Corporate Social Responsibility: a contribution of businesses to sustainable development

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
1999

2004

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
2002/2261(INI)
24 March 2003
OPINION

of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

regarding corporate social responsibility: a contribution of businesses to sustainable development

(COM(2002) 347 – C5‑0574/2002 – 2002/2261(INI))

Draftswoman: Anna Karamanou

HISTORY OF THE PROCEDURE

At its meeting on 5 November 2002, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality appointed Anna Karamanou as the rapporteur for the opinion.

At its meetings on 19 February and 18 March 2003, the committee examined the draft opinion.

At the last of the above-mentioned meetings, the committee unanimously approved the following conclusions.

The following members were present at the vote: Marianne Eriksson, presiding; Zrihen Zaari, vice-president; Jillian Evans, vice-president; María Antonia Avilés Perea, Regina Bastos, Ilda Figueiredo (substituting Armonia Bordes), Fiorella Ghilardotti, Marie-Hélène Gillig (substituting Elena Ornella Paciotti), Koldo Gorostiaga Atxalandabaso, Karin Jöns (substituting Lissy Gröner), Hedwig Keppelhoff-Wiechert (substituting Emilia Franziska Müller, in accordance with Article 153, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure), Christa Klaß, Ródi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Astrid Lulling, Maria Martens, Christa Prets, Olle Schmidt (substituting Lone Dybkjær), Miet Smet, Patsy Sörensen, Joke Swiebel, and Sabine Zissener.

CONCLUSIONS

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, which is responsible for the substance, to include the following elements in its draft resolution:

A. whereas gender equality is an integral part of the EU’s policy aimed at promoting CSR in the business environment,

B. whereas it is essential to encourage women to participate more in the establishment and management of small and medium-sized enterprises and to promote female entrepreneurship beyond traditional retail and service provision, which are attractive activities for women due to their low start-up costs,

C. stressing that the lack of women on boards and in managerial positions is the greatest barrier to women’s career advancement in business and that the promotion of women to executive positions in various companies within the EU has resulted in the creation of a new pool of talent with experience in many industrial sectors, particularly in countries where such initiatives are supported by financial measures,

D. believing that the numerical increase of women in businesses – both on boards and in executive positions – should be encouraged primarily through raising awareness among women about the ways of establishing and developing businesses, providing financial assistance programs, and facilitating their access to credit and other financial instruments,

E. recognizing that many organizations offer awards to recognize the exemplary and innovative approaches adopted by specific companies on the issue of women’s business advancement as evidence of their commitment to corporate social responsibility,

1. stresses that the promotion of female entrepreneurship can enhance the social and environmental responsibility of businesses and contribute to sustainable development, social cohesion, and respect for human rights, due to the proven sensitivity and priority that women give to issues related to quality of life;
2. highlights that gender diversity is an asset for any business and calls for greater recognition of the important role women play in the production of goods and social well-being, through the enhancement of their participation in dialogue, evaluation, and decision-making processes that will ensure the successful implementation of CSR and the overall harmonious coexistence of businesses and society;
3. calls for more effective policy measures through which women will occupy leadership positions in businesses, as well as measures for providing advice, incentives, and choices that can boost women’s creativity towards sustainable business activities that equally integrate the economic, social, and environmental dimensions;
4. stresses that businesses, within the framework of CSR, must take initiatives aimed at integrating equal opportunities for men and women as part of the terms of employment, training opportunities, and programs that facilitate the reconciliation of professional and private life;
5. asks social partners to collect detailed statistics on the ratio of men and women in their internal structures and in all advisory bodies in which they are represented, and stresses the importance of increased female participation in CSR, which should be based on the promotion of transparency, verifiability, and representativeness;
6. calls on professional associations, business networks, employers’ organizations, trade unions, consumer organizations, and civil society to participate, with a balanced representation of men and women, in the EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR;
7. expresses its regret that the Commission’s communication does not give due attention to the impact of corporate social responsibility principles on the gender dimension or on gender-related policies; considers this to be an example of the inadequate implementation by the Commission of its own principles regarding the integration of the gender dimension, and consequently calls on it to add, as soon as possible, a new chapter to its communication that will address the gender dimension within the framework of corporate social responsibility.