Commission report highlights limited progress in gender equality
Ippubblikat: 3 August 2006
Despite the commitment (127 Kb PDF) [1] of the European Union (EU) to gender equality [2], a communication by the European Commission, the 2006 report on equality between women and men (COM (2006) 71 final, 264 Kb PDF) [3], underlines the persistence of gender inequalities in the labour market. The report highlights how, in spite of policy and legislative developments, women’s employment chances remain restricted and fertility rates remain low within the EU. The combination of both of these factors continues to undermine the EU’s promotion of increased employment and growth rates.[1] http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/docs/newprg/newprg_en.pdf[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/gender-equality[3] http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/docs/com_2006_71_en.pdf
A recent report on gender equality by the European Commission highlights the fact that little progress has been made on improving women’s position in the labour market. The report shows that, irrespective of the slight increase in the employment participation of women, they still continue to earn less and have more limited career opportunities.
Despite the commitment (127 Kb PDF) of the European Union (EU) to gender equality, a communication by the European Commission, the 2006 report on equality between women and men (COM (2006) 71 final, 264 Kb PDF), underlines the persistence of gender inequalities in the labour market. The report highlights how, in spite of policy and legislative developments, women’s employment chances remain restricted and fertility rates remain low within the EU. The combination of both of these factors continues to undermine the EU’s promotion of increased employment and growth rates.
Slight increase in women’s employment
The European Commission’s report documents an increase in the number of women entering the labour market within the 25 EU Member States (EU25). At 55.7% in 2004, the female employment rate increased by 0.7 of a percentage point compared with the previous year. The Commission notes that this positive trend also included older female workers, with the employment rate for women over 55 years of age rising to 31.7% in 2004, representing an increase of one percentage point. Nonetheless, considerable variations continue to persist in this respect between the EU25 countries. In all Member States, women are more likely than men to be outside the labour force; however, in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the gender gap in this respect was less than 10 percentage points in 2004, while in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain and Luxembourg, it was more than 20 percentage points greater (see also Statistics in focus 2/2006 (349 Kb PDF)).
Gender differences persists
Despite improvements in the employment rates of women, such increases are tempered by the persistence of sectoral and occupational segregation, relatively low labour force participation, and continued differences in pay compared with men. Part-time employment continues to be a female-dominated domain, representing 32.4% of women’s employment in 2004, compared with the much lower figure of 7.4% of men in employment. Again, significant differences exist in this respect across the EU25. In Slovakia, the level of part-time work among both men and women remains very low at less than 5% of total employment. By contrast, over 70% of female employees work part time in the Netherlands; for men, this figure stands at just over 20% of total employment (see table).
| Country | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 4.9 | 38.8 |
| Belgium | 6.8 | 41.0 |
| Cyprus | 5.2 | 13.2 |
| Czech Republic | 2.3 | 8.5 |
| Denmark | 12.5 | 33.7 |
| Estonia | 5.0 | 10.7 |
| Finland | 8.7 | 17.8 |
| France | 5.2 | 30.1 |
| Germany | 6.5 | 41.6 |
| Greece | 2.2 | 8.6 |
| Hungary | 3.2 | 6.2 |
| Ireland | 6.1 | 31.9 |
| Italy | 4.9 | 24.8 |
| Latvia | 7.8 | 13.5 |
| Lithuania | 6.9 | 10.4 |
| Luxembourg | 2.4 | 40.2 |
| Malta | 4.0 | 17.8 |
| Netherlands | 22.5 | 74.8 |
| Poland | 8.1 | 13.4 |
| Portugal | 7.0 | 16.1 |
| Slovakia | 1.4 | 4.2 |
| Slovenia | 7.7 | 11.7 |
| Spain | 2.8 | 18.3 |
| Sweden | 12.4 | 36.3 |
| United Kingdom | 10.6 | 44.2 |
Source: Eurostat, Labour market latest trends, 2nd quarter 2005 data
The report highlights how education and training programmes are dominated by women, with 59% of first degrees in tertiary education successfully attained by female students; however, women continue to receive inferior pay and are considerably less likely to be involved in decision-making processes. Moreover, a mere 10% of top management positions are held by women. And while figures for 2004 showed a decline of one percentage point in the pay deficit compared with 1999, this figure still remains high at 15%. In order to address some of these issues, the Commission has made gender equality in science (489 Kb PDF) a key theme; in particular, it aims to empower women in decision-making positions in the field of research and technology.
Promoting gender equality
According to the Commission’s report, the persistence of gender inequality indicates that Member States need to reaffirm their commitment to gender mainstreaming. This involves ensuring that gender equality becomes a key issue in national reform programmes. So far, such support has not always been prominent. The Commission reasserts that the main objectives of the Lisbon Strategy, namely growth and employment, can only be achieved through such positive action. To this end, the Commission suggests that special attention should be focused on:
building a ‘comprehensive’ approach to reduce the employment gap, especially among older employees;
• analysing and dealing with the gender pay gap;
• developing a ‘comprehensive’ approach to reconciling work and private commitments, aimed at both men and women;
using structural funds to promote gender equality;
• supporting the social partners in developing, implementing and monitoring gender mainstreaming policies, particularly the Framework of actions on gender equality (133 Kb PDF);
fully implementing the Directive on equal treatment between men and women, as well as establishing equality bodies;
approving a regulation to establish a European Institute for Gender Equality;
adopting the proposed Directive on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in employment;
• a continued commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action.
Commentary
The European Commission remains committed to gender equality. However, if the EU is to successfully achieve the aims set down in the Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006–2010, Member States and companies have to positively promote policies aimed at achieving a better work–life balance, improved pay conditions and employment equality for women. Only through such policies can this important skills source, so central to the EU’s long-term competitive development, be made available.
Michael Whittall, Institute for Labour Foundation, Technical University of Munich
Il-Eurofound jirrakkomanda li din il-pubblikazzjoni tiġi kkwotata kif ġej.
Eurofound (2006), Commission report highlights limited progress in gender equality, article.
