of de facto implementation and enforcement of the provisions. Gender equality is still only "work in progress". The course offers the opportunity to analyze the relation of gender inequalities and law in modern societies. We will discuss the theoretical approaches to the issues of (gender) equality, as well as concentrate on their implications for policy makers, lawyers, academics and activists. The role and function of law in modern societies will be discussed, as well as the interdependence between legal frameworks and specific national cultures. Moreover, seminars will cover such areas as, inter alia: political participation of women, gender equality in the labor market, reproductive rights, violence against women, human trafficking and modern sexual slavery, questions of intersectionality.