Sep / 2010 Aug / 2010 Jul / 2010 Jun / 2010 May / 2010 Apr / 2010 Mar / 2010 Feb / 2010 Jan / 2010 Dec / 2009 Nov / 2009 Oct / 2009 Sep / 2009 Aug / 2009 Jul / 2009 Jun / 2009 May / 2009 Apr / 2009 Mar / 2009 Feb / 2009 Jan / 2009 Dec / 2008 Nov / 2008 Oct / 2008 Sep / 2008 Aug / 2008 Jul / 2008 Jun / 2008 May / 2008 Apr / 2008 Mar / 2008 Feb / 2008 Jan / 2008 Dec / 2007 Nov / 2007 Oct / 2007 Sep / 2007 Aug / 2007 Jul / 2007 Jun / 2007 May / 2007 Apr / 2007 Mar / 2007 Feb / 2007 Jan / 2007 Dec / 2006 Nov / 2006 Oct / 2006 Sep / 2006 Aug / 2006 Jul / 2006 Jun / 2006 May / 2006 Apr / 2006 Mar / 2006 Feb / 2006 Jan / 2006 Dec / 2005 Nov / 2005 Oct / 2005 Sep / 2005 Aug / 2005 Jul / 2005 Jun / 2005 May / 2005   Infomag  〉 EU Track Record Aug / 2010 The following are excerpts from a recent report of the European Commission's Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, about the present situation in EU. The report is entitled 'The Future of Gender Equality Policy after 2010'. The year 2010 represents an important step for the future of gender policies because it marks the end of the actions promoted by the "Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men 2006-2010". The timing for the preparation of the future strategy is set in a period of unprecedented global financial and economic crisis. Some analysts have put on evidence that the recession is producing a multiple gender impact and in order to address this, it is necessary to segment and distinguish the different social consequences. The EU has made significant progress over the last decades in delivering greater equality between women and men; it is essential that this progress is continued. There is a need to ensure that advances made in protecting and promoting the rights of women and men are not eroded by measures enacted to meet the economic crisis. It is therefore essential that the crisis should not be used as an argument to reduce public resources allocated to policies and actions aimed at combating discrimination between women and men. The achievement of the objectives of gender equality has been supported by the European gender equality legislation, gender mainstreaming and specific measures for the advancement and empowerment of women, promoted by the European Union, and the internationally recognized agreements. The new strategy should define measures and policies designed to deliver de facto gender equality and women rights. One of the major remaining challenges concerns the differing levels of implementation and knowledge across the EU of those European gender equality provisions and international commitments, including gender mainstreaming. The EU Roadmap for equality between women and men set out the priorities for the period 2006-2010 combining specific initiatives and the integration of equality between women and men into all EU policies and activities (gender mainstreaming). It not only contributed to the promotion of gender equality, but it also requested a stronger level of intervention from Member States. In particular, it offered a new opportunity to create a framework based on common objectives for progress towards equality between women and men. Considering the context presented above and in order to progress towards de facto equality between women and men in the next decade, the future strategy will need to be comprehensive and to address the on-going challenges, new challenges and cross cutting challenges. Ongoing challenges Achieving equal economic independence for women and men -Occupational segregation The labor market continues to be characterized by phenomena of horizontal and vertical segregation and to reflect major areas of inequality between men and women particularly in access to jobs, correspondence of womens level of qualification and the quality of their jobs, career progression, pay and experience of discrimination and harassment. It is still mainly women who undertake unpaid work for the family and there is still over-representation of women in some sectors, including, for example, in the caring professions and in part time work, less skilled jobs, atypical and/or temporary contracts, and under-representation in others, for example, the science, engineering and technology sectors. -Gender pay gap One of the consequences of the inequalities in the labor market can be measured by the persistence of the gender pay gap. Across the EU, women earn, on average, 17.4% less than men for each hour worked. In some countries the gender pay gap is widening, while in others it is narrowing, and strong differences persist between the public and the private sector, with generally a higher gender pay gap in the industry sector. -Gender based discrimination in the labor market Gender based discrimination in the labor market persists. Women continue to share the higher proportion of atypical and precarious jobs, register lower employment rates than men and experience discrimination in vocational training and career progression. It is essential to strengthen the role of Member States' gender equality mechanisms for the elimination of gender discrimination and the promotion of equality between women and men in employment, taking into account the need for reconciliation between work and family life and womens educative level which has risen in recent years. -Womens entrepreneurship In the last decade, women have demonstrated more dynamism and autonomy as self-employed and independent professionals, as shown by the low but increased number of enterprises run by women and womens entrepreneurship. However, women still face many difficulties in the support of new businesses through their early years. -Social protection The employment of women is, and will continue to be, an essential component for ensuring women's autonomy and independence as well as successful economies. It is therefore vital to combine the measures targeting employment with other measures strengthening the national social protection systems in order to ensure adequate support for women and men in their dual responsibility as workers and parents/carers. The challenge for Member States is to implement, a system of social protection for both male and female workers, and their families, where special attention should be paid to single-parent families. This is an even greater challenge in the current economic downturn, as many women and men might find themselves in a weaker position in the labour market which presents a greater risk of poverty, especially for women and men who belong to already vulnerable groups. The gender gap in pensions, which can be related to the pay gap and to the unequal share of unpaid work, should also be taken into account as a factor of poverty for women. -Poverty and social exclusion Women are still more likely to undertake caring and home responsibilities and, therefore, are likely to have shorter careers or interrupted periods of work when compared to their male counterparts. This may render them more vulnerable than men to poverty. There are a number of contributory factors which can include women? unequal position in the labor market, their dependency status in social protection systems and limited pensions. The concept of the feminisation of poverty is increasingly used to express the gendered nature of poverty and social exclusion. However, the full extent of women's poverty and social exclusion remains hidden. This is due primarily to the lack of data systematically measuring women and mens situations. Moreover, income poverty continues to be measured in terms of household earnings, instead of earnings connected to each individual. Poverty also interlinks with other gendered phenomena, as poverty is one of the factors that render women and girls more vulnerable to prostitution and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labor exploitation and organ removal resulting from trafficking, while women who are victims of violence may experience poverty as a result of this violence. Enhancing reconciliation of work, private and family life -Need for more effective reconciliation policies Care work is still unequally divided between women and men. Women are still taking on most of the care work and, at the same time, many women are in paid employment. The double burden of paid work and unpaid work within the family, together with a possible lack of support care services, are some of the reasons behind the declining fertility rate in Europe and can be identified as one of the main barriers to women? full participation in the labor market and decision making at all levels. -Maternity, Paternity, Parental and Family Leaves and flexible working patterns Maternity, paternity, parental and family leave are effective measures, amongst others, to encourage the sharing of family caring responsibilities between women and men or partners of the same sex. However, barriers still exist which discourage their use. Women take up parental leave more than men and several studies show that men can be discouraged from utilizing this right, due to women's lower income and the persistence of gender stereotypes which can influence women and men? behaviors and roles in caring responsibilities. Promoting equal participation of women and men in decision-making The unbalanced representation of women and men in decision-making positions is another issue of deep inequality. Despite some increase of women in decision-making positions, the under-representation of women in politics is a serious issue of democracy and fundamental rights. There is also a low proportion of women with leadership roles in politics, in public administration, in public and private enterprises, in the media and universities, in employers organizations, trade unions, etc. Although women are becoming more and more qualified, barriers that prevent the access to decision-making and political representation persist. The average percentage of women in national parliaments in the EU countries has increased from 16% to 24% between 1997 and 2008. However there is a significant variation between Member States. On average in the EU one out of four senior Ministers and members of national parliaments are women. Moreover, only 35% of the members of the recently elected European Parliament are women. The low representation of women in elected positions creates a democratic deficit and represents one of the key elements of the crisis of credibility of institutions; it also highlights the need to reform and restructure the representation and participation of women and men in all areas of life. The number of female managers (directors, chief executives and managers of smaller enterprises) in the EU has remained stable over the last few years, at an average of 30%. The proportion of women directors of top quoted company boards is 3% across the EU, while only one in ten company board members is a woman. There are no female governors of the national Central Banks in the EU and women only account for 16% of the highest decision-making bodies of these institutions. The overall picture shows that, in most of the EU countries, women continue to be underrepresented in decision-making positions and processes at all levels and in most fields. The EC and the Member States must, therefore, take concrete measures to ensure an equal representation of women and men in decision-making, both in economic and political decision-making. Eradicating all forms of gender based violence and trafficking in human beings In Europe today, one in four women may be or may have been a victim of gender based violence: domestic abuse, stalking, rape, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, pornography, female genital mutilation, forced prostitution, honor crimes, etc. Violence against women is the most intolerable form of negation of women's human rights. Violence against women takes different forms and cuts across all countries and social classes. It is an obstacle to the realization of equality between women and men. Therefore it requires robust action by all Member States and by the European Commission. Trafficking in human beings, which is different from illegal migration, refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking in human beings, including trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, is very often linked with organized crime, therefore the response by Members States must be strong and effectively deal with prevention, prosecution of traffickers, and at the same time giving protection and support to victims. Achieving equality between women and men in education and skills The Lisbon Strategy focuses on an economic and social model generally known as the "knowledge society". However, gender differences and inequalities persist not only in terms of choice of subject and performances, but also in qualitative aspects of the education and training experience. Education offers real opportunities to challenge inequalities. Primary and secondary education have an important role in achieving gender equality: it could challenge gender stereotypes that are related to the choice of education and discourage early school leaving. Moreover, teachers and trainers should be instructed in the practice of incorporating a gender equality and the fight against gender stereotypes in education. The university system of higher education also plays a key role since it represents a key stakeholder in the production of human capital. Also this context shows gender inequalities: women are present in all fields of study, with educational attainment above 60% compared to men. Women's representation is higher than men in most subjects, including some very competitive and highly rewarding subjects like medicine and law. Women are now more highly represented in some science subjects i.e. biological sciences, veterinary sciences and medicine but men still have higher participation in engineering and the physical sciences. It is expected that the drive towards research and innovation will generate greater investment and competitiveness: it is necessary to encourage women's equal access to these employment areas, to ensure the presence and representation of women in the innovative circuits, in order to avoid the risk of new areas of segregation. But it is in the transition to work that gender critical issues can be highlighted and reinforced. Women still have difficulties in finding employment at the appropriate level of their qualifications, even women who made on-traditional educational choices have difficulties in entering the labor market under the same conditions as men and often fall back on traditional career paths which can facilitate the reconciliation of professional and family life. New challenges Addressing Equality between women and men in the framework of environment and sustainability Restoring the territory's environment, working towards a sustainable future, promoting innovative environmental policies: the gender approach to these policies is still insufficient. It is still necessary to reiterate the fundamental role of women in the patterns of consumption, production and management of natural resources for sustainable development in order to preserve the quality of life and to avoid depopulation from rural areas for present and future generations. In fact, as affirmed in the Beijing Platform for Action, the harmonization of the relationship with the environmental issues such as biodiversity, sustainable development, climate change, prosperity and quality of life is part of the culture of gender difference (as protection, enhancement and strengthening of identity and diversity). Moreover, sustainability should address concerns about labor market participation, pension system and education. There is very little measurement or evaluation of the gender dimension to commitment to environmental issues. There are no surveys describing: how and how much women are actively involved in the decision-making processes relating to the environment; how and how much their needs, concerns and opinions are integrated in the policies and programs for sustainable development; in which area the different impact of development policies and environmental policies on women and men is assessed. Addressing the differential impact of the economic and financial downturn on women and men The financial and economic downturn is likely to have a differential impact on women and men, given their different position within economic and social spheres. It seems also to have a differential impact among different groups of women and among different groups of men. So, it is important to ensure that, where women are differently affected compared to men, these differences are addressed by both national and EU policy responses. Among the responses, it is necessary to consider two main levels of intervention: on the one hand, the possible different impact on women and men within the labor market and, on the other hand, the impact of the financial and economic crisis on policies directly or indirectly promoting gender equality, including in terms of public spending. As stated in the EAC Opinion on the gender perspective on the response to the economic and financial crisis, the role and impact of the economic downturn on women is likely to be different from past recessions because women are now much more integrated into the labor market and contribute more to household incomes. Many of them are the sole or main breadwinner while others provide an essential contribution to the family economy. So, the impact of either female or male job loss is likely to be significant overall and the impact of labor market inequalities is thus felt by the whole household. Moreover, it should be noted that the unemployment rate measure does not necessarily capture the full impact of the changing economic conditions on both women and men, so the full range of relevant indicators should be highlighted. In relation to public spending, the downturn is starting to cause reductions in tax revenues which may have an impact on several Member States budgets and may lead to reductions in public expenditure, in particular public services, such as education, training, health and social care. Women and men who are concentrated in different economic sectors are also likely to be affected in a different way in the long term. Therefore, data should be collected on basis of gender occupation by sector to calculate the possible impact on men and women in each sector. In addition, the economic downturn has led to a high level of job losses, particularly in the part time work sector, in which a high percentage of women are employed. Moreover, also changes in pension provisions through restrictions on caring credits may deepen inequalities between women and men. The crisis could constitute a chance to give gender equality policies new impulse, such as renewing the commitment to the equal treatment of women and men in the labor market, women's access to decision making levels and an adequate development of caring services. It is also important to collect information on women's entrepreneurial achievements during the financial crisis including innovative strategies and measures implemented in economic activity. Addressing intercultural dialogue, integration, immigration and asylum policies from a gender equality perspective Despite the gender mainstreaming provision of the EC Treaty, a number of Member States within the European Union fail to effectively integrate a gender perspective into their policies on intercultural dialogue, immigration, integration and asylum. There is nevertheless evidence of an increasing acknowledgement of this need to integrate a gender perspective in recent policy papers in this field at the EU level, but its implementation will be one of the main challenges in the future. The gender bias of current policies needs to be urgently addressed. Intercultural dialogue should also have a gender equality dimension in order to challenge cultural stereotypes on the roles of women and men. Some immigration policies still appear to adopt a gender-neutral approach that might have an indirect discriminatory effect on women such as high-skilled migrant workers and selections systems favoring men. Integration policies appear to pay much more attention to migrant women, but mostly to strengthen their integration in the labor market and lack a comprehensive picture of integration beyond employment. There is a great disparity in the recognition of gender based persecution among EU Member States, which is very problematic in the current Dublin system which obliges asylum seekers to apply in the first country they entered the EU. Promoting women's and men's health Several important documents adopted at the EU level, including Council Conclusions and European Commission programs, in the area of public health, recognize gender equality as an important element of health policies. The Roadmap 2006-2010 included a small section on gender equality and health but no concrete action was undertaken. Thus, the gender equality agenda promoted at the EU level should be more consistent, introduce and recommend specific measures related to health, especially women's health. Cross cutting challenges Eliminating gender stereotypes across all sectors Different forms of discrimination against women result from gender stereotypes which still exist in our society. If not addressed, they risk increasing the existing inequalities between women and men. Gender stereotypes are an obstacle to any process of transformation, since they prevent a full use of human resources. Stereotypes are visible in many forms and at all levels of participation of women and men in the economic, productive and social systems and they may determine different forms of segregation in access and development within training and work systems and in the home, since they present a barrier to full access, participation and active citizenship. Stereotypes of men may impact upon their exclusion from family life, from their parenting role and from caring for dependants; they also can discourage men from certain sections of the labor market, i.e. education of young children or the caring professions. The situation is similar for women due to opposite gender stereotypes that tend to limit their access from large sections of the labor market and leadership positions for example. The existence of gender stereotypes presents a barrier to the development of specific interventions addressed at two fundamental fields which spread values and cultures: educational and training systems and the media/communication world. These interventions should give particular attention to the central role of boys/ men and fathers and mass media in overcoming the traditional gender based stereotypes. Addressing multiple discrimination/intersectionality In recent years, the issue of discrimination has largely been researched from a legal perspective and has therefore concentrated on a single issue approach which may ignore the profound impact experienced by those who face multiple discriminations. Even if the European legislation on equal treatment or non discrimination on grounds of race/ethnic origins or on the other grounds does not contain an explicit provision on multiple discrimination, it would be appropriate that this concept be clearly included and tackled in the new Roadmap for equality between women and men. Gender is a socially constructed set of characteristics that shape the social behavior of women and men and the power relations between them thus contributing to build their identities together with other unequal power relations due to the ethnicity, religion, culture, disability sexual orientation and age. For instance, particular groups of women and men are more vulnerable to multiple discrimination (lesbians and gays, bisexuals and transgenders, women and men of ethnic minorities, migrants, disabled women and men, etc.). Most of the legal scholars agree that the present anti-discrimination legislation in many EU Member States fails to meet the needs of victims experiencing multiple discrimination because it focuses on abstract categories and generalizations rather than specific effects and impacts.