Without a step change, it will take another century to bridge the pay gap between men and women, it is pointed out in a new European Commission report published on 8 March to coincide with International Women’s Day.
“Women face multiple discrimination. We must not rest on our laurels. It is a question of fairness and good economic sense”, said Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova. She was accompanied in the press room by three other women, there to share their experiences: Cecile Coune, Chief Executive and Executive Director of Aviabel, Aissatou Diallo, an activist against genital mutilation, and Shada Islam, a lobbyist with Friends of the Earth.
The report provides an overview of the main legal and political developments on gender equality in the EU over the past year. It shows that women still earn on average 40% less than men on average in all EU countries and the gender pay gap in pensions is stable at 38%. In terms of decision-making posts, in only four countries – France, Italy, Finland and Sweden – do women make up at least 30% of the boards of large companies. And in eight countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Malta and Romania – women account for less than 20 % of members of parliament.
“The Commission has set itself a target of 40% of managerial positions to be held by women. At the present time, 32% of senior management and 35% of middle management staff are women”, Jourova added, indicating that she herself owed her position to that target. “But I fight every day to show that I’m not there just because of that but also because of my abilities”. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)