Lifelong Learning

21 May 2002

OPINION of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

to the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, Media and Sport

regarding the Commission’s communication on “Realizing a European Area for Lifelong Learning”

(COM(2001) 678 – C5‑0165/2002 – 2073/2002 (COS))

Draftswoman: Anna Karamanou

HISTORY OF THE PROCEDURE

At its meeting on April 18, 2002, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality appointed Anna Karamanou as the rapporteur for the opinion.

At its meeting on May 21, 2002, the committee examined the draft opinion.

At the aforementioned last meeting, the committee unanimously approved the following conclusions.

The following members were present during the vote: Anna Karamanou, chair and rapporteur; Marianne Eriksson and Jillian Evans, vice-chairs; María Antonia Avilés Perea, Regina Bastos, Geneviève Fraisse, Lissy Gröner, Róda Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Astrid Lulling, Thomas Mann, Maria Martens, Emilia Franziska Müller, Christa Prets, María Rodríguez Ramos, Feleknas Uca, Sabine Zissener, Karin Jöns (substituting for Fiorella Ghilardotti), Ilda Figueiredo (substituting for Armonia Bordes), Olle Schmidt (substituting for Lone Dybkjær), and Anne E.M. Van Lancker (substituting for Hans Karlsson).

CONCLUSIONS

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, Media and Sports, which is responsible for the substance, to include the following elements in its draft resolution:

A. having regard to the socio-political agenda of the European Union, as defined by the European Councils of Lisbon and Nice, and in particular to its policy to increase female employment to at least 60% in the coming years throughout the European Union,

B. having regard to the fact that social and economic development will be further enhanced by the increasing proportion of employed women, in order to achieve the Council’s goal, and that appropriate accompanying measures at both the European and national levels are of essential importance,

C. having regard to the fact that, despite the enhancement of women’s educational levels and professional qualifications, significant inequalities between men and women in the labor market and access to lifelong learning still persist, resulting in an increasing percentage of women ending up in low-paying jobs that do not require special qualifications in order to achieve the level of women’s employment at 60%,

1. calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that lifelong learning programs fully take into account the specific needs of women, emphasizing issues of counseling and vocational guidance, financial incentives (scholarships, allowances, etc.), research activities related to women’s career development, their participation in decision-making processes, balanced representation of genders in the fields of science and new technologies, and combating the gender division of the labor market;

2. calls on higher education institutions, in cooperation with scientific and professional associations, to develop flexible supplementary education programs that will utilize the possibilities of new technology (e-learning, use of multimedia, Internet, etc.) so that interested individuals can combine lifelong learning with their professional and private life obligations;

3. emphasizes that businesses should take an active role and encourage the continuous renewal of knowledge and the exploration of women’s career options, through the design of appropriate programs adopting best practices and utilizing statistical data;

4. believes that, in order to combat social exclusion, it is necessary to

priority is given to vulnerable population groups who do not have easy access to vocational training, such as single parents, immigrant women, women living in rural areas, or under conditions of poverty; special care should be taken to increase the presence of women in fields where they are underrepresented;

5. calls on member states to focus their efforts so that gender mainstreaming policy becomes part of the overall policy for promoting lifelong learning.