Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:287
Date: 1999-06-10
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
Social policy — Men and women — Access to employment and working conditions — 
Equal treatment — Derogations — Measures to promote equality of opportunity between 
men and women — National provisions laying down measures for the promotion of 
women in sectors of the public service — Permissible — Criterion 
(Council Directive 76/207, Art. 2(1) and (4)) 
I - 1875 
SUMMARY — CASE C-158/97 
Article 2(1) and (4) of Directive 76/207 on 
the implementation of the principle of 
equal treatment for men and women as 
regards access to employment, vocational 
training and promotion, and working con­
ditions does not preclude a national rule 
which 
— in sectors of the public service where 
women are under-represented, gives 
priority, where male and female candi­
dates have equal qualifications, to 
female candidates where that proves 
necessary for ensuring compliance with 
the objectives of the women's advance­
ment plan, if no reasons of greater legal 
weight are opposed, provided that that 
rule guarantees that candidatures are 
the subject of an objective assessment 
which takes account of the specific 
personal situations of all candidates, 
— prescribes that the binding targets of 
the women's advancement plan for 
temporary posts in the academic ser­
vice and for academic assistants must 
provide for a minimum percentage of 
women which is at least equal to the 
percentage of women among gradu­
ates, holders of higher degrees and 
students in each discipline, 
— in so far as its objective is to eliminate 
under-representation of women, in 
trained occupations in which women 
are under-represented and for which 
the State does not have a monopoly of 
training, allocates at least half the 
training places to women, unless 
despite appropriate measures for draw­
ing the attention of women to the 
training places available there are not 
enough applications from women, 
— where male and female candidates have 
equal qualifications, guarantees that 
qualified women who satisfy all the 
conditions required or laid down are 
called to interview, in sectors in which 
they are under-represented, 
— relating to the composition of employ­
ees' representative bodies and adminis­
trative and supervisory bodies, recom­
mends that the legislative provisions 
adopted for its implementation take 
into account the objective that at least 
half the members of those bodies must 
be women. 
(see paras 38, 44, 55, 63, 66 and 
operative part) 
I - 1876