European gender pact and Commission roadmap ESF Committee 22 September 2006 Mrs Luisella Pavan-Woolfe Director Equality between Men and Women, Action against Discrimination, Civil Society DG employment, social affairs and equal opportunities

A roadmap for equality between women and men adopted 1st March 2006

Why a roadmap? Need for a Commission commitment for EU gender equality policy Taking a gender equality coherent approach and define actions to tackle persistent gender inequalities Respond to Social Agenda commitment

Situation of gender equality in the EU Women situation remain unbalanced Some examples Remuneration is lower by 15% on average with that of men. The divergence in terms of employment rates is of 15.2 percentage points; 84% of European men, although informed of their rights to parental leave, declared in 2004 that they from would not profit Only 11% of women are members of the highest decision bodies in the 50 larger quoted companies publicly but this figure falls to 3% for the president's post.

6 Priority Areas Equal Economic Independence Reconciliation of Work, Private and Family Life Equal Participation in Decision-Making Eradicating Gender-based Violence and Trafficking Eliminating Gender Stereotypes in Society Promoting of Gender Equality Outside the EU Supported by improved governance

1. Equal Economic Independence for Women And Men Lisbon employment targets Eliminating the gender pay gap Women entrepreneurs Social protection and fight again poverty Recognising the gender dimension in health Combat multiple discrimination Lisbon : At present, it is at 55.7% and is much lower (31.7%) for older women (55-64 years old). Women also have a higher unemployment rate than men (9.7% against 7.8%). – MAINSTREAMING + MAKE WORK PAY Eliminating the gender pay gap LEGAL + SEGREGATION Women entrepreneurs: 30% of entrepreneurs in the EU. GREATER DIFFICULTIES Gender equality in social protection and the fight against poverty: %MAKE WORK PAY + PENSION Recognising the gender dimension in health SPECIFIC NEEDS Multiple discrimination

2. Enhancing Reconciliation of Work, Private and Family Life Flexible working arrangements for both women and men Increasing care services Better reconciliation policies for both women and men 2.1 Flexible working arrangements for both women and men RECONC IS WIN WIN 2.2 Increasing care services BARCELONA TGTS + QUALITY! 2.3 Better reconciliation policies for both women and men FEW MEN PT/P LEVAES - Incentives

3. Promoting Equal Participation of Women and Men in Decision-Making Women's participation in politics Women in economic decision-making Women in science and technology 3.1 Women's participation in politics UNDER REPRES IN ALL LEVELS 3.2 Women in economic decision-making EVALUATION, PROMOTIONS, RECONCILIATION 3.3 Women in science and technology TARGET of 25% women in leading positions in public sector research, NETWORKING

Other priority 4. Eradicating Gender-based Violence and Trafficking 5. Eliminating Gender Stereotypes in Society 6. Promoting of Gender Equality Outside the EU 5.1 Elimination of gender stereotypes in education, training and culture Education, training and culture continue to transmit gender stereotypes. Women and men often follow traditional education and training paths, which often place women in occupations that are less valued and remunerated. Policy should focus on combating gender stereotypes from an early age, providing awareness training to teachers and students, and encouraging young women and men to explore non-traditional educational paths. The education system should provide young people with adequate qualification. Therefore, it is also important to tackle the phenomenon of early school leaving, which affects more boys than girls. 5.2 Elimination of gender stereotypes in the labour market Women still face both horizontal and vertical segregation. Most of them continue to be employed in sectors traditionally occupied by women, which are typically less recognised and valued. Moreover, they generally occupy lower echelons of the organisational hierarchy. It is as important to facilitate women’s entry into non-traditional sectors as it is to promote men's presence in sectors traditionally occupied by women. Anti-discriminatory laws should be enforced, and training and incentives provided. 5.3 Elimination of gender stereotypes in the media The media have a crucial role to play in combating gender stereotypes. It can contribute to presenting a realistic picture of the skills and potential of women and men in modern society and avoid portraying them in a degrading and offensive manner. Dialogue with stakeholders and awareness-raising campaigns should be promoted at all levels.

Improving governance for gender equality Better governance at all levels: EU, Member States, parliaments, social partners and civil society The European Pact for Gender Equality demonstrates the commitment at the highest political level European Institute for Gender Equality

EUROPEAN PACT FOR GENDER EQUALITY European Council has adopted the European Pact for gender equality in March 2006 The objective is to encourage actions on Member State and Union levels to achieve the growth and jobs strategy

EU pact for gender equality Three types of measures: Measures to close gender gaps and combat gender stereotypes in the labour market Measures to promote a better work-life balance for all Measures to reinforce governance through gender mainstreaming and better monitoring

SF support to the roadmap The Commission will together with MS promote gender mainstreaming and specific measures in the programming and implementation of the new structural funds, including through monitoring and ensuring adequate resources for gender equality

Some evaluation findings from 2000-2006 MS evaluations Progress have been made on gender equality in all MS as a result of ESF co-funded actions Different approaches in gender mainstreaming have been implemented: gender in project selection criteria, gender balance and expertise in monitoring committees, gender sensitive monitoring and management and steering, methodological support for gender mainstreaming, …(see coming evaluation synthesis)

Advisory Committee on equal opportunities between women and men Opinion on the Gender dimension in the next programming period of the Structural Funds 2007-2013 – July 2006 The opinion has been adopted by the advisory committee but does not reflect the positions of the Member States and does not bind the MS

Opinion of the Advisory Committee Examples of recommendations: Confirmation of the relevance of the dual approach Improve the gender dimension in all intervention phases Building equal opportunities governance at local level Learning and achieving through cooperation

Implementing SF Regulations 2007-2013 General Regulation: Article 11 Partnership Article 16 Equality between men and women and non discrimination ESF Regulation Articles 3 , 4 and 6 on Gender equality and equal opportunities

Conclusion More information available on : http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/ gender_equality/index_en.html