Brussels, 31/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Cypriot Presidency is pushing the pay gap debate forwards - the difference in pay between men and women still being on average 16% in Europe. At a conference organised in Cyprus on this topic on 29-30 October, the Presidency concluded that the reduction of this pay gap comes through “promoting social dialogue and tripartite cooperation as a way of tackling this problem”. The Cypriot minister of labour and social insurance, Sotiroula Charalambous, moreover said that “the legislative entrenchment of equality, by itself, it not enough if not combined with other policies and practices. Policies and effective monitoring of their implementation need to be put in place, with a view to changing attitudes and stereotypes and incorporating the principle of equality in all social and economic implications.” The conference was attended by European ministers, representatives from the European Commission and European Parliament, and also from the International Labour Organisation and European Institute for Gender Equality, as well as from employers' and workers' organisations. Discussions were organised around four themes - occupational segregation, job classification/evaluation, enforcement and sanctions, and the relation between social dialogue and equal pay. On 8-9 November the Presidency will hold a conference in Cyprus linked to gender - on violence against women. (MD/transl.fl)