Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Report on equality between women and men, 2004
Date: 2004-02-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European social policy, gender equality, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 19.2.2004 
COM(2004) 115 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND 
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Report on equality between women and men , 2004 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 3 

PROGRESS SO FAR................................................................................................... 4 

CHALLENGES AND POLICY ORIENTATIONS .................................................... 7 

Implementing and improving equal treatment legislation ........................................... 7 

Eliminating the gender pay gap and gender gaps in employment and unemployment 8 

Reconciling work and family life................................................................................. 9 

Promoting balanced participation of women and men in decision-making................. 9 

Putting gender mainstreaming into practice............................................................... 10 

Preventing and combating violence and trafficking in women.................................. 11 

CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................ 13 

ANNEX...................................................................................................................... 15 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The European Spring Council of 20-21 March 2003 invited "the Commission to prepare, in 
collaboration  with  the  Member  States,  an  annual  report  to  the  European  Spring  Council  on 
developments  towards  gender  equality  and  orientations  for  gender  mainstreaming  of  policy 
areas". This report responds to that request. 

Equality  between  women  and  men  has  been  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
European  Union  since  the  very  beginning.  Over  the  last  few  decades,  equal  treatment 
legislation  has  grown  to  form  a  coherent  legal  framework  and  is  now  a  firmly  established 
integral part of the ‘acquis communautaire’ that old and new Member States must respect. It 
has played, and continues to play, a crucial role in promoting equal participation in the labour 
market.  It  has  also  had  an  important  and  continuous  impact  on  the  framework  for  equal 
opportunities in the Member States. 

The  need  to  fully  utilise  the  productive  potential  of  the  European  labour  force  is  key  to 
achieving the overall Lisbon strategy goals of becoming by 2010 " the most competitive and 
dynamic  knowledge-based  economy  in  the  world,  capable  of  sustainable  economic  growth 
with  more  and  better  jobs  and  greater  social  cohesion".  The  promotion  of  women's 
participation in the labour market and efforts, aiming at eliminating gender gaps in all spheres 
of life are crucial for success.  

The  recent  economic  slowdown  has  slightly  increased  the  EU  15  unemployment  rate,  with 
women  still  facing  higher  unemployment  rates  compared  to  men.  At  the  same  time 
employment rates have continued  to  increase,  in  particular  for  women,  but  at  a  much  lower 
pace  than  in  preceding  years.  Positive  trends  are  evident,  such  as  narrowing  gaps  between 
women  and  men  in  employment,  education  and  research  and  an  increase  of  women  in 
managerial  and  professional  jobs.  However,  major  barriers  to  achieving  equality  between 
women  and  men  still  remain.  Reinforced  monitoring  and  assessment  is  essential.  In  this 
respect the indicators developed in the Council, within the framework of the follow-up of the 
Beijing Platform for Action, provide a solid base.  

Societal  patterns  have  changed  over  the  last  twenty  years  away  from  a  male  breadwinner 
model  to  dual-earner  families.  Young  women  now  remain  in  education  or  initial  vocational 
training  for  longer,  in  the  same  way  men  do.  Yet,  women  still  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
family  responsibilities  with  full-time  employment.  In  this  context  the  provision  of  care 
facilities  for  children  and  other  dependants  will  present  major  challenges  for  the  European 
society.  

This report gives an overview of progress made so far regarding to the status of women and 
men in main policy areas and addresses key challenges for the further promotion of equality 
between women and men. 

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2. 

PROGRESS SO FAR 

In the past decade developments towards equality between women and men are evident in the 
EU.  Some  convergence  is  also  noticeable  in  the  acceding  countries.  Economic  growth  and 
general  progress  in  society  have  made  these  developments  possible.  Changes  have  not 
happened  automatically,  but  as  a  result  of  strategic  policy  initiatives  to  promote  equality 
between women and men at EU and national level. However, success in promoting equality 
and narrowing gender gaps in policy fields, such as employment, social inclusion, education, 
research and external relations, differs over time and between Member States and significant 
gender gaps still exist in most policy fields.  

The  Community  acquis  in  equal  treatment  has  been  continuously  developed  through  the 
amended treaties as well as subsequent Directives. This legislation and judgements of the Court 
of Justice in the field of equal treatment have grown to form a substantial and important pillar 
within  the  framework  of  Citizens'  individual  rights  in  the  European  Union.  Equal  treatment 
legislation  has  played,  and  continues  to  play,  a  crucial  role  in  the  socio-economic  context,  by 
creating a floor of equal rights granted to all, irrespective of gender. It is a prerequisite for the EU 
to  succeed  in  reaching  the  objectives  for  sustainable  economic  development  and  growth  as 
formulated at Lisbon and Gothenburg. 

In  the  last  few  decades,  there  have  been  major  changes  in  education  enrolment  in  Europe. 
Women  now  outnumber  men  in  upper  secondary  and  tertiary  education  in  most  Member 
States and the acceding countries and they represent the majority of graduates in the European 
Union  (55%).  At  the  highest  level  of  education  the  traditional  pattern  remains.  39%  of  all 
PhDs in the EU were awarded to women and 61% to men in 2000. Men are more likely than 
women  to  drop  out  of  upper  secondary  education  without  successfully  completing  a 
programme  of  study  (men  20%,  women  16%1).  Although  the  gender  gaps  in  education 
enrolment  converge,  women’s  and  men’s  choices  of  areas  of  study  still  show  traditional 
gender  stereotyped  patterns,  -  in  2001,  the  EU  average  of  graduate  women  was  36%  in  the 
fields  of  Sciences,  Mathematics  and  Informatics,  and  21%  in  the  fields  of  Engineering, 
Buildings  and  Construction  -,  which  are  transferred  into  the  labour  market,  contributing  to 
persistent sex-segregation.  

The European Employment Strategy has contributed to bringing gender equality to the policy 
agenda  and  provided  a  tool  for  tackling  the  gender  gaps  in  the  labour  market.  The  new 
Employment  Guidelines  require  reinforced  efforts  by  Member  States.  The  use  of  Structural 
Funds,  and  in  particular  the  European  Social  Fund,  has  had  a  catalysing  effect  for  national 
policies  on  gender  equality,  by  providing  financial  support  for  the  implementation  of  the 
European Employment Strategy and the Social inclusion process. 

Women’s  employment  rates  have  increased  more  than  men's,  standing  now  at  55.6%, 
compared to less than 50% in the first half of 1990s but the gap between women and men in 
employment remains very high (17.2 percentage points). Women with low level of education 
and older women continue to show lower employment rates. This is also the case for women 
with small children who have on average a lower employment rate of 12.7 percentage points 
compared  to  women  without  children.  On  the  other  hand  men  with  children  show  9.5 
percentage points higher employment rates than men without children2. Recent estimates for 

1 
2 

Eurostat, LFS, 2003 
Women and men in the age group 20-50 years Source: Eurostat, LFS, 2002 

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employment rates3 show that in 2005 in some Member States, the employment rate of women 
is likely to remain considerably below the 60% Lisbon target. Continued efforts are needed if 
the EU as a whole is to reach the target by 2010. This might be the case in countries with an 
employment  rate  for  women  below  50%  (EL,  ES,  IT)  and  below  55%  (BE  and  LU).In  an 
enlarged Europe the employment gap between women and men will become less pronounced 
(16.3 p.p.), but this is mainly due to lower male employment rates in the acceding countries 
rather than in the current EU.  

After  a  period  of  decreasing  unemployment  rates  and  a  slight  decline  of  the  gap  between 
women and men, unemployment rates began to rise again in mid-2001 and continued to do so 
in  2002  and  2003.  However,  although  the  gap  in  unemployment  rates  between  women  and 
men has continued to fall the gap is still significant (1.8 percentage points in 2003). Women 
continue  to  be  more  vulnerable  to  unemployment  and  economic  inactivity4  than  men,  in 
particular women with a low level of education and older women. In the acceding countries 
unemployment rates are almost twice as high as in the EU but unemployment gaps tend to be 
lower.  

The gender pay gap is still 16% on average in the EU and has hardly changed in recent years. 
The pay gap is significantly higher in the private sector than in the public sector. Differences 
in  labour  market  participation,  sex  segregation,  career  and  wage  structures  and  the  relative 
under-evaluation  of  female-dominated  employment  account  for  a  large  part  of  the  gap.  In 
recent  years,  the  gender  pay  gap  has  taken  on  a  higher  profile  within  the  Member  States. 
Some countries have taken significant steps forward in recognising the link between labour-
market  segregation  and  the  gender  pay  gap,  and  have  started  to  implement  policies  in  this 
regard. 

Despite  this,  sex  segregation  in  the  labour  market  has  hardly  changed  in  the  last  few  years, 
staying  at  around  25%  for  occupational  segregation5  and  18%  for  sectoral  segregation6. 
Women  dominate  in  sectors  such  as  health  care  and  social  services,  education,  public 
administration  and  retailing,  while  a  disproportionate  number  of  men  work  as  technicians, 
engineers,  finance  professionals  and  managers.  As  a  result  of  women’s  increased 
qualifications  there  were  more  women  entering  high-level  professional  and  managerial  jobs 
during the 1990s in 10 out of the 15 Member States7. However, men are still about twice as 
likely  as  women  to  be  in  managerial  positions  and  over  three  times  as  likely  to  be  senior 
managers8. Women are also still under-represented in the European scientific workforce (30% 
of researchers are women in the public sector and 15% in industrial research)9 

There is a persisting imbalance of women and men in  decision-making positions  at  EU and 
national level. The acceding countries show the same pattern. Slow progress is under way in 
political  decision-making  and  10  Member  States  now  have  legal  provisions  in  their 
Constitutions or in Gender Equality Acts on a balanced participation of women and men. 

3 
4 
5 

6 

7 
8 
9 

The projections are the outcome of a forecasting exercise using the Commission's 2003 Autumn Forecasts  
As defined in Eurostat, LFS 
calculated as the average national share of employment for women and men applied to each occupation; differences 
are added up to produce a total amount of gender imbalance presented as a proportion of total employment (ISCO 
classification) 
calculated as the average national share of employment for women and men applied to each sector; differences are 
added  up  to  produce  a  total  amount  of  gender  imbalance  presented  as  a  proportion  of  total  employment  (NACE 
classification) 
Eurostat, LFS 
Eurostat, LFS 2000 
She figures, EC, 2003 

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Women still do the majority work in the home and for the family. This has an impact on their 
work patterns and limits their opportunities to take up occupations that are comparable to the 
average  occupations  of  men.  Women’s  interrupted  patterns  of  employment,  and  the  over-
representation of women in part-time and most non-standard jobs can have negative effects on 
their  career,  wages  and  pensions.  The  lower  wage  income  for  women  combined  with  the 
effects  of  taxation  and  benefits  can  lead  to  lower  incentives  for  them  to  engage  in  paid 
employment. This can particularly be the case for women with small children.  

By identifying a target for childcare services, the Barcelona European Council reinforced the 
high attention already paid to the reconciliation policy in the European Employment Strategy. 
The  Member  States  have  accordingly  devoted  quite  a  lot  of  policy  efforts  to  improving  the 
availability of childcare provisions. However, hardly any concrete measures have been taken 
to improve care for other dependants.  

There  has  been  an  increased  focus  on  reconciliation  as  part  of  employment  policy  and 
improved  parental  leave  arrangements.  A  few  Member  States  are  implementing  policies  to 
encourage fathers to take parental leave, for example through the right to take leave on a part-
time or split basis or through a specific right to paternity leave. These efforts have so far met 
with little success. The traditional division of  care  and  paid  work  between  women  and  men 
persists. 

The  obstacles  faced  by  women  and  men,  and  the  differences  between  them,  in  access  to 
employment are enhanced in low-income groups. Whilst the majority of the working poor are 
men,  women  form  the  majority  of  economically  inactive  persons10  and  are  thus  particularly 
vulnerable  to  fall  into  the  poverty  trap.  Without  independent  incomes,  women  face 
tremendous  financial  difficulties  when  confronted  with  family  breakdowns  and  domestic 
violence.  Women  are  also  more  vulnerable  to  poverty  when  older  or  living  alone  with 
children. 35%11 of single parents, mainly women, live in poverty. 

Domestic violence is an assault on the victim's right to life, safety, freedom and dignity and an 
expression of an imbalance of power between women and men. It has been identified as a risk 
for women of social exclusion in the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion. In the year 
2000,  the  Daphne  Programme  2000-200312  was  introduced,  representing  a  symbolically 
important  programming  tool  against  violence.  Major  steps  forward  were  achieved  in  2002, 
when the Member States agreed on a set of indicators on domestic violence against women, 
developed within the framework of the follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action.  

10 

11 
12 

Joint  Inclusion  Report  –  2003  Eurostat  data  2001;  among  the  low  income  group  (under  60%  median  income 
thresholds) 26% are employed (16% men, 10% women) and 36% are inactive (8.5% men, 27.5% women) 
Eurostat, ECHP UDB version December 2003 
Decision  No.293/2000/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24  January  2000  adopting  a 
programme  of  Community  action  (the  Daphne  Programme)  (2000  to  2003)  on  preventive  measures  to  fight 
violence against children, young persons and women, OJ L34 of 9.2.2000, p. 1. 

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3. 

CHALLENGES AND POLICY ORIENTATIONS 

This report confirms a positive trend towards narrowing the gaps between women and men in 
several policy areas. However, progress is too slow and enhanced efforts are needed to meet 
the Lisbon strategy targets. Member States are committed to achieving a substantial reduction 
in gender gaps in employment rates, unemployment rates and pay by 2010. This is confirmed 
by the new guidelines of the European Employment Strategy.  

Inequality between women and men is a multidimensional phenomenon that has to be tackled 
by a comprehensive mix of policy measures. The challenge is to ensure policies that support 
equal  opportunities  for  women  and  men  in  education, employment  and career development, 
entrepreneurship, equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, better sharing of family 
responsibilities,  balanced  participation  of  women  and  men  in  decision-making  and  the 
elimination of gender-based violence.  

3.1. 

Implementing and improving equal treatment legislation 

The transposition of the acquis is crucial and creates a basis for gender equality policies, a 
fact that will be even more emphasised in view of the enlargement of the Union.  

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13 

14 

In  the  acceding  countries,  the  transposition  of  the  European  Directives  on  equal 
treatment between men and women is almost complete. The challenge is now for the 
national actors, (legal professionals, equality bodies, the social partners and NGOs) 
to  support  the  implementation  of  this  legislation.  Member  States  should  seek  to 
rapidly transpose the recently adopted Council Directive amending the Directive on 
equal  treatment  for  men  and  women  with  regards  to  access  to  employment, 
vocational training and promotion, and working conditions13. 

A  strong  commitment  by  social  partners  is  needed  in  order  to  create  working 
conditions that ensure equal treatment between men and women in the labour market.  

In order to make the existing legislation more readable and accessible to the citizens, 
as  well  as  strengthening  legal  certainty  and  clarity,  the  Commission  intends  to 
replace  the  existing  legal  texts  with  a  single  comprehensive  text  by  proposing  a 
Directive  on  the  implementation  of  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  and  equal 
treatment  of  men  and  women  in  matters  of  employment  and  occupation.  This  is 
particularly important in the context of the enlargement. 

With  its  proposal  for  a  new  Directive,  based  on  Article  13,  on  the  access  to,  and 
supply  of,  goods  and  services,  the  Commission  has  taken  a  first  step  to  widen  the 
scope of the equal treatment legislation beyond the labour market.14  

Council  Directive  2002/73/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  September  2002  amending 
Council Directive 76/207/EEC. 
Proposal  for  a  Council  Directive  implementing  the  principle  of  equal  treatment  between  women  and  men  in  the 
access to and supplyof goods and services (2003/0265(CNS) 

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3.2. 

Eliminating  the  gender  pay  gap  and  gender  gaps  in  employment  and 
unemployment 

Although decreasing, there are still high gaps in employment and unemployment. In order to 
reach the Lisbon target of 60% female employment, Member States need to keep up the pace 
of reforms. The persistence of gender pay gaps may act as a disincentive to women entering 
the labour market or progressing in their working careers, and may thus prevent the full use 
of  their  human  capital  investments.  The  gender  pay  gap  can  only  be  tackled  through  a 
multifaceted approach addressing its underlying factors including sectoral and occupational 
segregation,  education  and  training,  job  classifications  and  pay  systems,  awareness  raising 
and  transparency.  In  the  employment  guidelines15,  Member  States  are  committed  to  follow 
this approach, aiming to achieve by 2010 a substantial reduction of the gender pay gap. 

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15 

Gender segregation needs to be tackled by Member States and the social partners in a 
concrete and comprehensive way. Specific attention should be paid to combating the 
tendency of decreasing wages in occupations and sectors when the number of women 
starts to increase. 

Social  partners  play  a  crucial  role  in  the  design,  implementation  and  success  of 
policies to reduce the gender pay gap. It is crucial to raise awareness of the problem 
and  take  concrete  actions  to  regularly  monitor  wage  gaps,  revise  job  classification 
systems, and make pay levels and job evaluation systems transparent. 

Quality  in  work  remains  a  crucial  factor  for  increasing  labour  supply.  Within  this 
framework, it is important that Member States promote flexible work arrangements 
for both women and men, in such a way that it safeguards access to social security 
rights and benefits, and does  not create segmentation and segregation of the labour 
market. 

Making work pay is essential to increase women's participation in the labour force. 
Both  tax  and  benefit  systems  need  to  be  reformed,  where  appropriate,  to  remove 
disincentives  and to provide financial incentives for women to take up,  remain and 
return to work. 

Member  States  should  make  available  Active  Labour  Market  Policies  to  bring 
women  back  into  the  workforce  after  extended  periods  of  parental  leave  and/or 
voluntary career breaks due to family responsibilities. 

It  is  essential  that  Member  States  provide  good  guidance  and  support  to  labour 
market  experience  aimed  at  eliminating  sex-stereotyped  choices  from  early  school 
age onwards, in order to avoid the transmission of educational sex-segregation into 
the labour market. 

Policies are needed to remove the obstacles faced by women trying to reach higher 
and managerial positions. 

In  the  context  of  a  knowledge-based  society,  it  will  be  particularly  important  to 
promote a gender-balanced participation of scientists, engineers and technicians both 
at national and European levels. 

OJ L 197/13, Council Decision of 22 July 2003 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States 

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3.3. 

Reconciling work and family life 

The  success  of  policies  to  raise  employment  rates  will  depend  on  the  possibility  for  both 
women  and  men  to  achieve  a  balance  between  their  professional  career  and  family  life. 
Reconciliation policy must not be considered a 'women's issue' and a policy from which only 
women  will  benefit.  A  major  challenge  is  to  focus  on  policies  to  encourage  men  to  take  up 
family responsibilities.  

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– 

Member States and the social partners need to focus on the development of financial 
and/or other incentives to encourage men to take on a larger role in the family as well 
as awareness-raising initiatives to change attitudes, especially among employers.  

Member  States  should  promote  parental  leave  schemes  shared  by  both  parents;  in 
this  context  negative  effects  that  extended  parental  leave  schemes  can  have  on  the 
employment  of  women,  through  disincentives  inherent  in  the  combination  of  poor 
wage prospects and benefit systems and the risk of outdated skills and potential job 
loss after long periods of absence from the labour market, should be avoided. 

Efforts in the Member States to provide sufficient and adequate childcare services, in 
accordance with the targets set in Barcelona, should be intensified and organised in 
such  a  way  as  to  allow  women  and  men  to  take  up  a  job  and/or  to  remain  in  the 
labour  market.  Policies  need  to  better  address  the  quality  and  affordability  of  the 
service offered and the specific needs of working parents in terms of flexibility and 
length of childcare provision.  

In view of the ageing population, care facilities for other dependants need to become 
a priority at national level.  

3.4. 

Promoting balanced participation of women and men in decision-making 

The  persistent  under-representation  of  women  in  political  and  economic  decision-making 
marks a fundamental deficit in the European society. Renewed commitments and partnership 
between  governments,  private  actors  and  political  parties  are  needed  to  realise  full 
democracy by achieving a balanced representation of women and men in decision-making in 
all spheres of society at EU and national level. 

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– 

Member  States  must  take  steps  to  ensure  the  implementation  of  the  Council 
Recommendation on the balanced participation of women and men in the decision-
making process. (96/694) In particular:  

Member States should monitor progress by using the sets of indicators agreed by the 
Council of Ministers for the follow up of the Beijing Platform for Action on women 
and men in political as well as economic decision-making. 

The social partners should enhance initiatives to increase women's participation not 
only in the representative bodies but also around the negotiating table.  

In  view  of  the  forthcoming  elections  to  the  European  Parliament  in  2004,  political 
parties  and  other  relevant  actors  should  enhance  their  efforts  and  use  a  variety  of 
measures  to  exceed  the  threshold  of  30  %  women  reached  in  the  elections  to  the 
European Parliament in 2000.  

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3.5. 

Putting gender mainstreaming into practice 

The obligation to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between women and men in 
all the Community's activities is enshrined in the EC Treaty16. Gender mainstreaming, i.e. the 
incorporation of a gender equality perspective in all policy fields and at all stages of policy 
making,  has  started  to  be  implemented,  along  with  specific  measures,  both  in  the  Member 
States and at EU level. This dual approach is already included in the steering documents of 
several  EU  processes,  such  as  the  European  Employment  Strategy,  the  Social  inclusion 
process, the Research Policy, the Structural Funds and Development Co-operation.  

Reinforced  efforts  are  needed  by  Member  States,  the  Commission  and  the  Council  of 
Ministers to translate goals and regulations into concrete actions. 

This relies on  

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a commitment by Member States, the Commission and the Council to reinforce the 
implementation  of  gender  mainstreaming  in  all  relevant  policy  fields,  including  in 
employment and social policies, education, research, external relations, development 
co-operation, budget and financial policies; 

as well as efforts by Member States and the Commission to improve the provision of 
coherent,  comparable  and  timely  data  disaggregated  by  sex  as  well  as  by  other 
background variables, in all relevant policy fields; 

a  commitment  by  Member  States,  the  Commission  and  the  Council  of  Ministers  to 
further  develop  gender  equality  indicators,  as  a  tool  for  gender  mainstreaming,  for 
assessing  progress  in  different  policy  areas.  Sets  of  indicators  have  already  been 
developed  by  the  Council  of  Ministers  in  relation  to  women  in  political  and 
economic  decision-making,  reconciliation  of  work  and  family  life,  equal  pay  for 
women  and  men  and  domestic  violence  in  order  to  create  a  more  consistent  and 
systematic monitoring and assessment of the implementation of the Beijing Platform 
for Action;  

a commitment by Member States and the Commission to monitor progress by regular 
reporting and assessing results. The annual reports on gender equality to the Spring 
Summits play an important role in this respect; 

a  commitment  by  Member  States  and  the  Commission  to  allocate  resources  in 
support  of  efficient mechanisms for  the promotion of equality between women and 
men. 

3.5.1.  The Structural Funds 

The discussion on the future of social and economic cohesion policies after 2006 is underway. 
Cohesion policies will be refocused and should be directed to contribute more to the Lisbon 
objectives,  and  in  this  way  promote  economic  growth,  productivity,  higher  employment  and 
an inclusive society. Major efforts are required to exploit the full potential of the Structural 
Funds as a catalyst for Community and national policies on gender equality in an enlarged 
Europe and in the new programming period. 

16 

EC Treaty, Article 2 and 3 

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– 

– 

– 

Gender  equality  must  remain  a  priority  in  the  next  programming  period  of  the 
Structural Funds, in terms of both policies and resources.  

Current  and  future  Member  States  should  take  a  stronger  commitment  to  promote 
both gender mainstreaming and specific measures in all the Structural Funds.  

Enforced commitment is needed in the Member States to assess ex-ante the impact 
on women and men of all policies, measures and actions financed by the Structural 
Funds.  

3.5.2.  The Research policy 

It  is  of  major  importance  to  continue  to  progress  towards  gender  equality  in  scientific 
research in order to realize fully the potential of the European Research Area.  

– 

Appropriate support and resources should be provided at EU and national levels for 
setting up, or reinforcing, efficient mechanisms for involving women scientists more 
actively in scientific research and in the research policy process and for monitoring 
progress made in attracting, retaining and promoting women in science.  

3.6. 

Preventing and combating violence and trafficking in women 

While there is a strong political acknowledgement of the need to prevent and combat violence 
against women as well as trafficking in women17 as a major phenomenon in the larger context 
of human trafficking18, the challenge ahead is to widen and intensify activities in the Member 
States and the acceding countries.  

– 

– 

– 

17 

18 

The  prevention  of  and  fight  against  domestic  violence  fall  mainly  under  local  and 
national competence and Member States should follow up developments by using the 
set of indicators on domestic violence agreed by the Council of Ministers. The new 
programme, Daphne II, 2004-2008 with an increased budget of 50 M€ will provide 
support  to  actions  to  prevent  and  combat  violence  against  women  in  the  Member 
States. 

Member States, the Commission and the relevant Councils need to intensify actions 
to  prevent  and  combat  trafficking  in  women.  A  comprehensive  approach,  covering 
criminalisation  (legislation),  protection  and  assistance  to  victims  of  violence  and 
trafficking  as  well  as  preventive  measures  such  as  campaigns  and  cross-border  and 
international co-operation are needed. 

It  is  essential  to  exploit  all  the  possibilities  offered  by  EU  funding  programmes  - 
such  as 
initiative 
EQUAL),Daphne  and,  where  appropriate,  AGIS  -  to  support  actions  to  provide 

the  Structural  Funds  (ESF,  ERDF  and 

the  Community 

Council Resolution of 20 October 2003 on initiatives to combat trafficking in human beings, in particular women, 
OJ C 260, 29.10.2003, p. 4.  
Brussels  Declaration  on  Preventing  and  Combating  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  of  September  2002;  see  also 
Council Conclusions of 8 May 2003, OJ C137, 12.6.2003, p.1. 

11 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
assistance  to  victims,  as  well  as  undertaking  prevention  and  facilitating  the 
integration  of  victims  of  trafficking  in  women  in  the  labour  market.  This  will  be 
particularly important in view of enlargement. 

12 

 
 
  
 
4. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The main goals of the European Union are full employment, a high level of social protection, 
long-term  economic  growth,  and  sustainable  development  in  a  knowledge-based  society  by 
2010. To achieve these goals, reaffirmed commitment by Member States to support the active 
participation of women in the labour market and to reduce the gender gaps in different spheres 
of life will play a key role. Higher active participation in the labour market in jobs of good 
quality will contribute to tackling the increasing challenge of our ageing society.  

The  European  Council,  building  on  this  report  on  equality  between  women  and  men,  is 
invited  to  urge  Member  States  to  enhance  their  efforts  to  promote  equality  between  women 
and men in all spheres of society. In doing so special attention should be paid: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

19 

to  ensuring  the  rapid  implementation  in  the Member  States  of  the  recently  adopted 
legislation  and  the  correct  implementation  of  the  Community  acquis  on  equal 
treatment in the acceding States; 

to adopting the proposal for a Directive based on Article 1319, before March 2005; 

to  taking  specific  measures  to  reduce  the  gender  pay  gap  in  co-operation  with  the 
social partners; 

to actively supporting a balanced representation of women and men in the elections 
to the European Parliament in 2004; 

to  strengthening  the  integration  of  gender  equality  in  all  policy  fields,  including 
employment  and  social  policies,  education,  justice  and  home  affairs,  external 
relations, development co-operation, budget and financial policies; 

to  working  towards  reaching  the  targets  set  in  Barcelona  on  the  provision  of 
childcare: 

to further developing indicators, with a focus on indicators on sexual harassment in 
the  workplace  in  2004,  aiming  at  identifying  core  indicators,  and  monitoring 
progress,  including  the  implementation  of  the  Beijing  Platform  for  Action;  to  this 
effect regularly collecting adequate, coherent and comparable statistics disaggregated 
by sex, particularly in areas where such data are missing;  

to ensuring that an emphasis is given to gender equality, including women's access to 
employment in all Structural Funds and that appropriate funding is allocated; 

to  further  implementing  gender  mainstreaming  in  the  European  Research  Area 
through active support to the network of high level national officials (the "Helsinki 
Group" on women and science).  

to  combating  violence  against  women  and  using  the  set  of  indicators  on  domestic 
violence for following-up of progress; 

Proposal  for  a  Council  Directive  implementing  the  principle  of  equal  treatment  between  women  and  men  in  the 
access to and supply of goods and services (2003/0265(CNS) 

13 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
– 

to  combating  trafficking  in  women,  in  particular  to  adopting  a  proposal  for  a 
Directive20 on the short-term residence permit issued to victims of action to facilitate 
illegal immigration in human beings who co-operate with the competent authorities. 

20 

COM 2002 071 final 

14 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
ANNEX 

The  statistical  annex  gives  a  simple,  though  comprehensive,  overview  of  the  situation  of 
women and men, its evolution over time, and remaining gender gaps in the European Union 
and, whenever possible, in the acceding countries.  

Given  the  importance  of  a  broad  approach  to  gender  equality,  indicators  have  been  chosen 
according to two main criteria: their relevance in covering aspects of the lives of women and 
men,  and  the  availability  of  comparable,  and  reliable  data.  The  proposed  data  provide 
information  on  the  following  dimensions:  paid  work,  income  and  pay,  decision-making 
power, knowledge and time.  

Paid work 

Paid labour is an important precondition of economic independence and it is measured by the 
employment and unemployment rate. At present, there is an employment gender gap of 17.2% 
in the EU-15 and of 16.3% in the EU-15+ACC, while the unemployment gender gap is equal 
to  1.8%  in  the  EU-15  and  1.9%  in  the  EU-15+ACC.  Women  form  a  majority  of  those 
working part-time. The share of women employees working part-time was 34% in the EU-15 
and 30% in the EU-15+ACC in 2002. The corresponding figures for men were 7% both in the 
EU-15 and in the EU-15+ACC. 

Income and pay 

In 2001, in the European Union the gender pay gap was 16%, while the risk of poverty was 
3% higher for women compared to men. 

Decision-making 

Balanced  participation  in  decision-making  is  looked  at  in  the  political  and  economic  fields. 
25.4%  of  parliamentary  seats  in  the  EU-15  are  currently  occupied  by  women.  In  2002,  a 
slightly higher percentage of women – 30% - achieved managerial positions in the EU-15 and 
30% in the EU-15+ACC. 

Knowledge 

The development towards a knowledge based society makes high demands on the educational 
level  of  the  labour  force.  Women  present  higher  educational  attainment  than  men:  the  gap 
between  women  and  men  aged  20-24  attaining  secondary  educational  level  is  6  percentage 
points in the EU-15 and 5 percentage points in the EU-15+ACC. Traditional patterns are on 
the  contrary  present  in  the  research  field  where  women  represented  6%  and  men  19%  of 
academic staff who are Full Professors (or equivalent) in the EU-15 in the year 2000.  

Working Time 

The gap between average hours worked by women and men with children shows that women 
with children work 12 hours less than men with children in the EU-15 and 11 hours less in the 
EU-15+ACC. 

15 

 
 
  
 
Absolute gender gap in employment rates (women and men aged 15 - 64) in EU Member 
States and acceding countries - 1998 and 2002
(Difference between women's and men's employment rates) 

Left bar: 1998   Right bar: 2002 

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

17.2

19.6

S E F I DK A T F R UK DE P T NL B E

EU-
15

I E L U I T E S E L

L T L V E E S I P L S K HU CZ CY MT

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS)
Notes: Top value of a bar is men's employment rate and bottom value is women's employment rate

Absolute gender gap in unemployment rates (women and men aged 15 years and over) 
in EU Member States and acceding countries - 1998 and 2003
 (Difference between women's and men's unem ployment rates)

Left bar: 1998     Right bar: 2003

16.3

18.8

EU15
+ACC

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

UK         IE     SE   

DE

FI

AT

NL

DK

BE

2.9

1.7

EU
15

PT

LU

FR

IT

ES

EL

LV

SK

SI

CY

LT

PL MT

CZ

H U      E E 

1.8

0

EU15+
ACC

Source: Eurostat
Notes: A positive gap indicate higher unem ployment rates for women in com parison to men, while the oppos ite is true for negative gap
             Data are not available for 1998 for  CY, MT, SK and EU15 + ACC                                                                          

16 

 
 
  
 
                                                                           
 
 
 
Share of part-time employees among women and men employees aged 16 - 74, in EU Member States and 
acceding countries - 2002

Women

Men

34

7

30

7

EL PT IT ES FI

LU FR IE DK SE EU-
15

AT BE DE UK NL

SK HU CZ SI EE LT LV CY PL MT EU-
25

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), Spring results

Pay gap between women and men in unadjusted form in EU Member States and acceding countries - 1995 and 2001 
(Difference between men’s and women’s average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of men’s average gross hourly earnings)

1995

2001

17

16

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

IT

PT

BE

FR DK

EU-
15

ES

IE

FI

GR

SE

NL

AT

DE UK

LU

MT

SI

PL

LT

LV

HU SK

EE

CZ

CY

Source: Eurostat, ECHP UDB version December 2003 except FR, NL, SE and ACC: National sources 
Notes: Exceptions to the reference years:  FI, SE, CZ, HU: 1996. LV: 1998. SK: 1999
- EU-15: w eighted average of national values for old member states estimated w ithout missing countries                                                                                    
- For the Netherlands, data are based on annual earnings including overtime pay and non-regular payments 
- For Sw eden, data are based on full-time equivalent monthly salaries, not hourly earnings. 
- For Cyprus only full-time employees are included
- For Czech Republic only full-time employees in enterprises w ith more than 9 employees are included
- For Hungary only full-time employees in enterprises w ith more than 20 employees (1995 – 97) and more than 5 employees (1998 - ) are included
- For Lithuania only fulltime employees (1995 – 99) are included
- For Poland only employees in enterprises w ith more than 9 employees are included
- For Slovenia employees in public enterprises and employees in private enterprises w ith more than 2 employees are included 

17 

 
 
  
 
 
 
At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers for women and men aged 16 years and over in EU Member 
states and acceding countries, 20011

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

25

20

15

10

5

0

17

14

SE NL DK DE LU AT

FI

BE FR

EU
15

UK ES

IT

PT EL

IE

CZ HU SK

SI MT PL

LV

LT CY EE

16

14

EU+
ACC

Source: Eurostat, ECHP UDB version December 2003 for MS except SE and National sources for SE and ACC
Notes: 1) At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers - The share of persons with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is the national 
median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers). Gender breakdown is based on assumption of equal sharing of resources within household
The EU-15 average is calculated as a population-weighted average of the available national values, with national weights equal to national populations
Exceptions to the reference year: CY: 1997. LV, MT, SI: 2000. SK: 2003. 

Women and men in national parliaments in EU Member States - 1999 and 2003
 and for the acceding countries - 2003

Left bar: 1999  Right bar: 2003

women

women 

men

men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

75

77

23

25

S E

D K

F I

N L

B E

D E

A T

E S

EU-15

P T

L U

U K

I E

F R

I T

E L

LT

SK

EE

SI

CY HU

Source: European Commission, based on the indicator developed within the framework of the follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action in 
the EU Council of Ministers
Notes: No data for 1999 is available for the acceding countries. Data for 2003 is not available for CZ,LV,PL, MT

18 

 
 
  
 
 
 
Managers in EU Member States and acceding countries - sex distribution
1995 (ACC: 1998) and 2002

Left bar: 1995 for MS and 1998 for ACC        Right bar: 2002

w omen

w omen

men

men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

70

70

30

30

F R U K E S B E S E P T EU15

A T

F I

I E D E E L

N L

L U D K

I T

L T

L V E E H U P L

S K S I

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS)
Notes: Mangers are persons classified in ISCO 12 and 13
             No data for 1998 is available for CY and MT

70

30

C Z C Y M T EU15
+ACC

Educational attainment (at least upper secondary school) of women and men aged 20 - 24, 
in EU Member States and acceding countries - 2003

77

71

Women

Men

79

74

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

FI

IE

SE GR BE AT FR UK NL

EU-
15

DK DE IT

ES LU PT

SK

SI

PL CZ CY HU LT EE LV MT

EU-15+
ACC

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), Spring results
Notes: BE, DE, FR, LU, NL, AT, FI, UK, PL, EU-15 and EU-15 + ACC: Provisional value
               MT: Estimated value

19 

 
 
  
 
 
 
Percentage of academic staff (women and men) who are Full Professors (or equivalent) in EU Member 
States and acceding countries, 2000

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

18.8

6.4

IT

FR SE EL

FI EU-
15

ES PT BE UK AT DK NL DE IE

SI PO EE MT LV CZ SK LT CY

Source: DG Research, WiS database
Notes: Exceptions to the reference year: DE, IT, SE, CZ, EE, LV, LT, PO, SK, SI: 2001; BE, ES, PT, MT: 1999; AT: 1998; 
                  NL and PT full-time equivalents. Head counts for other countries
                  No data available for LU and HU
                  Data are not yet comparable betw een countries due to differences in coverage & definitions

Gaps between average hours worked per week by men and women (aged 20 - 49) with children 
in EU Member States and acceding countries - 1998 and 2002

Hours

Left bar: 1998   right bar: 2002 

43  42

31  30

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

P T

E S

F R

E L

I T

B E

L U

A T

EU-15

I E

D E

U K

N L

S K

S I

E E

L T

L V

H U

C Z

C Y

M T

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), Spring results
Notes: Top value of a bar is men's average hours worked and bottom value is women's average hours worked
             No data is available for Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Data for 1998 is not available for Ireland, Latvia, Cyprus and Malta.

42

31

EU-15 
+ACC

20