Commission proposes fifth gender equality programme

In June 2000, the European Commission issued a proposal for an action programme to promote equality between men and women. The programme will take over from the existing gender equality programme, which expires at the end of 2000, and will run from the beginning of 2001 until 2005. The programme focuses on the promotion of gender mainstreaming, research, analysis and exchange of views and best practice, although it also makes some concrete proposals for legislative review.

The European Commission issued a proposal for a fifth gender equality programme on 7 June 2000. The programme is intended to run from 2001 to 2005, taking over from the current fourth medium-term Community Action Programme on equal opportunities for women and men (1996-2000), which is set to expire at the end of 2000. The proposal is based on a total of 13 separate objectives, each one backed by a series of action points. The focus is predominantly on encouraging research on a number of issues, in addition to promoting exchanges of ideas and best practice. However, there is a concrete commitment to review the 1975 equal pay Directive, in addition to pledges to propose further legislation if necessary.

Strengthening the gender dimension in the European employment strategy

Proposed actions in order to strengthen the "gender dimension" in the European employment strategy (EU9909187F) include:

• encouraging a review of tax and benefit systems in order to reduce any disincentives to women entering the labour market;

• encouraging lifelong learning, access to active labour market measures and the access of women to jobs in the information technology (IT) sector;

• supporting the development of national statistical systems in order to improve the monitoring of gender-related issues; and

• supporting an expert group on gender equality in the economy in order to assist the Commission.

Improving the use of the Structural Funds

To improve the use of the European Structural Funds, the Commission proposes to:

• issue a communication on the implementation of gender mainstreaming in new programming documents;

• improve gender mainstreaming in the Structural Funds and monitor the implementation of gender mainstreaming;

• encourage Member States to provide support for information and awareness-raising actions;

• support desegregation of the labour market, using initiatives such as the EQUAL strategy (EU9910204N) ; and

• support the setting up of a network in the Member States which will be responsible for equality issues in the Structural Funds.

Encouraging gender mainstreaming in all policies

The Commission proposes four actions to encourage gender mainstreaming in all policies which have an impact on women in the economy, including social policy:

• to issue a communication on social issues in public procurement;

• to integrate gender analysis into the design, implementation and evaluation of measures, especially those which relate to macroeconomic policies and poverty reduction;

• to develop a dialogue with the senior management of companies operating in Europe regarding their contribution to gender equality in economic life. This should be effected with the cooperation of the social partners; and

• to create a European equality prize or certificate which would be awarded annually to companies which have developed good practice in promoting gender equality.

Improving the gender balance in political decision-making

Actions proposed by the Commission to improve the gender balance in political decision-making include:

• encouraging the development of networking among women in elections at European, national, regional and local levels and assessing the influence of electoral systems on gender balance in elected political bodies;

• promoting awareness of gender discrimination in civic education; and

• monitoring the gender composition of committees and expert groups set up by the Commission and monitoring the implementation and follow-up of Council Recommendation 96/694 on the balanced participation of men and women in decision-making.

Improving the gender balance in economic and social decision-making

To improve the gender balance in economic and social decision-making, the Commission proposes to:

• monitor and evaluate the transition from education and training to working life and the recruitment and career development of potential female senior managers; and

• establish and maintain a full set of regularly-updated statistics on women in decision-making positions.

Improving the gender balance in the Commission

Action points to improve the gender balance in the European Commission itself include:

• monitoring the results of Commission departments;

• continuing and enhancing gender-specific training; and

• "gender-assessing" and improving present systems for recruitment and promotion in Commission departments.

Improving knowledge and monitoring the relevant Community legislation

Improving the knowledge of, and monitoring the implementation of relevant Community legislation in the social sphere is an area of direct relevance to the development of social policy. The Commission's proposed actions include:

• proposing a Directive based on Article 13 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) which will ensure equal treatment for women and men in matters other than occupation and employment;

• ensuring the follow-up and assessment of implementation of existing social legislation;

• supporting awareness of EU social legislation and relevant case law among non-governmental organisations (NGO s), the social partners, labour inspectorates and the legal profession; and

• supporting information and dissemination activities in the area of EU social legislation.

Monitoring the integration of a gender perspective

Under the heading of monitoring the integration of a gender perspective in the design, implementation and evaluation of Community policies and activities which influence the daily life of women and men, the Commission proposes to mainstream gender equality regarding social protection and in all Community measures designed to prevent social exclusion. Further, it will, if required, propose new Community legislation in the social field.

Monitoring Community law

Under the heading of monitoring Community law and case law on equal treatment of women and men and, if required, proposing new legislation, the most significant pledge is to review the 1975 equal pay Directive (75/117/EEC), exploring possibilities for its improvement, looking particularly at the functioning of legal remedies. It will also call on Member States to reinforce the role and powers of labour inspectorate bodies regarding equal pay legislation.

The Commission also pledges to:

• collect data on the gender dimension of health and safety at the workplace and explore the need for adapting legislation;

• support specific information and training on equality legislation;

• monitor the development of gender equality in the countries applying to join the EU; and

• support a network of legal experts in Member States and applicant countries and support information activities in this area to NGOs.

Promoting women's rights as human rights

Actions aimed at promoting "women's rights as human rights" focus on: awareness-raising campaigns in the EU and applicant countries; encouraging networking in order to collect comparable data on gender-related violations of human rights and sex discrimination cases; and strengthening cooperation and exchanges of information regarding the human rights of women.

Fighting gender-related violence and trafficking of human beings

In order to combat gender-related violence and the trafficking of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the focus is on: strengthening and supporting the fight against, and the prevention of, violence against women; supporting information campaigns; promoting awareness; and encouraging research and data collection in the EU and applicant countries.

Raising awareness about gender equality issues

In order to raise awareness about gender equality issues, the Commission will support strengthened efforts to eradicate gender discrimination in education, raise awareness of the importance of gender equality in today's society and organise an annual European week on a specific topic within this strategy.

Overcoming gender stereotypes

Actions seeking to overcome gender stereotypes in and via relevant Community policies include: integrating a gender perspective in policies such as education, training, culture, research, media and sport; ensuring that Commission departments take women's needs and perspectives into account in their information policies; and promoting exchange of views and good practices in the media.

Commentary

This fifth framework action programme is the latest initiative in a long line of Community-level actions promoting equality between men and women, However, the focus of equality initiatives has changed considerably in recent years. Now that a strong legislative framework, based on the 1975 equal pay Directive and the 1976 equal treatment Directive and their subsequent interpretation through the courts, has been in place for some 25 years, the emphasis of more recent initiatives has been on gender mainstreaming in all Community policies and activities, along with exchanging best practice and sources of information, and ensuring that legislative basis is reviewed periodically – the Commission recently issued a proposal for updating the 1976 equal treatment Directive in the light of case law from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (EU0006255F). Another more recent element in the fight to achieve gender equality is the concern to ensure that women have equal access to new technology. This was one of the issues discussed at the specialEuropean Council held in Lisbon in March 2000 (EU0004241F).

Accordingly, the Employment and Social Policy Commissioner, Anna Diamantopoulou, stated that: "We have moved from a position where women were simply a target group to one where there is a formalised, general, legal obligation to promote gender mainstreaming in all activities. In the economic sphere, the recent Lisbon special summit underlined the need to give women equal access to the labour market, especially to jobs in the new economy. Equal access is both a fundamental right but also sound economic policy in particular given the ever-widening EU-wide IT skills gap."

The Commission is aiming to achieve adoption of the proposed new action programme in the Council of Ministers by the end of 2000, in order to allow it to enter into force at the beginning of 2001. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)