WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4089/98 by Freddy BLAK to the Commission. Women in senior posts in the Commission
Date: 1999-01-14
Institutions: BLAK, European Parliament
Subjects: European Commission, action programme, equal treatment, female work, gender equality, recruitment, ruling class, woman













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91998E4089

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4089/98 by Freddy BLAK to the Commission. Women in senior posts in the Commission  


Official Journal C 297 , 15/10/1999 P. 0131 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-4089/98by Freddy Blak (PSE) to the Commission(14 January 1999)Subject: Women in senior posts in the CommissionI have the regrettable impression that not very many women are employed at the Commission, which could convey a negative image of the Commission as a male-dominated institution. I hope that the Commission can dispel this impression by answering the following questions.How many senior posts in the Commission are occupied by women? How many women in total are employed at the Commission in categories A, B, C and D? Is there a policy of equal opportunities for the employment of men and women in the Commission? What effort is being made to place more women in senior posts in the Commission?Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission(2 February 1999)1. At 31 December 1998, the Commission employed a total of 7 600 women, or 47,6 % of staff paid from the administrative budget.This total breaks down as follows by category:>TABLE>2. Decision-making posts can be broken down by sex as follows:>TABLE>3. In 1997, the Commission adopted its Third Action Programme on equal opportunities for men and women - 1997-2000. As part of this programme, the Commission instructed the Directors-General and Heads of Departments to draw up specific measures to promote equality. Most directorates-general have internal monitoring committees and DG IX (Administration and Personnel) is responsible for preparing regular reports and for informing the group of Commission Members on equal opportunities.In parallel with these measures, since 1995 the Commission has each year set targets for the recruitment of women to Category A posts and for the appointment of women to decision-making posts. These targets take account of enlargement requirements and the women available on reserve lists. Every quarter a check is made to see if the targets are being met.Over the last four years, the number of women in Category A and in decision-making posts has increased. Between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 1998, the number of women in grade A2 posts increased from 4 to 19 (10,6 %), while the number of women in middle management posts (A3, A4, A5 - heads of unit and advisers) increased from 8,3 % to 11,4 % in Category A and 28,2 % to 38,7 % in Category LA. At present, the percentage of women in the starting grades (A6, A7, A8) is 26,1 % while four years ago it was 19,6 %. During that time the percentage of women in Category A increased from 14 % to 18,7 %. It should be noted that the proportion of women recruited to Category A stands at 42 % (346 women/471 men) for these four years.4. The Commission intends to continue its efforts to increase the number of women in decision-making posts.