WUNRN
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Gender Equality
Equality between women and men is
one of the European Union's founding values. It goes back to 1957 when the
principle of equal pay for equal work became part of the Treaty of Rome.
The European Union's achievements
in fostering equality between women and men have helped to change the lives of
many European citizens for the better.
Although inequalities still
exist, the EU has made significant progress over the last decades. This is
mainly thanks to:
- equal
treatment legislation;
- gender
mainstreaming (integration of the gender perspective into all other
policies);
- specific
measures for the advancement of women.
Some encouraging trends include
the increased number of women in the labour market and their progress in
securing better education and training.
However, gender gaps remain and
in the labour market, women are still over-represented in lower paid sectors
and under-represented in decision-making positions.
The Strategy
for equality between women and men represents the European Commission's
work program on gender equality for the period 2010-2015. It is a comprehensive
framework committing the Commission to promote gender equality into
all its policies for the following thematic priorities:
- equal
economic independence for women and men;
- equal pay for
work of equal value;
- equality in
decision-making;
- dignity,
integrity and ending gender violence;
- promoting
gender equality beyond the EU;
- horizontal
issues (gender roles, legislation and governance tools).
The strategy highlights the contribution of gender equality to economic growth and sustainable development , and support the implementation of the gender equality dimension in the Europe 2020 Strategy. It builds on the priorities of the Women's Charter and on the experience of the Roadmap for equality between women and men
Progress are reported
every year and
presented in a Report on Equality between women and men.