Interim Review of the Social Policy Agenda: Achievements and Prospects

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Anna Karamanou MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT President of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

At the Lisbon European Council, the European Union set a new strategic goal for the next decade: to become the most competitive, dynamic, and knowledge-based economy in the world, an economy capable of achieving long-term economic growth, more and better jobs, and greater social cohesion.

The promotion of gender equality, which is an important part of the Social Agenda as adopted in Nice, means that this specific factor must be integrated into every policy related to both working conditions and the living standards of citizens.

Moreover, the intensive promotion of a policy of equal opportunities for women and men is a necessary condition for achieving substantial economic and social cohesion. We are particularly pleased that the European Employment Strategy has placed greater emphasis on gender equality, incorporating it into the four pillars, as well as in several very specific Guidelines for the National Action Plans.

A significant progress has been the increase in the employment rate of women from 50.8% in 1997 to 54% in 2000, as well as the setting of targets for female employment at 57% by 2005 and 60% by 2010. There has also been positive progress regarding the integration of the gender equality dimension into the guidelines, as well as its implementation at the member state level.

The contribution of the European Commission has been particularly important through its recommendations to the member states, which aimed at including gender equality in the National Action Plans. Additionally, the goal of gender equality was incorporated into the Structural Regulations 2000-2006, which emphasize that this goal must be included in every program of the member states. Regarding the Structural Funds, the integration of the gender equality dimension is particularly evident in co-financed programs – primarily from the European Social Fund – both in the field of education and in vocational training.

However, despite the progress made, socio-economic inequalities continue to exist, and women’s participation in the labor market remains limited. The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament, which I have the honor of chairing, is particularly concerned about the limited importance that most member states attach to the issue of integrating the gender perspective into the employment policies they adopt.

The employment rate of women in the European Union remains about 19% lower than that of men. The unemployment rate of women is 3% higher than that of men. Horizontal and vertical gender segregation in the labor market remains prevalent, and women are disproportionately represented in part-time, uncertain, and low-skilled jobs. The absence of national targets to reduce wage disparities, the failure to establish adequate child care services, the limited initiatives to reduce wage gaps, and the lack of new actions to promote women’s participation in decision-making processes are particularly discouraging. Gender discrimination in employment continues to be a concern for all member states, even those with low unemployment rates. Many groups of women, especially women with disabilities or immigrants, face these discriminations to a double, if not multiple, extent.

In their efforts for labor and professional development, women continue to face unacceptable tax, educational, social, and cultural barriers. What decisively contributes to women being overrepresented among the poor of the world is the unequal way in which paid employment and unpaid domestic work are distributed. This is also the reason why our Committee welcomed with satisfaction the community initiatives aimed at addressing social exclusion. At the same time, we emphasized the need for the economic autonomy of women to be included among the main community objectives, as well as the need to reform social protection systems in order to ensure the improvement of women’s individual security and autonomy.

Our Committee welcomed with the same satisfaction the intention of the European Commission to present a Directive proposal concerning the elimination of gender-based discrimination in areas beyond employment (Article 13), since, despite the objectives of the Treaty, no substantial progress has been made regarding the inclusion of a gender perspective in specific action measures. The process of social integration requires the substantive inclusion of a gender perspective, such as, for example, the participation of women in economic, political, public, and scientific life.

In the target measures, the interdependence of social, economic, and cultural factors that shape the living conditions of women and prevent their equal participation in decision-making processes should be taken into account. In the Employment Strategy, the pursuit of equality should be pursued through an approach to gender mainstreaming across all pillars of the Guidelines, as well as through the adoption of affirmative action measures, in accordance with the fourth pillar, which specifically addresses equal opportunities issues.

Unfortunately, however, the gender equality dimension was not integrated into the first three pillars, which concern critical policies such as active labor market policies, entrepreneurship, or lifelong education and training. For this reason, the formulation of the Guidelines should be strengthened and clarified across all pillars to ensure a substantive approach to gender mainstreaming. The aim of this approach is clear. On the one hand, women’s access to lifelong education and particularly to modern information technologies, and on the other, their participation at all levels of education and training, will offer them a broader range of employment and career options, and thus higher job satisfaction.

For this reason, it is vital to reduce the gap between those who have access to continuous training and new information technologies and those who are either excluded from them or underrepresented – primarily women. Within the framework of the Social Policy Agenda, all relevant stakeholders and social organizations – especially social partners and women’s organizations – at local, national, and regional levels, should take an active role in the design and management of new policies.

Despite the encouraging initiatives taken by the member states for the reconciliation of work and family life, we believe that the progress made is still not satisfactory. In this regard, social partners must play a crucial role: they must promote a family-friendly work environment in order to achieve flexible working time arrangements and support schemes and programs for parental leave.

There should also be greater encouragement for member states to provide more health services for children and other dependent individuals. Unfortunately, most member states have paid little attention to addressing the issue of gender pay disparities. At this point, we must also recall the decision of the Stockholm Summit, according to which the Council, in cooperation with the Commission, will develop certain indicators to ensure that there are no gender-based wage disparities. We believe it is important to define such indicators for wages and incomes for both demographic groups of different ages and origins, as well as groups belonging to any national minority. We also hope that specific national quantitative targets and target dates will be introduced to address wage disparities.

Finally, we must emphasize the important role played by the Structural Funds in reducing inequalities between women and men and, in particular, with regard to the goal of creating more and better jobs and taking measures for professional retraining. In this regard, the role of the European Social Fund in supporting and implementing the Employment Strategy – through the mid-term review of the 2000-2006 programs – and the process of social integration should be encouraged and strengthened.