Gender equality, is one of the
social terms which attracts me as a feminist, and I try to explore it in every
field and every nation. Right now it is the time to explore it for the first
time in the EU institutions. Before planning to do this article, I had two main
questions. Does the European Institution take any measures to improve Gender
equality in the level of the institutions and the member states? Is there a
bottom up action to promote Gender mainstreaming in the level of EU citizens?
Is the Gender Equality principle strong enough to face the current economic
crisis in EU? In spite of the efforts of the EU institutions to integrate
gender equality in their policies and legislation, as a resident in Warsaw,
Poland I observe on the reality that there is still inequality between men and
women in the sphere of society especially when it comes to decision-making
positions at the work place, so I see the majority in those highly prestigious
positions are men.
The Treaty of
Amsterdam and later the Lisbon Treaty have entrenched “gender equality as one
of the central missions and activities of the Union, and the Treaty on European
Union formalized the EU's positive obligation to not only achieve but also to
promote gender equality. Article 2 TEU includes equality as one of the values
on which the Union is founded. Article 3 TEU provided that gender equality and
the combat of discrimination constitute aims of the EU.
In the European Union the concept
of gender equality tends to centre on labor market issues-gaps between male and
female employment rates or the gender pay gap being key. So, the Treaty of Rome
(1957) contained an article which provided for equal pay between men and women.
However, the principle was not successfully invoked until 1975 when it was used
to defend a Belgian flight attendant named Gabrielle Defrenne who had objected
to being paid less than her male colleagues as it defied the Treaty. The case
lead to the first European directive on equal pay for men in 1975, which
explicitly prohibited all discrimination on the grounds of sex related to pay.
Increasingly, broader political
and social concerns have been incorporated, such as achieving equality in
decision making or ending gender based violence. The integration of the gender
perspective into all policies at all stages of the policy process by all
participating actors, namely gender mainstreaming, is a strategy that has been
adopted by EU institutions and Member States since 1996. Besides, the
EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights explicitly states that gender equality is a
fundamental right. Since December 2009, this Charter is legally binding on the
Union and its Member States.
In addition, On International
women's Day in 2010, the EU released a Women's Charter targeting equal pay,
equality in decision making, economic independence and an end to gender based
violence, and Equality between women and men is enshrined in the Treaty of
Lisbon as one of the community's fundamental objectives.
The European Commission
It is the main implementation
body within the EU structure, and also the body that proposes new legislation.
The Equal Opportunities Unit is based in the EU Commission Directorate General
for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs. It is responsible for
ensuring compliance with the EU Directives on equal opportunities for women and
men. This Unit is also charged with the implementation of the Community
Framework Strategy on Gender Equality. Furthermore, the President of the
Commission and a number of Commissioners comprise the Commissioners Group on
Equality. They maintain an overview on equal opportunities between women and
men at European Commission level and discuss in particular the question of
mainstreaming a gender perspective into all services and policies. It is worth
noting that since 2004 the European Commission has presented an annual report
on developments in the area of gender equality, also the commission set up
five-year strategy for gender equality 2010-2015, the following five priority
areas are listed:
§
Equal economic independence for women and men;
§
Equal pay for equal work of equal value;
§
Gender equality in decision-making;
§
Dignity, integrity and an end to gender-based violence; and
§
Gender equality in EU external action.
Advisory Committee on Equal
Opportunities for Women and Men
The committee was set up by the
commission in 1981, and it assists the commission in formulating and implementing
measures promoting equal opportunities for women and men and submits opinion to
the Commission. The Advisory Committee (68 members) is composed of
representatives from ministers and equality bodies in the member states, EU
social Partners and the European Women's Lobby, as well as representatives from
international and professional organization and other associations, including
the European free Trade Association.
Council of Ministers
Members of government of the
Member States meet in the Council of Ministers. The Social Affairs Council of
Ministers, where national ministers of social affairs are represented, is the
Council that is responsible for most decisions relating to the equality of
women and men.
Moreover, in 1998 the Council of
Ministers adopted new regulations in order to place more women in senior posts
in the EU institutions. In these regulations the Ministers make equality of
opportunity one of the objectives in recruitment and promotion to senior posts
within the EU institutions. The Council of Ministers has exhorted the Member
States and the EU institutions to recruit more women to decision-making
positions. In a recommendation issued in 1996 (96/694/EC) the Council calls for
more initiatives that will result in an even distribution between women and men
involved in decision making. Also, every year the Council of the European Union
conducts a review of how the EU Member States and institutions are implementing
their commitments under the UN action plan for gender equality adopted in
Beijing in 1995, i.e., the Beijing Platform for Action.
The European Parliament
(EP)
It is the only European
institution elected directly by the citizens of the Member States. The European
Parliament does not have full legislative power, as do parliaments in Member
States, but it can give political signals and has control over the budget
legislation, policies and many political actions affecting women. It drafts
reports on the Commission’s proposals on women’s rights, organizes public
hearings and defines budget priorities for Women’s Programmes. The work of the
European Parliament is organized in different parliamentary Committees,
including the Committee on Women’s Rights. This Committee has played an
important role in advancing gender equality issues within the EP.
European Parliament Committee on
Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)
The Committee comprises 64
members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and is responsible for:
• The definition, promotion and
protection of women's rights in the Union and related Community measures
• Equal opportunities policy,
including equality between men and women with regard to labour market
opportunities
• The removal of all forms of
discrimination based on sex
• Follow-up and implementation of
international agreements and conventions involving the rights of women, and
information policy on women
The current focus of the
Committee's work is on gender-specific pay gaps, poverty of women, lack of
involvement of women in decision-making processes, human trafficking and violence
against women and children.
The European Women's Lobby
A major actor in the field of
gender equality is the European Women’s Lobby. EWL follows very closely the
processes of changing the EU Treaties, all legislative proposals having a
gender aspect and tries to integrate a gender perspective in all areas. EWL
takes positions on the different legislative proposals and lobbies of the EC
and the EP.
European Institute for gender
Equality (EIGE)
The decision to establish a new
European Institute for Gender Equality in Vilnius, Lithuania, was taken in
December 2006 by the European parliament and Council of Ministers. The
Institute officially began its work in June 2010. The institute is a European
agency that, in its capacity as a centre of knowledge and network of experts,
is tasked with supporting member states and European institutions in their
efforts to promote gender issues among EU citizens.
A European Gender Equality Pact
(2011-2020)
A new Gender Equality Pact was
adopted at the Council meeting in March 2011 in which Member States committed
to strengthening the gender equality element in EU cooperation. Five years
after the adoption of the first European Gender Equality Pact, fresh impetus
was needed, especially to confirm and support the close link between the
Commission's Strategy for Gender Equality 2010-2015 and the joint EU growth
strategy, Europe 2020. The Pact highlights issues such as the importance of
reducing the gap between women and men in the labour market, improving access
to childcare and combating all forms of violence against women.
EU between Reality and
Treaties
Although 40% of the EU's advisory
are women, the EU president himself, Herman Van Rompuy, has said that
regrettably, "gender inequality still dominates the European Council".
Once women are in decision-making
positions, evidence shows that they have to fight harder for respect.
"Somehow, when you are a woman, you are not allowed to fail" says
Diana Wallis, Vice president of the European Parliament. 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". However,
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 be men who do not place enough trust in women,
according to the most recent Eurobarometer study.
I believe that media, toy
producers, or whoever else involved in a world where boys in blue clothes take
up the role of hard working daddy, while girls in pink dresses brush their doll
babies' hair. Because that gender equality is not yet plant in the European
culture yet, I noticed that gender equality is deteriorating especially in the
countries which are mainly affected by the current economic crisis.
Despite the measures and a
continual emphasis on equal pay for men and women, these still an average
gender pay gap of 17% in the EU. Moreover, women are affected by the ongoing
Euro zone crisis. For example, in March 2012, 26% of Greek women were out of
work while 17% of Greek men were unemployed. The literature tells us that
in times of such economic hardship, policies aimed at inclusivity and
equality (such as gender policy) can be pushed into retreat or at the least
their progress can be slowed, as policy-makers and the public focus instead on
economic survival.
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