Resport on the Commission annual reports "Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Union - 1997, 1998, 1999"
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
European Parliament resolution on the Commission reports "Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Union - 1997, 1998, 1999" (COM(1998) 302 - C5- 0106/1999, COM(1999) 106 – C5-0289/2000, COM(2000) 123 - C5-0290/2000 – 1999/2109(COS))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission reports (COM(1998) 302 - C5-0106/1999, COM(1999) 106 – C5-0289/2000, COM(2000) 123 - C5-0290/2000 – 1999/2109(COS)) ,
– having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1997 2 on the annual report from the Commission: Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Union 1996,
– having regard to its resolution of 4 May 1999 3 on the medium-term action programme on equal opportunities for men and women (1996-2000), – having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0198/2000),
A. whereas Articles 2, 3, 13, 137 and 141 of the Treaty of Amsterdam have established the principle of equal treatment for men and women on an entirely new basis,
B. whereas the biggest challenge at the present time is enlargement of the Union and the related issue of also securing the rights of women in the applicant countries without thereby failing women in the EU,
C. whereas the Member States and the Commission are still bound to properly implement the Beijing Platform for Action and will have to establish new policies within their spheres of responsibility to comply with the declaration of the Special Session of the UN on Beijing + 5 in June 2000 and with the final outcome document of that Special Session,
D. whereas despite the ever-growing presence of women on the labour market, women are still segregated in certain economic sectors and categories of activity, are therefore often relegated to atypical work or work at home and are still more vulnerable than their male colleagues to unemployment and casual labour,
E. whereas the gap between women's and men's pay remains at an average of 30% in spite of EC and national legislation being introduced over 25 years ago; whereas the Commission's Code of Conduct on equal pay for work of equal value provides a model for employers for the implementation and achievement of equal pay between women and men but seems so far not be proving effective in bringing down the existing pay gap,
F. whereas reconciling work and homelife is a question for both men and women and involves not just childcare facilities but care for other dependants such as the elderly, sick or disabled relatives, as well as basic lifestyle questions and only will come about when effective and innovative enforceable measures are taken at EC as well as national level,
G. whereas measures to assist employees in combining work and family life have been found to improve productivity and staff retention,
H. whereas on 7 June 2000 the Commission adopted a communication and a proposal for a Council Decision on the programme concerning a Community framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005) (COM(2000) 335-2000/0143(CNS)),
I. whereas the Commission on 7 June 2000 adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive 76/207/EEC aiming to facilitate an improved implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women, including better protection against sexual harassment at work,
1. Calls on the Commission to continue drawing up annual reports, which are an essential tool for monitoring and keeping track of national and Community policies on equal opportunities and, in particular, implementation of the programme concerning the Community framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005);
2. Reaffirms the international declarations and agreements that women's rights are human rights and calls therefore on the Commission, the Member States and the applicant countries to comply effectively with all elements of the relevant declarations and agreements, especially the Beijing Platform for Action and the declaration as well as the final outcome document of the UN General Assembly Special Session in New York; urges furthermore the applicant countries to speed up the implementation of the acquis communautaire on equal opportunities;
3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work to secure women's rights in the context of the EU's external affairs; this is absolutely crucial as far as the EU's current main task is concerned, i.e. securing enlargement, and means that the Commission must require the applicant countries to implement the necessary mechanisms to ensure that equal opportunities are an integral part of the applicant countries' policies;
4. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the strategic nature of the report by upgrading the evaluations of the effectiveness of policy measures rather than merely describing them, e.g. by further developing the nine indicators devised by the Finnish Presidency to include, for instance, the labour market (including the information and communications technology sector), education, implementation of directives such as those on parental leave, and to the programme concerning the Community framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005) so that the consequences of political decisions for men and women that lie in mainstreaming can be better evaluated;
5. Urges the Commission henceforth to include in the annual report it publishes, starting with the next one, the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament on this subject;
6. Takes the view that gender dis-aggregated statistics and data are an essential tool for assessing progress towards equality goals and for promoting mainstreaming by showing the differential impact on women and men of all policies, particularly in fields previously thought to be gender-neutral;
7. Considers it essential to identify comparable indicators, analysis procedures and information to facilitate a correct assessment of the situation of women in the EU; requests the Commission to undertake a major study into the state of women in the Union, the applicant countries included, covering all aspects of gender concern, which will serve as a basis for an overall medium- and long-term all-inclusive strategy to end all forms of inequality; requests the Commission to undertake a major study into the results of 25 years of European women’s equality policy and assess the actual status of women in the Union, the applicant countries included, covering all aspects of gender concern, which will serve as a basis for a new problem definition and an overall medium- and long-term all-inclusive strategy to end all forms of gender inequality;
8. Calls, therefore, on the Commission to allocate/ensure the resources and expertise needed to develop and collect data, for the EU as a whole and for each Member State, as well as for the applicant countries, in order to improve the quality of the annual report and the ongoing debate on equal opportunities in Europe;
9. Considers that actions should be laid down and steps taken to overcome the obstacles to women's access to decision-making posts, in the field of political and trade union activity and enterprise and to identify the disincentives (such as inadequate support for female party members, fixing of inconvenient times and places for meetings, the lack of information or attitudes hostile to women's presence and participation); that these actions could be used by the Commission and the Member States to promote awareness-raising campaigns aiming to reach a large public in order to focus the attention on the importance of a balanced participation of women and men in decision-making;
10. Calls on the Commission to set up an investigation into the educational level of women, their choice of education, the advice given to them on courses and careers to follow, and their opportunities to participate on an equal footing with men in working life and in the political decision-making processes;
11. Calls on the Commission to undertake a study to determine what bearing part-time work and atypical employment have on pay, social security contributions, women's pensions, and the spread of female poverty;
12. Calls on the Commission to consider how far women and men can truly be said to be equal in terms of social, tax, and economic rights;
13. Considers that any type of aid, funding, or benefit granted by the Union must be subject to the requirement to observe the principle of equal pay for men and women;
14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States in particular to see how, for example, new sectors such as information and communications technology can create new job opportunities for women; believes, at the same time, that educational opportunities need to be considered as well as, possibly, in this connection an information campaign to persuade more women to enter this sector;
15. Recognises that equal opportunities will not come about without men also being involved in the equal opportunities process, for example, by helping look after children, etc.; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to ensure that legislative measures do not have adverse implications for women's involvement in the labour market;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
1. Introduction
The Commission has drawn up annual reports on equal opportunities for men and women since 1996, which is an excellent starting point for assessing the development of this policy area.
For various reasons, Parliament did not draw up written reports in 1997 and 1998 and the committee will therefore use this opportunity to carry out an overall assessment of developments in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
The 1998 and 1999 reports contain the following sections:
1. Gender Mainstreaming and specific actions
2. Gender equality in European employment strategy
3. Promoting a gender balance in decision-making
4. Gender equality legislation
5. A gender perspective in the European Union's external relations.
Only sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 are included in the 1997 report which does however contain the following sections on specific initiatives: ‘living and working in Europe – the care agenda’ and ‘Follow-up to the Beijing platform for action’.
All the reports make much of the opportunities that the Amsterdam Treaty will provide (1997 report) and subsequently does provide (1998 and 1999 reports). Indeed, the Amsterdam Treaty was and remains an important breakthrough for the formal framework for equal opportunities.
The Amsterdam Treaty saw the incorporation of articles 2 and 3 enshrining equality for women and the right not to be discriminated against. Still more importantly, it saw the inclusion of the chapter on employment, with Article 41 providing for positive measures in relation to employment. In addition, mainstreaming (integration of the gender aspect in all policies) has become a cross-cutting concept for many EU policies, for example, the EU’s external activities both in regard to the forthcoming enlargement and in relation to development policy, as well as the policies and programmes covering youth, education, research and science, etc.
Many of these areas are undoubtedly of great value in ensuring the continuing development of equal opportunities for men and women. The reports do recognise that there are still major unresolved questions. Women do still not participate sufficiently in the decision-making process either at political level, in the business world or in the trade union movement. Women have a lower occupational participation rate than men, they are more often unemployed and unemployed for longer than is the case for men. Furthermore, equal pay for equal work does not still exist. These are all crucial issues in connection with equal opportunities. Yet the reports on the face of it simply seem to take note of the situation with no proposals for activities to improve it, this perhaps being due to the fact that this is a responsibility of the Member States. In that case, however, the problems should be addressed from that angle and examples should be provided of what has been done in the various countries where there has recently been genuine progress or in those countries that are furthest advanced in terms of equal opportunities.
Likewise, there is no cross-cutting analysis of the different cultural perceptions of the position and role of women in family and social life, for example, to what extent the obstacles to women’s advancement to the top of hierarchies is due simply to the fact that they are women and how much is due to the fact that women still have the main responsibility for the welfare of the family. There are undoubtedly major differences here between EU countries which may well become much greater when a number of applicant countries join the EU. Poland, for example, has overall a very traditional perception of women even though hereto there are of course exceptions to the general rule. Yet these are problems which need to be actively addressed particularly at a time when the forthcoming enlargement of the EU is going to mean many financial and political resources being channelled into resolving this important task. And with priority not necessarily being given to the essential reforms concerning equal opportunities.
A general criticism of the reports is that they devote far too much space to describing new policy measures and far too little to analysing what we have in fact achieved with these policies. It is naturally a good idea to launch a large number of initiatives and the Commission and Member States are to be praised for having done this. Yet if we do not know what the outcome is, reports of this kind can very easily turn out to be so much hot air.
It is surprising, for example, that one report after another refers to the lack of equal opportunities for women on the labour market without investigating and discussing e.g. the level of education and putting forward figures showing the significance of male and female occupations.
In addition to their general failure to substantiate the impact of policies and programmes, the reports also fail to discuss the factors behind continuing inequality. What progress has actually been made, i.e. is it possible to detect a quantifiable advance and which policies could be envisaged as helping to remedy some of the problems in the long run. In short, without proper statistics and analysis it is very difficult to follow which way things are moving. Are we really getting more equality of opportunity? Or are we just getting more declarations of intent, policies and support schemes?
The Finnish Presidency devised nine indicators for evaluating women in decision-making. It should also be possible to develop similar indicators to cover also the labour market, for example, education, etc. Unless such indicators are developed, it is very hard to see how the consequences of political decisions for men and women that lie in mainstreaming are to be evaluated.
2. Gender MainstreamingMainstreaming achieved a global breakthrough at the UN's fourth international women's conference in Beijing in 1995. Gender mainstreaming is defined as action by governments and other players to pursue an active and visible policy for integrating the gender aspect in all policies and programmes so that before decisions are taken an analysis is made of the consequences for both men and women.
Gender mainstreaming in the EU was properly enshrined as one of the Union's objectives, not least in Articles 2 and 3 of the Amsterdam Treaty, which proclaim that all forms of discrimination including that between the sexes are unacceptable. To this can be added Articles 141 (positive measures in relation to employment) and 137 (TEC).
Mainstreaming has also been incorporated in the Structural Funds. This may turn out to be a good opportunity to support a number of the measures already taken by the Member States. In other words, in attempting to strengthen economic and social cohesion between the Structural Funds the Community must also seek to promote equal opportunities for men and women. An additional factor is that Article 41 of the regulation stipulates that programme evaluation must include an assessment of the effects on equal opportunities for women.
3. Labour market
The labour market is one of the cornerstones in ensuring equal opportunities for men and women since women's involvement in the labour market reflects the scope available to them for managing by themselves on equal terms with men. The labour market is at the same time the area - like involvement in decision-making processes - where it is easiest to monitor equal treatment of men and women at least in terms of participation, pay conditions, etc.
Member States are witnessing a growing awareness of the need to integrate women better into the labour market, particularly if we still wish to preserve the welfare state, one definition of which is equal conditions for everyone irrespective of the point of departure. This has, for example, long been the Nordic countries' argument in favour of women's integration into the labour market.
This recognition on the part of the Member States is reflected, for example, in the fact that agreement has been reached in connection with the 1999 action plans on extending mainstreaming in the employment chapter, which was introduced in the Amsterdam Treaty, so that it now has to be integrated into all pillars of the guidelines.
Yet, despite this, not all Member States have integrated mainstreaming into their action plans.There is a particularly noticeable difference between north and south in the EU where the northern countries have clearly been better at incorporating the principle of mainstreaming.
There is in fact good reason for incorporating the equal opportunities issue more dynamically in the Member States' employment action plans. The 1999 annual report shows the EU still lagging behind the USA and Japan in terms of the employment rate. The USA and Japan have an employment rate of 75% whereas it is only 61% in the EU. Only Denmark, the UK, Sweden and Austria have an employment rate exceeding the 70% that is the target for the EU's employment policy. Furthermore, only Denmark fulfils the 70% objective for women albeit followed by the UK, Sweden and Finland with between 60 and 66%.
A comparison of the employment rate and unemployment on the lines of the one undertaken in the 1998 report could also have borne fruit in the 1999 report. If both the employment rate of women and their unemployment rate remain high it would be even more relevant to take a look at how men and women are integrated into the labour market as well as pinpoint why women are still over-represented in atypical and unstable occupations with 80% of the part-time jobs and 50% of the temporary jobs being taken by women.
It is therefore important that all the components making up the employment chapter be drawn together in an overall strategy. Such a strategy must naturally also include an analysis of the level of education and of the sectors in which women find work or in which they may potentially find work; and also why a series of occupations seem more or less excluded.
Women's participation in the labour market - the information society as exampleAn overall strategy could very well be developed for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The information society and the development of new technology are generating new jobs in Europe and in large parts of the world. Not only is information and communications technology one of the fastest growing sectors, it also has major significance for many other sectors. Computers, the Internet, new ways of gathering and disseminating information have meant and will continue to mean major changes for many kinds of traditional jobs.
As a new economic sector ICT offers entirely new occupations for women since it is a sector that is not already divided up into traditional patterns of gender roles - even though its is on the way to being so. It is therefore important to devise a clear forward - looking strategy geared to the placement of women in the IT industry and covering, in particular, education and continuing training.
The Lisbon summit - 23-24 March 2000 - was therefore a step in the right direction although what is missing is a clear indication as to how women are to be trained and have their interest aroused in the potential of ICT.
Education is not only important for the IT society. Equality for women on the labour market and in life in general cannot be achieved without an active education input. Without formal educational qualifications women will continue to have difficulty in making the breakthrough in their professional lives but also in other areas such as, for example, politics. Women's liberation and fight for equality are naturally also their own responsibility. It is therefore essential to remove any barriers to educational choices and this is a suitable area for action on training in IT.
One possibility could be to create a budgetary heading to subsidise IT training courses for women between 24 and 40 who are between jobs, long-term unemployed or employed in sectors where conversion is required.
Even though ICT holds out the promise of an entirely new way of organising work - which in certain cases will facilitate combining work and family life, for example, through teleworking - it is important that this sector does not become a substitute for the social obligation to ensure the necessary number of care facilities. In addition, participation in the labour market among other people has also both social and practical value for women's opportunities for promotion, pay rises, etc. Teleworking must not become a new way of cementing the inequality between men and women on the labour market.
Care facilitiesThere is no evidence that women do not want gainful employment. As is clear from the 1999 report, the employment rate of women is on the increase. It is therefore essential increasingly to place greater emphasis on Member States also creating the framework for a sensible family policy not based on women alone being responsible for caring for children and the elderly. If all women from all walks of life are to be able to participate in society, genuine opportunities also need to be provided to enable young women and women with children to combine family life with work.
Equal pay
In addition to unequal access to the labour market, there continue to be pay differentials between men and women, despite Article 141 of the Treaty and EC directives on equal opportunities/treatment of men and women. The 1999 annual report indicates that there is up to 28% difference in pay between men and women in the private sector. Obviously, it is unacceptable to have entered a new millennium without having resolved such a vital area.
4. Women in decision-makingWomen continue to be underrepresented in decision-making processes. This undoubtedly has a negative impact on society as a whole when 50% of the population are not fully represented. Even though there has been little progress, more women have gained seats in various parliaments in Europe. Even though the representation of women is not 50%, the elections to the European Parliament were encouraging in that we are finally approaching the magic threshold of 30% women.
However, the picture in the Member States is extremely diverse. In Greece, 6.9% of MPs are women, whereas the Scandinavian countries are well over the EU average with almost 40% (Sweden leads with 42.7%).
Part of the explanation could be the level of education and the number of women in employment. A more global approach than hitherto is therefore needed to tackle and resolve the issue of women's participation in decision-making processes. In the long term, the aim should be to improve qualifications and employability, and in the slightly shorter term, female candidates should receive training and information.
Another aspect of the explanation is the election systems' impact on women's opportunities to be represented. Obviously the political parties have a democratic responsibility to support women's opportunities to take part on an equal footing with men. Quotas are a possibility. An equal number of men and women at the top end of the list is another possibility. Personal votes are a third possibility. The decisive factor is that the individual Member States and parties find their own methods so that the public can elect the candidate they wish to be represented by in a fair and democratic manner.
The same pattern is repeated for government ministers, for example; the Scandinavian countries have between 45% and 50% women ministers, whereas in Greece, for example, 7% of ministers are women. However, as the 1999 report stresses, it is typical that governments comprise a greater percentage of women than the corresponding representation in their parliaments.
The same applies in other spheres too, e.g. trade unions. A new study carried out by the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) reveals that the participation of women in trade union decision-making in Europe rose only from 23% to 28% between 1993 and 1998.
It is important to launch a European debate on these discrepancies and, to achieve a more informed debate, it is important to underpin the arguments with a common system of indicators or benchmarking. In this respect the nine indicators devised by the Finnish Presidency are a sound initiative which should also be extended to other areas.
5. Women and legislationAs noted above, the Treaty of Amsterdam marked great progress in terms of equal opportunities. With Articles 2 and 3, women have gained an EU instrument to take direct action in those areas with the greatest imbalance. This is encouraging.
With 11 judgements in 1998 and 7 judgements in 1999 concerning equal pay and treatment of men and women in response to cases referred by the national courts, the Commission's report claims that there has been a high rate of activity. However, the reports say nothing about qualitative content. Obviously, 18 judgements in the last two years may be a splendid thing; knowing the extent of inequality, this is better than nothing. But what are the trends in the judgements? Are they an expression of progress?The Commission's reports make no evaluation on that point, though such an analysis is in fact crucial.
The Commission has not adopted any new directive on equal opportunities since 1997. The greatest progress made in 1998 was the fact that the UK signed the Social Protocol at the end of 1997.
However, on 7 June 2000 the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women. The Commission has also taken action against Member States not complying with current legislation. For example, infringement proceedings have been initiated against Member States for failure to notify before the deadline of 1 July 1997 the provisions implementing Directive 96/97/EC of 20 December 1996 amending Directive 86/378/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes (the Post-Barber-Directive).
6. Women and the EU’s external relationsEven though equality is still not a reality in the Member States, the situation is far better than in some of the applicant countries. Since equal opportunities for women is a vital factor in building a democratic and socially responsible society, it is important to use the opportunities afforded by the enlargement negotiations as a means of establishing the same opportunities for women throughout the Union, as well as avoiding a step back for countries already in the EU.
It is therefore important that the applicant countries should have implemented the EU’s acquis communautaire in national law before they become Members of the EU. It is also important that the applicant countries have all established some structures to ensure observance of women’s’ rights and equal opportunities, for example in the form of special units responsible for equal treatment in Ministries etc., an Ombudsman who is also sensitive to women’s’ issues, a legal system which takes account of equal opportunities etc.
Even though, historically, the applicant countries have had a very high level of participation in both the labour market and the decision-making process, it was also plain that this was formal rather than actual equality. For example, women in Poland accepted one third of the wages of men in traditional male jobs. The decisive factor for them was that they had access to areas of work. It was this that was regarded as equality. With the collapse of the political systems in Eastern Europe and the restructuring of the economies, there has been a marked setback in equality between men and women.
Women’s participation in the decision making process is particularly low. In 1998, the percentage of women MPs in Lithuania – which has the highest representation – was17.5%, whereas in Cyprus it was 5.4%.
As in the EU as a whole, the applicant countries have unemployment problems and, particularly among women. The applicant countries are in a doubly difficult situation at the moment in that until they have reformed their economies they will suffer high unemployment, and at the same time there are not the same care facilities as in the past. This restricts women’s opportunities to reintegrate into the labour market.
There is therefore a need for measures to enable women to reintegrate into the labour market, e.g. by improving childcare facilities.
However, at all events, this is a problem that the EU must try to resolve in cooperation with the applicant countries. Enlargement of the EU is such an important project for Europe’s further development that we must try to make it an enlargement for all, including women in the applicant countries, from the very outset.
The developing countriesThe EU’s involvement in the world at large does not stop with the applicant countries, we also have considerable responsibility towards the developing countries. The number of people currently living in extreme poverty (i.e. on one dollar a day) is rising. According to the World Bank’s 1999-2000 report, extreme poverty has risen from 1.2 billion in 1987 to 1.5 billion at the present time.
Unfortunately, poverty is unevenly distributed between the genders; women are particularly affected. This trend is unfortunate as women in the developing countries often bear the main responsibility for the family’s welfare. Women are traditionally the access to the next generation's health, education, etc. It is therefore encouraging that the EU and the Member States have incorporated the gender dimension in cooperation with the developing countries both in regard to combating poverty and observing human rights.
Human rights are a particularly serious problem. As Cecilia Malmström has pointed out in her report on human rights 5 , women the world over are subjected to terrible discrimination. In some countries, women and girls are denied access to education and work. They are denied the right to vote or to show themselves in public. They are raped as a systematic attempt to humiliate and torment the enemy in armed conflicts. Thousands of young girls are subjected to circumcision every day. Trafficking in women has become an internationally organised activity. And, not least of all, women throughout the world are subjected to gross domestic violence.
There is therefore a long way still to go. There are many factors involved in securing better opportunities for women in developing countries, including the lack of consistency in development policy, which is reflected in the developing countries' failure to integrate on world markets. The lack of investment in the social sector, etc. must be sensibly resolved before the problems of women in the developing countries can be solved.
7. Concluding remarksAlthough the reports can be criticised, particularly for not clarifying to sufficient extent the assumptions on which they are based, i.e. to what extent the Member States' responsibility is a restriction, the reports have in fact improved from year to year. The 1999 report in particular stands out as more concerned with equal opportunities for women than previous reports. Future reports, however, should undertake a more detailed analysis of actual developments rather than carry out a relatively uncritical survey of policy.