Brussels, 08/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the day before International Women's Day, the European Commission adopted the 2007 'Annual report on equality between women and men'. This is the first report since the Commission launched its Gender Equality Roadmap and EU leaders adopted the Pact for Gender Equality in March 2006. The annual report has been submitted to the European Spring summit in Brussels (8 and 9 March).
Major findings in the report include the fact that (1) of the 8 million jobs created in the EU since 2000, 6 million were filled by women; (2) 59% 59% of university graduates are now female; (3) women are still underpaid, earning on average 15% less than men for every hour worked; (4) women are still finding it tough to be promoted to decision-making posts. The report notes that sexual equality policies will be able to benefit from active support from the Structural Funds in 2007-2013 and the Progress Fund includes a section on equality between men and women.
Alongside the annual report, the European Commission is publishing two independent studies by academic experts. The first examines the gender pay gap and will be followed by a Commission Communication planned for the summer. The second looks at the position of disadvantaged women and the gender dimension of poverty and social exclusion. For the 2007 Annual Report, see http: //eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2007/com2007_0049en01.pdf (gb)