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BackThe EU Commission recently presented its annual report on equality between women and men to the general public. Its results clearly confirm the large social and economic potential of an equal participation of women in the labour market. However, to achieve this it is necessary that more is done for example for the reconciliation between work and family life. An important component is the expansion of childcare facilities, something, which has time and again been demanded by the Chamber of Labour. The EU Commission agrees that in spite of some progress that has been achieved, more efforts have to be made to succeed in implementing the European Strategy for the equality between women and men.
Equality is a fundamental value of the EU
By adopting the European Strategy for the equality between women and men for the period 2010 - 2015, the Commission has committed itself to promoting gender equality in all its policies with the following thematic priorities: equal economic independence for women and men; equal pay for equal work; balanced participation in decision-making processes; dignity, integrity and ending gender-based violence. The report has been prepared on the basis of the key aspects of the Strategy. It is an interesting fact that equality between women and men has already been enshrined in the fundamental values of the European Union. For example, the principle of equal pay for men and women has been a part of the Treaty of Rome since 1957. However, to this day there has been a large gap between the incomes of men and women. Austria with a gender pay gap of almost 24 % is here the absolute “front runner”! The Report shows that in particular enterprises and employers have a crucial role to play when it comes to tackling the gender pay gap.
Balanced representation of women and men in business leadership positions necessary
There are still more leadership positions held by men in all sectors of the EU than by women. The Report shows that the majority of top positions in politics and industry, but also in other areas, are still occupied by men. In national parliaments, fewer than 25 % of MPs are women. In the European Parliament, three out of ten MEPs are women (2009-2014). The situation is even worse in the industry as in Europe’s biggest listed companies on average only every tenth board member is female. As to directorates, their share is just 3 %. To change this, the EU Commission only recently presented a Directive proposal, according to which by 2020 all board positions of listed companies in Europe have to be filled up to 40 percent by women. However, there is just one drawback - the quota is not compulsory. One may conclude that the Report documents problem fields and progress in Europe; however, it illustrates at the same time that equality is still a long way off.
Further information:
EU Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012
By adopting the European Strategy for the equality between women and men for the period 2010 - 2015, the Commission has committed itself to promoting gender equality in all its policies with the following thematic priorities: equal economic independence for women and men; equal pay for equal work; balanced participation in decision-making processes; dignity, integrity and ending gender-based violence. The report has been prepared on the basis of the key aspects of the Strategy. It is an interesting fact that equality between women and men has already been enshrined in the fundamental values of the European Union. For example, the principle of equal pay for men and women has been a part of the Treaty of Rome since 1957. However, to this day there has been a large gap between the incomes of men and women. Austria with a gender pay gap of almost 24 % is here the absolute “front runner”! The Report shows that in particular enterprises and employers have a crucial role to play when it comes to tackling the gender pay gap.
Balanced representation of women and men in business leadership positions necessary
There are still more leadership positions held by men in all sectors of the EU than by women. The Report shows that the majority of top positions in politics and industry, but also in other areas, are still occupied by men. In national parliaments, fewer than 25 % of MPs are women. In the European Parliament, three out of ten MEPs are women (2009-2014). The situation is even worse in the industry as in Europe’s biggest listed companies on average only every tenth board member is female. As to directorates, their share is just 3 %. To change this, the EU Commission only recently presented a Directive proposal, according to which by 2020 all board positions of listed companies in Europe have to be filled up to 40 percent by women. However, there is just one drawback - the quota is not compulsory. One may conclude that the Report documents problem fields and progress in Europe; however, it illustrates at the same time that equality is still a long way off.
Further information:
EU Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012