There is a new conclusions document for equal rights between men and women in the labour market. The European Parliament has just opened an investigation into sexism by a non-aligned MEP and EU employment ministers adopted a conclusions document on Friday 3 March tackling discrimination against women.
The conclusions document highlights the importance of boosting skills to encourage men and women onto the labour market. It calls on member states to intensify their efforts to incorporate equality between men and women into their policies for skills and the labour market and to take measures to facilitate the recognition of formal and informal skills and qualifications and encourage the validation of formal and informal apprenticeships. There is a brief mention of the balance to be struck between private and working life, which could be crucially important in the framework of the future European social rights pillar, the first batch of proposals for which is due to be unveiled at the end of April. The ministers call in effect on the EU28 to foresee parental leave, including paternity leave, and to facilitate conciliation between professional life, family life and private life by providing high-quality childcare services that are affordable and accessible in order to help people with family responsibilities. The document does not mention maternity leave, again indicating opposition to any new EU regulation.
The conclusions document is based on a research note drawn up by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) on request from the Maltese Presidency. In the document, EIGE analyses the different experiences of low-qualified men and women in terms of employability, situation on the labour market and access to work-related training. Following a multidimensional approach, it also describes the situation of low-qualified individuals in precarious jobs and lists factors hindering access to a high-quality job and acting as an obstacle to skill development. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)