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Ajouter un commentaireAt least, European citizens seem to be aware of the problem. According to the latest Eurobarometer study conducted in 2009, two thirds of Europeans feel that inequality between men and women is still widespread.
Anti-discrimination in general and gender equality in particular are provided for in the Lisbon Treaty and the EU 2020 strategy. Yet gender issues are cross-cutting and to find solutions Member States may have to take measures that go as deep as education.
’Why are we always number 2, why can we never be number 1 ?’
European citizens take the issue seriously. But does the EU lead by example ?
Although 40% of his advisors are women, the EU President himself, Herman van Rompuy, has said that regrettably, gender inequality still dominates the European Council. Personas like Angela Merkel are exceptions to the rule as national and EU politics are evidently male dominated.
- Somehow, when you’re a woman, you’re not allowed to fail
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Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First-Vice-President of the European Commission (left) with heads of states or governments in late 2009
Source : European Council Photographic Library, Consilium
Diana Wallis, Vice President of the European Parliament, is shocked about the current situation where women are largely under-represented in decision-making positions. At the EWLA conference on 3rd of June she sighs ’I used to be a feminist, I thought I could give it up.’ In the hope of changing the unequal picture she led a demonstration on 18 November 2009 with the European Women’s Lobby. Marching from the European Parliament to the Council, the demonstrators demanded that at least one woman be appointed to one of the four EU Top Jobs and that the college of Commissioners be occupied by 50% women. If this is not achieved, the demonstrators warned that MEPs would hinder the approval of the new Commission. The result : A third of the new Commissioners are women.
But Diana Wallis is puzzled : ‘Why are we always number 2, why can we never be number 1 ?’. Baroness Catherine Ashton is the High representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First-Vice-President of the European Commission. Yet, the challenge does not stop here. Once women are in decision-making positions, evidence shows that they have to fight hard for respect. The aforementioned examples of Angela Merkel and Catherine Ashton are perfect in this respect. Both politicians have been repeatedly subject to heavy critiques from the media because ’Somehow, when you’re a woman, you’re not allowed to fail’, says Diana Wallis.
Gender Mainstreaming at EU Level
- ’Why are we always number 2 ?’
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Diana Wallis, Vice-President of the European Parliament (left) and Margot Wallström, former Vice-President of the European Commission
source : EC Audiovisual Service, EC
Gender equality is a cross-cutting issue. Women are more vulnerable in terms of employment discrimination. In the developing world, women are threatened by globalisation as farmers are pushed into poverty and women are forced to emigrate and take up 3D jobs – dirty, demeaning and dangerous, according to the European Trade Union Confederation Secretary Catelene Passchier. Also, women with disabilities are less likely to be integrated into the labour market than men with disabilities. Moreover in times of economic crises, it is clear that men are more likely to lose their jobs in low-skilled jobs or the car industry but women are indirect losers as public spending is re-organized and benefits are cut. These are just a few examples.
There are several legal EU texts dedicated to equality between women and men. Relevant Treaty provisions and Directives provide for equality in terms of access to employment, equal pay, maternity protection, social security and many more.
‘Gender mainstreaming’, or the process of integrating gender equality into all EU policies and activities, is an important element in both the Treaty of Lisbon and the EU 2020 strategy. EU2020 focuses on structural growth that is smart, sustainable and inclusive. It sets out a very ambitious target of increasing the employment rate of the population aged 20-60 from the current 69% to at least 75%. In Herman van Rompuy’s words, without focusing on women, ‘none of this can be achieved’.
Discrimination in the labour market : Can the EU really do something about it ?
- Stereotypes are still very present in our societies
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source : flickr, freeparking
‘There is enough legislation at EU level’, says Edit Bauer, MEP and member of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the European Parliament (FEMM), ‘but these issues are still largely in Member States’ hands’.
Three quarters of Europeans think that the reason why women are less likely to have positions in decision-making is either because of their responsibilities towards their families or because the business world is dominated by men who do not place enough trust in women, according to the most recent Eurobarometer study.
Stereotypes are still very present in our societies. ’I bet that if I had walked in that room years ago with jeans and a t-shirt I wouldn’t be where I am today’, says Diana Wallis, who dismisses the idea that women should look like men to be successful in the business world. According to the most recent Eurobarometer study, the majority of Europeans claim that sexist stereotypes are most present in the workplace.
The key word here is education. As long as teachers, the media, toy producers, or whoever else involved in socialisation do not actively prevent their children from growing up in a world where boys in blue clothes take up the role of the hard working daddy while girls in pink dresses brush their doll-babies’ hair, all of this may never change.
Photo source : Flickr, EC Audiovisual Services
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Ungleichheit zwischen Männern und Frauen : Auch in der EU ?
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