With the dramatic changes in the extent to which women and men contribute to unpaid domestic work and paid employment, work and family life reconciliation has become more prominent than ever on the European Union agenda. This comparative study examines the Europeanisation patterns of work and family life reconciliation policies in a longstanding candidate country, Turkey and a founding member state, Germany, over the last decade, with a particular emphasis on intervening domestic actors and factors. Combining Europeanisation literature and New Institutionalism theory, it draws on document analysis and interviews with EU representatives, German and Turkish political elites and representatives of civil society organisations to shed light on the diverging nature of the Europeanisation process in different countries. A study of the influence of local actors on the push for stronger convergence among member and candidate states on EU work and family life reconciliation policies The Politics of Europeanisation will appeal to social scientists with interests in social policy, gender studies, EU politics and the Europeanisation process.