Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Representation of women in the decision-making bodies of economic and social interest groups in the European Union
Date: 2006-02-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: European Union, decision-making, decision-making body (EU), equal treatment, interest group, participation of women, statistics

C 88/32

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Official Journal of the European Union

11.4.2006

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Representation of women in the
decision-making bodies of economic and social interest groups in the European Union

(2006/C 88/09)

On 11 March 2003 the European Parliament decided to consult the European Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the Repre-
sentation of women in the decision-making bodies of economic and social interest groups in the European Union.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 24 January 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Etty.

At its 424th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 February 2006 (meeting of 14 February) the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 88 votes to 13 with 11 abstentions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

1.1
The EESC agrees with the European Parliament that the
issue of stronger representation of women in the decision-
making bodies of social and economic interest groups in the
EU is an important one. It supports the appeal of Parliament to
the national organisations concerned and to their European
federations, as well as to the European Commission, to pay
closer and more systematic attention to it. The Parliament
called on the Commission to make a start on the compilation
of data and the establishment of a database on the representa-
tion of women in the decision-making bodies of the economic
and social interest groups in the EU. The Committee notes that
the Commission has in the meantime begun this. It thinks that
the European Gender Institute and the European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions have a
major contribution to make. As far as the indicators are
concerned, it notes that the Commission is currently working
with the nine criteria listed by the Italian presidency in 2003.

1.2
Parliament has concentrated its analysis mainly on
employers' organisations and trade unions. It seems that more
positive developments have occurred on the trade union side
than would appear from the resolution and report. On the
other hand, it would seem that to properly assess the situation
and developments on the employers' side, as well as in other
interest groups, a clear awareness is
economic and social
needed that the organisations concerned function in a different
way to organisations with a membership of natural persons.

1.2.1
All economic and social interest groups represented in
the EESC have their own characteristics. Policies which have a
positive effect in one type of organisations will not necessarily
have similar effects in others.

1.2.2 With this in mind, the Committee notes with interest
the ‘framework of actions on gender equality’ advocated by the
ETUC, UNICE/UEAPME and CEEP, and in particular the priority
these organisations give to ‘women in decision-making’.
It
keenly awaits the announced annual national and European
progress reports.

The EESC,

1.3
like Parliament, subscribes to existing EU
policies on the balanced participation of men and women in

the decision-making process. The EESC agrees with Parliament
that real political will must be shown in order to implement
changes and achieve balanced representation. In many organi-
sations,
including those outside the circle of employers and
workers, such political will is indeed being shown. The EESC
recommends that all represented organisations make the results
of their efforts available to the Commission on a regular basis
and that the Commission, in close collaboration with the Euro-
pean federations, expands the above-mentioned databank and,
following on from the Italian presidency's 2003 initiative,
establishes appropriate indicators for strengthening the influ-
ence of women in social and economic decision-making bodies.

1.4
The key level meriting special attention in organisations
which send representatives to national and international fora
and, where appropriate, to the social dialogue, is quite clearly
the executive level. However, it is also important for organisa-
tions which wish to help strengthen the representation of
women to target
from which
many organisations now also recruit their delegates.

the policy preparation level,

1.5
Separate and auxiliary structures as well as networks of
female staff and members have contributed significantly to
positive change in some organisations. While such instruments
will not necessarily be a panacea at all times and in all cases,
the EESC thinks it worthwhile to promote them further and
more widely, including with an eye to the external representa-
tion of the organisation.

1.6
Training/education and work/care arrangements appear
to be the most adequate policies to enhance women's careers in
the organisations concerned. The promotion of such policies
by the relevant Commission departments, which have been
developing measures
discrimination and
strengthening and mainstreaming gender policy, remains a top
priority. Employers organisations and trade unions have an
important role to play here.

combating

for

Quotas are recommended by many experts. Quota
1.7
in some countries, have proven to be
arrangements, which,
effective both in politics and in social organisations, should be
explored thoroughly with regard to their effectiveness and
success by the organisations concerned and the Commission.

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1.8
The Committee would be pleased to see a target of 30 %
for the under-represented sex in the nominations to the EESC
made by Member States (proposed by the economic and social
interest groups) for the 2006-2010 EESC mandate, with the
view to raising this target to 40 % for the following mandate.

The EESC will revisit the findings of the present survey
1.9
in 2006/2007 after the renewal of its four-yearly mandate.
That will also be an opportunity to see whether or not the poli-
cies and practices of organisations in the new Member States
differ greatly from those in the old Member States. The
Committee suggests that Parliament then also review the situa-
tion against the background of its 2002 resolution and report.

2. Comments

2.1 Background

2.1.1
In January 2003, the European Parliament requested
the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to give
an opinion on the representation of women in the decision-
making bodies of the ‘social partners’ (1). The intention was for
the EESC to supplement the statistical data available to Parlia-
ment when it prepared its resolution and report on ‘Representa-
tion of women among the social partners of the European
Union’ (2002/2026 INI), and to give recommendations about
the strategy to follow to raise the representation of women in
the different bodies of these ‘social partners’.

In its own resolution, Parliament had observed that
2.1.2
‘women are underrepresented in the organs and structures in
which the social partners consult each other about social
policy’. It states that programmes and strategies are required if
a more balanced representation is to be achieved. Parliament
calls upon the European Commission and on the social part-
ners to systematically compile relevant data and to take appro-
priate action in order to increase the influence of women in
social and economic decision-making bodies, not only by better
representation in these bodies, but also by incorporating the
gender dimension into their policies.

2.1.2.1
Parliament stated in this context that non-binding
declarations of interest are inadequate and that real political
will is required inside the organisations where the social part-
ners meet
in order to implement changes and to achieve
balanced representation.

2.1.3
the EESC.

In its resolution and report, Parliament did not address

(1) In subsequent contacts, the concept of ‘social partners’ was clarified
as to include not only employers' organisations and trade unions,
but also other social and economic interest groups as represented in
the EESC.

2.1.4
The EESC is the most representative assembly of repre-
sentatives of social and economic interest groups (‘organised
civil society’) in the EU. Whereas its task is not to advise the
represented organisations on their policies regarding women
representation in decision-making bodies or on their gender
its composition can certainly be seen as a partial
policies,
reflection of
the organisations
It
mentioned by Parliament where social and economic interest
groups meet and one of those organs and structures in which
they consult each other about social policy. Its members can
therefore be expected to be good sources for the type of infor-
mation and advice requested by Parliament.

these policies.

is one of

2.2 General comments

2.2.1
The EESC agrees with Parliament that the representa-
tion of women in the decision-making structures of the EU's
social and economic interest groups is an important issue. It
also shares the view that a better statistical basis and more
information on the policies of these organisations are impor-
tant preconditions for the implementation of EU policies on
the balanced representation of men and women in the deci-
sion-making process.

2.2.1.1
It notes that the European Commission has begun to
collect relevant data, and has since made a start on setting up
the database called for by Parliament and establishing the indi-
cators for increasing the influence of women in social and
economic decision-making bodies in the EU. The Commission
asserts, however, that it is difficult to obtain data on the rele-
the European
vant
Gender Institute will be able to help with this in future, as the
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions is already doing.

is to be hoped that

interest groups.

It

2.2.1.2
In addition to this, the Commission should continue
to develop general policies to widen the scope for greater parti-
cipation of women in decision-making, such as policies to
combat continuing discrimination at
the workplace and to
improve the work/life balance in the EU Member States, as well
as policies to promote equal treatment and equal opportunities
at work.

2.2.2
The EESC broadly supports the requests and demands
made by Parliament to employers, workers and organised civil
society as a whole in the EU. It has addressed most of them in
a survey, based on a questionnaire, which in 2003 was sent to
the (then) 222 members (2). This questionnaire was
all of
completed by 107 members, which brings the response rate to
approximately 50 % (3).

(2) See ‘Report on balanced decision-making in the EESC’ (J. Oldersma,
N. Lepeshko, A. Woodward), VUB Bruxelles/Leiden University,
September 2004, available (in English only) on the webpage of the
EESC's Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship:
http://www.esc.eu.int/sections/soc/docs/balanced_decisionmakin-
g_eesc.pdf.

(3) When two or more persons representing the same organisation
completed the questionnaire, these responses have been treated as
one.

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2.2.2.1
The response was fairly evenly distributed over the
three groups in the EESC: 34 % for Group I (Employers), 31 %
for Group II (Employees) and 34 % for Group III (Various Inter-
ests).

2.2.2.2
at the time of the survey was 23 % (4).

The percentage of female representation in the EESC

the qualitative aspects of policy-making in organisations where
women sometimes play a bigger role than their formal repre-
sentation would suggest. While these aspects are certainly
important, the EESC has decided not to address them in depth.
It has, however,
included the representation of women in
policy-preparation bodies. The qualitative aspects of policy-
making in this sense merit more attention from the social and
economic interest groups and their European federations, but
also from Parliament and the European Commission.

Organisations with a high percentage of

female
2.2.2.3
representatives among their members are probably slightly
over-represented among the respondents. This may have led to
a somewhat biased, ‘woman-friendly’, overall picture.

In looking at the relevant policies and practices of
2.2.7
social and economic interest groups in the EU, the EESC has
chosen to analyse representation policies in an integrated way
(national and European level — including the social dialogue
— and international level).

2.2.3
The questionnaire focused in turn on the type and
character of the organisation represented, its leadership struc-
tures, representation in national and international organisations
and fora, the presence of women in the organisation, and
gender policies.

2.2.7.1
European works councils were not included in the
survey. That would have required a major separate research
effort, for which others are better equipped that the EESC (7).

2.2.4
Furthermore, existing data were studied, provided by a
hearing on the situation and experiences in Belgium, Spain and
the Scandinavian countries, and by members of the EESC. This
data concentrated predominately on the trade unions. As in
Parliament's resolution and report, the factual basis for assess-
ments with respect to employers was weak, and hardly any
information on other organisations was available (5).

2.2.8
The Committee would refer to the framework of
actions on gender equality of 1 March 2005 drawn up by the
ETUC, UNICE/UEAPME and CEEP, in which the promotion of
women in decision-making is one of the four priorities.

2.3 Specific comments (based on the results of the survey)

The survey and the additional material

2.2.5
taken into
account reinforced the initial impression made by Parliament's
resolution: a) that the statistical basis is, indeed, very narrow;
the only exception being the trade unions, but in this case the
data fail to fairly reflect positive developments which have
taken place in the recent past (6), and b) that it is not easy, if
not problematic, to compare findings on different organisa-
tions, e.g. organisations with a membership of natural persons
(such as trade unions) and organisations which themselves have
organisations (such as enterprises) as members. Different orga-
nisational characteristics (e.g. in farmers' or SME organisations)
may require different ways of assessing whether there is a
balance in the representation of men and women. It must be
observed, too, that a low representation of women in decision-
making bodies is not necessarily proof of the absence of gender
policies in an organisation.

2.3.1
Almost half of the two basic types of organisations
represented in the EESC (umbrella organisations of different
types on the one hand, and organisations based on individual
membership on the other) have a high ratio of female member-
ship (40 % or more). Only 10-15 % fall
in the low female
membership category (0-19 %). Overall, the represented organi-
sations have a 36 % ratio of female membership.
(N.B.: as
stated above, the percentage of female membership of the EESC
was 23 % at the time of the survey).

The women in these organisations are most likely to
2.3.2
be found in the policy-making staff, less frequently as delegates
to the organisation's congress or in the management team, and
least of all on the executive board.

2.2.6
One point of criticism of the EP resolution was that it
focused on quantitative aspects of representation only, ignoring

2.3.3
This is probably one major explanation for the rela-
tively low percentage of female membership of the EESC, as
many female members are from executive boards.

(4) After enlargement
slightly to 26 %.

(in May 2004) this percentage has gone up

(5) Though on two occasions in 2002, UNICE provided Parliament

with more data than were finally included in this document.

(6) E.g., between the early 1990s and the early 2000s, the share of
female participants in ETUC Congresses rose from 10/12 % to 30 %,
in the Executive Board it is now 25 %, in the Steering Committee
32 %. Affiliated organisations can show positive change as well;
most have, for instance, women's departments nowadays.

(‘European Works Councils

(7) The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions has carried out a study of European works
councils
in Practice’, 2004). This
comprises a number of case studies. The enquiry showed that, with
a few small exceptions, the representation of women was not an
accurate reflection of the composition of the workforce. This is
probably due to the composition of works councils in the compa-
nies concerned at national level.

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2.3.4
Those organisations scoring high on sending female
representatives to the EESC draw them from their policy-
making staff, or they have other types of arrangements (e.g. a
mixed one), rather than draw representatives exclusively from
the highest internal decision-making level.

2.3.10
Special attention to female workers and staff is also
evidenced by the collection of statistics on the presence of
women in the organisation. Nearly half of the organisations
represented (48 %) reported that they kept statistics, and most
of them say that they update them annually (67 %).

As regards representation in national or international
2.3.5
fora, organisations prefer a mixed arrangement. Here, represen-
tation by executive board members ranks second.

2.3.6 Many of the organisations represented in the EESC do
not participate in the Social Dialogue Committee (about one
quarter). Of those who do belong to this Committee, about one
third use a mixed form of representation or send representa-
tives from management.

One of the policies for obtaining a more balanced
2.3.7
representation of women in decision-making bodies, as identi-
fied by Parliament, is the setting-up of structures for women
within the organisation. At
time, Parliament
same
comments that
these structures often remain limited to a
symbolic gesture or an isolated discussion forum. Therefore,
according to Parliament, such structures ‘must not
isolate
women from the decision-making process but, on the contrary,
integrate them in that process and enable them to progress’.
The Committee endorses this view.

the

2.3.7.1
Parliament also makes the point that mentoring and
networking within organisations by women is highly important
in preparing them for leadership positions.

2.3.8
Only a minority of the organisations in the EESC
(33 %) whose representatives completed the questionnaire have
a separate or an auxiliary organisation for female members. In
almost all cases, these structures are represented on the execu-
tive of the organisations, and about half of them have other
channels for influence in the organisations. In 15 % of cases
female policy-making staff and members have formed a
network; 4 % have both (i.e. separate/auxiliary organisations
and networks).

Separate organisations and networks can be found
2.3.8.1
mainly in organisations belonging to Group II
trade
unions): between about 50–75 %. In Group III, the range is
between 19-39 %, and in Group I this phenomenon is signifi-
cantly less common, 6-19 %. Auxiliary organisations are not
uncommon in farmers' organisations (33 %) and are found in
about 10 % of consumers' and health organisations.

(i.e.

2.3.9
As regards policies to enhance the career of women,
in particular to prepare them for leading positions, 46 % of the
respondents reported that their organisations had such policies.
Most popular policies were training (26 %), facilitating work/
care
and monitoring/benchmarking
(19 %). However, only one quarter of organisations have these
forms of career enhancement.

arrangements

(22 %)

Group II organisations are clearly most active in
2.3.10.1
this area (well over 50 %), followed by Group III organisations
(approximately one third). Percentages are low in Group I.
Here, we see a remarkable discrepancy between the very low
level of reported statistics collection (1 %) and reported policies
for career enhancement (11 %).

2.3.11
Success was reported by respondents in 75 % of the
61 cases where policies to enhance women's careers are in
place. 40 organisations have a department or an official
in
charge of gender policies, and in half of these cases staffing is
in the order of one full time equivalent.

2.3.11.1
Success in terms of more female employees in
senior positions was reported in 49 % of cases; in 46 % a result
in terms of more women in policy-making positions was
reported.

2.3.12
Gender policies are common in trade unions (Group
II) (68 %); Group III organisations score 25 %; and Group I,
5 %.

A number of organisations (33 members) stated that
2.3.13
the questions on policies to enhance women's careers and
gender mainstreaming were not relevant to them.

The male/female ratio in representation of organisa-
2.3.14
tions in the EESC appears to be strongly related to the ratio
found for representation at the international level, much less to
that for the social dialogue, and not at all to the male/female
ratio for representatives in national fora.

Taking into account the fact that Group I respon-
2.3.15
dents put
the male/female ratio for their organisations at
70/30 %, their male/female ratio in the EESC is relatively high
(35 %), and significantly higher than the corresponding figures
for Group II (25 %, with a male/female ratio in the organisa-
tions' membership of 60/40 %) and Group III (27 %, 65/35 %
respectively).

The survey shows that

2.3.16
the male/female ratio of
leadership in organisations largely determines the male/female
representatives to the EESC (cf. points 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 above).
Parliament has called on the social partners (the social and
economic interest groups)
representation
mechanisms and selection procedures, to give centre stage to a
balanced representation of women and men and to inscribe it
in their constitutions’ (8).

‘to review their

(8) PE 315.516, A5-0279/2002.

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2.3.16.1
In the survey, the EESC has addressed the type of
recruitment procedures for management with a view to the
male/female ratio on executive boards. Co-option came out as
the most disadvantageous for women, followed by nomination
by affiliated organisations. Procedures with more positive
effects as perceived by respondents were mentioned by too few
of them to provide a firm basis for conclusions.

2.3.17
Relating the average ratio of male/female representa-
tion in decision-making bodies to various policies to enhance
women's careers resulted in the finding that only target figures
seem to result in the strong representation of women. Dual
candidacy and quotas (which figure strongly in the policy
discussions of political parties in the EU) were rarely mentioned
by respondents.

Brussels, 14 February 2006.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

APPENDIX

to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

The following text from the section's opinion was deleted when the Plenary Assembly adopted the proposed amend-
ment, but received more than a quarter of the votes cast:

Point 1.8

‘Quotas are recommended by many experts. This does not mean, however, that they are recommended for
economic and social organisations. Nevertheless, it is recommended that this instrument, which has proven to be
politically effective in some countries, should be further explored by the organisations concerned and the Commis-
sion.’

Voting

For: 42

Against: 55

Abstentions: 8.