EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON
PROGRESS ON EQUALITY BETWEEN EU WOMEN & MEN IN 2012
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Commission Text:
European Women's Lobby - EWL
10 May 2013 - Based on recent evidence and new data, it takes stock of major
policy developments during the last year. The report illustrates some of the
many ways in which the European Union and its Member States have promoted
gender equality.
While covering all five priorities of the Strategy for equality between
women and men 2012-2015, the report focuses on specific aspects and recent
developments:
- The report finds that women represent a growing share
of the EU workforce and are increasingly the breadwinners for their
families. The share of women working rose from 55% in 1997 to 62.4% now.
It is still much lower than the share of working men (74.6%). Gender gaps
in employment and pay have narrowed in the last five years, yet gender
equality remains elusive.
- The policies and economic incentives that can enhance
women’s participation in the labour market and contribute to reach the
target of 75% of employment are well-known: increasing childcare
facilities, removing fiscal disincentives for second earners and making
work pay for women and men. The second ‘European Semester’ and the 2012
and 2013 Annual Growth Surveys have highlighted these policies. Recent
evidence from the OECD confirms the gain of closing the gender gap in
labour market participation for the economy and for achieving more
inclusive growth. It is essential that Member States continue their
efforts so that women and men can develop their potential on an equal
basis.
- Despite noticeable progress, gender inequalities in
education and in research remain significant.
- The crisis has particularly hit young women, who are
more likely than young men to be neither in employment, education or
training. Young women also more often start in the doubly fragile position
of a temporary, part-time job.
- Women still face high barriers to advance into the
highest decision-making levels. The European Commission’s proposal for
gender balance on boards of publicly listed companies is a milestone for
gender equality. Intense public debate and regulatory measures have
contributed to improving gender balance in decision-making and the 2012
figures on women on boards shows the highest year-on-year change yet
recorded.
- Due to the higher prevalence of part-time working and
career interruption among women, the gender earnings gaps accrue over
life. As most pension systems base their pension calculations on career
earnings, the gender pension gap is very wide: the average pension gap is
39 %, more than twice as large as the gender pay gap of 16 %.
- Gender-based violence remains an unacceptable violation
of human rights and an obstacle to gender equality. New commitments have
been made and further steps have been taken in 2012 and in 2013 at
European level to combat it, in particular the completion of the legal
framework to guarantee rights and support for victims of crime and for all
women who have fallen victims of violence. The European Institutions are
working towards ending female genital mutilation and eradicating human
trafficking.