WUNRN
European Women's Lobby
The European
Women’s Lobby (EWL) presents a Gender
Equality Road Map for the European Community 2006-2010 as a model for the
official Communication on gender equality to be put forward by the European
Commission at the end of 2005.
Despite existing European and
national legislation, numerous political commitments at all levels, and the
existence of equality before the law in most EU Member States, equality between
women and men is not a reality in
New
challenges and the accumulated experience in tackling inequalities render new
and innovative answers necessary in Europe and it is therefore the
responsibility and duty of public authorities, including the EU institutions,
to continue to take action to fight discrimination against women and to ensure
the achievement of equality between women and men.
The
aim of gender equality policy is that women and men have the same
opportunities, rights and responsibilities in all areas of life. The achievement of this aim requires a
strategy that sets out how gender equality efforts are to be pursued, the
necessary institutional mechanisms that are capable of delivering the strategy,
and strong political leadership from the very centre of political power and
authority.
Equality
between women and men was reinforced in the Treaty establishing a Constitution
for Europe so that in addition to existing EU Treaty provisions on gender
equality, equality is now mentioned among the Union’s values and
Article I-2 mentions equality between women and men as an element
characterising our model of society. In the model of European society
that we aspire to, the achievement of gender equality is not only a matter of
social justice or of fairness to women; it is a matter of democracy and human
rights and an essential factor for sustainable human development. The
The existing articles
2; 3§2; 13 and 141 in the Treaty of the European Community (TEC) define
equality between women and men as an objective of the Community and provide a strong
legal basis for very broad action at EU level in a wide range of areas.
The previous
Community Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005) initiated a new
type of intervention covering all European policies using a dual-track approach
of gender equality mainstreaming on the one hand and specific actions in favour
of women’s rights on the other hand. This dual strategy should be pursued with
the new Road Map for Gender Equality 2006-2010, as it acknowledges the fact
that inequalities between women and men pertain to all areas of life.
EWL
welcomes the fact that the EU has developed its anti-discrimination policies
considerably in the last few years. Such policies are an indispensable
complement to specific gender equality policies; as many women face inequality
on more than one ground and women often form the majority in all discriminated
groups.
Given
this, the Road Map for Gender Equality also needs to fully address the
diversity of women and to integrate strategies to fight multiple
discrimination against women.
Internal and global challenges facing women’s rights
and gender equality
The European Union is facing major
demographic challenges, such as an ageing population, low birth rates and
challenges linked to immigration. If our societies are to successfully meet
these challenges, it is essential that a gender perspective be at the core of
policy responses. At the same time current economic transformations and trends
(globalisation, privatisation, trade liberalisation etc) impact on the European
social model and public services, which in turn strongly affects women’s rights
and women’s economic independence.
Other internal and international political phenomena and trends, such as the increase in trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual exploitation and the growth of religious extremisms pose renewed threats to women’s integrity and human rights, notably sexual and reproductive rights. Women are also facing major challenges worldwide related to the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection among women and girls, the prevalence of men’s physical and sexual violence against women in all societies, the constant violation of women’s human rights in situations of conflicts and war and the large scale of female poverty worldwide. The EU has a responsibility to fulfil its commitments at international level to ensure that the goal of achieving equality between women and men and of safeguarding women’s human rights is fully integrated into all relevant EU external policies, actions and programmes.
Imbalances
between women and men influence all areas of life and in order to achieve
gender equality, action needs to be undertaken in the broad spectrum of
European policies. The European Women’s Lobby has defined six main themes
with Strategic Objectives and concrete actions to be undertaken by the European
Commission between 2006 and 2010. These themes are partly inspired by the
Strategic Objectives of the United Nations Beijing Platform for Action (1995),
they are:
1. Institutional mechanisms for the realisation of
gender equality and gender mainstreaming
2. Achieve economic and social justice for women
3. Advance the position of women in decision-making:
towards parity democracy in
4. Eradicate violence against women and implement
women’s human rights
5.
6. Eliminate
patriarchal gender roles and stereotypes
The European Commission must put forward a target date for achievement
of the Strategic Objectives under each of the six themes. In this way, NGOs
will be able to monitor progress towards achieving the stated Strategic
Objectives.
1/ Institutional mechanisms for the realisation of gender equality and
gender mainstreaming
Specific
institutional mechanisms on equality between women and men are indispensable
tools for the implementation of legislation and political commitments. In
particular the implementation of gender mainstreaming necessitates strong
institutional mechanisms, because this horizontal strategy needs coordinated
action by a wide variety of actors within public institutions. While some new
mechanisms for gender equality have been set up within the European Commission
since 2000, their efficiency is hampered by lack of adequate human and
financial resources, inadequate training, an unclear mandate and the absence of
effective political leadership at the highest level.
Actions:
· Define
a mandate for the Commissioners Group on Equal Opportunities providing
it with effective, dynamic and visible political leadership above and beyond
the yearly gender equality meeting.
· Transform
the existing Unit on equal opportunities for women and men into a Directorate.
· Strengthen
the mandate as well as the human and financial resources of the future European
Commission Directorate on Gender Equality to give it the
ability to influence policy and properly monitor the implementation of
legislation.
· Create
a women’s information service within the Directorate to deal with
awareness raising activities and public information.
· Allocate
more resources to the Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women
and Men to strengthen the interaction between the European and national
levels, in particular to reinforce the impact of national gender equality
bodies set up in accordance to directives 2004/113/EC and 2002/73/EC.
· Ensure consistency between
the work of the EU institutions and the work of the future European Gender
Equality Institute by integrating the activities of the European Gender
Equality Institute in the annual work programme of the EU
institutions.
· Develop
recommendations for the use of gender sensitive language in all official
documents and interpretation in all EU official languages.
Actions:
· Set up of a new specific gender
mainstreaming monitoring unit within the future Directorate on Gender
Equality of the European Commission.
· Establish a gender
mainstreaming unit within each Directorate General of the Commission, with
the task of drawing up a gender mainstreaming strategy every two years for all
policies dealt with within the DG.
· Review the mandate,
revitalise, strengthen and resource adequately the existing Commission
Inter-Service Group on Gender Mainstreaming. Make the work and mandate of
this Group visible inside and outside the Commission.
· Include a chapter on
gender mainstreaming and its results in each Commission Directorate General
in the Commission’s Annual Report on Gender Equality to the Spring Council.
· Set up mandatory gender
mainstreaming and gender awareness training for Commissioners, for the
highest levels of civil servants, and within all management training for
European civil servants.
· Ensure strong gender mainstreaming of
European anti-discrimination policies and actions, in order for them to
include the needs and interests of women within all discriminated groups. This
applies in particular to all activities foreseen or organised under the European
Year on Equal Opportunities for All and the Equality
Actions:
· Set
up a Gender Budgeting Working Group within the Budget Directorate
General.
· Set
up a permanent gender impact assessment procedure for all European Structural
Funds expenditure.
· Carry
out a separate gender impact assessment of the EU budget each year,
which should be presented as an annexed document. This annex to the budget will
serve as a gender mainstreaming monitoring document, on which the EP Women’s
Rights Committee should adopt an Opinion
· Introduce a budget
heading for activities on gender equality in the budget
of each Commission unit.
Actions:
· Establish
mechanisms for dialogue and consultation with women’s organisations and
civil society within the Gender Equality Directorate.
· Ensure
access for national women’s NGOs to the gender equality funding
programme within the PROGRESS programme (2007-2013) and government provided co-financing for women’s NGOs within EU
programmes and projects.
2/ Economic and social justice for women
The equal
participation by women and men in all aspects of economic and social
development is a prerequisite for achieving gender justice. In order to realise its commitment to gender
equality, the European Union must develop a coherent policy response that
includes macro-economic policy, employment policy, social protection, and
issues of care as equally important.
2.1 Safeguarding and
developing the European social model
Macro-economic
policies set the basic rules for economic development and for the distribution
of the wealth created through this development, which in turn influences how
women and men access resources as individuals, within families and in the
domain of public services. The EU
macro-economic framework therefore plays a crucial role in promoting better
conditions for gender equality and in supporting the development of the
European social model, including public social
security provisions, equal access to education, universal healthcare systems,
and care services for children and other dependants.
Furthermore, EU macro-economic polices should take into account the
specific situation in some of the new Member States, where state withdrawal and
reduced investment in public services, has had a negative impact on gender
equality. In this context, there is a need to adapt EU policies to more
effectively support the safeguarding and development of public services.
Strategic Objective 2.1: Develop EU macro-economic
policies to ensure that these support greater gender equality and the further
development of the European social model, including public services and civil
society participation
Actions:
·
Develop a Spring Council reporting mechanism, which includes a gender analysis of the
European Broad Economic Policy Guidelines, and the EU Finance and Trade policies.
·
Develop an Action Plan outlining how EU macro-economic policies can
contribute to increased investment in public services, in particular
care services, as an essential part of the European social model.
·
Adopt an EU Strategy to introduce gender equality regulations in the
World Trade Organisation and international financial institutions.
·
Adopt an EU
Strategy to promote, implement and facilitate civil society and
specifically women's organisations input into the European debate as an
essential part of the European social model.
Women’s
employment remains key to their economic autonomy and to greater equality
between women and men in society as a whole. Addressing women’s situation in relation
to the labour market in
Strategic Objective 2.2: Promote women’s
economic rights and independence, including access to employment and decent
working conditions
Actions:
·
The European Employment Strategy must include specific and
targeted gender equality objectives and targets addressing:
- Measures to eliminate pay discrimination based on sex
and workforce participation, notably with regard to access to training,
reintegration and pensions;
- Measures
for increased provision of care services;
- Measures
to improve working conditions and security for atypical, part-time and flexible
workers;
- A specific focus on employment measures in support of
groups of women who face multiple discrimination, such as disabled women,
migrant and ethnic minority women, lesbians, older or young women;
- Ensure
gender balance in lifelong learning schemes, vocational training, and in
training opportunities.
- Incentives
for social partners and enterprises to promote the access of women to
posts at all levels.
· Develop an EU Strategy on how to increase the support to women’s
economic initiatives through promoting women’s entrepreneurship in all
areas and at all levels and developing policies that support the potential of a
social and solidarity based economy.
· Give greater visibility to what is at stake for
women in the development of mixed economic solutions and to women’s participation in the setting up of
innovative initiatives in this area.
· Develop EU strategies and work with Social Partners on
ensuring parity within companies’ boards.
· Recognise the economic, social and educative value
of un-remunerated family work and work done within associations and
recognise the benefits of unremunerated caring work with dependant persons both
in families and in associations.
· Ensure gender balance in access to bank
credits and bank services in order to compete on the international market.
2.3 Reforming social protection systems in
Women’s work and
life choices/opportunities still differ from those of men, and social protection
systems are oftentimes not structured to meet women’s needs and provide women
with individual access to social security. A specific analysis and reform of social protection systems from a
gender equality perspective is needed in order to ensure that social protection
systems better counteract women’s precarious situation and meet the needs of
the most vulnerable groups of women.
· Within the context of the Open Method of Coordination in the social
protection field, deliver an analysis and strategic action plan on reform of
social protection systems in support of gender equality, including a plan
for an individualisation of rights to social security, together with an
individualisation of tax and benefit systems.
2.4 Combating
social exclusion and poverty among women in
Women’s
poverty and social exclusion in
Action:
·
Develop specific
gender equality objectives and targets within the EU Strategy to combat poverty
and social exclusion, including a set of policy actions to support
non-traditional and one-parent families, and specific policy actions in support of groups of women which face higher
risk of poverty and social exclusion such as migrant, refugee, and ethnic
minority women, older women, disabled women, and lesbians.
2.5 Pensions
Many pension schemes in the EU Member States still leave many women with only “derived rights” based on their husband’s employment record, with the consequence that the majority of older people living in poverty are women. Ensuring a better life for older women requires addressing the structural factors contributing to inequality in pension schemes, including the organisation of care and combining family and work life, inequalities in the labour marker, the gender pay gap and direct discrimination in second and third pillar pensions.
Strategic Objective 2.5:
Ensure that reforms of pension systems in Member States contribute to equality
between women and men
Actions:
·
Regarding pensions of the
second and third pillars, which are still based on actuarial factors based on
sex, adopt a European directive prohibiting direct discrimination in
pensions of second and third pillars and in the private insurance sector.
·
In the context of the Open
Method of Coordination (OMC) on pensions, to undertake a full study on the
impact of pension reforms on women’s lives in the EU with the following
objectives in mind:
- The individualisation of
pension rights (and social security and taxation systems overall) to encourage
women and men to engage in paid work, and thus earn individual economic
security;
- The development
of mechanisms accommodating the employment patterns linked to society's need
for the care of children and other dependant persons so that career-breaks or
part-time work are considered as full-time work in the calculation of
pension benefits.
·
On the basis of the above
study, formulate concrete recommendations to strengthen the gender
equality dimension of the Open Method of Coordination.
· Develop strategies to ensure a full state pension
to migrant and refugee women and enable migrant women to transfer their
1st pillar pension entitlements.
· Develop strategies to ensure a pension scheme for
disabled women with no (or only part-time) 2nd or 3rd
pillar pensions that will ensure their financial independence in later years
and thus avoid involuntary institutionalisation.
2.6 Conciliation of private and working lives, care services
The EU has
recognised on several occasions the importance of achieving a balance in private
and working life for women and men (for example in Council Resolution 2000/C 218/02 on the
balanced participation of women and men in family and working life). However, much
remains to be done in order to change the gendered division of tasks in the home
and to achieve an equal sharing of domestic and care work. This work is still
carried out mostly by women due to the absence of affordable and good quality care services for dependent persons. Evidence
shows that there is a positive relationship between the public expenditure
allocated to social benefits (linked to the care of children and other
dependent people) and women’s participation in paid work. The importance of
childcare provision is recognised in the Council Recommendation of
31 March 1992 on child care (92/241/EEC), and in the recent
Commission’s Green Paper on demographic change (COM 2005 (94) final).
Strategic Objective 2.6.1: Develop measures ensuring
the affordability and accessibility of care services across the EU
Actions:
· Develop an Open Method of Coordination in the field
of care services in order to formulate recommendations on how to meet the
need for provision of care services in Europe (i.e. the organizing and
financing of care for children and other dependent persons), including setting
precise targets and indicators with the aim of providing childcare facilities
for 90% of children from birth until mandatory school age across the EU and a
sufficient level of care provision for other dependent persons by 2015. All services
should meet the criteria of affordability,
accessibility and good quality.
· Ensure, through a new EU Directive, or through revision of existing
directives, specific rights and safeguards in relation to conciliation of
private and working life where there are dependent family members (such as
disabled children or partners).
Strategic Objective 2.6.2: Achieve equality in the sharing of
family responsibilities of women and men across the EU
Actions:
·
Develop social security
schemes favourable to an equal sharing of private life and professional responsibilities between women and men,
including a revision of the Directive 79/7 on the progressive
implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters
of social security in order to extend the right to gender equality to the whole
sector of social security, including paid family leaves.
·
Revise Directive 96/34 on
parental leave in order to establish a lengthier and paid parental leave to be shared
equally between parents. The revised directive should also be extended to
include other forms of family leave, and ensure the ability to obtain social security rights during these
periods.
·
If necessary, amend the existing Working
Time Directive (2003/88/EC) in order for the organisation of work to be
adapted to the need to combine private life and work for both women and men,
including a general shortening of the working time, and establishing
working timetables, which are socially compatible with family responsibilities.
2.7 Health
Although
women’s health in the EU has improved significantly over the past decade, there
are still many factors hindering gender equality in relation to health. Gender
roles and unequal gender relations interact with other social and economic
variables, resulting in different and often inequitable patterns of exposure to
health risk, and in differential access to and utilisation of health
information, care and services.
Strategic
Objective 2.7: Integrating a gender equality focus in all fields of EU Public
Health Policies.
Actions:
·
Intensify
gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases,
HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues. All of these initiatives must clearly state every woman’s absolute right to decide the number and
spacing of her children.
·
Analyse the effects of gender inequality on
women’s health including the effects of the gendered division of household
tasks and the unequal sharing of domestic and care work.
3/ Advance the position of women in decision-making:
towards parity democracy in
Women are still under-represented in all European
Union decision-making bodies, in political decision-making in EU Member States
and in economic and social decision-making. Some women such as young, disabled,
lesbian, migrant and ethnic minority women are represented even less. EU action
in this area has been mostly limited to unbinding texts and commitments.
Therefore, more needs to be done in order to advance towards parity democracy
in
Strategic Objective 3.1: Achieve parity democracy in pol