COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Background document  Accompanying the  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS   Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-2015   {COM(2010) 491} {SEC(2010) 1079}
Date: 2010-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, domestic violence, equal pay, equal treatment, gender equality, remuneration of work, social rights

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.9.2010 
SEC(2010) 1080 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Background document 

Accompanying the 

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

Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 
2010-2015 

{COM(2010) 491} 
{SEC(2010) 1079} 

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   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 6 

Overview of the situation of women and men in the EU ........................................ 7 

Assessment of the Roadmap’s achievements ......................................................... 21 

Assessment of policy commitments in the field of gender equality .......................... 21 

Assessment of the implementation of policy instruments.......................................... 21 

Assessment of progress in the different priority areas of action................................ 23 

Overall assessment of policy impact.......................................................................... 30 

Assessment of institutional cooperation and partnership........................................... 31 

Assessment of progress regarding gender equality data and indicators..................... 31 

Assessment of the effectiveness of the current EU equal pay framework .......... 32 

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 32 

Report from the Group of Experts on Gender, Social Inclusion and Employment: The 
gender pay gap — Origins and policy responses ....................................................... 33 

Report from the Network of Legal Experts on Gender: The Gender pay gap in 
Europe from a Legal Perspective ............................................................................... 35 

Resolution of the European Parliament ..................................................................... 38 

Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities............................................................ 39 

Study on the effectiveness of the current legal framework on equal pay for equal 
work or work of equal value in tackling the gender pay gap ..................................... 41 

National Equality Bodies ........................................................................................... 43 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 44 

Input to the preparation of the new strategy......................................................... 45 

Stakeholder consultation ............................................................................................ 45 

Policy input ................................................................................................................ 48 

Eurobarometer survey: Gender equality in the EU in 2009....................................... 50 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

4.6. 

4.7. 

4.8. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

Annex 1: Stakeholders and Main Bodies Active in the Field of Equality between Women and 
Men........................................................................................................................................... 51 

Annex 2: Glossary of main terms............................................................................................. 54 

Annex 3: Consultation on the future strategy for equality between women and men ............. 55 

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Annex 4: List of Council reference documents........................................................................ 61 

Annex 5: Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 64 

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ACEO:  Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities 

List of main abbreviations 

AMP:  Annual Management Plan 

BPfA:  Beijing Platform for Action 

CEDAW: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against 
Women  

CSW:  UN Commission on the Status of Women 

EC: 

European Communities 

EES:  European Employment Strategy 

EESC:  European Economic and Social Committee 

EIGE:  European Institute for Gender Equality 

EMCO: Employment Committee 

EPSCO: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council 

ESF: 

European Social Fund 

ERDF:  European Regional Development Fund 

EU: 

European Union 

EWL:  European Women’s Lobby 

FEMM: European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality 

GDP:  Gross Domestic Product 

GPG:  Gender Pay Gap 

HLG:  High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming 

ICT: 

Information and Communication Technologies 

ILO: 

International Labour Organisation 

ITC: 

International Training Centre 

ISG: 

Inter-Service Group on Equality between Women and Men 

MS:  Member States 

NGO:  Non Governmental Organisation 

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OMC:  Open Method of Coordination 

SME:  Small and Medium Enterprises 

TEU:  Treaty on European Union 

TFEU:  Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

UN: 

United Nations 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Equality between women and men is a fundamental right and a common value of the 
EU. Since 1957, the EC Treaty has provided a  legal  basis  for  policy  and  action  on 
gender equality.  

Over the years a comprehensive legislative framework for promoting gender equality 
has  been  created,  entailing  the  adoption  of  thirteen  Directives  in  the  field  of  equal 
treatment  covering  access  to  work,  goods  and  services,  training,  promotion  and 
working conditions including equal pay and social security benefits.  

As to its policy approach, since 1996 the Commission has followed a dual approach 
to gender equality, namely specific actions plus gender mainstreaming1.  

The first comprehensive policy framework was adopted in 20002 and was followed 
in  2006  by  the  Roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men3.  The  Roadmap 
identified  key  actions  in  six  priority  areas4  for  the  period  2006-2010,  and  set  out 
ways  to  improve  governance  of  gender  equality  policies.  It  identified  the  main 
instruments  needed  to  support  gender  equality  in  Community  policies,  including 
legislation,  policy  coordination,  financial  programmes,  partnership  and  social  and 
civil dialogue.  

The  Commission  which  took  office  in  2010  affirmed  its  commitment  to  equality 
between  women  and  men  by  adopting  a  ‘Women’s  Charter’5,  which  identifies  five 
priority areas that will underpin actions during this Commission’s term of office.  

The  Strategy  for  the  period  2010-20156  implements  the  Women's  Charter.  This 
background  document  provides  the  context,  with  an  overview  of  the  situation,  an 
assessment  of  the  impact  of  the  Roadmap  and  a  specific  assessment  of  the  factors 
surrounding  the  gender  pay  gap,  concluding  with  the  input  which  the  Commission 
gathered in preparing the new Strategy. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

COM(96) 67: ‘Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and 
activities’, February 1996. 
COM(2000) 335 Towards a Community Framework Strategy On Gender Equality (2001-2005)’, July 
2000. 
COM(2006)  92  ‘A  Roadmap  for  Equality  between  Women  and  Men  2006-2010’,  Brussels,  March 
2006. 
Equal  economic  independence  for  women  and  men;  Reconciliation  of  private  and  professional  life; 
Equal  representation  in  decision-making;  Eradication  of  all  forms  of  gender-related  violence; 
Elimination of gender stereotypes; Promotion of gender equality in external and development policies. 
COM(2010)78 final. 
COM(2010) 491. 

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2. 

OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION OF WOMEN AND MEN IN THE EU 

Despite remarkable advances towards equality between women and men in the last 
50  years,  significant  inequalities  persist  at  global  and  EU  levels,  clashing  with  the 
fundamental  goals  of  the  Union.  EU  action  aiming  at  achieving  gender  equality  is 
needed  to  protect  fundamental  rights,  combat  discrimination,  strengthen  social 
cohesion and reaffirm shared values, but also to mobilise women’s full potential in 
order to boost EU competitiveness, growth and prosperity.  

Participation in the labour market 

Women’s participation in the labour market has increased steadily over the last few 
years, approaching 60 % on average in the EU7 (which was the 2010 Lisbon target8). 
Though  this  rate  varies  between  Member  States,  less  than  half  of  the  working-age 
women are in employment in Malta, Italy and Greece but more than seventy percent 
are employed in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.  

Employment rates (women and men aged 15 - 64) in EU Member States- 2009

70,7

58,6

Women

Men

Lisbon target 
for  total 
employment 
rate in 2010

Lisbon target 
for women's 
employment 
rate in 2010

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

DK NL SE FI AT DE UK SI EE CY PT LV LT FR EU27 BG IE LU CZ BE ES PL SK RO HU EL IT MT

Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 

The gender gap in the employment rate decreased from 17.1 percentage points (p.p.) 
in  2000  to  12.1  p.p  in  2009.  Women’s  increased  participation  has  represented  a 
considerable  contribution  to  economic  growth,  accounting  for  a  quarter  of  annual 

7 

8 

59.1 % in 2008 with huge difference between Member States see SEC(2009)1706 annex to the ‘Annual 
report on equality between women and men 2010’. 
The  age  group  (20-64)  covered  by  the  Europe  2020  strategy  employment  rate  target  of  75 %  differs 
from the Lisbon target which covered the 15-64 age group. On the basis of the 2020 target, the female 
employment rate has risen from 57.3 % to 62.5 between 2000 and 2009. 

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growth in the EU since 19959. In the EU women accounted for 9.8 million out of the 
12.5 million additional employment between 2000 and 2009.  

Absolute gender gap in employment rates (women and men aged 15-64) in EU Member States - 2003 and 2009  
(Difference between men's and women's employment rates) 

Left bar: 2003     Right bar: 2009

15,3

12,1

LT

LV

EE

FI

SE

DK

SI

FR

BG

IE

DE

PT

UK

AT

NL

BE

HU EU27 RO

PL

ES

SK

CY

LU

CZ

IT

EL MT

i

s
t
n
o
p
e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
p

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

-5

Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 
NB:  A positive gap indicates higher employment rates for men in comparison with women, while the opposite is true for a negative gap.

The gender gap in terms of employment rate also increases with age and is highest 
among older workers (55 to 64 years). In 2009, it was on average 17 p.p., down from 
19.2 p.p. in 2003 due to the strong increase in the employment rates of women above 
55 years, from 30.7 % in 2003 to 37.8 % in 2009. 

9 

Women  and  sustainable  development,  maximising  the  economic,  social  and  environmental  role  of 
women OECD (2008). 

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Employment rates of older workers (women and men aged 55 - 64) in EU Member States- 2009

54,8

37,8

Women

Men

Lisbon target 
for  
employment 
rate of workers 
aged 55-64    

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

SE EE FI LV DK UK DE LT NL PT IE CY BG EU27 FR CZ RO ES AT LU BE EL HU SK IT SI PL MT

Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages.

However, there are still significant gender gaps, in both quantitative and qualitative 
terms.  Women  account  for  the  vast  majority  of  part-time  workers  in  the  EU,  with 
31.5 % of women working part-time against only 8.3 % of men. In 2009, the share 
of female part-timers exceeded 35 % in Denmark and Luxembourg, 40 % in Belgium, 
Sweden,  Austria,  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany  and  the  Netherlands.  Conversely, 
the share of part-timers among female workers was very low in Bulgaria, Slovakia, 
Hungary, Latvia and the Czech Republic. This may also have a negative impact on 
career progression, training opportunities, pension rights and unemployment benefits.  

Share of part-time workers in total employment (persons aged 15 and over) 
in EU Member States - 2009

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

31,5

8,3

BG

SK

HU

CZ

LT

LV

EL

RO

PL

CY

SI

EE

PT

FI

ES MT

IT

FR EU27

IE

LU

DK

SE

BE

UK

AT

DE

NL

Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 

In addition, women still do the bulk of unpaid care work (employed women spend 

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39  hours  a  week  on  average  on  home  care  activities  versus  26  hours  for  men10). 
Having children negatively affects the employment of women: their participation in 
the labour market drops by 11.5 p.p. on average. On the other hand, men in the same 
situation tend to work more often (+6.8 pp). In 2008, the employment rate for women 
aged  25-49  was  67 %  when  they  had  children  under  12,  compared  to  78.5 %  when 
they did not, a negative difference of 11.5 p.p. Interestingly, men with children under 
12 had a significantly higher employment rate than those without, 91.6 % vs. 84.8 %, 
a  positive  difference  of  6.8  p.p.  In  the  United  Kingdom,  Estonia  and  Malta,  the 
negative  impact  of  parenthood  on  female  employment  is  higher  than  15  p.p.;  it  is 
higher than 20 p.p. in Ireland and Slovakia and higher than 25 p.p. in Hungary and 
the  Czech  Republic.  On  the  contrary,  the  impact  of  parenthood  on  the  female 
employment rate is limited (less than 5 p.p.) in Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia and 
is  even  slightly  positive  in  Denmark  (women  with  children  have  a  higher 
employment rate than women without). There is much less variation in the impact on 
men,  with  the  positive  impact  ranging  from  3.5  p.p.  in  Bulgaria  to  11.3  p.p.  in 
Luxembourg.  Working  women  have,  on  average,  more  ‘constrained  time’  (sum  of 
hours  spent  on  paid  work  and  on  unpaid  domestic  and  family  work)  than  working 
men11. 

In March 2010 the European Council launched Europe 2020, a new strategy for jobs 
and growth, and set a number of EU headline targets12. The Employment Guidelines 
for  Member  States’  employment  policies  state  that  gender  equality  should  be 
integrated  into  all  relevant  policy  areas  and  national  policies  should  improve  the 
situation  of  women  in  the  labour  market  and  combat  discrimination  in  order  to 
increase female labour force participation. In this context, Employment Guideline 7 
aims  at  increasing  labour  market  participation  of  women  and  men,  reducing 
structural unemployment and promoting job quality, and encourages policies to fight 
against gender inequality, by promoting equal pay and conditions for a better work-
life balance. Employment Guideline 8: developing a skilled workforce responding to 
labour market needs and promoting lifelong learning encourages Member States to 
create  policies  promoting  further  opportunities  for  training,  skills  and  professional 
experience  of  women,  and  this  also  in  the  scientific,  mathematical  and  technology 
fields. 

The relevant EU headline target13 is to aim to raise to 75 % the employment rate for 
women  and  men  aged  20-64,  including  through  greater  participation  of  young 
people,  older  workers  and  low-skilled  workers  and  better  integration  of  legal 
migrants. 

10 
11 
12 

13 

Second European Quality of Life Survey, 2007. 
Fourth European Working Conditions Survey, 2005. 
Proposal for a Council Decision on Guidelines for Employment Policies of the Member States: Part II 
on the Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines, Council document 10907/10 (June 2010). 
European Council Conclusions 17 June 2010 (EUCO 13/10). 

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 Employment impact of parenthood for women and men (aged 25-49) in 2008 
Difference in percentage points in em ploym ent rates w ith presence of a child under 12 and w ithout the 
presence of any children 

men

women

CZ HU SK IE MT EE UK DE AT BG EU-
27

PL ES LU FI EL

IT CY FR LV NL RO LT BE PT SI DK

i

s
t
n
o
p
e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
p

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

-40

Source :  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual average.
Notes : no data available for SE.

Care services 

An  important  factor  affecting  parents’  (and  especially  the  mother’s)  opportunity  to 
participate in the labour market is the availability of care services for children and 
other dependent persons. Most Member States have failed to reach the EU targets for 
the provision of care facilities for children14 (90 % for children aged between 3 and 
the  age  when  compulsory  schooling  begins  and  at  least  33 %  for  children  below  3 
years  of  age),  which  play  an  important  role  in  enhancing  work-life  balance  for 
parents.  Some  progress  has  been  observed  in  the  proportion  of  children  under  3 
covered by formal care services, with the share increasing on average from 25 % in 
2005 to 28 % in 2007 (EU-25 average). However, this share varies across countries 
and these services are not always available on a full-time basis or affordable. In the 
EU, around 30 % of working-age women having care responsibilities are inactive 
or  work  part-time  (but  would  like  to  work  more  hours)  due  to  the  lack  of  care 
services  for  children  and  other  dependent  persons.  This  share  is  below  10 %  in  the 
Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark but is higher than 60 % in Spain and Greece and 
even higher than 80 % in Latvia and Romania.  

14 

COM(2008) 638. 

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Inactivity and part-time work among women due to the lack of care services for children and 
other dependent persons  (% of total female population having care responsibilities), in 2008

29,9

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

NL

SE DK SK

FI

CZ

FR EE AT

IT

BG LU CY EU27 PT HU BE DE PL

LT

SI

ES

EL

LV RO

Source:  Eurostat - Labour Force Survey. IE, MT, UK : data not available. 

Gender pay gap 

The gender pay gap currently stands at 17.8 %. The complex causes are considered in 
more detail in section 4.  

Pay gap between women and men in unadjusted form in EU Member States - 2008 
(Difference between men's and wo men's average gro ss ho urly earnings as a percentage o f men's average gro ss ho urly earnings)

17,8

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

IT

SI

BE RO MT PT

PL

LU

LV

BG DK* ES

SE

IE HU* EU27 FR NL

FI

SK UK* CY

LT GR DE

AT CZ

Source:  Eurostat. Structure of Earnings Survey 2006 and national sources (2008) for yearly SES-comparable estimates. EE: data not 
available. DK, HU, UK: provisional.

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Entrepreneurship 

Female entrepreneurs make up only 33.2 % of the self-employed15, their share in 
start-ups  is  around  30 %.  Men  seem  to  favour  self–employment  more  than  women: 
about one in two men expressed a preference for being self-employed compared to 
about  four  in  ten  women  in  a  recent  Eurobarometer  survey16.  Women  often  do  not 
consider  entrepreneurship  as  a  relevant  career  option.  They  are  more  likely  to  say 
that the opportunity to address an unmet social or ecological need had been important 
in  their  decision  to  take  steps  to  start  up  a  business  (60 %  vs  52 %  of  men).  This 
perception  seems  to  be  influenced  by  traditional  views  of  gender  roles  and 
stereotypes about women, educational choices and a lack of access to networks and 
training. 

Educational attainment 

While the average educational attainment of women and men is now similar over the 
entire  working-age  population,  young  women  (20-24)  record  a  higher  level  of 
educational attainment than men in almost all Member States. On average, 81.4 % 
of young women (20-24) reached at least upper secondary school in the EU in 2009, 
against only 75.9 % of young men.  

Educational attainment (at least upper secondary level) of women and men aged 20 - 24, 
in EU Member States - 2009

women men

81,4

75,9

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100,0

90,0

80,0

70,0

60,0

50,0

40,0

30,0

20,0

10,0

0,0

SK

PL

SI

CZ

LT

IE

CY

SE GR

EE

AT

FR

FI

HU

BE

LV

BG EU27 UK

NL

IT

RO DK

LU

DE

ES

PT MT

Source : Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages.
NB:  FI :  provisional values.
Students living outside their home country for one or more years (for study purposes) are covered in their destination country in the EU Labour Force Survey. 
This may cause differences to Member State statistics depending on how these students are counted in each country. This issue is particularly relevant for 
smaller EU Member States (as CY, LU, MT) where many students study abroad at upper secondary and tertiary educational levels. Conscripts on compulsory 
military service may not be covered in the EU Labour Force Survey in all EU Member States

Furthermore,  women  represent  as  much  as  59 %  of  university  graduates  in  the  EU. 
This  share  is  higher  than  50 %  in  all  Member  States  and  even  exceeds  65 %  in 
Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.  

15 
16 

Eurostat EU-25. 
Flash Eurobarometer on Entrepreneurship 283 (2009). 

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On the other hand, early school-leavers are mainly men. 16 % of the male population 
aged 18-24 has at most lower secondary education and is not in further education or 
training.  The  equivalent  female  share  is  12.9 %.  Boys  from  working  class 
backgrounds  in  all  ethnic  groups  and  minority  groups  are  the  most  likely  to  have 
literacy difficulties and to leave school early.17 

Sex distribution of tertiary education graduates, for EU Member States, in 2007

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

41

59

LV

EE

LT HU PL

SE

FI

SI

SK

PT BG RO EL CY EU

IT

ES

BE UK DK MT CZ

IE

NL

FR DE

AT

Source:  Eurostat, Education statistics. 
Note : LU : no data available. The EU-27 value is calculated on the basis of all countries except LU.

While these trends will most probably have a positive impact on women’s outcomes 
on the labour market in the future, it is to be noted that until now the generally high 
skills  levels  of  women  have  not  been  fully  reflected  in  their  employment 
outcomes.  Indeed,  even  if  the  gender  gap  in  employment  rates  is  smaller  among 
women  and  men  having  tertiary  education  (than  among  women  and  men  having  a 
lower level of education), gender gaps seem also to follow a lifecycle pattern, with 
the level of education having a limited influence. 

Finally, although women now outnumber men among university graduates, they are 
under-represented  among  researchers  and  academic  staff.  Women  account  for 
just 36 % of graduates in Science, Maths, Informatics and Engineering, which in turn 
affects their opportunities on the labour market. Furthermore, women represent only 
19 % of the grade A academic professors in public universities18.  

The  integrated  guideline  919  aims  at  improving  the  quality  and  performance  of 
education and training systems at all levels and increasing participation in tertiary 

17 

18 

19 

GENDER AND EDUCATION (AND EMPLOYMENT) Gendered imperatives and their implications 
for  women  and  men,  lessons  from  research  for  policymakers,  an  independent  report  submitted  to  the 
European Commission by the NESSE networks of experts, 2009. 
European  Commission,  She  Figures  2009  –  Statistics  and  Indicators  on  Gender  Equality  in  Science, 
2009, available at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she_figures_2009_en.pdf  
Proposal for a Council Decision on Guidelines for Employment Policies of the Member States: Part II 
on the Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines, Council document 10907/10 (June 2010). 

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or  equivalent  education.  The  EU  headline  target  adopted20  is  to  improve  education 
levels, in particular by aiming to reduce school drop-out rates to less than 10 % and 
by increasing to at least 40 % the share of 30-34 year-olds having completed tertiary 
or equivalent education.21 

Social exclusion and poverty risks 

Women’s  less  linear  career  trajectories  are  reflected  in  their  on  average  lower 
pensions,  and  their  higher  exposure  to  the  risk  of  poverty  (having  an  income 
below the threshold set at 60 % of the national median income).  

At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers1 for older people (women and men aged 65 years and 
over), in EU Member States, 2008

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

22

16

HU

LU

NL

CZ

FR

PL

SK

AT

DE DK MT

SE EU27 BE

IE

GR

IT

PT

SI

FI

ES RO UK

LT

BG EE

CY

LV

Source:  Eurostat. SILC.
NB:  1) At-risk-of-poverty rate for elderly persons: The share of persons aged 65+ with an income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60% of the 
national median income. Income must be understood as equivalised disposable income (sum from all sources, adjusted for household size and composition). It should 
be noted that the risk-of-poverty indicator is computed using an income definition which does not yet include imputed rent of owner-occupiers. Comparisons between 
sexes are based on the assumption of equal sharing of resources within households. 
Source: EU-27:  SILC 2008. EU aggregates are Eurostat estimates and computed as population weighted averages of national values. 

Significant  gender  inequalities  persist  in  the  degree  and  way  in  which  women  and 
men experience social exclusion: in particular elderly women (whose risk of poverty 
in 2008 was 22 % compared to 16 % of elderly men), single parents (with a risk of 
poverty in 2008 of 35 %), disabled and ethnic minority women are affected. The gap 
exceeds  10  p.p.  in  Slovenia  and  Bulgaria  and  15  p.p.  in  Latvia,  Estonia,  Lithuania 
and Romania. Comparisons between the sexes are based on the assumption of equal 
sharing  of  resources  within  households.  However,  due  to  the  fact  that  women  are 
often secondary earners or do not earn any salary22, their economic independence is 

20 
21 

22 

European Council Conclusions 17 June 2010 (EUCO 13/10). 
The  European  Council  emphasises  the  competence  of  Member  States  to  define  and  implement 
quantitative targets in the field of education. 
According to a report by the EC’s Network of experts on gender and employment issues (F. Bettio and 
A. Verashchagina, Fiscal systems and female employment, 2009, forthcoming) based on EU-SILC data, 
the share of couples in which the woman is the secondary earner (brings less than 45 % of the household 
earnings)  or  does  not  earn  any  salary  is  63.5 %  in  the  EU  on  average  (non  weighted).  It  ranges  from 
53 % in Slovenia to 81 % in Austria. 

EN 

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often limited and some of them face a high risk of poverty in the event of break-up, 
divorce or death of their partner23. Therefore, the current figures of at-risk-of-poverty 
rates  at  household  level  cannot  fully  reflect  the  individual  situation  of  women  and 
men. 

Integrated  Guideline  10  of  the  Europe  2020  Strategy24  Promoting  social  inclusion 
and combating poverty will encourage national policies that protect women from the 
risk  of  exclusion,  ensuring  income  security  for  one-parent  families,  elderly  women 
and  men.  The  EU  headline  target  adopted25  is  to  promote  social  inclusion,  in 
particular  through  the  reduction  of  poverty,  by  aiming  to  lift  at  least  20  million 
people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion.26 

According  to  a  recent  study27  women  with  disabilities  are  under-represented  in 
democratic  processes  and  decision-making  more  generally.  Women  with  mental  or 
psychological  disability  are  at  greater  risk  of  being  abused  than  are  men  with 
disabilities  or  women  without  disabilities.  Social  protection  systems  and  healthcare 
services do not recognise gender as relevant to the persons with disabilities. Women 
with  disabilities  are  particularly  under-represented  in  recreational  activities,  culture 
and sport – in terms of participation, leadership, management and delivery and media 
coverage. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities28, which entered 
into force in 2008, reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy 
all human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

A  significant  number  of  the  10-12  million  Roma  in  Europe  live  in  extreme 
marginalisation  in  both  rural  and  urban  areas  and  in  very  poor  socio-economic 
circumstances. Throughout Europe, the Roma communities are the most vulnerable 
to  social  exclusion,  and  are  confronted  with  a  range  of  common  socio-economic 
problems:  widespread  social  inequality  and  discrimination,  poor  living  standards 
with  numerous  families  living  in  poverty,  little  or  no  employment  prospects,  poor 
health  and  housing  conditions,  and  reduced  access  to  public  services.  In  particular, 
Roma women are even more disadvantaged than Roma men and members of other 
ethnic minority groups in almost all respects. They are particularly disadvantaged in 
accessing  employment,  education,  health  and  social  services,  a  result  of  multiple 

23 

24 

25 
26 

27 

28 

The  Belgian  Gender  and  Income  Analysis  (BGIA)  project  has  calculated  individualised  at  risk  of 
poverty rates (based on individualised income of women and men) which lead to much higher gender 
gaps between women and men. For Belgium in 2007, this individualised risk of poverty would be 36 % 
for  women  and  11 %  for  men,  compared  to  16 %  for  women  and  13 %  for  men  in  the  measurement 
based  on  households.  Although  these  calculations  are  based  on  the  strong  hypothesis  of  absence  of 
sharing  of  resources  between  household  members  (instead  of  the  hypothesis  of  total  sharing  of 
resources), they reflect certain gaps in the economic independence of women and men and the risk of 
poverty women would face in the event of break-up, divorce or death of their partner. 
Proposal for a Council Decision on Guidelines for Employment Policies of the Member States: Part II 
on the Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines, Council document 10907/10 (June 2010). 
European Council Conclusions 17 June 2010 (EUCO 13/10). 
The population is defined as the number of persons who are at risk of poverty and exclusion according 
to three indicators (at-risk-of poverty; material deprivation; jobless household), leaving Member States 
free to set their national targets on the basis of the most appropriate indicators, taking into account their 
national circumstances and priorities. 
Study  on  the  situation  of  women  with  disabilities  in  light  of  the  UN  Convention  for  the  Rights  of 
Persons with Disabilities. 
Adopted on 13 December 2006. 

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causes,  including  also  the  gender  roles  that  persist  in  the  Roma  community.29  The 
Commission  recently  indicated30 how the EU would develop its  contribution to the 
full  social  and  economic  integration  of  the  Roma,  on  the  basis  of  the  progress 
achieved. 

Women make up more than 50 % of the EU’s migrant population31, yet often they 
have difficulties integrating into the labour market and the economic potential they 
represent is underused. In terms of employment, there is ample evidence of a large 
discrepancy in the labour force participation of migrant women and nationals in 
the  EU.  In  some  countries  the  employment  rate  of  migrant  women  (citizens  of 
countries outside the EU-27) is relatively close to that of nationals. In the majority of 
countries,  however,  there  can  be  rather  large  gaps,  with  the  employment  rate  of 
migrant  women  lagging  behind  that  of  nationals  with  as  much  as  almost  30 
percentage points difference, such as in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden 
and  Finland32.  In  terms  of  occupational  distribution,  migrant  women  tend  to  face  a 
double disadvantage, both vis-à-vis female nationals on the one hand and vis-à-vis 
migrant men on the other. For example, almost two thirds of female immigrants are 
concentrated  in  low-skilled  jobs,  which  entail  limited  opportunities  for  upward 
mobility, restricted rights, and instability. This situation is particularly worrisome in 
the  case  of  highly  skilled  migrant  women,  who  are  about  twice  as  likely  to  be 
employed in low-skill jobs as EU nationals with the same level of education33. 

Decision-making  

Women  face  difficulties  in  breaking  through  the  ‘glass  ceiling’  into  positions  of 
responsibility  at  their  workplace.  Despite  some  positive  developments  in  women’s 
representation in decision-making, a significant gender imbalance continues to exist 
at all levels and in both the public and private sectors.  

29 

30 
31 
32 

33 

Ethnic minority and Roma women in Europe A case for gender equality? – Report by the Network of 
experts  in  gender  equality,  social  inclusion,  health  and  long-term  care,  prepared  for  the  European 
Commission, November 2008. 
COM(2010)113, 7.4.2010. 
COM(2007) 512 - Third annual report on migration and integration. 
Source: LFS, quarterly data on employment rates by sex, age groups and nationality – comparison of 
employment 
the  EU-27: 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/employment_unemployment_lfs/data/database  
Study on ‘Migrant women in the European labour force’ commissioned by the European Commission 
and completed in 2008; available at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=2098&langId=en  

countries 

nationals 

citizens 

outside 

rates 

and 

for 

of 

EN 

17 

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Sex distribution of members of single/lower houses of national parliaments in EU Member States -
in 2005 and 2010 (1)

Left bar: 2005        Right bar: 2009

women 

men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

77

76

24

23

SE

NL

FI

BE

DK

ES

DE

PT

AT

EU27

BG

LV

EE

IT

LU

PL

UK

FR

LT

CZ

SK

EL

CY

SI

IE

HU

RO MT

Source:  European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG, Database on women and men in decision-making
NB: (1) Data for 2010 were collected in May 2010. The indicator was developed as part of the follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action in 
the EU Council of Ministers. 

In  the  EU  in  2010,  women  account  for  about  24 %  of  members  of  national 
parliaments (above 35 % in Spain, Denmark, Belgium and Finland and above 40 % 
in the Netherlands and Sweden, and below 15 % in Ireland, Hungary and Romania, 
Malta  and  Cyprus)  and  35 %  in  the  European  Parliament34.  Only  2 %  of  senior 
ministers are women, which  is  a 5 % increase compared with 2005 (higher than 10 
p.p. in Finland, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy, Portugal and Slovakia, higher than 15 p.p in 
Denmark,  France,  Poland  and  Cyprus,  and  even  reaching  25  p.p.  in  Greece.). 
Similarly,  in  the  private  sector,  women  account,  on  average,  for  only  30 %  of 
managers  (but  in  most  countries  the  share  is  below  25 %  —  Denmark,  Finland, 
Ireland, Malta and Cyprus), while the proportion of women members of the highest 
decision-making  body  of  the  largest  quoted  companies  is  just  11 %.  The  figure 
exceeds  20 % only in Finland (24 %) and Sweden (27 %); it is below 5 % in Malta, 
Italy, Portugal, Cyprus and Luxembourg. 

34 

Data base on women and men in decision-making 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=764&langId=en. 

EN 

18 

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Sex distribution of leaders of businesses, in 2008

Women

Men

t
n
e
c
r
e
p

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

67,5

32,5

FR LV ES

IT

PL EE UK EU-
27

LT

PT BG DE AT SK LU NL BE HU EL CZ RO SE

SI DK

FI

IE MT CY

Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS). NB: leaders of businesses covers ISCO (International Standard Classification of Occupations) categories 121 
(Directors and chief executives) and 13 (Managers of small enterprises). 
For MT and CY: data lack reliability due to small sample size.
FR: the figures exclude Directors and CEOs, for which data are not available

Gender-based violence 

One  fifth  to  one  quarter  of  all  women  have  experienced  physical  violence  at  least 
once during their adult lives and more than one tenth have suffered sexual violence 
involving  the  use  of  force35.  Moreover,  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  European  Union 
alone, 500 000 girls and women are affected or threatened by the practice of female 
genital mutilation36. These numbers represent estimates due to the fact that violence 
against women and practices such as female genital mutilation remain largely under-
reported and practiced behind closed doors. 

Trafficking in human beings 

Trafficking  in  women  is  also  a  widespread  reality.  However,  due  to  the  ‘hidden’ 
nature of trafficking activities, gathering statistics on the magnitude of the problem is 
a complex and difficult task. It is therefore not feasible to establish the exact number 
of  women  affected,  given  the  absence  of  reliable  and  comparable  statistics37. 
According  to  the  U.S.  Department  of  State38,  800 000  is  the  number  of  people 
trafficked across international borders every year, mostly women and children.  

Health 

35 

36 

37 
38 

Combating violence against women: Stocktaking study on the measures and actions taken in Council of 
Europe Member States, 2006 
Dirie, Waris, Onze verborgen tranen, Amsterdam, Sirene, 2005 
European  Parliament  resolution  of  24  March  2009  on  combating  female  genital  mutilation  in  the  EU 
(2008/2071(INI)). 
http://nhtrc.polarisproject.org/materials/Human-Trafficking-Statistics.pdf  
Trafficking in Persons Report: 2007. 

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19 

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Men and women show different patterns of exposure to health risks, health outcomes 
and access to health services. In the EU, women can expect to live six years longer 
than men but this gap is slowly but steadily closing. However, in every EU country, 
women are expected to live a smaller  proportion of their years in  good  health  than 
men39. Gender plays a specific role in both the incidence and prevalence of specific 
pathologies,  and  also  in  their  treatment  and  impact  in  terms  of  well-being  and 
recovery  due  to  the  interrelation  of  biological  aspects,  psychological  and  cultural 
behaviour, the social system and the organisation of the health care systems.  

Beyond reproductive roles, women and men are susceptible to sex-specific diseases; 
they also present different symptoms and consequences of common diseases (such as 
cardiovascular diseases or sexually transmitted diseases). Besides biological factors, 
social  norms  and  health  behaviour  also  affect  the  health  status  of  women  and  men 
differently:  men  are  more  likely  to  engage  in  risky  health  behaviour  and  are 
consequently  more  affected  by  related  illnesses  and  disabilities;  women  are  more 
likely to present ‘invisible’ illnesses and disabilities, often not adequately recognised 
by  the  health  care  system  (i.e.  depression,  eating  disorders,  sexual  violence, 
disabilities related to home accidents and old age). Still, in all Member States (except 
Malta where there is almost parity), women use health services more than men. 

39 

COM(2009)567  final,  ‘Solidarity  in  health:  Reducing  health  inequalities  in  the  EU’,  October  2009 
Women’s Health Report: http://ec.europa.eu/health/population_groups/docs/women_report_en.pdf. 

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20 

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3. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE ROADMAP’S ACHIEVEMENTS 

This section presents the main results achieved since 2006 with a view to ‘driving the 
gender  equality  agenda  forward,  reinforcing  partnership  with  Member  States,  and 
other  actors’40.  This  presentation  is  based  on  the  mid-term  progress  report  on  the 
Roadmap for equality  between women and  men (2006-2010) adopted at the end of 
200841, expert work in this field and the responses to the consultation regarding the 
overall assessment of the performance of the Roadmap42. 

3.1. 

Assessment of policy commitments in the field of gender equality 

The Roadmap for equality between women and men (2006-2010) demonstrated the 
Commission’s  commitment  to  promote  gender  equality.  Overall,  the  results  show 
that the Roadmap has generated political momentum for promoting equality between 
women  and  men.  It  has  raised  the  profile  of  gender  equality  policies  in  the  six 
priority  areas  relevant  to  the  main  gender  gaps  identified  at  the  time  the  Roadmap 
was adopted.  

Significant  advances  have  been  achieved  on  several  fronts,  such  as  women’s 
participation  in  employment,  in  research  and  in  education.  The  Roadmap  laid  a 
strong  foundation  for  the  new  initiatives  adopted  since  2006.  It  also  served  as  a 
catalyst for action, not only for the Commission but also for Member States43. 

However,  the  stakeholders  consulted  have  also  suggested  that  in  order  to  make 
further progress in promoting gender equality policies, the political support should be 
stronger  in  order  to  secure  the  commitment  of  actors.  The  need  ‘to  motivate  the 
actors  involved  in  policymaking  was  identified,  though  these  actors  may  consider 
gender issues to be irrelevant or even a hindrance to their core policy goals’44. Work 
needs to continue so that relevant players have a more comprehensive understanding 
of the value of promoting gender equality both out of respect for fundamental rights 
and as a condition for social and economic progress.45 

3.2. 

Assessment of the implementation of policy instruments 

The aim of the Roadmap was to promote gender equality by taking a dual approach, 
combining  gender  mainstreaming  with  specific  actions.  A  wide  range  of  EU 
instruments were mobilised, including: 

40 
41 
42 

43 

44 

45 

COM(2006) 92, p. 2. 
See Annex 3. 
COM(2008)  760  ‘Mid-term  progress  report  on  the  roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men 
(2006-2010)’, November 2008. 
See,  for  instance,  ‘Beijing  +  15:  The  Platform  for  Action  and  the  European  Union’,  Report  by  the 
Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union (2009). 
Hafner-Burton, Emilie; Pollack, Mark (2009), ‘Mainstreaming Gender in the European Union: Getting 
the Incentives Right’, Comparative European Politics, Volume 7, Number 1, April 2009, p. 120. 
Weaver, Catherine (2009), ‘Normative Tactics: The Strategic Social Construction of the World Bank’s 
Gender Development Policy Norm’, Paper presented at the ISA’s 50th Annual Convention, New York, 
15 February 2009. 

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21 

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•  integration of gender issues in policymaking, notably by means of specific gender 
objectives  agreed  at  EU  level  and  quantified  targets46,  which  boost  the 
commitment to gender equality and allow measurement of progress. 

•  European legislation on gender equality, for instance three proposals were tabled 

in 200847 to bring certain parts of the legislation more up to date.  

•  funding  to  support  gender  equality  policies  by  integrating  gender  issues  into 
programmes under shared management with Member States, such as the ESF and 
ERDF,  and  other  measures  to  advance  gender  equality  funded  by  a  number  of 
other EU financial instruments. 

The  Roadmap  achieved  synergies  by  bringing  the  above-mentioned  instruments, 
together  with  quantitative  objectives  fixed  at  EU  level,  under  a  common  reference 
framework, which proved to be a particularly useful source of added value. Gender 
mainstreaming  has  progressed  in  a  number  of  key  EU  policies  and  programmes 
identified  in  the  Roadmap,  such  as  the  European  Employment  Strategy,  the  open 
method  of  coordination  in  the  field  of  social  inclusion  and  social  protection,  the 
European  funds  for  cohesion  policies,  health  policies,  education,  research 
programmes and external relations and cooperation development.  

Gender  mainstreaming  has  been  accompanied  by  specific  actions  focusing  on 
correcting the imbalances between the sexes. This has taken different forms, such as 
legislation  regarding  parental  leave,  awareness-raising  campaigns,  incentives  for 
female  entrepreneurs,  etc.  Coordination  of  these  types  of  measures  has  proved  to 
increase  their  effectiveness.  Overall,  the  Roadmap  has  improved  coherence  and 
added visibility to the Commission’s activities on gender equality. 

The  Commission  has  also  strengthened  its  internal  mechanisms  for  gender 
mainstreaming with the revision of the impact assessment guidelines48 and has made 
progress in taking into consideration the impact of new policies on women and men, 
and improving the integration of fundamental rights and gender equality into all EU 
policies  and  programmes.  The  revised  impact  assessment  guidelines49  include 
‘Guidance  for  assessing  social  impacts’50  that  will  help  reinforce  the  analysis  of 
gender  issues  in  impact  assessments.  Progress  has  also  been  made  in  other  areas, 

46 

47 

48 
49 
50 

1) 60 % employment rate of women by 2010, 2) availability of childcare facilities by 2010 (Barcelona 
targets:  for  90 %  of  children  between  the  age  of  three  and  school  age  and  for  33 %  of  children  aged 
under three) 3) participation in early childhood education (at least 95 % of children between four years 
old  and  the  age  for  starting  compulsory  primary  education),  4)  proportion  of  female  graduates  in 
mathematics,  sciences  and  technologies  (levels  of  European  Average  Performance  in  Education  and 
Training  should  increase  by  at  least  15 %  and  the  gender  imbalance  should  be  reduced)  and  5) 
proportion of women in leading positions in the public research sector (objective of 25 % for women in 
leading positions in the public sector and to increase the participation of women in industrial research 
and technology/ engineering). 
One amending Directive 92/85/EEC on pregnant workers, one repealing Directive 86/613/EEC on self-
employed  women  and  one  amending  Directive  96/34/EC  on  parental  leave  based  on  agreement  of 
European Social Partners. 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs/key_docs/iag_2009_en.pdf 
SEC(2009) 92. 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=760&langId=en&preview=cHJldmlld0VtcGxQb3J0YWwh 

EN 

22 

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such as the inclusion of gender equality in the 2010 budgetary circular, which calls 
for account to be taken of gender equality issues in budgetary management. 

However,  studies  and  evaluations  show  that  some  Community  policies  have  not 
taken systematic account of gender equality. Gender mainstreaming is often seen as a 
general principle, and is not translated into more specific objectives in policies and 
programmes51.  In  particular,  in  programmes  which  contain  a  general  clause  on 
gender  mainstreaming,  gender  issues  are  usually  not  cemented  into  firm  objectives 
and the means to implement them are inadequate. Moreover, gender mainstreaming 
alone without specific action is seen as insufficient by some stakeholders52.  

The recommendation with regard to a possible successor framework to the Roadmap 
for  equality  between  women and men  is to effectively  anchor the  dual approach of 
gender  mainstreaming  and  specific  actions,  in  order  to  correct  the  existing  gender-
specific imbalances.  

3.3. 

Assessment of progress in the different priority areas of action 

In order to monitor the implementation of the activities set out in the Roadmap, three 
annual  work  programmes  were  drawn  up  in  2007,  2008  and  2009  allowing 
monitoring  to  be  carried  out  by  the  Commission’s  services  and  providing  an 
exhaustive list of actions. Moreover, a mid-term progress report that highlighted how 
actions  have  contributed  to  achieving  the  objectives  of  the  Roadmap  was  also 
adopted in 200853. Some examples of successful approaches in priority policy areas 
are presented below. 

3.3.1.  Achieving equal economic independence for women and men 

The  need  to  meet  the  gender  equality  commitments  under  the  Lisbon  strategy  and 
achieve  economic  equality  between  the  sexes  has  been  recognised  even  if  gender 
mainstreaming has not always been sufficiently implemented by stakeholders.54 The 
initiatives set out in the Roadmap have been realised, and as a result greater account 
was taken of gender  equality  issues in the new 2008-2010 cycle of the strategy for 
growth  and  jobs.  The  analysis  of  national  employment  measures  to  implement 
gender equality under the Lisbon strategy has shown that more could have been done 
at  Member  State  level.  In  this  context,  the  publication  of  a  ‘Manual  for  gender 
mainstreaming of employment policies’55 was welcomed by the Member States.  

The analysis on how gender equality has been mainstreamed in the National Strategy 
Reports on social protection and social inclusion showed56 that gender considerations 
feature  prominently  and  acknowledged  that  the  gender  pension  gap  is  expected  to 

51 

52 

53 

54 
55 
56 

Institute  for  Social  Research,  ‘Effectiveness  of  Cohesion  Policy:  Gender  Equality  and  Demographic 
Change’, 2009. 
Pfister,  Thomas,  ‘Mainstreamed  Away?  The  European  Employment  Strategy  and  its  Gender  Equality 
Dimension’, European Union Studies Association (EUSA), 10th Biennial Conference, 17-19 May 2007, 
Montreal, Canada. 
COM(2008)  760  ‘Mid-term  progress  report  on  the  roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men 
2006-2010’, Brussels, 26 November 2008. 
Council document 15992/2009. 
Manual for gender mainstreaming of employment policies, 2007. 
COM(2009) 58 2009 Joint Report. 

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persist  in  the  future  and  might  become  even  wider.  Gender  issues  have  also  been 
identified  as  a  general  principle  to  be  taken  into  account  in  the  European  Year  for 
Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion in 2010. 

Gender equality has been included in the European Funds covering the period 2007-
2013  for  cohesion  policy57  in  order  to  support  national  policies  aiming  at  reducing 
differences  between  men  and  women  and  their  segregation  on  the  job  market. 
Member States are asked to integrate gender equality objectives to facilitate access to 
employment,  education  and  training,  promote  participation  in  decision-making  and 
strengthen  the  reconciliation  of  working  and  family  life  in  their  national 
programmes. The high-level group on gender mainstreaming in the Structural Funds 
has organised its work so as to promote exchanges of good practices on key policy 
themes of the Roadmap. The Funds for rural development58 and fisheries59 have also 
encouraged  Member  States  to  promote  gender  equality.  The  Commission  is 
following up the implementation of this priority in the national programmes. 

Example: ESF project in Poland 

‘Wanted: women over 45 – reliability, commitment, experience’ 

The project ran from November 2006 to November 2007. It was designed to contribute to changing 
stereotypes concerning working women over 45. Moreover, it was supposed to provoke a discussion 
on  the  system  planned  with  respect  to  gradual  levelling  of  the  retirement  age  for  women  and  men, 
equal access to employment and lifelong learning for both sexes, especially older people.  

The project consisted of a media awareness-raising campaign addressed to women and employers for 
eliminating the stereotype according to which women over 45 are ineffective at work. Three TV spots 
were broadcasted on television, each of them illustrating the present situation of women over 45 on 
the labour market.  

The  campaign  aimed  at  promoting  the  image  of  a  women  45+  as  mature,  with  vast  experience 
resulting from many years of professional work, who is more focused on work than a young person 
because  she  has  fewer  family  responsibilities,  who  is  meticulous  because  she  has  already  made 
mistakes and learned from them, who is disciplined because she values stability, who is loyal to her 
employer because she values her job, who has a higher motivation to work because she knows what 
she wants, and in addition – an increasingly prized commodity today – is a person who understands 
better the needs of an ageing population of customers because she belongs to that group herself. 

A concurrent campaign on the internet website www.kobieta.gov.pl provided users with information 
on legal aspects of counteracting discrimination, addressed to employers, senior citizens and women. 
All articles from the website were also published in book form.  

The  importance  of  eliminating  the  pay  gap  between  women  and  men  has  been 
highlighted  in  the  Communication  on  the  gender  pay  gap60.  A  new  methodology 
(based on the SES - Structure of Earnings Survey) has been implemented in order to 
obtain  a  harmonised  and  comparable  measure  of  the  unadjusted  gender  pay  gap 

57 

58 
59 
60 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1083/2006  of  11 July  2006  laying  down  general  provisions  on  the 
European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund. 
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005. 
Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006. 
COM(2007) 424. 

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24 

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across  Member  States.  A  major  communication  campaign61  was  launched  on 
International Women’s Day 2009 and is still going on. 

Example of expert analysis on the gender pay gap: 

Exposing the Pay Gap in Switzerland and Germany62 

The  European  Network  of  Experts  on  Employment  and  Gender  Equality  produced  a  report  on  the 
gender pay gap. They pointed out an example of an instrument developed to address the gender pay 
gap in enterprises.  

To help both employed men and women, management and workers’ representatives (works councils), 
the German government (Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth) has a new instrument to 
measure the gender wage gap at company level. This instrument, called LOGIB-D, is an Excel-based 
programme  which  calculates  regression on  the basis of data  on  each  single  employee.  The  Ministry 
offers  this  instrument  via  its  website  and  some  firms  are  participating  in  a  voluntary  experimental 
phase to test the instrument. 

Wider implementation of the LOGIB system in Germany is currently under discussion. Whereas the 
German Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth wants to keep the instrument voluntary in 
order to make firms sensitive towards gender wage gaps, the German Minister for Labour and Social 
Affairs  is  working  on  using  the  federal  regulations  on  public  procurement  to  strengthen  the  legal 
obligations. The Minister wants to create a federal office responsible for equal pay within the federal 
Agency for Anti-discrimination which could use the LOGIB instrument, and to give works councils 
the right to collect all information about wages and pay components and to demand the use of LOGIB.  

However, this approach is planned in conjunction with other measures and the Minister points out that 
the wage gap due to low wages in certain sectors and industries needs to be tackled by a minimum-
wage regulation.  

In  order  to  increase  female  entrepreneurship,  three  lines  of  action  have  been 
developed:  better  access 
female 
entrepreneurial networks and adoption of the ‘Small Business Act’63, thus providing, 
for the first time, a comprehensive policy framework for SMEs. 

to  finance  for  women,  development  of 

Inequalities  are  experienced  particularly  by  women  belonging  to  ethnic  minorities 
and immigrant women, who represent the majority of the migrant population in the 
Union.64 This situation was taken into account in devising the strategy on migration 
policy65,  particularly  as  regards  participation  of  women  in  the  labour  market  and 
protection  of  women  who  are  victims  of  trafficking.  The  Commission  has  paid 
attention to the situation of women in monitoring the transposition of the Directive 
on  the  residence  permit  issued  to  third-country  nationals,66  and  in  drawing  up  the 
framework  Directive  on  the  conditions  of  entry  and  residence  of  third-country 
nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment.67 

61 
62 

63 
64 

65 
66 
67 

Http://ec.europa.eu/equalpay. 
Author:  Friederike  Maier  (German  Expert  to  the  EGGE  –  European  Network  of  Experts  on 
Employment and Gender Equality issues–). 
COM(2008) 394. 
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the situation of migrant women in the European Union, 
15.12.2007. 
COM(2008) 359. 
Directive 2004/81/EC. 
COM(2007) 637. 

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The  EU  Health  Strategy  (Together  for  Health:  A  Strategic  Approach  for  the  EU 
2008-2013)68  called  on  the  Commission  to  take  account  of  specific  aspects  of 
women’s and men’s health. The second programme of Community action in the field 
of  health  (2008-2013)69  is  intended  to  improve  knowledge  of  the  needs  of  women 
and  men  in  the  field  of  public  health  and  to  support  initiatives  to  reduce  gender 
inequalities. 

3.3.2.  Better reconciliation of work and private family life 

A broad consensus has been reached regarding the need to support efforts to increase 
employment  rates  and  for  measures  facilitating  better  reconciliation  of  work  and 
private  life.  A  policy  communication  and  legislative  proposals  elaborated  in  2008 
and the report on the availability of childcare facilities in line with the objectives set 
out  in  Barcelona  in  2002,  have  helped  to  reinforce  this  objective  and  therefore 
contributed to addressing demographic imbalances. 

New  legislative  proposals  related  to  maternity  leave  and  equal  treatment  for  self-
employed  persons  and  their  assisting  spouses  have  been  adopted  and  a  successful 
consultation of social partners on the parental leave directive has taken place. 

In 2008, the Commission launched a programme of exchanges of good practices70 to 
reinforce  the  potential  for  Member  States  to  learn  from  each  other,  to  develop 
synergies,  both  in  partnership  with  the  Commission  and,  where  appropriate,  with 
social  partners  and  NGOs,  in  order  to  achieve  the  objectives  of  the  Roadmap.  The 
first  two  exchanges  were  organised  to  transfer  successful  experiences  on  childcare 
and parental leave.71 

Example reconciliation between work and private life:72 

‘Men at work - Achieving Gender Equality’ 

In  2006-2007  the  Department  of  Gender  Equality  from  the  Danish  Minister  for  Ligestilling 
implemented a transnational project called ‘Men at work - Achieving Gender Equality’. This project 
aimed  at  encouraging  men  and  fathers  to  care  more  for  their  children  and  families,  thereby  finding 
ways of reconciling work and family life. 

A  series  of  TV  programmes  was  produced  by  The  Danish  Broadcasting  Corporation.  These 
programmes took a closer look at the myths and prejudices that surround the male role – and at the 
special  equality  issues  that  are  associated  with  the  role  of  the  male.  The  series  focused  on  ‘the 
European man’ and his role in the family, in the workplace and in the community at large, but with 
specific emphasis on the relationship between work and private life. 

As  a  partner  in  this  project  the  Slovenian  Governmental  Office  for  Equal  Opportunities  launched  a 
media campaign of several months’ duration called ‘Daddy, be active!’, and a special film was made, 
January  2007. 
promoting  active 
(http://www.uem.gov.si/index.php?id=968) 

It  was  broadcast  on  national  TV 

fatherhood. 

in 

68 
69 
70 

71 
72 

COM(2007) 630. 
Decision No 1350/2007/EC 
Funded  by  ‘Progress’  Community  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social  Solidarity  (Decision  No 
1672/2006/EC). 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=574&langId=en. 
Project  supported  through  a  call  for  projects  financed  under  the  5th  programme  on  equal  opportunity 
(Council Decision 2001/51/EC). 

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26 

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The  secretariat  of  the  Government  Plenipotentiary  for  Equal  Status  of  Women  and  Men,  the  Polish 
partner, carried out international research with regard to why men do not engage in family life and in 
bringing  up  their  children:  What  obstacles  exist  and  what  are  men  afraid  of?  The  results  were 
presented during a European conference in Warsaw in January 2007. 

3.3.3.  Promoting equal participation of women and men in decision-making 

The Commission has drawn attention to the lack of female participation in decision-
making as a major challenge for our democratic societies. 

Based  on  the  most  recent  data,  the  Commission  publishes  each  year  a  report  on 
‘women  and  men  in  decision-making’,  raising  awareness  in  order  to  encourage  the 
partners  (political  and  economic  actors)  to  use  all  the  necessary  means  to  ensure 
more balanced participation in decision-making. 

The  Commission  has  supported  action  by  the  Member  States  in  this  field.  To  this 
end, a European network to promote women in decision-making posts in politics and 
economics has been established. 

In the public research sector, the Union has set a target of 25 % for women in leading 
positions.73  Career  trends  have  been  analysed  in  order  to  promote  women's  role  in 
public  research  institutions,  in  particular  through  work  by  experts  on  decision-
making in the research field.74  

Examples regarding equal participation of women and men in decision-making: 

The ‘European Network of Women in Decision-making in Politics and the Economy’ 

The European Network of Women in Decision-making aims to get more women into decision-making 
positions  in  politics  and  the  economy  across  Europe  and  to  provide  a  platform  at  EU  level  for 
discussion  of  successful  strategies  to  improve  gender  balance  in  decision-making  positions.  It  is 
composed  of  the  presidents  of  15  European-level  networks  active  in  economic  and  political  fields 
(networks of professionals, networks of players on the ground).  

The  creation  of  the  Network  was  supported  by  the  European  Parliament,  many 
Member States and the Advisory Committee for Equality between Women and Men. 
The inaugural meeting of the Network was held on 2 June 2008. 

Members’ activities include: 

Promoting the topic as a priority on the agendas of European, national and local politicians, business 
leaders, social partners, NGOs, media, etc. 

Serving  as  a  platform  for  the  identification  and  exchange  of  experiences,  information  and  good 
practices across Europe, leading to increased understanding and dissemination of successful strategies 
in this field.  

Providing the Commission with knowledge based on the members’ experiences and practical insights 
derived from their role in society.  

73 
74 

Council of 18.4.2005. 
Mapping the maze: getting more women to the top in research, 2008. 

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27 

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Raising awareness of the activities undertaken at European level and at the level of the participating 
networks and members and other stakeholders.  

Members share the results of their discussions, relevant material and good practices 
identified  with  other  members  and  stakeholders  to  highlight  the  issue  of  women’s 
under-representation in senior positions and to promote the use of good practice. One 
practical action saw the involvement of many members in campaigning for a better 
gender balance in the European Parliament before the elections. The first results are 
presented in the report ‘More women in senior positions – key for economic stability 
and growth’75.  

3.3.4.  Eradicating gender-based violence 

The  Commission  has  also  emphasised  that  violence  and  human  trafficking  are 
unacceptable in the European Union and, where empowered to do so, takes specific 
action to support the efforts of Member States and NGOs to eradicate such practices. 
Actions to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children, young people 
and  women  have  been  pursued  under  the  Daphne  III  programme,76  which  aims  to 
contribute to the prevention of, and the fight against, all forms of violence occurring 
in  the  public  or  the  private  domain  against  children,  young  people  and  women,  by 
taking preventive measures and by providing support and protection for victims and 
groups  at  risk.  An  exchange  of  good  practice  on  gender-based  violence  also  took 
place  with  Member  States  (see  the  example  below).  The  large  number  of  acts  of 
violence among young people has also led the Commission to include the objective 
of  combating  violence  against  women  in  projects  under  the  ‘Youth  in  action’ 
programme.77 

Example on combating gender-based violence: 

Good practices and lessons learnt from Spain (Programme of exchanges of good practices) 78 

In Spain, the system devised to combat gender-based violence is characterised by its comprehensive, 
coordinated  and  prioritised  approach.  The  development  of  legislation  on  gender-based  violence  in 
Spain  dates  back  to  1989,  when  ’domestic  violence‘  was  first  included  in  the  criminal  code.  Since 
2004,  a  multi-directional  approach  has  been  adopted  which  shows  that,  although  criminal  law  is  an 
indispensable means for eradicating gender-based violence, it is in itself insufficient to deal with the 
complexity  of  the  issue.  Effective  application  is  the  key.  The  fundamental  regulation  in  Spain  in 
relation  to  this  issue  is  Law  1/2004,  on  measures  of  integrated  protection  against  gender-based 
violence. The judicial response as defined by the law comprises five main elements: the creation of 
special  courts,  a  specialised prosecutor’s office,  forensic  teams,  free  legal  assistance  for  all victims; 
and coordination. This coordinated approach is one of the main strengths of the Spanish system. 

Responsibility  for  promotion,  coordination,  supervision  and  prevention  falls  on  two  organisations 
specially  created  for  that  purpose  –  namely,  the  Government  Delegation  against  Gender-based 
Violence and the State Observatory on Violence against Women. 

To promote the effective coordination of all the relevant agencies involved, protocols for action have 
been established and adequate resources have been provided to implement the different policies. 

75 
76 
77 
78 

March 2010, http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=762&langId=en&furtherPubs=yes. 
Decision No 779/2007/EC. 
Decision No 1719/2006/EC. 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=574&langId=en&eventsId=224&furtherEvents=yes  

EN 

28 

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3.3.5.  Promoting gender equality outside the EU 

Significant resources have been devoted, with considerable success, to enhancing the 
role of the EU in external relations and following up international commitments and 
promoting  basic  values  of  gender  equality  in  development  and  cooperation, 
particularly  in  aid  and  external  trade  arrangements.  On  a  policy  level,  the 
Communication  on  Gender  Equality  and  Women’s  Empowerment  in  Development 
Cooperation has been followed by the adoption of the joint EU Plan of Action79.  

The new ‘Comprehensive Approach of the European Union to the implementation of 
UN  Security  Council  resolutions  1325  and  1820  on  women,  peace  and  security  ‘ 
aims  at  further  strengthening  the  effectiveness  of  EU  work  in  the  area  of  women, 
peace  and  security.  It  presents  a  vision  of  the  role  and  obligations  of  the  EU  in 
protecting  women  in  conflict  situations  and  in  facilitating  their  proactive  role  as 
peace-builders. 

The  adoption  of  the  EU  Human  Rights  Guidelines  on  violence  against  women  and 
girls  and  combating  all  forms  of  discrimination  against  them  confirms  the 
commitment of the EU to prioritise actions to promote and protect women’s rights in 
the overall EU human rights policy in third countries. These Guidelines, in particular, 
provide that the EU will continue to raise the subject of violence against women and 
the discrimination from which such violence originates in its human rights dialogues 
and consultations with third countries. 

In  the  European  consensus  on  humanitarian  aid80the  EU  has  reaffirmed  the 
importance of integrating gender considerations, of promoting active participation of 
women  and  of  incorporating  protection  strategies  against  sexual  and  gender-based 
violence in all aspects of humanitarian assistance. 

Example on gender equality outside the EU: 

Implementation of the Istanbul Framework for Action 

The Istanbul Framework for Action (IFA) is a regional political agreement dedicated to the promotion 
of  gender  equality.  It  was  adopted  by  the  Euro-Mediterranean  Ministerial  Conference  which  took 
place  in  Istanbul  in  November  2006,  on  ‘Strengthening  the  role  of  women  in  society’.  The  IFA 
includes  a  political  process,  with  follow-up  of  the  commitments  set  in  the  declaration,  and  the 
implementation of specific programmes funded by the European Commission.  

Through the IFA, the political dialogue on gender equality between the North and the South has been 
strengthened, in particular in terms of cooperation in the regional programmes by preparing national 
gender action plans. The dialogue has identified common priorities, such as violence against women 
and  women’s  access  to  employment.  As  a  consequence,  Mediterranean  partner  countries  are  urged 
increasingly to take action, while the IFA provides support for taking new steps forward.  

The  involvement  of  civil  society  organisations  is  also  a  significant  result  of  the  IFA.  These 
organisations  have  been  involved  through  preparatory  meetings  of  the  Ministerial  Conference  and 
have produced many position papers and a shadow report about the IFA. In that regard, this process 
has  provided  a  relevant  framework  for  NGOs  to  develop  and  strengthen  their  advocacy  for  gender 
equality. 

79 
80 

SEC(2010)265 final. 
OJ C 25, 30.1.2008, p. 1. 

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29 

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3.4. 

Overall assessment of policy impact 

Implementing  gender  equality  has  brought  added  value  to  the  definition  and 
implementation  of  other  policies.  Raising  the  gender  profile  of  EU  policies  has  the 
potential  to  improve  their  effectiveness  and  to  encourage  greater  mobilisation  of 
actors,  increasing  ownership,  transparency  and  accountability,  and  ensuring  more 
effective cooperation and coherence among the different actions taken. 

Over the last decade, gender equality has been part of the Lisbon Strategy, especially 
the  European  Employment  Strategy  (EES).  Greater  participation  of  women  in  the 
labour  market  has  been  the  crucial  factor  for  achieving  the  Lisbon  targets  on 
employment. It has been noted that a consistent and systematic  approach to  gender 
including  macro-economic  policies, 
in  policy  development, 
mainstreaming 
contributes to wider European social and economic goals.81  

Addressing gender equality in social policies has increased employment, growth and 
social  inclusion  and  so  has  had  a  positive  social  impact.  Promotion  of  gender 
equality  has  contributed  to  reducing  the  persisting  inequalities  and  ensuring  more 
equal treatment between women and men. It has helped to get more women on to the 
labour market and reduce occupational segregation and gender inequalities regarding 
quality of work. Beyond that, it has enhanced social inclusion, social protection and 
balancing  of  professional  and  private  life.  However,  key  objectives  for  equal 
participation by women and men, both on the labour market and in decision-making, 
have  not  yet  been  achieved.  Studies  have  also  suggested  that  closer  attention  to 
gender  equality  would  permit  development  of  a  more  coherent  social  model  with 
investment in social infrastructure to support working women and men and promote 
sustainable employment and social reproduction82. 

As  women’s  growing  involvement  in  the  labour  market  has  generated  higher 
employment  in  general,  gender  equality  has  contributed  to  economic  growth. 
Stronger  gender  mainstreaming  in  economic  policies  creates  a  better  climate  for 
sustainable  growth  and  well-being  in  the  EU.  In  many  countries,  a  positive 
correlation  exists  between  high  levels  of  economic  activity  (GDP  per  capita)  and 
higher  labour  market  participation  by  women  and  men.  There  are  several  factors 
which could explain the relation between gender equality and economic growth, such 
as  the  existence  of  measures  to  balance  work  and  family  life,  the  design  of  tax 
systems and the level of participation in the labour market. As greater participation 
by  women  in  the  labour  market  generates  higher  employment  in  general,  gender 
equality in turn contributes to creating virtuous circles in the economy83. 

81 

82 

83 

Smith  Mark  (2009)  ‘Analysis  note:  gender  equality  on  the  labour  market:  challenges  of  the  EU  after 
2010’ July 2009. 
Smith, Mark (2009), ‘Analysis note: Gender equality on the labour market: challenges of the EU after 
2010’. 
Löfström, Asa (2009), ‘Gender Equality, Economic Growth and Employment’, Swedish Presidency of 
the European Union, 2009. 

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The economic and financial crisis has, however, impacted heavily on advances made 
in  gender  equality.  Rising  unemployment  now  affects  women  and  men  similarly84, 
with long-term consequences on labour markets and economic growth. 

3.5. 

Assessment of institutional cooperation and partnership 

Good  governance  and  partnership  with  stakeholders  at  EU  level  have  proved  to  be 
the  keys  to  progress  towards  gender  equality.  Cooperation  between  groups  and 
bodies  striving  for  gender  equality  requires  strong  partnerships  based  on  a  shared 
policy  agenda.  The  European  Commission  has  been  playing  an  increasingly 
important  role  in  improving  the  partnership  with  Member  States  by  facilitating  the 
development and coordination of policy, exchanges of best practices and monitoring 
of progress. 

The  Roadmap  has  not  only  been  the  basis  for  the  Commission’s  action  on  gender 
equality, but also a reference for Member States and other partners in the EU. With 
the  Roadmap  in  mind,  EU  Heads  of  State  and  Government  agreed  on  a  European 
Pact  for  Gender  Equality85,  thereby  recognising  the  importance  of  working  at  EU 
level  to  tackle  gender  inequalities  and  promote  equality.  Also,  in  2007,  troika 
Presidencies  started  to  present  specific  coordinated  work  programmes  on  gender 
equality  at  EU  level.  The  Commission  in  turn  has  supported  partnership  with  the 
Member States via the High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming (HLG) and the 
Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities (ACEO). 

At international level Member States are themselves committed to promoting gender 
equality by the UN agenda for women’s empowerment — the Beijing Platform for 
Action (BPfA) — and the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms 
of  Discrimination  against  Women  (CEDAW).  The  HLG  has  provided  a  central 
forum  for  discussing  and  following  up  commitments  at  EU  level.  Dialogue  is 
actively pursued with the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and 
Gender Equality (FEMM), NGOs and social partners.  

New  bodies  playing  a  role  in  implementing  gender  equality  policies  were  set  up 
between  2006  and  2010,  including  national  equality  bodies  and  the  European 
Institute for Gender Equality86. 

There is broad consensus that a new framework for the period after 2010 defining a 
common  agenda  for  gender  equality  policies  will  be  useful  for  partnerships  at  EU 
level87 and will provide added value.  

3.6. 

Assessment of progress regarding gender equality data and indicators 

Development  and  dissemination  of  EU-wide,  comparable  and  reliable  gender 
statistics  and  indicators  have  contributed  to  better  monitoring  and  assessment  of 
progress in the EU.  

84 

85 
86 
87 

EN 

Labour 

Monthly 
Market 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=113&newsId=798&furtherNews=yes 
Annex 4 to the Presidency Conclusions of 23/24 March 2006. 
See Annex 1: ‘Stakeholders and main bodies active in the field of equality between women and men’. 
See Annex 3: ‘Consultation on the future strategy for Equality between Women and Men’. 

Monitor 

May 

2010: 

31 

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The  availability  of  official  statistics  broken  down  by  sex  is  crucial  for  effective 
gender  analysis.  The  Roadmap  has  identified  indicators  for  monitoring  progress 
towards  gender  equality  in  several  policy  areas,  in  particular  in  the  Strategy  for 
Growth and Jobs.  

Agreed quantified objectives fixed in different areas by different Council formations 
are followed up. 

Every  year,  in  its  Annual  Report  on  Equality  between  Women  and  Men,  the 
European  Commission  informs  the  Spring  European  Council  of  progress  towards 
gender  equality  and  presents  the  main  challenges  and  priorities  for  the  future. 
Monitoring  those  objectives  is  essential  to  demonstrate  the  relevance  of  promoting 
gender equality to achieve social and economic goals. 

Moreover, with the cooperation of the Commission, Member States have developed 
indicators for monitoring the 12 critical areas of concern covered by the BPfA88. In 
this  context,  the  HLG  has  developed  and  reviewed  indicators  in  nine  areas  of 
concern89. The Commission has reviewed those indicators in its Annual Report and is 
keeping  track  of  the  existing  indicators.  Some  stakeholders  have  recommended 
improving  this  reporting  by  indicating  also  progress  at  Member  State  level  and 
increasing peer pressure at EU level. 

The  EPSCO  Council90  called  on  Member  States  to  make  further  progress  with  the 
indicators  for  gender  equality  in  the  remaining  areas,  in  particular  ‘Women  and 
environment’ and ‘Women and media’, and to regularly review progress achieved in 
the  areas  where  indicators  have  already  been  adopted.  It  recommended  using  all 
available  resources,  including  the  expertise  of  the  High-Level  Group  on  Gender 
Mainstreaming and the capacity of the EIGE, for follow-up of this process. This is an 
area  where  further  cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the  EIGE  would 
provide EU added value. 

4. 

ASSESSMENT  OF  THE  EFFECTIVENESS  OF  THE  CURRENT  EU  EQUAL  PAY 
FRAMEWORK 

4.1. 

Introduction 

In July 2007, the Commission adopted a Communication91 entitled ‘Tackling the pay 
gap between women and men’. The Commission noted that the pay gap between men 

88 

89 
90 
91 

Since  1999,  sets  of  quantitative  and  qualitative  indicators  have  been  developed  by  successive 
Presidencies in 9 of the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action, the 
remaining  areas  being:  ‘Women  and  environment’,  ‘Women  and  media’  and  ‘Women  and  human 
rights’. Each year the Council adopts Conclusions on these indicators. The existing reports, conclusions 
and indicators can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=3682&langId=en. 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=765&langId=en. 
Council document 15992/09. 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  Tackling  the  pay  gap  between 
women and men, Document COM(2007) 424. 

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32 

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and  women  was  estimated  at  15 %  which,  in  spite  of  the  marked  and  continuous 
increase in the female employment rate, was only two points below the 1995 level92. 

For the Commission, the fact that the pay gap still existed and at such a high level 
highlighted the need for reflection on how best to tackle it. 

Four  priorities  areas  were  identified:  a)  exploring  ways  to  improve  the  legislative 
framework and its implementation; b) exploiting to the full the European Strategy for 
Growth and Jobs; c) encouraging employers to respect equal pay; d) supporting the 
exchange of good practice at Community level. 

The starting point of the analysis was clear; while Community legislation has played 
a key role in achieving progress for women in the labour market, it has not closed the 
gender pay gap.  

Therefore changes to the Community legal framework should be examined to ensure 
that  direct  and  indirect  discrimination  based  on  sex  is  excluded  from  the  systems 
used to set pay. An analysis of the current legislation from the point of view of the 
relevance  of  the  legal  instruments  with  regard  to  the  causes  of  the  gender  pay  gap 
(GPG) was launched. 

Extensive  use  was  made  of  external  expertise  for  the  analysis  of  the  existing 
European law rules on equal pay: the existing networks of economic experts and of 
legal  experts  produced  reports  on  the  issue,  a  call  for  tenders  was  launched  for  a 
study on assessing the effectiveness of the current legislation and on the options for 
improvement,  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Equal  Opportunities  (see  Annex  1) 
adopted an opinion, the national Equality Bodies were sent a detailed questionnaire 
and  finally  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  resolution  with  recommendations  to 
the Commission on the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women. 

The aim of this section is to report on this analysis. 

4.2. 

Report  from  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Gender,  Social  Inclusion  and 
Employment: The gender pay gap — Origins and policy responses 

This  report93,  completed  in  July  2006,  by  the  group  of  experts  on  gender,  social 
inclusion and employment, provides data on the extent and development of the GPG, 
information  on  its  causes  and  an  analysis  on  how  public  policies  may  reduce  or 
aggravate  wage  differences  between  men  and  women.  It  provided  a  basis  for  the 
2007 Communication: this summary focuses on the identified causes of the GPG and 
on the suggested policy responses. 

92 

93 

As  a  result  of  the  2007  Communication,  the  gender  pay  gap  statistics  at  EU  level  were  revised  by 
Eurostat  in  November  2008.  There  is  a  new  methodology  (use  of  a  harmonised  EU  source  – 
SES/Structure  of  Earnings  Survey  –  instead  of  various  national  sources),  which  improves  the 
comparability  of  this  indicator  among  the  Member  States.  This  change  of  methodology  increased  the 
overall  EU  average  from  15 %  (unchanged  in  recent  years  with  the  old  methodology)  to  17.4 %  for 
2007. 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=2007&langId=en. 

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4.2.1.  Causes 

Traditionally,  within  the  context  of  human  capital  theory,  the  GPG  is  explained  by 
differences  in  individual  characteristics,  such  as  age,  education  and  experience. 
Evidence suggests, however, that these differences play a relatively minor part in the 
persistence of the GPG. The improved educational situation and the increased female 
participation  rate  have  diminished  gender-specific  differences 
individual 
characteristics. Instead, the GPG seems more related to occupational segregation and 
the wage structure. Women tend to work in different occupations and industries than 
men and are penalised because of that. The extent of the penalty may differ, though, 
depending  on  the  wage  structure;  a  more  compressed  wage  structure  is  likely  to 
diminish the GPG.  

in 

The  current  trend  towards  a  more  decentralised  and  individualised  system  of  wage 
setting should therefore be assessed as a rather worrying development. In fact women 
seem  to  be  swimming  upstream:  women  with  better  education,  fewer  children  and 
shorter periods of employment interruption are confronted with a labour market with 
growing  wage  differentials  and  a  reduced  share  of  collectively  agreed  wages  and 
wage  components.  As  a  result,  the  differences  in  wages  remain  more  or  less  the 
same. 

4.2.2.  Policy responses 

According  to  this  report,  in  quite  a  few  Member  States,  the  GPG  rarely  features 
either  in  public  debate  or  on  the  policy  agenda.  In  other  countries,  though,  the 
persistence of the GPG has triggered several policy initiatives aimed at closing it. 

Some  policies  refer  to  improving  the  effectiveness  of  equal  pay  legislation.  Other 
policies try to enhance equal opportunities and aim at more continuous employment 
patterns;  available  and  affordable  childcare  as  well  as  paid  parental  leave  for  both 
men and women are seen as important preconditions in this respect. Girls might also 
be encouraged to choose less traditional occupations in order to enter higher paying 
careers. A third lever refers to wage policies aimed at reducing wage inequality and 
improving  the  remuneration  of  low-paid  (or  female-dominated)  jobs.  Actual  policy 
initiatives in this respect vary from a general approach towards increasing the level 
of  the  minimum  wage  in  Poland  to  a  re-evaluation  of  low-paid,  female-dominated 
jobs in Finland. The actual policy mix may depend on national particularities and the 
prevailing analysis of the origins of the GPG. 

On the best practices at national level, the report notes that there is a wide variation 
of  policy  responses.  There  is  quite  a  heavy  emphasis  on  policies  directed  at  the 
availability and dissemination of information among employees and employers and 
other relevant actors. 

Most  ‘visible’  initiatives  refer  to  the  establishment  of  an  Equal  Pay  Day;  equally 
important are policies for education  and training of employers’  organisations, trade 
unions, lawyers and judges. Best practices also refer to development or strengthening 
of the infrastructure with respect to equal pay, notably the establishment of an equal 
opportunities ombudsperson. 

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4.3. 

Report from the Network of Legal Experts on Gender: The Gender pay gap in 
Europe from a Legal Perspective 

The network of legal experts provides the Commission departments with legal advice 
and  relevant  information  concerning  the  analysis  and  monitoring  of  national 
legislation and policies in the field of equality between women and men within the 
27  Member  States  and  Norway,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein,  Croatia,  FYROM  and 
Turkey. 

At  the  request  of  the  Commission,  the  network  updated  in  201094  a  February  2007 
report on the legal aspects of the GPG. The aim was to give information on national 
initiatives  to  bridge  the  GPG  and  to  reflect  on  whether  and  how  legal  instruments 
could help to close it. The report also seeks to explore potential links between equal 
pay and other national labour law provisions. 

4.3.1.  The legal framework 

In Member States, a general principle of non-discrimination or equality is frequently 
enshrined at the highest level. In some cases, a separate article is devoted to the equal 
treatment of men and women and the very principle of equal pay for equal work or 
work of equal value has been laid down in nine national constitutions. 

In any case, all Member States have regulated the issue, frequently in their Labour 
Code,  but  sometimes  also  in  a  special  equal  treatment  act  directly  aimed  at 
implementing EU equality directives. 

The  Community  law  principle  of  equal  pay  is  in  general  well  implemented  in 
national  law.  The  ‘letter  of  the  law’  is  therefore  not  the  problem,  but  rather  its 
application and enforcement. 

This  is  an  area  where  collective  bargaining  and  the  resulting  agreements  are  an 
important – in some Member States even the major – source of rights and obligations 
in the employment relationship. 

According  to  EU  law,  collective  labour  agreements  have  to  comply  with  the  equal 
pay  principle.  This  implies  that  the  provisions  of  a  collective  labour  agreement 
should be in accordance with the principle of equal pay for men and women, and if 
not, the related provisions will be deemed to be null and void. Currently, collective 
agreements  do  not  contain  provisions  which  are  directly  discriminatory.  However, 
certain collective labour agreements continue to contain provisions with an indirect 
discriminatory  impact  on  female  employees’  pay.  Such  indirectly  discriminatory 
provisions include job evaluation and pay systems that are neutral on the face of it, 
but appear structurally to disadvantage female workers. 

The  report  underlines  that  salaries  are  often  individually  negotiated  far  above  the 
minima laid down in collective agreements, and that part of the workforce, typically 
those in higher positions, may not be covered by such agreements.  

94 

Not yet published. 

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4.3.2.  The role of law 

The report underlines that the GPG is primarily a socio-economic problem that will 
by no means be resolved by legislation alone. In certain aspects, the legal framework 
might  be  reinforced,  for  instance  by  imposing  an  obligation  on  employers  to 
introduce  and  publish  pay  audits,  together  with  plans  for  reducing  the  pay  gaps  in 
their workforce identified in the audits.  

4.3.3.  Obstacles to litigation 

Only  very  few  claims  concerning  gender  pay  discrimination  make  their  way  to  the 
competent  (regular  or  administrative)  courts.  Case  law  on  equal  pay  issues  is  very 
scarce at all levels and the explanations for such scarcity are multiple, including the 
difficulty  in  building  a  case  because  of  the  lack  of  information  on  pay,  the 
problematic  scope  of  comparison,  the  lack  of  a  claimant’s  personal  resources, 
problems regarding time limits, limited compensation and sanction possibilities, etc.  

The  shift  in  the  burden  of  proof,  figuring  in  Directive  2006/54/EC,  means  that  the 
claimant needs to establish facts from which it can be presumed that there has been 
discrimination.  Then  it  is  for  the  defendant  (i.e.  the  employer)  to  show  that  no 
discrimination  has  taken  place,  either  because  there  was  no  different  treatment  of 
men and women or because the unequal treatment was justified. 

Another  issue  concerns  the  ‘comparator’  to  be  used  in  an  equal  pay  claim:  who 
performs  the  same  work,  or  work  of  equal  value?  According  to  the  report,  in  the 
majority of the 33 countries studied, the scope of comparison in pay discrimination 
claims  is  not  laid  down  in  statutory  law.  This  gives  a  great  deal  of  latitude  to  the 
national courts.  

Furthermore, most countries do not accept a hypothetical comparator. An Irish court 
has stated, for example, that a claimant must be able to indicate ‘an actual concrete 
real-life comparator of the other sex’ performing like work. Finding such a real-life 
comparator,  as  opposed  to  the  mere  hypothetical  one,  proves  to  be  particularly 
difficult in highly segregated occupations, where fellow workers of the opposite sex 
are rare or even non-existent.  

National  courts  generally  decide  that  comparisons  can  only  be  made  within  a 
company. In other words: comparators can never be found with another employer. In 
doing  so,  the  national  courts  are  consistent  with  the  Court  of  Justice,  which  also 
tends  to  restrict  comparisons  to  within  a  company,  the  idea  being  that  only  in  that 
case can the differences in pay be attributed to one single source. 

4.3.4. 

Impact of other areas of law 

Part-time work 

Many countries have adopted legislation guaranteeing equal treatment for part-time 
and  full-time  workers,  which  is  in  full  accordance  with  the  principle  of  non-
discrimination between full-time and part-time employees as laid down in Directive 
97/81/EC  (part-time  work).  Nevertheless,  the  report  found  that  some  legislative 
measures regarding part-time employees can in some cases influence the GPG in an 
indirect way. 

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Overtime  

The report notes that making overtime easier and cheaper for employers entails the 
risk  of  negatively  affecting  those  workers  —  mostly  women  —  for  whom  the 
performance of overtime work clashes with e.g. family duties. Their pay will not be 
increased with overtime pay and, as a consequence, the GPG will rise. 

Temporary (fixed-term) work arrangements 

In  many  countries,  fixed-term  contracts  constitute  an  exception  only  allowed  for 
explicitly prescribed reasons. This is in line with Directive 1999/70/EC (fixed-term 
work),  which  is  intended  to  eradicate  abuse  arising  from  successive  fixed-term 
employment  contracts  or  relationships.  Notwithstanding  the  above-mentioned 
principle,  in  many  cases,  ‘creative’  use  of  fixed-term  contracts  eventually  works  to 
the disadvantage of female employees. 

Issues related to reconciliation of work and family life 

The  experts  underline  a  possible  negative  correlation  between  some  schemes  for 
family-related leave and women’s pay. For example, lengthy spells of family-related 
leave  on  low  pay  could  work  to  the  disadvantage  of  female  employees  and  have  a 
twofold  negative  impact  on  the  GPG.  In  the  first  place,  the  social  security  benefits 
that accompany such leave never reach the level of normal pay. In the second place, 
the  employee  faces  the  risk  of  receiving  lower  pay/missing  pay  rises  from  the 
employer due to taking up lengthy family-related leave. 

Measures regarding seniority/length of service/evaluation 

In  some  countries,  collective  agreements  or  other  measures  provide  for  allowances 
for length of service with an employer. Length of service is often also a condition for 
the calculation of redundancy pay. Women are clearly disadvantaged by this system 
due to frequent career breaks and also atypical work arrangements. 

4.3.5.  National good practices 

Compulsory reporting systems like the ones that currently exist in Austria, Finland, 
France, Italy, Norway and Sweden are cited as good practices. Also the compulsory 
equal pay plans, to be drafted by large employers in countries like Finland, Iceland, 
Sweden  and  Spain,  were  highlighted  as  good  practices.  The  Finnish  government 
initiative  to  earmark  an  amount  of  money  as  an  ‘equality  pot’  meant  for  municipal 
employment pay rises targeted at low-paid highly educated ‘female’ branches could 
inspire  other  countries.  Norway  seems  to  have  followed  the  Finnish  example  by 
adopting, in May 2010, a considerable pay rise in the female-dominated professions 
of the public sector.  

As  far  as  the  social  partners  are  concerned,  the  compulsory  negotiations  on 
occupational  gender  equality  (including  equal  pay)  as  imposed  by  French  law  are 
exceptional,  and  can  certainly  be  called  an  excellent  practice.  Depending  on  the 
national system of social dialogue, this seems to be a good way to place the issue on 
the social partners’ agenda. 

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Also, the systematic and compulsory analysis of all collective labour agreements by 
an independent governmental body (e.g. a national equality body) is a good way to 
get social partners to take into account the principle of equal pay for male and female 
workers. In this respect, Austria and Portugal provide good practices. 

4.4. 

Resolution of the European Parliament 

The  European  Parliament  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  on  18  November 
2008, a resolution95 based on Edit Bauer’s (EPP-ED, SK) report. 

The resolution focuses on the need to analyse the causes of the pay gap, and to tackle 
both the pay gap and segregation of the female employment market.  

Recognised as causes of the pay gap are, inter alia: direct and indirect discrimination; 
social and economic factors; labour market segregation; overall wage structure; pay 
systems;  gender-based  digital  divide;  and  undervaluing  of  professions  and  jobs 
dominated by women. 

The resolution requested the Commission to present a legislative proposal before the 
end  of  2009.  It  contains  a  list  of  recommendations  to  the  Commission,  Member 
States and social partners for the purpose of reducing the GPG, which at the time was 
still  15 %.  Broadly  speaking,  the  EP  calls  for  an  improved,  gender-specific  legal 
framework;  more  and  better  gender-specific  data;  education  to  eradicate  gender 
stereotypes;  implementation  of  measures  for  effective  social  dialogue,  including 
information  and  guidelines  (especially  for  SMEs);  a  larger  role  for  the  European 
Gender Institute; organisation of a European Equal Pay Day; and development of job 
evaluation instruments.  

4.4.1.  Legislative measures 

The resolution points to revisions to Directive 2006/54/EC deemed necessary: 

–  More  precise  definition  of  concepts,  including  a  definition  of  gender  pay  gap 
(GPG)  that  does  not  cover  gross  hourly  pay  only,  and  definitions  of  direct  and 
indirect pay discrimination, remuneration, and pension gap; 

–  Enhance  the  mandate  of  equality  bodies  so  they  can  monitor,  report  on  and 
enforce  gender  equality  legislation  more  effectively  and  independently,  with 
specific reference to the GPG; 

–  Include a specific reference to pay discrimination so as to ensure that MS adopt 
the following: specific measures relating to training and job classification aimed 
at  the  vocational  training  system;  specific  policies  for  work-family  life 
reconciliation;  concrete  affirmative  action  to  redress  the  pay  gap  and  gender 
segregation; and a clause in public contracts requiring respect for gender equality 
and equal pay; 

95 

European Parliament resolution of 18 November 2008 with recommendations to the Commission on the 
application of the principle of equal pay for men and women (2008/2012(INI)). 

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–  Article  29,  gender  mainstreaming,  should  contain  precise  guidelines  for  the  MS 

regarding the principle of equal pay and closing the GPG; 

–  Compulsory  regular  pay  audits  and  publication  of  results  (companies  with  more 

than 20 employees); also for remuneration in addition to pay;  

–  Possible revision of Framework Agreement on part-time work. 

4.4.2.  Non-legislative Commission action 

The 
resolution  also  makes  some  non-legislative 
implemented at European or national level, in particular: 

recommendations, 

to  be 

–  Invite MS to introduce job classification complying with the principle of equality; 

–  Improve statistics and add data on part-time and pension GPGs (with MS); 

–  Devise guidelines for monitoring pay differentials in collective bargaining, to be 

placed on internet in various languages; 

–  Distribute  practical  information  and  guidelines  on  how  SMEs  in  particular  can 

work to redress the pay gap; 

–  Reinforce existing legislation with appropriate sanctions; 

–  Introduce a concrete target for reducing the GPG in Employment Guidelines;  

–  Ensure  that  women  are  provided  with  information,  assistance  and/or  training  in 

wage negotiations, job classification and pay scaling; 

–  Carry out thorough assessment of work evaluation and job classification focused 

on women-dominated professions. 

4.5. 

Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities 

4.5.1.  Causes of the GPG 

The  purpose  of  this  Advisory  Committee’s  2009  opinion96  was  to  highlight  the 
‘invisible’ obstacles that make the gender pay gap (GPG) so persistent and to provide 
recommendations on how these can be overcome.  

The  opinion  states  that  although  legislation  is  necessary,  it  is  still  not  enough  to 
tackle  the  GPG.  Specifically,  it  says  legislation  cannot  address  the  discretionary 
aspects related to pay which impact disproportionally on women, nor does it tackle 
or even diminish the structural reasons for the GPG.  

The  main  causes  of  the  persistently  high  GPG  (17.4 %  at  the  time  the  opinion  was 
issued) in Europe are described as multiple, complex and often interrelated, lying in 
structural  factors  as  well  as  indirect  discrimination.  The  recurring  theme  of  the 
opinion is that the GPG is linked to a number of legal, social and economic factors 

96 

http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=3176&langId=en. 

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which go far beyond the single issue of equal pay for equal work or for work of equal 
value. 

The opinion groups the causes of the GPG into five types: 

–  Undervaluing of professions and jobs dominated by women, due to differences in 

the way women’s abilities are valued compared to men’s.  

–  Labour  market  segregation.  Women  are  under-represented  in  certain  professions 
and  sectors  and  in  senior  positions,  and  more  women  work  in  less  highly  paid 
areas  such  as  health  and  social  work,  and  also  in  lower  paid  occupations  in  the 
same sector or company.  

–  Overall wage structure and pay systems. Typically female professions continue to 
be less well paid than professions that are mainly pursued by men, partly because 
of limited representation of women in collective bargaining. They also may not be 
aware of the various parts of remuneration that are negotiated individually. 

–  Reconciliation  of  work  and  private  life.  Women  remain  mainly  responsible  for 
tasks  relating  to  children  or  other  dependents,  resulting  in  more  career 
interruptions and reduced working hours.  

–  Traditions  and  Stereotypes.  Gender-related  traditions  and  stereotypes  lead  to 
women  working  in  lower  valued  and  lower  paid  sectors,  and  women  are  more 
often expected to reduce working hours or stop working in order to handle family 
responsibilities. 

According to the Advisory Committee, changes to the current EU Directive are not 
the priority approach at present and attempts should be made to address the gender 
pay  gap  through  other  routes,  in  particular  encouragement  of  best  practices.  If 
changes  to  Community  law  were  to  be  considered,  the  Advisory  Committee  would 
propose amendments in the following areas: 

–  Improvement  of 

information  and 

transparency  regarding  wages  paid  by 

employers;  

–  Evaluation of the Part-time Directive;  

–  Review consistency with the provisions of other Directives, notably the provision 
in Directive 2006/54/EC forbidding reference to familial and/or personal elements 
in labour contracts and collective agreements; 

–  Explore ways in which the legislative framework could better support the work of 
national  governmental  inspectorates  in  their  efforts  to  promote  enforcement  of 
equal pay where necessary; 

–  Ensure that the powers and mandate of the national equality bodies are adequate;  

–  Consider ways of encouraging MS to increase or implement working coordination 
between  the  national  inspectorates  in  the  labour  market  and  the  national  gender 
equality bodies where necessary. 

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The  recommendations  for  non-legislative  action  include  measures  related  to: 
transparency of wages; taking of responsibility by employers to ensure equal pay for 
work of equal value; elimination of indirect discrimination in collective agreements; 
elimination of job evaluation stereotypes; sharing of best practices. 

The  report  also  recommends  some  steps  to  be  taken  by  Member  States,  notably  to 
ensure  better  transparency  policies  in  relation  to  wage  composition  and  structures, 
encourage other measures to prevent gender-biased effects of formally neutral wage 
criteria, a regular review of pay scales to eliminate bias that can contribute to direct 
and indirect pay discrimination and encourage social partners, including employers, 
to do the same. 

Finally, the report includes some recommendations to the social partners and equal 
opportunity  organisations:  actively  engage  in  fostering  equal  pay,  provide  training 
courses  on  negotiation  skills,  promote  awareness  of  equal  pay  issues  for  the 
judiciary,  negotiate  Plans  for  Equality  between  men  and  women  at  company  level 
and in sectors, explore and promote innovative forms of working arrangements that 
benefit  both  the  individuals  and  the  employer  and  adopt  transparency  policy  in 
relation to wage composition and structures, including extra pay, bonuses and other 
advantages forming part of remuneration. 

4.6. 

Study on the effectiveness of the current legal framework on equal pay for equal 
work or work of equal value in tackling the gender pay gap  

This  study’s  purpose  was  fourfold:  1)  to  evaluate  the  effectiveness  of  the  existing 
legal  framework  in  relation  to  the  pay  gap;  2)  to  add  value  to  the  recent  body  of 
literature on the topic; 3) to look into how the existing legal framework is being used 
in the EU-27 to fight the pay gap, and to analyse practices used both in the EU and in 
the OECD; and 4) to propose recommendations for amendments of Community law 
if needed. Desk studies, research, analysis of academic literature, interviews, a web-
based survey, case studies,  and a seminar and workshops were used to conduct the 
evaluation. 

The focus here is on the recommendations coming out of the report. The comparison 
with  non-EU  OECD  countries  is  not  included,  as  the  report  (Final  Report  by  The 
European  Evaluation  Consortium,  July  200997)  itself  found  that  the  lessons  to  be 
learned are somewhat limited.  

The  working  hypothesis  for  the  evaluation  was  that  the  GPG  is  primarily  a  socio-
economic  problem  that  is  unlikely  to  be  solved  by  legal  means  alone,  especially 
given  the  fact  that  European  legislation  has  had  a  limited  impact  on  the  GPG.  The 
report  concludes  that  the  legal  framework  has  been  transposed  in  most  analysed 
countries and can be seen as sufficient to achieve what can be achieved through legal 
means.  Further  legislation  that  might  be  relevant  to  the  pay  gap  issue  would  be 
indirect,  for  instance  relating  to  reinforcing  equality  bodies’  powers,  or  requiring 
equality planning, pay assessments, job evaluation and pay reviews. 

97

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Another  observation  was  that  the  current  method  of  calculating  the  GPG  is 
unrealistic.  When  the  GPG  is  computed  as  the  difference  between  men’s  and 
women’s gross hourly wage as a percentage of men’s average gross hourly wage, as 
it currently is, it indicates how many percentage points the earnings of men have to 
decrease  in  order  to  be  equal  to  women’s,  rather  than  how  much  women’s  wages 
must increase to be level with men’s.  

Causes for the pay gap are given as vertical and horizontal segregation in the labour 
market;  segregation  in  education  (fields  of  study);  differences  in  male  and  female 
activity  rates;  overall  wage  structure;  the  prevalence  of  full-time  vs  part-time 
employment; and the under-representation of women in higher paying sectors.  

Recommendations for non-legislative action: 

–  Promote  transparency  (by  legislation  if  necessary)  through  commonly  agreed 

principles and guidelines (Commission website, seminars, workshops); 

–  Support  activities  such  as  communication  campaigns  and  activities,  public 

relations and awareness-raising; 

–  Ensure  more  effective  sanctions  against  pay  discrimination  and  monitoring  of 

equal pay; 

–  Facilitate  access  to  individual  rights  and  expose  discrimination,  making  indirect 

discrimination more visible; 

–  Facilitate access to judicial mediation and take discriminatory cases to court; 

–  Facilitate  the  burden  of  proof:  shifting  the  burden  of  proof,  encouraging  trade 

unions to get NGOs to represent individual cases collectively;  

–  Establish a more systematic process of follow-up, monitoring and evaluation, and 

more and better exchange and dissemination of research results; 

–  Showcase concrete examples of good practice; 

–  Focusing on implementation of current law, make better use of existing legislative 
framework, for synergy between instruments in different policy areas (e.g. welfare 
and employment in the form of ‘flexicurity’); 

–  More  coordination  both  within  and  among  MS  regarding  research  and  analysis, 

and best practices – a coordinated overview is needed; 

–  Equality  Bodies:  clarify  role,  competences  and  powers;  allocate  sufficient 

resources to Equality Bodies (reported as an issue in several MS); 

–  Encourage private sector to play a more active role in promoting non-traditional 

career choices – activate industry federations; 

–  Set targets and monitor linkages between European Strategy for Growth and Jobs 

and equal pay issues; 

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–  Encourage private sector to play a more active role in promoting non-traditional 

career choices – activate industry federations. 

4.7. 

National Equality Bodies 

The EU Directives on Gender Equality (mainly Directive 2006/54/CE) provide that 
Member States must designate and make the necessary arrangements for a body or 
bodies for the promotion, analysis, monitoring and support of equal treatment of all 
persons without discrimination on grounds of sex. These bodies must be competent 
to  provide  independent  assistance  to  victims  of  discrimination,  to  conduct 
independent  surveys  concerning  discrimination,  publish  independent  reports  and 
make recommendations on any issue relating to such discrimination and to exchange 
available information with corresponding European bodies. 

Taking  into  account  the  unique  experience  of  national  gender  equality  bodies  in 
monitoring  gender  equality  law  and  in  dealing  with  complaints  and  litigation,  their 
practical  knowledge  about  any  limitations  or  loopholes  of  national  and  European 
legislation  is  considerable.  A  series  of  questions  was  put  to  the  national  Equality 
Bodies by a written questionnaire prepared by Commission services. 

The  first  set  of  questions  concerned  national  legislation  on  equal  pay.  Most  of  the 
respondents recognise the driving role of EU legislation and underline that national 
law mirrors European law on equal pay, although more detailed or, in certain cases, 
more prescriptive. It should be noted that no respondent considers national law to be 
insufficient to correctly transpose EU law on equal pay. 

Another  group  of  questions  deal  with  complaints  and  case  law  at  national  level. 
Some  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  the  replies.  Firstly,  in  most  of  the  Member 
States,  the  national  Equality  Body  has  no  information  on  judicial  actions  on  equal 
pay  and  there  seems  to  be  no  reliable  tool  to  track  the  judicial  cases  by  topic. 
Secondly, whenever statistics are available, they seem to indicate that the number of 
complaints is limited, in absolute numbers and as a proportion of all gender equality 
complaints. 

National Equality Bodies were also asked about their views on what could be done to 
improve national and European law on equal pay.  

Many  respondents  highlight  the  complex  nature  of  the  GPG  and  conclude  that  it 
cannot  be  tackled  by  one  single  measure,  be  it  legislative  or  not.  Only  a  few 
respondents consider that the legislation is adequate, but requiring better enforcement 
rather than legislative changes. Most of the national Equality Bodies identified some 
areas where EU  intervention would be  useful. They recommend, inter alia, that the 
EU: 

–  Ensure the gender neutrality of job classifications; 

–  Improve the scope for reconciling work and family life; 

–  Provide  for  the  submission  by  employers  of  an  annual  review  of  their  pay 

practices to a competent equality officer; 

–  Improve European legislation by making it more concrete; 

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–  Develop codes of good practices and conduct; 

–  Encourage an increase in the level of remuneration in areas that are traditionally 

female-dominated; 

–  Provide for minimum penalties to be applied at national level; 

–  Promote publicity of information on pay; 

–  Lay down more binding provisions on the active promotion of equal pay; 

–  Clarify the concept of ‘work of equal value’; 

–  Require companies to draw up equality plans; 

–  Clarify the position of hypothetical comparators; 

–  Clarify the position on representative actions; 

–  Provide  that  closing  the  GPG  is  designated  as  a  topic  for  discussion  under  the 

Information and Consultation Directive; 

–  Encourage the provision of training and training materials on non-discriminatory 

job evaluation; 

–  Review the EC Code of Practice on the implementation of equal pay for work of 

equal value between men and women; 

–  Explore  whether  EU  law  will  allow  for  employers  and  unions  to  be  given  some 
protection against individual claims while they modify their pay processes so as to 
deliver equal pay. 

4.8. 

Conclusions 

At  the  request  of  the  Commission  departments  or  on  their  own  initiative,  different 
types of institutional actors and stakeholders have given their views on how effective 
EU law has been in tackling the gender pay gap and on what could be done to bridge 
the persistent gap. 

All  the  contributions  received  recognise  the  inadmissible  nature  of  the  GPG  and 
agree that more action should be undertaken at different levels.  

Most  of  the  contributions  underline  the  multi-dimensional  nature  of  the  GPG  and 
therefore  argue  that  no  single  approach  is  able  to  tackle  it,  be  it  legislative  or  non-
legislative. Nevertheless, there is a large consensus on the fundamental contribution 
of legislation and on the need to apply effectively the current rules. 

Most of the contributions argue in favour of the need to update the legal framework 
at EU level, together with other actions to be taken at the level of Member States and 
social  partners.  Although  the  concrete  suggestions  are  divergent,  two  areas  clearly 
attract  broader  support:  increasing  the  transparency  on  pay,  and  providing  for  pay 
audits and regular collective negotiation. 

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5. 

INPUT TO THE PREPARATION OF THE NEW STRATEGY 

5.1. 

Stakeholder consultation  

In  June  2009  the  Commission  organised  an  EU  conference  on  ‘Equality  between 
Women  and  Men  in  a  Time  of  Change’  that  launched  the  public  debate  on  the 
priorities  to  be  addressed  in  the  new  strategy  for  gender  equality.  Around  three 
hundred  and  fifty  representatives  of  national  governments,  social  partners  and 
experts  from  34  countries  and  the  EU  institutions  attended  the  conference  that 
brought together 35 speakers. 

A  broad  consultation  was  also  launched  in  July  2009  in  order  to  prepare  the  new 
strategy, with an accompanying document revolving around three themes: 1) overall 
assessment  of  the  performance  of  the  Roadmap;  2)  new  challenges;  3)  policy 
priorities)98. 

The High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming discussed the future strategy at its 
meeting of September 2009. 

A  consultation  addressed  to  the  main  stakeholders  (social  partners,  civil  society, 
Equality  Bodies,  Eurofound,  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  and 
the  European  Institute  for  Gender  Equality99)  on  the  Roadmap  and  the  follow-up 
strategy was launched in August 2009. 

The replies to the consultation can be summarised as follows. 

5.1.1.  Overall assessment of the performance of the Roadmap for equality between women 

and men 2006-2010 

Most consider the Roadmap as a useful framework and a reference document. Most 
agree that the Roadmap has contributed to the promotion of gender equality in terms 
of  raising  awareness,  visibility  and  stimulating  actions  in  this  field.  Some  argue, 
however, that the Roadmap has not been visible enough at national or regional level. 
Some  NGOs  also  regret  that  the  Roadmap  is  more  an  internal  coordinating 
mechanism  for  the  European  Commission  rather  than  a  binding  policy  instrument. 
HLG  members  agreed  on  the  need  for  a  new  framework  for  gender  equality  after 
2010. 

5.1.2.  Future challenges for gender equality 

Almost all point out that progress is still too slow in most areas and gender equality 
is far from being achieved.  

All  consulted  stakeholders  consider  that  the  current  financial  crisis  creates  a  new 
challenge  for  gender  equality.  The  key  difference  between  this  recession  and 
previous ones is that the impact is likely to be shared more evenly between women 

98 
99 

Annex 3. 
44 contributions were received from Social partners and NGOs. 

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and men.100 For instance, the spread of the crisis is likely to have a strong impact on 
women’s  employment,  notably  in  the  public  sector,  due  to  the  likely  reduction  of 
public  spending101.  In  the  current  economic  recession,  decision-makers  might  be 
tempted to regard gender equality as a ‘good weather policy’ and shift their attention 
to what  they perceive  as ‘more  urgent  problems’102. The  social impact  of the crisis 
could increase the risk of poverty for women103. It can also have a negative effect on 
social welfare,  as  reflected  by the  increase in income inequalities  over  the last five 
years104, and could ultimately exacerbate social tensions. 

More  negative  consequences  for  the  most  vulnerable  groups  of  women  can  be 
expected  (particularly  because  women  are  at  a  higher  risk  of  poverty).  This  holds 
true  especially  for  women  facing  multiple  discrimination.  At  a  time  of  increasing 
migration flows, migrant women are still filling mostly unskilled and low-paid jobs 
and are also often economically dependent spouses. 

Demographic  trends  such  as  low  fertility  rates  and  ageing  societies  will  have  an 
impact  on  the  sustainability  of  social  protection,  pension  and  health  systems.  This 
will  mean  lower  pensions  and  a  higher  poverty  risk  for  the  lower  paid  groups,  in 
which  women  are  in  the  majority,  and  it  will  affect  gender  equality.  There  is  a 
positive  correlation  between  the  availability  of  social  infrastructures  and  fertility 
rates105. 

Finally,  climate  change  and  restructuring  towards  a  low  carbon  economy  will,  in 
turn,  make  an  impact  on  labour  markets  and  on  social  and  economic  development, 
both in the EU and globally. 

Challenges  were  also  perceived  regarding  the  importance  given  to  gender  equality 
policies.  The  need  to  keep  gender  equality  at  the  top  of  the  policy  agenda  is 
underlined  as  well  as  the  contribution  the  Commission  could  make  in  this  context. 
Also  related  to  perception,  some  stakeholders  pointed  out  that  gender  equality 
policies  still  tend  to  address  areas  in  which  women  are  at  a  disadvantage  and  give 
less prominence to promoting it in areas where men are the ones in less favourable 
positions.  Men  also  have  an  important  contribution  to  make  in  putting  an  end  to 
gender  inequalities  and  changing  policies  and  practices  (including  stereotypes)  that 
generate them. 

The respondents stressed that these challenges have to be taken into account in the 
future strategy. Some suggest that gender equality  should be made an objective for 

100 

101 

102 

103 
104 
105 

Philpott, John (2009) ‘Official Statistics confirm CIPD view that women are not being relatively hard 
hit  by  jobs  downturn’  (Press  Release)  Chartered  Institute  of  Personnel  and  Development  (CIPD), 
March 2009; Smith, Mark (2009) ‘Analysis Note: Gender Equality and Recession’ EGGE,May 2009. 
Smith, Mark; Villa, Paolo (2009)‘Gender equality, employment policies and the crisis in EU Member 
States’, EGGE,, May 2009. 
Smith, Mark; Villa, Paolo (2009) ‘Gender equality, employment policies and the crisis in EU Member 
States’, EGGE, May 2009. 
SPC/ISG/TF/0909/2 rev. 
SPC/ISG/TF/0909/2 rev). 
Bettio,  Francesca;  Platenga,  Janneke.  ‘Care  Regimes  and  the  European  Employment  Rate’  in  ed. 
Costabile,  Lilia  Institutions  for  Social  Well  Being:  Alternatives  for  Europe,  Basingstoke,  Palgrave 
Macmillan, 2008. 

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all.  Furthermore,  according  to  some,  Member  States  should  commit  themselves 
unequivocally to gender equality. 

5.1.3.  Main policy priorities for gender equality 

Almost  all  stakeholders  agree  that  the  six  priority  areas  of  the  Roadmap  are  still 
relevant.  In  particular,  they  emphasised  the  need  to  pay  special  attention  to 
improving  the  situation  of  women  in  the  labour  market,  to  highlight  the  amount  of 
hours  worked  by  women  and  men,  to  combat  gender  segregation  and  to  fight  the 
gender pay gap and women’s poverty. Many Member States stressed the importance 
of giving special attention to the situation of migrant women and women from ethnic 
minorities. According to some stakeholders multiple forms of discrimination should 
be tackled and the intersectional approach (integration of the needs and perspective 
of different groups of women and discrimination grounds) should be integrated into 
the future strategy. 

Some suggest that a much stronger focus should be put on female entrepreneurship, 
women with disabilities, women and health, poverty and social exclusion, domestic 
work, care facilities and gender-based violence. Several stakeholders also mentioned 
that  the  future  strategy  should  have  a  strong  chapter  on  the  EU  approach  towards 
gender equality in external relations and development policies. 

Quantified  targets  were  suggested  in  the  fields  of  equal  pay,  representation  in 
decision-making, reconciliation, female entrepreneurship, external and development 
policies and education. Some stakeholders suggested including a specific integrated 
guideline on the reconciliation of work and family life in the Lisbon Strategy post-
2010 (in particular reassessment of the Barcelona childcare target and introduction of 
a target on dependent and elderly care). Indicators were also suggested in the areas of 
women’s poverty and domestic violence. 

HLG members suggested improving governance for the new strategy by reinforcing 
partnerships between all stakeholders; promoting effective gender mainstreaming in 
EU  policies  and  specific  actions  where  necessary;  defining  targets  and  quantified 
objectives, as appropriate; improving reporting and monitoring tools.  

Most stakeholders agree that the dual approach of gender mainstreaming and specific 
actions  is  still  relevant  and  should  be  maintained.  Some  argue  that  gender 
mainstreaming  could  be  made  more  effective  by  compulsory  and  systematic 
monitoring and accountability. Better consistency in the implementation of a gender 
mainstreaming  –  including  gender  budgeting106  and  gender  impact  assessment  – 
strategy is required. According to some stakeholders the obligation to mainstream the 
gender  perspective  should  be  further  clarified  and  refined  in  implementing 
instruments. Some also argue that the follow-up strategy should be accompanied by a 
specific budget. 

106 

Gender budgeting is defined as ‘the application of gender mainstreaming into the budgetary process. 
This entails a gender-based assessment of budgets, incorporating a gender perspective at all levels of 
the  budgetary  process  and  restructuring  revenues  and  expenditures  in  order  to  promote  gender 
equality’. See Council of Europe ‘Gender Budgeting’, 2005. 

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For  most  stakeholders  the  collection  of  comparable  and  gender  disaggregated 
statistics is essential.  

There  is  a  consensus  that  more  coordination  between  the  different  levels  of 
stakeholders  is  necessary  even  if  many  synergies  already  exist.  Moreover,  an 
increased consultation of civil society is requested. Some also expressed the need for 
more  exchange  of  information  between  the  different  levels  of  stakeholders  with 
regular  meetings,  summits  and  joint  campaigns.  Some  NGOs  advocate  a  strong 
institutional link between commitments at European level and national level. It was 
also pointed out that the role of the European Institute for Gender Equality should be 
strengthened to gain strong political support. There were calls for more support from 
Member  States  to  the  future  Commission  framework  for  gender  equality,  and  the 
reaffirmation of the European Pact for Gender Equality was also mentioned as very 
important. 

The European Institute for Gender Equality proposed to complement the work of the 
Commission  in  developing  methods  and  tools  to  strengthen  gender  mainstreaming 
and in the area of fighting stereotypes, changing attitudes and raising awareness. 

Improved  reporting  and  monitoring  was  deemed  necessary  and  some  stakeholders 
requested  more  diffusion  of  reports  and  results,  highlighting  of  best  practices  and 
involvement  of  civil  society  in  the  monitoring.  In  this  respect,  some  suggested  the 
inclusion  of  a  chapter  on  the  extent  of  gender  mainstreaming  in  each  Commission 
Directorate General in the Annual Report on Equality between women and men. In 
this respect, some NGOs argued that the Annual Report should involve all relevant 
services and be linked to all areas of the future strategy.  

5.2. 

Policy input 

5.2.1.  Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities  

In January 2010 the Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities adopted an opinion 
on the future of gender equality policy after 2010107. 

The  main  recommendations  concern  the  ongoing  challenges  related  to  the  current 
priority areas of the Roadmap where EU action needs to be stepped up. 

The  opinion  also  identifies  new  challenges  for  sustainable  environmental  policies, 
the differential impact of the economic and financial downturn on women and men, 
the  need  to  address  intercultural  dialogue,  integration,  immigration  and  asylum 
polices from a gender perspective and the promotion of women’s and men’s health. 

Additional  issues  have  to  do  with  cross-cutting  challenges:  eliminating  gender 
stereotypes  across  all  sectors  and  addressing  multiple  discrimination  and 
intersectionality.  Further  recommendations  include  strengthening  the  institutional 
links at EU level and providing mechanisms to improve gender mainstreaming such 
as training, gender impact assessment and gender budgeting. 

107 

Advisory  Committee  on  Equal  Opportunities,  ‘Opinion  on  the  future  of  gender  equality  policy  after 
2010  and  on  the  priorities  for  a  possible  future  framework  for  equality  between  women  and  men’, 
January 2010. 

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5.2.2.  European Economic and Social Committee 

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted, on 17 March 2010, 
an explanatory opinion on the new strategy for equality between women and men108. 

It recommends a global approach not only to strengthen the involvement of women 
in  all  spheres  but  also  to  ensure  that  gender  equality  is  mainstreamed  across  all 
policies and included in the preparation of budgets. 

It  highlights  the  use  of  all  relevant  instruments,  legislation,  and  structural  funds.  It 
also stresses the role of social dialogue. 

Finally  it  calls  on  the  European  Institute  for  Gender  Equality  to  play  its  part  in 
improving gender governance.  

5.2.3.  European Parliament  

The FEMM Committee of the European Parliament organised a public hearing on the 
evaluation  of  the  Roadmap  2006-2010  and  on  the  new  strategy  in  January  2010.  It 
then  adopted  an own-initiative resolution on recommendations for the  new strategy 
in June 2010109. 

The  resolution  suggests  continuing  and  improving  the  approach  of  the  current 
Roadmap and focuses its recommendations on institutional and policy issues.  

On  the  policy  side  the  resolution  recommends  pursuing  the  current  Roadmap’s 
priorities.  However  it  deplores  the  unsatisfactory  way  in  which  the  gender 
perspective  is  integrated  in  the  Commission’s  proposal  for  Europe  2020.  It 
underlines that in the context of the economic crisis, one of the priorities is to combat 
poverty. It recommends an integrated policy approach taking into account the need to 
tackle the gender pay gap with a directive on equal pay, proposing concrete measures 
to  promote  equal  participation  of  women  and  men  in  decision-making  and  cross-
cutting policies in fighting poverty. It refers to the issues of sexual and reproductive 
rights. It calls also for more active policy to prevent violence against women as well 
as noting that the issue of gender identity should be covered. It also underlines that 
the  gender  perspective  should  be  integrated  into  the  European  External  Action 
Service. 

At  institutional  level  the  resolution  recommends  stronger  coordination  mechanisms 
and  the  assessment  of  policies  and  budgets  from  a  gender  equality  perspective.  It 
stresses the importance of mobilising EU instruments and programmes to support the 
new strategy. It proposes adoption of the new Commission’s strategy by the Council 
to  give  it  a  stronger  political  commitment.  It  suggests  that  the  Council,  the 
Commission and Parliament hold an annual tripartite meeting to review the progress 
of  the  EU  gender  equality  strategy  and  an  annual  conference  with  civil  society.  It 

108 

109 

SOC/350 The roadmap for equality between women and men (2006-2010) and the follow-up strategy, 
Brussels, European Economic and Social Committee, 17 March 2010. 
2009/2242(INI)  Report  on  assessment  of  the  results  of  the  2006-2010  Roadmap  for  equality  between 
women and men, and forward-looking recommendations, Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender 
Equality, 16 June 2010. 

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underlines  the  need  for  structured  dialogue  and  an  annual  conference  with  civil 
society.  Finally  it  calls  for  a  Charter  to  be  adopted  at  EU  level  and  recommends 
consulting  the  European  Parliament  on  this  future  ‘European  Charter  of  Women’s 
Rights’. 

5.2.4.  Council conclusions  

Several Council conclusions have been adopted on gender equality110. Most recently, 
the Council called on Member States and the Commission to strengthen the gender 
dimension in growth and employment as an input to the post-2010 Lisbon Strategy 
(Europe 2020) and to ensure that the impact on women and men is taken into account 
in the responses to tackle the crisis111. Moreover, it called on Member States to make 
further  progress  with  the  indicators  to  monitor  implementation  of  the  BPfA  by  the 
Member States and the EU institutions112 and also as regards equal opportunities for 
women and men in an ageing society113. Furthermore, the Council recently adopted 
conclusions on the eradication of violence against women in the European Union114. 

5.3. 

Eurobarometer survey: Gender equality in the EU in 2009115 

A  survey  on  perceptions  and  experiences  of  Europeans  with  regard  to  gender 
equality  was  conducted  between  September  and  October  2009.  The  results  were 
published in March 2010. 

62 % of the respondents believe that gender inequality is a widespread phenomenon. 
However, their perception of the extent of gender inequality increases with age: the 
young generation (15-24) tends to regard gender inequality as less widespread than 
the older age group (55+)116.  

Violence  against  women  and  the  gender  pay  gap  are  considered  as  the  two  top 
priorities for action selected by Europeans from a list of options: 62 % for violence 
against women and 50 % for the gender pay gap, and a large majority of Europeans 
think  these  issues  should  be  addressed  urgently  (92 %  for  violence  against  women 
and 82 % for the gender pay gap). 

Most of the respondents think that decisions about gender equality should be made 
jointly within the European Union, 64 % believe there has been progress in the past 
decade and over half are aware of the EU’s activities to combat gender inequalities. 

110 
111 
112 
113 
114 
115 
116 

Annex 4. 
Council document 15488/09. 
Council document 15992/09. 
2947th EPSCO meeting, June 2008. 
3000th EPSCO meeting March 2010. 
Gender equality in the EU in 2009 Special Eurobarometer 326. 
Special EUROBAROMETER 326: ‘Gender equality in the EU in 2009’. 

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ANNEX  1:  STAKEHOLDERS  AND  MAIN  BODIES  ACTIVE  IN  THE  FIELD  OF  EQUALITY 
BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN 

European fora and institutions which deal with gender equality 

•  The  Member  States  committed  themselves  to  gender  equality  through  the  UN 
agenda  for  women’s  empowerment  -  Beijing  Platform  for  Action  (BPfA)  in 
1995. Every five years the UN carries out global reviews of the implementation of 
the BPfA and in November 2009 celebrated 15 years of reporting on the BPfA in 
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 

•  The  Member  States  are  also  committed  through  the  European  Council.  The 
European Pact for Gender Equality was adopted in 2006 to encourage Member 
States and the European Union to take action on closing gender gaps in the labour 
market,  promoting  a  better  work-life  balance  for  all  and  reinforcing  governance 
through gender mainstreaming and better monitoring.  

•  The  European  Parliament  Committee  on  Women’s  Rights  and  Gender 
Equality  (FEMM)  is  active  in  the  promotion  of  gender  equality  in  all  policy 
areas debated by the European Parliament. It also plays a key role in driving the 
gender  policy  forward  and  in  reporting  on  the  gender  mainstreaming  in  EP 
committees’ and delegations’ work. 

•  The  European  Institute  for  Gender  Equality  (created  in  December  2006117) 
contributes to the promotion of gender equality by providing technical assistance 
to the Community institutions, in particular the Commission and the authorities of 
the Member States. 

In addition, other partners have been playing a role in implementing gender equality 
policies: 

•  The  European  Social  Partners  adopted  a  framework  of  Actions  on  Gender 
Equality in 2005, which has been recognised as a  useful instrument for drawing 
attention to gender issues in the establishment of the social partners’ agreements. 

•  NGOs  active  in  the  field  of  gender  equality  are  organised  in  large  networks 
funded by the EU budget and have been doing a lot to promote equality between 
women and men in all areas. In particular the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), 
which is an umbrella organisation with members in 30 Member States, has been 
active  in  the  most  important  political  and  legislative  developments  related  to 
equality between women and men at European and international level. 

Existing structures at Commission level to promote gender equality 

•  The  Group  of  Commissioners  on  Fundamental  Rights,  Non-Discrimination 
and  Equal  Opportunities  was  created  on  the  initiative  of  the  President  of  the 
Commission,  Mr  Barroso,  in  2005.  It  is  the  successor  to  the  Group  of 

117 

OJ L 403, 30.12.2006. 

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Commissioners  on  equal  opportunities  which  had  been  active  since  1996.  Its 
mandate is to drive policy and ensure the coherence of Commission action in the 
areas of fundamental rights, anti-discrimination, equal opportunities and the social 
integration  of  minority  groups,  and  to  ensure  that  gender  equality  is  taken  into 
account in Community policies and actions, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the 
Treaty.  With  the  new  Commission  2010-2014,  a  new  Commissioner  for  Justice, 
Fundamental  Rights  and  Citizenship  has  been  created,  bringing  more  coherence 
between these policies.  

•  The  Inter-service  Group  on  gender  equality  was  created  in  1995.  It  brings 
together  representatives  of  all  Commission  services  responsible  for  gender 
equality in all Directorates General. It is chaired by DG EMPL. It coordinates the 
activities  of  the  Commission  services  regarding  implementation  of  actions  for 
equality between women and men in their respective policies as well as the annual 
work programme for their respective policy area. 

•  The  Advisory  Committee  on  equal  opportunities  for  women  and  men  was 
created in 1981 by a Commission Decision subsequently amended in 1995118. The 
Committee  assists  the  Commission  in  formulating  and  implementing  the 
Community’s  activities  aimed  at  promoting  equal  opportunities  for  women  and 
men, and fosters ongoing exchanges of relevant experience, policies and practices 
between the Member States and the various parties involved.  

•  The High Level Group on gender mainstreaming is an informal group created 
in  2001  and  comprises  high-level  representatives  responsible  for  gender 
mainstreaming  at  national  level.  It  is  chaired  by  the  Commission  at  regular 
meetings  convened  in  close  collaboration  with  the  Presidency.  Among  its  main 
tasks, the Group supports the trio-presidencies in identifying relevant policy areas 
and  topics  to  be  addressed.  The  Group  is  also  the  main  forum  for  planning  the 
strategic  follow-up  of  the  BPfA,  including  the  development  of  indicators.  Since 
2003 the Group has also been assisting the Commission in the preparation of the 
Report on equality between women and men to the European Council. 

•  National  Equality  Bodies  have  been  established  in  all  Member  States.  Their 
main tasks are to analyse, monitor and support equal treatment of all persons and 
ensure  uniform  application  of  gender  equality  laws  at  Member  State  level119. 
Moreover, National Equality Bodies meet regularly as an EU network. 

118 

119 

Commission  Decision  of  19  July  1995  amending  Decision  82/43/EEC  of  9  December  1981.  It  is 
composed  of  one  representative  per  Member  State  from  ministries  or  government  departments 
responsible  for  promoting  equal  opportunities;  one  representative  per  Member  State  from  national 
committees or bodies having specific responsibility for equal opportunities between women and men; 
five  members  representing  employers’  organisations  at  Community  level;  five  members  representing 
workers’  organisations  at  Community  level.  Two  representatives  of  the  European  Women’s  Lobby 
attend  meetings  of  the  Committee  as  observers.  Representatives  of  international  and  professional 
organisations  and  other  associations  making  duly  substantiated  requests  to  the  Commission  may  be 
given observer status. 
Directive 2002/73/EC. 

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•  The High  Level Group on gender mainstreaming  in the  Structural  Funds is 
an  informal  group  created  in  2004  and  comprising  high-level  representatives 
responsible for the Structural Funds at national level in the Member States.  

•  The Advisory Committee on women and rural areas was created in 1998. It is 
made  up  of  representatives  of  socio-economic  organisations  (agricultural 
producers, trade, consumers, the European Women’s Lobby and workers).  

•  The Helsinki Group on Women and Science was established in 1999. It consists 
of  national  representatives  from  all  the  EU  Member  States,  Bulgaria,  Romania, 
Iceland,  Israel,  Norway,  Switzerland  and  Turkey.  The  Group  aims  to  promote 
equal participation of women in the sciences on a Europe-wide basis.  

•  The  European  Network  to  Promote  Women’s  Entrepreneurship  (WES)  was 
created in 2000. It is composed of representatives from national governments and 
institutions  responsible  for  the  promotion  of  female  entrepreneurship  in  27 
countries from the EU, EEA and candidate countries.  

Expert groups 

•  The  informal  Group  of  Experts  on  Gender  Equality  in  development  cooperation 
met for the first time in 1999. It is formed by Member States’ gender experts and 
chaired  by  the  Commission,  which  convenes  meetings  annually.  Its  aim  is  to 
discuss policy developments in relation to gender and development in the context 
of major EU and international events. 

•  The  Expert  Group  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  is  a  consultative  group  that 
was set up in 2003 and consists of 20 persons appointed as independent experts. 
The Commission consults the group on any matter relating to trafficking in human 
beings.  The  Expert  Group  issues  opinions  and  reports  to  the  Commission  at  the 
latter’s  request  or  on  its  own  initiative,  taking  into  due  consideration  the 
recommendations set out in the Brussels Declaration. 

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ANNEX 2: GLOSSARY OF MAIN TERMS 

Sex  

Identifies the biological differences between men and women, such as women can give birth, 
and men provide sperm. Sex roles are universal.  

Gender  

Identifies the social relations between men and women. It refers to the relationship between 
men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  and  how  this  is  socially  constructed.  Gender  roles  are 
dynamic and change over time.  

Gender equality 

Gender equality is the result of the absence of discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex in 
opportunities and the allocation of resources or benefits or in access to services.  

Gender equity  

Gender equity entails the provision of fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and 
responsibilities between women and men. The concept recognises that women and men have 
different needs and power and that these differences should be identified and addressed in a 
manner that rectifies the imbalances between the sexes.  

Gender identity  

A  person’s  sense  of  being  male  or  female,  resulting  from  a  combination  of  genetic  and 
environmental influences and a person’s concept of being male and masculine or female and 
feminine, or ambivalent. 

Gender Roles  

Gender roles are learned behaviours in a given society/community or other special group that 
condition what activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as male or female. Gender 
roles are affected by age, class, race, ethnicity or religion and by the geographical, economic 
and  political  environment.  Changes  in  gender  roles  often  occur  in  response  to  changing 
economic,  social  or  political  circumstances.  Both  men  and  women  play  multiple  roles  in 
society.  The  gender  roles  of  women  can  be  identified  as  reproductive,  productive  and 
community  managing  roles,  while  men’s  are  categorised  as  either  productive  or  community 
politics.  Men  are  able  to  focus  on  a  particular  productive  role,  and  play  their  multiple  roles 
sequentially.  Women,  in  contrast  to  men,  must  play  their  roles  simultaneously,  and  balance 
competing claims on time for each of them.  

Multiple discrimination:  

In  this  context,  multiple  discrimination  is  to  be  understood  as  any  combination  of 
discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age 
or sexual orientation. 

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ANNEX  3:  CONSULTATION  ON  THE  FUTURE  STRATEGY  FOR  EQUALITY  BETWEEN  WOMEN 
AND MEN 

A/  Consultation  paper  on  Roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men  2006-2010 
and follow-up strategy 

Introduction 

According to the EC Treaty120, equality between women and men is a fundamental principle 
of  the  EU  to  be  promoted  through  all  Community  activities.  Fifty  years  of  Community 
policies, legislation and programmes to promote gender equality have improved the position 
of  women  in  many  areas:  employment,  education,  scientific  research  and  external  policies. 
However, persistent and considerable gender inequalities remain.  

The Member States have the main responsibility for achieving equality between women and 
men. Nevertheless, the European Commission has always been very active regarding gender 
equality  and  adopted  in  2006  a  Roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men121.  The 
Roadmap  represents  its  commitment  to  gender  equality  for  the  period  2006-2010.  As  the 
Roadmap expires in 2010, the Commission will present a follow-up strategy122 and launch a 
consultation  on  it.  The  outcome  of  the  consultation  will  feed  into  the  impact  assessment 
which will accompany the proposal for the follow-up strategy. 

Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010 

Policy commitments 

The Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010 provides an ambitious policy 
framework for promoting gender equality in all the Union’s policies and activities. It defines 
six priority areas: 

1) Equal economic independence for women and men, 

2) Reconciliation of private and professional life, 

3) Equal representation in decision-making, 

4) Eradication of all forms of gender-related violence, 

5) Elimination of gender stereotypes, 

6) Promotion of gender equality in external and development policies. 

The Roadmap identifies key actions in these priority areas to be implemented through the dual 
approach of gender mainstreaming and specific measures.  

It also sets out ways to improve governance regarding gender equality policies. 

120 
121 
122 

Articles 2 and 3 EC Treaty. 
COM(2006) 92. 
COM(2009) 73. 

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•  Significant  progress  has  been  achieved  in  policy  areas,  in  particular  where  concrete 

equality objectives were included.  

•  The  information  on  the  progress  achieved  is  available  in  two  types  of  annual  reporting 

undertaken by the Commission services:  

–  the  annual  report  on  progress  towards  gender  equality  at  EU  level  including  a 

statistical annex123, 

–  monitoring  of  the  Roadmap  (mid-term  progress  report  adopted  in  2008124  and 

annual work programmes 2007, 2008 and 2009125). 

Despite the results obtained so far, progress is uneven and it is therefore necessary to further 
develop gender equality policies. 

Complementarity and synergies 

–  The Roadmap 2006-2010 is a framework for the policies the Commission is designing and 
implementing.  However, the Roadmap has  not  only  been the basis for  the Commission’s 
actions for gender equality but has also been a policy framework taken as a reference point 
for the partners in the EU. 

–  In  line  with  the  Commission’s  Roadmap,  the  European  Pact  for  Gender  Equality126, 
approved by the Member States at the European Council of 23 and 24 March 2006, reflects 
the  Member  States’  determination  to  implement  policies  aimed  at  promoting  gender 
equality. The EU Member States have also committed themselves at international level to 
improving the status of women in the world and are involved in the implementation of the 
Beijing declaration (BPfA).  

–  Other partners also have a role to play in implementing gender equality policies. In 2005, 
the European social partners agreed on a Framework of Actions on Gender Equality. The 
NGOs have also been very active in this field and are playing an important role. Moreover, 
new actors such as the Equality Bodies have responsibilities in this field too127. 

–  It  should  be  noted  that  the  Regulation  on  the  European  Institute  for  Gender  Equality 
was adopted on 20 December 2006128. The main objective of the Institute is to contribute 
to  the  promotion  of  gender  equality,  including  gender  mainstreaming  in  all  Community 
policies  and  the  resulting  national  policies,  by  providing  technical  assistance  to  the 
Community institutions, in particular the Commission, and the authorities of the Member 
States.  

Policy challenges and priorities for the new strategy on gender equality 

Whereas Member States have the main powers to achieve gender equality, many of them still 
face  difficulties  and  should  continue  to  develop  gender  equality  policies.  The  EU  can  add 

123 
124 
125 
126 
127 
128 

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=418&langId=en&furtherPubs=yes) 
COM(2008) 760. 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=422&langId=en 
European Council 23/24 March 2006. 
Directive 2002/73/EC. 
OJ L 403, 30.12.2006. 

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value by providing a policy framework and the impetus to put gender equality at the top of the 
political agenda. 

The new strategy will probably cover the period 2011 to 2015 and should: 

•  identify the challenges regarding gender equality at EU level, 

•  define the objectives for gender equality across all Community policy areas, 

•  set out the key actions to be implemented as well as define the processes for doing so and 

for reporting on progress, 

•  identify  the  complementarities  and  synergies  to  be  created  with  Member  States,  social 
partners,  civil  society  and  more  specifically  with  the  new  European  Institute  for  Gender 
Equality. 

To  strengthen  the  mainstreaming  of  gender  equality  in  all  Community  policy  areas  the  new 
strategy will need to be aligned with the reflections and cycles of the major policy processes 
(the  Strategy  for  growth  and  jobs  post-2010,  the  budget  review  and  the  new  financial 
perspectives post-2013, the new Social Agenda 2011-2015, etc.).  

Policy challenges  

The  problems  stemming  from  the  main  inequalities  faced  by  women  and  men  have  not 
radically  changed  since  the  adoption  of  the  Roadmap  in  2006.  Significant  gender  gaps 
continue  to  exist  in  the  priority  areas  identified  in  the  Roadmap.  However,  new  trends 
affecting  gender  equality  in  the  European  Union  should  also  be  taken  into  account  when 
defining the priorities for the new strategy: 

•  the  economic  and  financial  crisis  triggering  a  rise  in  unemployment,  pressure  on  wages, 
increasing uncertainty among economic actors and strong pressure on public finances, 

•  the demographic trends of low fertility rates and an ageing society, 

•  the globalisation of the economy and increased migration, 

•  environmental  aspects  linked  to  climate  change  and  restructuring  towards  a  low  carbon 

economy. 

Policy priorities 

The  six  priority  areas  of  the  Roadmap  2006-2010  still  seem  relevant.  Therefore,  the  new 
strategy  could  build  on  these  core  priorities  and  also  address  new  areas  of  potential  gender 
inequality. 

When  defining  the  new  strategy,  closer  attention  could  be  given  to  the  demographic  trends, 
the  globalisation  of  the  economy,  migration  and  climate  change.  Furthermore,  attention 
should  be  paid  to  the  fact  that  the  economic  and  financial  crisis  does  not  create  additional 
gender disadvantages.  

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Priorities related to governance 

The Roadmap 2006-2010 has followed a dual approach of gender mainstreaming and specific 
actions.  Gender  mainstreaming  should,  in  particular,  be  integrated  in  all  European  policies 
and funds. However, the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming in all policies is still uneven. 
The  preparation  of  the  new  strategy  is  the  opportunity  to  reflect  on  the  best  methods  to 
improve the dual approach and on how to apply it in practice to the different policy areas and 
instruments. 

Consideration should be given to ways of strengthening or making better use of the various 
institutional  mechanisms  which  can  support  gender  mainstreaming.  For  instance,  the 
usefulness and feasibility of identifying new gender targets in certain policy areas should be 
considered in that context. 

Synergies  and  complementarities  could  be  strengthened  notably  with  Member  States, 
European social partners and civil society. 

QUESTIONS FOR CONSULTATION 

The  following  questions  are  provided  as  guidance.  The  Commission  would  like  to  receive 
contributions on these questions as well as on any other issue regarded as relevant. 

1. Overall assessment of the performance of the Roadmap for equality between 
women and men 2006-2010 

- Do  you  think  the  Roadmap  2006-2010  has  made  a  difference  and  contributed  to 
more equality between women and men? 

---------------------------------- 

2. Future challenges for gender equality  

- What  are  in  your  view  the  main  medium  and  long-term  challenges  that  a  new 
strategy for gender equality should address? 

---------------------------------- 

3. Main policy priorities for gender equality 

- Are  the  six  priority  areas  defined  in  the  Roadmap  still  relevant  (see  point  2.1)? 
Which new priorities should be considered? 

- How can gender mainstreaming and specific actions be made more effective? 

- In what policy areas could new gender targets be defined? Which targets should be 
quantified?  

- How  can  complementarities  and  synergies  between  the  Commission’s  initiatives, 
the  actions  by  the  Member  States,  the  actions  by  social  partners  and  organisations 
representing civil society, both at European and at national level, be achieved? 

- What  types  of  improvements  should  be  aimed  at  concerning  monitoring  and 
reporting on progress made? 

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B/ LIST OF BODIES REPLYING TO THE CONSULTATION 

44 contributions were received from social partners and NGOs consulted  

Equality bodies from the following countries: 

–  Italy 
–  Luxembourg 
–  Poland 
–  Slovenia 
–  Cyprus 
–  Finland 
–  France 
–  Greece 
–  Sweden 
–  UK 

Civil society: 

–  Youth Forum 
–  CCPR (Central Council of Recreative Physical Training) 
–  CEEP (Consortium Européen sur l’Economie du Paysage) 
–  EASA (European Advertising standards)  
–  Chwarae Teg (Economic development of women in Wales) 
–  Children in Scotland 
–  EWL (European Women’s Lobby) 
–  Mental Health Europe 
–  WIDE Network (Women in Development Europe) 
–  EWS (European Women and Sport)  

–  AKTEA (European Network of women’s organisations in fisheries and aquaculture) 

–  BPW International (Business & Professional Women) 

–  ASCCRE (Association Suisse Conseil des Communes et Régions d’Europe)  

–  EBU (European Blind Union) 

–  Eurochambres (Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry) 

–  EDF (European Disability Forum) 

–  Psytel Europe (information systems on health and prevention)   

–  EIWH (European Institute of Women’s Health) 

–  COFACE (Confédération des Organisations Familiales de l’Union européenne)  

–  CNAFC (Confédération Nationale des Associations Familiales Catholiques) 

–  EPHA (European Public Health Alliance) 

–  ENPA  FAEP  (European  Newspaper  Publishers’  Association;  the  Voice  of  Europe’s 

Periodical Press) 

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–  World Confederation for Physical Therapy 

–  AGE 

–  Amnesty International 

–  ILGA 

–  EQUINET - European Network of Equality Bodies 

Social Partners: 

–  Eurocadres 
–  CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies) 
–  CEC European Managers   
–  UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) 
–  ETUC 
–  Business Europe 

Agencies: 

–  EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) 

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ANNEX 4: LIST OF COUNCIL REFERENCE DOCUMENTS 

European Councils 

Presidency conclusions – Lisbon European Council March 2000:  

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/00100-r1.en0.htm 

Presidency conclusions – Barcelona European Council March 2002:  

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/71025.pdf 

European pact for gender equality, Annex II of the Presidency conclusions – Brussels 
European Council March 2006: 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/89013.pdf 

EPSCO Council decisions 

Council decision on the guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States:  

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st10/st10614-re02.en08.pdf 

EPSCO Council conclusions 

2006 

- Council conclusions on ‘Men and gender equality’: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st14/st14845.en06.pdf 

- Council conclusions on women’s health: 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2006:146:0004:0005:EN:PDF  

2007 

- Council conclusions on ‘Balanced roles of women and men for jobs, growth and social 
cohesion’: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st14/st14136.en07.pdf 

- Council conclusions on ‘the future prospects for the European Employment Strategy in the 
context of the new cycle of the Lisbon Strategy’: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st15/st15813.en07.pdf  

2008 

- Council conclusions on ‘Eliminating gender stereotypes in 
society’:http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st09/st09671.en08.pdf 

2009 

- Council conclusions on Gender equality: Strengthening growth and employment — input to 
the post-2010 Lisbon Strategy: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st15/st15488.en09.pdf  

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- Council conclusions on Equal opportunities for women and men: active and dignified ageing 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st10/st10412.en09.pdf  

- Council conclusions on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and 
training (‘ET 2020’) 

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/107622.pdf 

2010 

- Council conclusions on eradication of violence against women in the European Union  
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/113226.pdf 
General Affairs and External Relations Council Conclusions 2007 
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Development Cooperation — Conclusions 
of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting 
within the Council http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st09/st09561.en07.pdf  

Council conclusions -2006-2010 on the review of the implementation by the Member States 
and the EU institutions of the Beijing Platform for Action 

2006 – Health: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st09/st09468.en06.pdf 

2006 – Institutional mechanisms for women: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st14/st14376.en06.pdf 

2007 – Education and training: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st09/st09152.en07.pdf 

2007 – Women and Poverty: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st13/st13947.en07.pdf 

2008 – Girl Child: 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/lsa/101014.pdf 

2008 - Review of Women in political decision-making: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st09/st09670.en08.pdf 

2008 – Women and Armed conflicts: 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/lsa/104821.pdf 

2008 - Review of reconciliation of work and family life (FR): 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st17/st17474.en08.pdf 

2009 - Review of the implementation by the Member States and EU institutions of the Beijing 
Platform for Action – ‘Beijing + 15’ a Review of Progress: 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st15/st15992.en09.pdf  

Commission communications or other policy documents:  

Roadmap 
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2006:0092:FIN:EN:PDF 

between  women 

and  men 

equality 

2006-2010: 

for 

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http://eur-

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Mid-term report of the Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010:http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0760:FIN:EN:PDF 

Work  Programme  2009-2010:  Roadmap  for  equality  between  women  and  men  (2006-2010) 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=422&langId=en&moreLinks=yes  

Communication 
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0424:FIN:EN:PDF 

gender 

gap: 

pay 

the 

on 

Communication 
balance: 
improving 
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0635:FIN:EN:PDF 

work-life 

on 

http://eur-

http://eur-

Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Barcelona  targets  in  the  field  of  childcare:  http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0638:FIN:EN:PDF 

Recent annual reports on equality between women and men:  

2008: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0010:FIN:EN:PDF 

2009: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0077:FIN:EN:PDF 

2010: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0694:FIN:EN:PDF 

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ANNEX 5: BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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causes,  implications  and  policy  responses  in  the  EU’  EGGE  –  European  Commission’s 
Network  of  Experts  on  Employment  and  Gender  Equality  issues  –Fondazione  Giacomo 
Brodolini, September 2008 

Browne,  Jude;  (2008)  ‘Sex  segregation  and  inequality  in  the  modern  labour  market’  The 
Polity Press, Bristol, 2006  

Burri, Susanne; Schiek, Dagmar; (2009) ‘Multiple discrimination in EU law – Opportunities 
for  legal  responses  to  intersectional  gender  discrimination’  –  European  network  of  legal 
experts in the field of gender equality  

Burchell, Brendan; Fagan, Colette; O’Brien, Catherine; Smith, Mark; ‘Working conditions in 
the European Union: The gender perspective’ European Foundation for the Improvement of 
Living and Working Conditions, December 2007 

Buckingham,  Susan;  Reeves,  Dory;  Batchelor,  Anna;  Colucas,  Sara;  (2004)  ‘Research  into 
Gender  Differentiated  Impacts  of  Municipal  Waste  Management  Planning  in  the  EU’ 
Women’s Environment Network, 2004 

Cavalcanti,  Tiago;  Tavares,  José  (2009)  ‘The  Output  Cost  of  Gender  Discrimination:  A 
Model-Based Macroeconomic Estimate’ July 2007 

Corsi,  Marcella;  Crepaldi  Chiara;  Samek  Lodovici  Manuela;  Boccagni,  Paolo  Cristina 
Vasilescu; (2008), ‘Ethnic minority and Roma women in Europe: a case for gender equality’ 
EGGE  –  European  Commission’s  Network  of  Experts  on  Employment  and  Gender  Equality 
issues (2008)  

Corral, Antonio; , Isusi, Iñigo; (2007) ‘Innovative gender equality measures in the transport 
industry’ EUROFOUND, July 2007 

Council of Europe, (2005) ‘Violence within the family: the place and role of men’ Conference 
Proceedings, Strasbourg, 6-7 December 2005 

Council  of  Europe,  (2008)  ‘Combating  violence  against  Women:  Minimum  Standards  for 
support Services’, Directorate General of human Rights and legal Affairs, Strasbourg, 2008. 

Crepaldi,  Chiara;  Lodovici,  Manuela  Samek;  Corsi,  Marcella  (2009)  ‘Access  to  Healthcare 
and  Long-term  Care:  Equal  for  Women  and  Men?’  Expert  Group  on  Gender  equality  and 
social inclusion, health and long term care issues (EGGSI,) October 2009 

EACEA (2009) ‘Gender Differences in Educational Outcomes Study of the Measures Taken 
and the Current Situation in Europe (Working Document)’ December 2009 

EUROFOUND, (2007) ‘Women and violence at work - Background paper’ November 2007 

EUROFOUND, (2007) ‘Foundation Findings: Work–life balance – Solving the dilemma’ 
December 2007  

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EUROFOUND,  (2008)  ‘Mind  the  gap  –  Women’s  and  men’s  quality  of  work  and 
employment - Background paper’ April 2008  

EUROFOUND, (2008) ‘Working in Europe: Gender differences’ April 2008  

EUROFOUND, (2008) ‘Women at Work: Paths to equality’ November 2008 

EUROFOUND, (2009) ‘Foundation findings - Drawing on experience: Older women workers 
in Europe’ February 2009  

EUROFOUND,  (2009)  ‘Patterns  of  recent  employment  growth  in  the  EU:  implications  for 
gender equality - Background paper’ April 2009 

EUROFOUND, (2009) ‘Foundation findings - Drawing on experience: Older women workers 
in Europe’ February 2009  

European  Commission,  (1998)  ‘100  Words  for  Equality:  A  Glossary  of  Terms  on  Equality 
between Women and Men’, 1998  

European  Commission,  (2007),  ‘Tackling  the  Multiple  Discriminations,  Practices,  Policies 
and Laws’, 2007 

European  Commission,  (2007)  ‘Study  to  Assess  the  Feasibility  and  Options  for  the 
Introduction of Elements of Gender Budgeting into the EU Budgetary Process’, 2007 

European  Commission,  (2008)  ‘Mid-term  progress  report  on  the  roadmap  for  equality 
between women and men’, COM (2008)760, 26 November 2008 

European  Commission,  (2008)  ‘Evaluation  on  policy:  promotion  of  women  innovators  and 
entrepreneurship-Final Report ‘DG enterprise and industry July 2008  

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