Brussels, 21/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Tuesday 21 September, the European Commission adopted its five-year strategy for promoting gender equality in Europe. The strategy aims, in particular, to make better use of women's potential, thereby contributing to the EU's overall economic and social goals. It translates the principles set out in the European Commission's Women's Charter into specific measures, ranging from getting more women into company boardrooms to tackling gender-based violence. Meanwhile, a new Eurobarometer survey shows 87% of Europeans support EU action to tackle domestic violence. One out of four knows someone who has been a victim of such violence. European Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner Viviane Reding said that she intended to bring forward a comprehensive package on domestic violence in 2011 (see EUROPE 10218 and 10183).
Presenting the new strategy to the press, Commission Vice-President Reding noted that there are, today, many more working women (60%), a rise of 8% in the last 10 years. To reach the EU 2020 strategy target of 75% of women in work, more women are needed on the labour market, with particular attention being given to older women, single mothers, handicapped women, migrants and women from ethnic minorities. Women are problem-solvers, multi-taskers and excellent workers, Reding said.
Setting out the main points of the 2010-2015, Reding spoke of: (1) Women's role in the decision-making process. In politics, it is up to parties to check if there is gender equality. In the economic field, this task falls to the Commission. Reding noted that on company boards, only one member in 10 is a woman and that only 3% of these reach the post of Chairman of the Board. “We can do better! It is in the interests of society, where a 50-50 balance is needed, and of the economy because companies with mixed management teams have, on average, growth of more than 2.7%” Reding said, adding that the most important thing was that companies themselves move in this direction. The commissioner cited Deutsche Telekom as an example: it has set itself the target of having 30% of its board members female by 2015 and 40% by 2020. (2) The pay gap. There is still an 18% pay difference between men and women across the EU. Reding wants to sit down with the social partners to discuss how to bring greater transparency to companies pay structures. (3) Tackling violence against women. A new Eurobarometer survey of 26,800 citizens, conducted in February and March of this year across all 27 EU member states, reveals that 98% of European citizens are aware of domestic violence (compared with 94% in the EU15 in the 1999 Eurobarometer survey) and one respondent in four in the EU knows a woman among friends or in the family circle who is a victim of domestic violence, up from one in five in 1999.
To press, curious to know if the criticism of Reding over her role in the dispute over the expulsion of the Roma at the European Summit might disrupt her work, the commissioner - not in the least perturbed - repeated what had already been said: “The Commission, that is the legal department and my staff, is assessing the responses given by France on two levels: whether the 2004 directive on the free movement of persons is being applied and whether the directive on non-discrimination is being applied. This assessment, which relates to the position of some member states, is expected to be ready in a few days. It is scheduled to be debated in the College of Commissioners on Wednesday week”. She said that “the upsets of the last few days must be used to find a solution to the problems which affect 10 million European citizens. It has to be seen how money can be invested and how member states can lift a whole population from extreme poverty. … We have to start to eradicate this poverty, get the children into schools and remove the reasons for the Roma entering a life of crime”.
She was asked what exactly she regretted about the criticism. “I really regret that my words were presented in such a way that some people were offended and that attention was diverted from the main problem. The EU is based on values. 500 million Europeans share the same values. Safeguarding these values is the responsibility of the Commission.” (G.B./transl.rt)