COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012 Accompanying the document 2012 Report on the Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
Date: 2013-05-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, equal pay, gender equality, sexual discrimination, sexual mutilation, sexual tourism

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 8.5.2013  
SWD(2013) 171 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012 

Accompanying the document 

2012 Report on the Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 

{COM(2013) 271 final} 
{SWD(2013) 172 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012 

Accompanying the document 

2012 Report on the Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................4 

EQUAL ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE DURING THE CRISIS ........................................................................6 

2.1. 
2.2. 
2.3. 

A LEVELLING-DOWN OF THE GENDER GAP IN EMPLOYMENT................................................................................ 6 
STARTING FRAGILE: YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN’S ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE AT STAKE ................................. 9 
RECONCILING WORK AND FAMILY LIFE — A SNAPSHOT OF THE ATTAINMENT OF THE BARCELONA TARGETS ................ 10 

3. 

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK AND WORK OF EQUAL VALUE .............................................................14 

3.1. 

GENDER GAPS IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH: THE ROOT OF SEGREGATION AND PAY INEQUALITIES .......................... 14 
3.1.1.  Gender imbalances in education ................................................................................................... 14 
3.1.2.  Gender equality in research .......................................................................................................... 15 
CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP................................................................................................................. 16 
WOMEN’S EARNINGS ARE PLAYING A MORE CRITICAL ROLE IN HOUSEHOLD INCOME.............................................. 18 
GENDER GAPS IN PENSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 19 
WOMEN STILL FACE A HIGHER RISK OF POVERTY AND EXCLUSION ...................................................................... 20 
MIGRANTS AND MINORITIES: FRAGILITY AND EMPOWERMENT.......................................................................... 22 

3.2. 
3.3. 
3.4. 
3.5. 
3.6. 

4. 

EQUALITY IN DECISION-MAKING.........................................................................................................24 

4.1. 
4.2. 

PROMOTING GENDER BALANCE ON BOARDS OF COMPANIES LISTED ON STOCK EXCHANGES ..................................... 24 
GENDER BALANCE IN POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING: STILL A CHALLENGE FOR MANY MEMBER STATES ....................... 26 
Elected representatives: gender imbalance in many parliaments ................................................ 26 
4.2.1. 
4.2.2.  Gender imbalance in most EU national governments................................................................... 27 
4.2.3.  Women and men in decision-making positions on the environment ............................................ 28 

DIGNITY, INTEGRITY AND ENDING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: A GROWING ATTENTION TO A 

5. 
PERSISTING ISSUE........................................................................................................................................29 

5.1. 
5.2. 
5.3. 
5.4. 

REINFORCING THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME............................................................................................ 29 
A STRONG STANCE AGAINST FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM) ................................................................... 29 
TOWARDS THE ERADICATION OF TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS ...................................................................... 30 
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AS A KEY PRIORITY OF THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENCY ...................................................... 30 

6. 

7. 

GENDER EQUALITY IN EXTERNAL ACTIONS ..........................................................................................32 

HORIZONTAL ISSUES...........................................................................................................................34 

7.1. 
7.2. 

MAINSTREAMING GENDER EQUALITY........................................................................................................... 34 
INVESTING IN GENDER EQUALITY ................................................................................................................ 35 

8. 

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS...........................................................................................................36 

STATISTICAL ANNEX ....................................................................................................................................37 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Equality  between  men  and  women  is  a  fundamental  right  and  a  common  principle  of  the 
European Union. It is also a key element of sustainable, smart and inclusive economic growth. 
Greater  gender  equality  has  accounted  for  a  significant  share  of  the  employment  and 
economic growth in the past 50 years and its potential impact is not yet fully exploited. New 
research shows that levelling gender gaps upwards could enhance potential economic growth: 
the  projected  gain  from  full  convergence  in  participation  rates  by  2020  is  an  increase  of 
12.4 % in GDP per capita by 20301: this would represent an important contribution to the EU 
economic recovery and an important asset for the EU in a time of downturn. 

Gender gaps decreased in several domains in the last five years. A closer insight shows that 
this  decrease  is  not  the  consequence  of  an  improvement  of  the  situation  of  women  but  to  a 
faster  deterioration  of  the  situation  of  men  as  compared  to  women,  in  particular  in  the  first 
period  of  the  crisis.  Therefore,  the  EU  has  experienced  a  levelling  down  of  gender  gaps  in 
employment, unemployment, wages and poverty in recent years. Significant challenges also 
remain in fields such as violence against women, reconciling work and family life and gender 
balance in decision-making.  

This report assesses the situation of women and men and the changes over time, focusing 
on  2012  but  also  taking  a  long-term  perspective  and  putting  the  current  challenges  in  the 
context  of  the  evolution  of  the  last  decade.  It  takes  stock  of  major  policy  developments 
during  the  last  year.  2012  was  indeed  rich  in  new  initiatives  on  gender  equality,  at  both 
European  and  national  level.  The  report  illustrates  some  of  the  many  ways  in  which  the 
European Union and its Member States have promoted gender equality. 

This  report  is  structured  around  the  five  priority  areas  defined  in  the  Commission 
communication Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-20152, namely: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

equal economic independence for women and men, 

equal pay for work of equal value, 

equality in decision making, 

dignity, integrity and ending of gender violence, 

promoting gender equality beyond the EU, 

A comprehensive mid-term review of the Strategy for equality between women and men will 
be presented by the Commission in 2013. 

While covering all five priorities of the Strategy, the report focuses on specific aspects that 
gained importance in 2012 and on new initiatives that should be highlighted: 

• 

• 

1 
2 
3 

The availability, quality and affordability of childcare facilities remain a key driver 
to enhance women’s employment and contribution to economic growth. The extent 
to  which  the  so-called  Barcelona3  targets  in  this  field,  adopted  ten  years  ago,  have 
been achieved, is scrutinised in a separate part of the report. 

Whereas  women  constitute  an  increasing  part  of  the  workforce,  they  are  not  yet 
represented  at  the  highest  decision-making  levels.  The  Commission  proposal  for 

'Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now', OECD report, December 2012 
COM(2010)491  
"Member States should strive (...) to provide childcare by 2010 to at least 90 % of children between 3 
years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33 % of children under 3 years of age " 

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gender  balance  on  boards  of  publicly  listed  companies  therefore  constitutes  a  key 
milestone for gender equality.4 

• 

Gender-based violence remains a serious and unacceptable violation of human rights. 
Important steps have been taken at European level to combat it. 

The  report  also  presents  an  insight  of  current  economic  issues  with  a  focus  on  the  specific 
challenges  faced  by  young  women  and  young  men.  On  a  longer-term  perspective,  new 
findings on the contribution of gender equality to growth are also presented. 

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EN 

Proposal  for  a  Directive  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  improving  the  gender 
balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges and related measures, 
COM(2012) 
http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0614:FIN:en:PDF. 

Available 

final. 

614 

at: 

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2. 

EQUAL ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE DURING THE CRISIS 

Having  a  job  is  a  necessary  —  but  not  always  sufficient  —  condition  for  economic 
independence  and  decent  living  for  working-age  men  and  women.  In  2012,  the  scarcity  of 
jobs has affected the lives of many men and women — though in different ways (section 2.1) 
— and has particularly affected the youth labour market (section 2.2). More structural factors, 
such  as  the  unavailability  of  childcare  facilities  (section  2.3),  partly  explain  the  remaining 
gender gap in employment, and require to be addressed under the Europe 2020 Strategy. 

2.1. 

A levelling-down of the gender gap in employment 

Before the crisis, women were slowly catching up with men on the labour markets of all 
European countries: their employment rate increased from 55 % in 1997 to 62.8 % in 2007, 
gaining  6.9  percentage  points  while  the  male  employment  rate  increased  from  75.3%  to 
77.9%, gaining 2.6 percentage points in the same period. The crisis has halted these positive 
trends.  However,  male  employment  dropped  earlier  and  faster  (as  shown  in  Figure  1):  the 
male employment rate went down to 74.6 % in 2012, its lowest level since 1997, while female 
employment decreased only slightly at 62.4 %. The fall in female employment was smaller at 
the beginning of the crisis, as women were underrepresented in sectors such as manufacturing, 
construction  and  finance,  which  were  hit  the  most.  However  the  on-going  process  of  fiscal 
consolidation is increasingly involving staffing freezes or personnel cuts in the public sector 
which  is  female  dominated.  This  diminishes  the  prospects  of  a  swift  recovery  for  female 
employment in several countries5. 

Looking  at  changes  in  unemployment  since  the  beginning  of  the  crisis,  the  female 
unemployment rate was much higher than the male unemployment rate in the first quarter of 
2008 and increased as the recession worsened, but not as much as male unemployment. As a 
consequence, both rates have converged (see Figure 2). In the fourth quarter of 2012, the male 
and  female  unemployment  rates  reached  new  highs  of  10.6 %  and  10.8 %,  respectively, 
corresponding to almost 26 million Europeans in unemployment. 

increase 

the  continuous 

in  unemployment, 

Despite 
inactivity  and  discouragement 
(characterised by abandonment of job search and the labour market) keep falling, in particular 
among  women.  Many  more  women  than  men  were  inactive  in  2012  (30.5 %  compared  to 
17 %), but the gender gap was lower than five years before (13.5 pp compared to 15.7 pp in 
2007). Women are no longer the ‘buffer’ of the labour market, called in when demand is 
high, but sent back home when demand contracts6.  

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See  ‘The  impact  of  the  economic  crisis  on  the  situation  of  women  and  men  and  on  gender  equality 
policies’,  report  of  the  European  Network  of  Experts  on  Gender  Equality,  commissioned  by  the 
European  Commission,  December 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-
2012.  Available 
equality/files/documents/enege_crisis_report__dec_2012_final_en.pdf. 
See  ‘The  impact  of  the  economic  crisis  on  the  situation  of  women  and  men  and  on  gender  equality 
policies’,  report  of  the  European  Network  of  Experts  on  Gender  Equality,  commissioned  by  the 
European  Commission,  December 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-
2012.  Available 
equality/files/documents/enege_crisis_report__dec_2012_final_en.pdf. 

at: 

at: 

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Figure 1: Employment rate of men and women (20-64 years old), EU-27, 1997-2012(%) 

Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS) 

Figure 2: Unemployment rate of men and women (15-74 years old) seasonally adjusted, 
EU-27, from the beginning of the crisis in 2008 to 2012 (%) 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

As an alternative  to  lay-offs, part-time work has  risen  during  the crisis, in  particular among 
men: 8.4 % of employed men were part-timers in 2012 (compared to 7 % in 2007). However, 
part-time  working  remains  a  much  more  common  feature  of  female  employment  (32.1 %  in 
2012  and  30.8 %  in  2007).  Involuntary  part-time  work  has  also  risen  among  both  men  and 
women:  involuntary  part-time  employment  represents  39%  of  total  part-time  male 
employment in 2012 (against 30% in 2007) and 24% of total part-time female employment in 
2012 (against 20% in 2007).  

The situation of men and women varies from one Member State to another (see Figure 
3). The female employment rate is lower than 60 % in Malta, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Spain, 
Romania,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  Ireland,  while  is  above  70 %  in  Germany,  the  Netherlands, 

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Finland,  Denmark  and  Sweden.  Some  Member  States  with  the  highest  female  employment 
rates  also  display  a  high  share  of  part-time  employment  among  women  (the  Netherlands, 
Germany, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg). 

The differences in terms of number of hours worked can be summarised in one telling figure: 
if employment is measured in full-time equivalents,  only  53.5 % of the female workforce is 
employed in the EU as compared to 62.4% in terms of employment rate's usual measure.  

Improving  female  labour  market  participation  is  needed  to  ensure  a  sustained  and  inclusive 
growth. Recent evidence from the OECD7 shows that on average, the projected gain from 
full  convergence  in  participation  rates  is  an  increase  of  12.4 %  in  GDP  per  capita  by 
2030 in EU-218. The projected gains are substantially higher in those Member States where 
the  gender  gap  in  labour  force  participation  is  currently  high.  The  same  OECD  report  also 
demonstrates  that  while  childcare  facilities  remain  the  key  driver  of  female  employment,  a 
comprehensive  policy-mix  is  also  required  to  enable  women  and  men  to  balance  work  with 
their family and private life and to address the difficulties encountered at different stages of 
life.  The  following  sections  present  policies  that  have  been  implemented  and  their 
contribution to the enhancement of labour market participation of women, starting with youth 
policies.  

Figure 3: Employment rate and part-time employment rate of men and women in 2012 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

7 
8 

‘Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now’, OECD publication, December 2012. 
The EU-21 countries does not include Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania. 

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2.2. 

Starting  fragile:  young  men  and  young  women’s  economic  independence  at 
stake 

The  current  crisis  has  particularly  hit  young  people,  who  are  facing  unemployment  and 
discouragement. As a consequence, in 2011, the rate of people not in employment, education 
or training (NEET) reached 17.5 % among young women (15-29 years old) and 13.4 % among 
young  men  in  the  EU-27.  The  NEET  rate  among  young  women  is  higher  than  20 %  in  8 
Member States (see Figure 4). Young women are more likely than young men to be not in 
employment, education or training, mainly because they are more likely to be out of the 
labour force (or inactive). 
Among  the  NEET  group,  42.4 %  of  young  men  are  involved  in  active  labour  market 
measures,  while  only  32.6 %  of  young  women  are.  The  share  of  young  men  is  especially 
higher  in  training  (59.5 %  of  young  beneficiaries)  and  start-up  incentives  (62.9 %). 
Furthermore,  women  are  underrepresented  in  apprenticeship  schemes  to  facilitate  school-to-
work  transition.  All  in  all  they  seem  to  benefit  less  from  public  support  in  many  Member 
States (training programmes, apprenticeships, etc.)9. 

Figure 4: NEET rate by type and by gender for youth aged 15-29, 2011 (%) 

Females

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Males

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EL BG IT RO SK HU IE ES LV PL UKEU27CZ EE FR BE CY PTMT**LT DE FI AT SI SE LU DK NL

BG IE ES IT EL LV LT RO SK CY HUEU27PT EE UK FR PL BE SI MT FI DE CZ SE DK AT NL

Unemployed persons

Inactive persons

Unemployed persons

Inactive persons

*Luxembourg: data not available for males 

**Malta: Total NEET rate 

Source: ENEGE's calculation, based on yearly microdata ELFS, average 2009/2010 

Young  men  more  frequently  experience  a  successful  transition  path  (i.e.  ending  with  a 
permanent contract). In contrast, young women are more likely to be part-time and temporary 
workers10 and to start in the doubly fragile position of a temporary, part-time job.  

Based on this evidence, the Youth Employment Package adopted in December 2012 by the 
European  Commission11  recognised  the  need  for  more  gender-sensitive  youth  policies  and 
proposed  a  Council  Recommendation  for  a  ‘Youth  Guarantee’12,  paying  attention  to  the 
gender and diversity of the young people targeted. 

9 

10 

11 
12 

‘Starting  fragile:  gender  differences  in  the  youth  labour  market’,  report  prepared  for  the  European 
Commission by the European Network of Experts on Gender Equality.  
‘Starting  fragile:  gender  differences  in  the  youth  labour  market’,  report  prepared  for  the  European 
Commission by the European Network of Experts on Gender Equality. 
Communication "Moving Youth into Employment", COM(2012)727 
Proposal  for  a  Council  Recommendation  on  Establishing  a  Youth  Guarantee,  COM(2012)  729  final, 
available at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1731. 

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2.3. 

Reconciling  work  and  family  life  —  a  snapshot  of  the  attainment  of  the 
Barcelona targets 

The  ability  of  Member  States  to  significantly  increase  sustainable  employment  rates  and 
decrease  gender  gaps  depends,  among  other  things,  on  the  ability  of  women  and  men  to 
reconcile their professional and private lives. The availability of childcare services is crucial 
in  this  regard.  Recognising  this  crucial  role,  the  European  Council  in  Barcelona  set  what  is 
known as the ‘Barcelona target’: ‘(...) Member States should strive (...) to provide childcare 
by 2010 to at least 90 % of children between 3 years old and the mandatory school age and at 
least 33 % of children under 3 years of age;’13. 

Although some progress has been made since 2002, and despite the commitment of Member 
States in two successive European pacts for equality between women and men14, the provision 
of childcare facilities in the EU was still short of these targets in 201015. 

While 10 EU Member States have reached the Barcelona targets for the first age group 
in 2011, the majority of Member States have yet to make any substantial effort to meet the 
targets  (see  Figure  5).  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  Poland,  the  Czech  Republic  and 
Slovakia, whose coverage rate is less than 5 %.  

The  use  of  formal  childcare  increases  with  the  age  of  children.  In  the  category  of  children 
aged  from  3  to  mandatory  school  age16,  9  Member  States  reached  the  target  of  90 % 
coverage  in  2011.  More  worrying,  the  coverage  rate  has  significantly  decreased  between 
2010 and 2011 in several countries. It is also important to note that for some countries, even if 
the  targets  are  met,  the  use  of  formal  childcare is  mainly  part-time  so  does  not  cover  a  full 
week  of  work.  The  Netherlands,  Ireland  and  the  United  Kingdom  are  examples  where  part-
time childcare places may be for less than 20 hours. 

13 
14 
15  
16 

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/71025.pdf. 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:155:0010:0013:EN:PDF. 
A Commission report giving a detailed analysis will be adopted in May 2013  
Mandatory school age differs from country to country: from 4 to 7 years. 

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Figure 5: Percentage of children cared for under formal arrangements by weekly time 
spent in care, 2011 

Children up to three years of age 

Children from three years of age to mandatory 
school age 

Sources: Eurostat, EU-SILC,  2010. 

Note:  A  number  of  data  points  are  computed  based  on  small  samples  and  are  not  considered  statistically  reliable.  These 
include for first age category: AT, BG, CY CZ, EL, HR, LT, MT, PL, RO, SK. 

Breakdowns by weekly time spent in care are laid down on a indicative basis. 

Formal  childcare  services  can  only  help  parents  enter  and  stay  in  employment  if  they 
are affordable. However, the price of these services is considered an obstacle for 53 % of 
mothers who do not work or work part-time on account of childcare17. This is particularly the 
case in Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK where the price is an obstacle for more 
than  70 %  of  mothers  who  do  not  work  or  work  part-time  on  account  of  childcare.  The  net 

17 

Sources LFS ad-hoc module 2010. Twenty-three percent of women whose youngest child is under three 
and 18 % of women whose youngest child is between 3 and mandatory school age work part-time or do 
not work for childcare reasons.  

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costs of childcare services may in fact represent more than 41 % of net income in a household 
where both parents work18 in the UK and Ireland19.  
In  addition,  the  quality  of  services  remains  uneven  and  difficult  to  measure20.  Some 
indicators of the structural quality21 of formal childcare services show a strong variation from 
one country to another. Regarding the competences of child carers, research and international 
policy documents recommend that early-childhood education and care professionals should be 
trained at bachelor level (ISCED 5) with at least 60 % of the workforce trained at this level. 
However,  formal  competence  requirements  vary  widely  from  one  country  to  another.  In 
addition,  in  most  EU  countries  competence  requirements  for  auxiliaries  or  assistants,  who 
provide  up  to  40-50 %  of  the  workforce,  are  often  overlooked.  Assistants  are  likely  to  have 
little or no initial training and limited access to vocational training, while the ‘educators’ (who 
are  already  highly  qualified  in  many  cases)  are  able  to  benefit  from  such  opportunities. 
Moreover working conditions in the area of childcare remain precarious in most countries.  

The above comparative evidence, together with more country-specific analysis as part of the 
‘European Semester’ round of economic coordination, provides the basis for country-specific 
recommendations  addressed  to  nine  Member  States  (Austria,  the  Czech  Republic, 
Germany,  Hungary,  Italy,  Malta,  Poland,  Slovakia  and  the  United  Kingdom)  on  female 
employment  and  on  childcare  availability/quality  and/or  full-day  school  places.  Seven  of 
these  countries  had  already  received  a  recommendation  in  2011,  while  Malta  and  Slovakia 
received a recommendation for the first time in 2012. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  support  the  development  of  affordable,  accessible  and 
quality  childcare  services  throughout  the  European  Semester,  in  line  with  the  Annual 
Growth Survey 201322.  

The  sole  development  of  childcare  facilities  is  not  enough  to  enable  women  and  men  to 
exercise their choice in how to balance work with their family and private life and does not 
account for the difficulties encountered at different stages of life. A reconciliation policy mix 
comprising  flexible  work  arrangements,  a  system  of  family  leave,  including  strong 
incentives  for  fathers  to  take  on  more  family  responsibility  and  the  provision  of  affordable 
and quality care (for preschool children but also for pre-teen children in school and  outside 
school hours and for other dependants) should be promoted.  

Directive  2010/18/EU  on  Parental  Leave  had  to  be  transposed  in  the  Member  States  by  8 
March 2012. It gives each working parent the right to at least four months leave after the birth 
or adoption of a child (previously up to three months). At least one of the four months cannot 
be transferred to the other parent – meaning it will be lost if not taken – offering incentives to 
fathers to take the leave.  

18 
19 
20 

21 

22 

Where the partner earns the average wage and the female partner earns 50 % of the average wage. 
OECD Doing better for families 2011. 
See http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/childhood_en.htm; Quality is also at the heart of the 
OECD series ‘Start Strong III’. 
Often,  a  distinction  is  made  between  structural  and  process  quality.  Process  quality  refers  to  the 
childcare  environment  in  which  children  play,  learn  and  experience  teacher-child  interaction. 
Comparative  data  are  rarely  available.  In  contrast,  structural  quality  refers  to  structural  features  of 
childcare  that  can  be  regulated  by  (local)  government.  Throughout  Europe,  group  sizes  range  on 
average from 10 to 14 children for 0-3 year-olds and from 20 to 25 children for 4-6 year-olds. Child-
minders  usually  have  a  maximum  of  four  to  eight  children.  The  staff-child  ratio  has  been  decreasing 
over the past years in some countries (ES, SK, LI), while in other Member States the opposite can be 
observed,  e.g.  in  Sweden,  where  the  average  group  size  has  been  growing  over  the  past  years,  or  in 
Poland, where the maximum group size is not yet regulated. 
Communication 
http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf 

COM(2012)750: 

"Annual 

Growth 

Survey 

2013", 

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The research on ‘The role of men’23 shows men's increasing desire to contribute to family life 
and,  actually,  a  growing  participation  in  caring  for  own  children  in  some  countries.  While 
some positive trends are documented, the persisting inequality in the take-up of unpaid care 
activities  between  women  and  men  restricts  the  ability  of  women  to  engage  fully  in  paid 
employment24.  

The new Directive on Parental Leave also provides for better protection against discrimination 
and a smoother return to work. Member States could request an additional year to comply with 
the Directive. 6 Member States have requested an extension and have until 8 March 2013 to 
transpose  the  requirement  of  this  Directive  into  their  national  law.  After  this  extended 
transposition  deadline  has  expired  the  Commission  will  start  a  comprehensive  monitoring 
exercise on whether the implementing measures are in conformity with the Directive.  

In 2012, discussions in the Council on the Commission proposal for a revised maternity leave 
Directive  which  the  Commission  proposed  in  2008  continued.  The  proposal  is  aiming  to 
amend  the  current  provisions  of  Directive  92/85/EEC  on  maternity  protection.  The  most 
important elements of the Commission proposal are to increase maternity leave from 14 to 18 
weeks,  to  allow  women  to  choose  more  freely  if  they  want  to  take  maternity  leave  already 
before the birth (thus no obligatory periods before birth), an obligatory leave of six weeks after 
birth,  to  improve  protection  against  dismissal  and  to  allow  the  women  to  ask  for  changes  in 
their  working  conditions.  Negotiations  remain  very  difficult  given  the  diametrically  opposed 
positions  of  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  but  the  Commission  has  tried  and  will 
continue  to  try  to  help  broker  a  compromise  that  represents  tangible  progress  for  pregnant 
workers.

23 

24 

Study on ‘The role of men in gender equality’, prepared for the European Commission, edited by Elli 
Scambor, Katarzyna Wojnicka, Nadja Bergmann, Consortium led by L&R Social Research, 2012. 
‘Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now’, OECD publication, December 2012.  

EN 

13 

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3. 

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK AND WORK OF EQUAL VALUE 

The  root  causes  of  the  gender  pay  gap  are  well-known:  in  addition  to  direct  discrimination, 
women  face  sector  and  occupation  segregation,  undervaluation  of  their  work,  and  unequal 
sharing  of  caring  responsibilities.  These  gender  inequalities  on  the  labour  market  mirror 
gender  segregation  and  differences  in  the  education  and  training  system  (3.1),  but  recent 
trends  in  education  and  equal  pay  policy  have  probably  helped  reduce  the  gender  pay  gap 
(3.2).  However  the  gender  employment  and  pay  gaps  still  have  major  consequences  for 
earnings  and  women’s  contribution  to  household  income  (3.3),  pensions  (3.4)  and  poverty 
(3.5). Special attention is paid to vulnerable groups: migrant and minorities (3.6).  

3.1. 

Gender  gaps  in  education  and  research:  the  root  of  segregation  and  pay 
inequalities 

3.1.1.  Gender imbalances in education 

During the last decade, educational attainment has increased for both men and women in the 
EU (see Figure 6). 

Figure  6:  Early  leavers  from  education  and  training  (18-24  years  old)  and  higher 
education attainment (30-34 years old) by sex, 2012 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

By 2012, the proportion of early school-leavers had decreased among both boys and girls to 
14.5 %  and  11 %,  respectively.  At  the  same  time,  the  share  of  young  people  with  higher 
education massively increased, with the increase among women almost twice as high as 
that of men. In 2012, 31.6 % of all men and 40 % of all women (EU-27) between 30 and 34 
years  of  age  had  attained  tertiary  education.  Nowadays  women  constitute  60 %  of  new 
graduates. 

However, girls are less likely to choose scientific or technological fields of study. Figures are 
telling  in  this  regard.  Three  quarters  of  the  students  in  engineering,  manufacturing  and 
construction-related  studies  were  male.  Male  graduates  also  outnumber  female  graduates  in 
science,  mathematics  and  computing.  In  contrast,  female  graduates  largely  outnumber  male 
graduates in fields such as social sciences, business, law, welfare and health. 

EN 

14 

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Already at the age of 16, girls outperform boys in reading — the difference is equivalent to 
one year of schooling — but lag behind in mathematics, albeit to a lesser extent than boys in 
reading25. 

Policies, in particular education and training policies, can try to tackle gender inequalities at 
an early stage and so ensure that all boys and girls can realise their potential and choose the 
field  they  are  good  at,  without  being  limited  by  prejudice.  Many  countries  have  tried  to 
remove gender bias in curricula and decided to share their experience in a seminar that took 
place in October 201226.  

The Danish 2012 National gender equality plan explicitly addresses gender segregation in education 
and training. There is also a specific focus on ‘failing boys’: in January 2012, the Minister for Gender 
Equality launched a fund (twenty million Danish kroner in total) to support projects and research on 
breaking down gender-segregated educational choices and enhancing knowledge on how to recruit and 
maintain boys within the educational system. 

In Spain, the Ministry of Education has taken action to fight gender stereotypes in education and in 
future  employment  and  career-specific  programmes  and  measures  to  promote  coeducation  by:  i) 
fostering  the  design  and  implementation  of  non-sexist  orientation  programmes  through  different 
awareness-raising campaigns at school; ii) re-formulating teaching materials to ensure that they meet 
equality  and  non-discriminatory  criteria;  iii)  implementing  coeducation  at  schools  and  training 
teachers  in  coeducation,  gender  violence  prevention  and  gender  equality;  iv)  ensuring  gender 
mainstreaming in sports activities at schools; v) improving school services in order to accommodate 
student diversity (ethnic and gender) and ensure equality. 

3.1.2.  Gender equality in research 

Despite  noticeable  progress,  gender  inequalities  in  science  and  in  research  still  persist. 
According to the last edition of She Figures, women’s academic career remains markedly 
characterised by strong vertical segregation: in 2010, the proportion of female students and 
graduates exceeded that of male students, but the proportion of female PhD students dropped 
back to 49% and that of PhD degree holders to 46%. Furthermore, the percentage of female 
researchers in Europe stands at 33% while women represent only 20% of the highest grade in 
academic  staff.  Gender  balance  in  decision-making  bodies  and  processes  is  thus  far  from 
being achieved. On average in the EU-27 there is only about one woman for every two men in 
scientific  and  management  boards,  and  the  proportion  of  women  heads  of  universities  or 
assimilated  institutions  is  even  lower,  standing  at  11%27.  In  addition,  research  programmes 
often fail to take adequately into account the gender dimension 

Against  this  backdrop  the  Communication  on  the  European  Research  Area  adopted  by  the 
European  Commission  in  2012  includes  gender  equality  and  gender  mainstreaming  in 
research  institutions,  as  one  of  its  five  priorities.  The  aim  is  (i)  to  remove  legal  and  other 
barriers to the recruitment, retention and career progression of female researchers while fully 
complying  with  EU  law  on  gender  equality;  (ii)  to  address  gender  imbalances  in  decision 
making  processes  and  (iii)  to  strengthen  the  gender  dimension  in  research  programmes.  In 
addition,  the  European  Commission  launched  a  communication  campaign  to  get  more  girls 
interested in science and encourage more women to choose research as a career28.  

25 
26 
27 

28 

As shown by the OECD’s PISA survey. 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/tools/good-practices/index_en.htm 
The  European  Commission  publishes  a  new  edition  of  the  She  Figures  every  three  years  since  2003. 
The  She  Figures  2012  booklet  and  leaflet  were  uploaded  on  the  European  Commission  website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she_figures_2012_en.pdf 
http://science-girl-thing.eu/en/splash. 

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15 

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Closing the Gender Pay Gap 

3.2. 
The unadjusted gender pay gap (GPG)29 stood at 16.2 % in 2011 in the EU as a whole. It is 
higher than 20% in Estonia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Greece (see Figure 7).  

Figure 7: The gender pay gap in 2008 and in 2011 

Source: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey, 2010 data for Ireland  

However the GPG has narrowed since 2008 from 17.3 % (1.1 percentage points in three years) 
in  the  EU  as  a  whole.  The  decline  is  also  documented  in  17  out  of  25  Member  States  for 
which data are available (see annex). The reasons for this recent slight decline in the GPG 
are still debated and four hypotheses have been suggested so far: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

29 

30 

31 

The  share  of  higher  educated  workers  has  increased  among  the  female  workforce 
more  than  among  the  male  workforce.  These  trends  in  education  might  start  to 
decrease the gender pay gap30.  

The change in the sectoral composition of the workforce during the crisis could have 
reduced the GPG. Indeed, the manufacturing sector, traditionally characterised by a 
high GPG, lost ground at the beginning of the crisis. 

A larger cut in additional components of men’s pay packets (premiums for overtime) 
has contributed to reducing gender inequalities31. 

The  unadjusted  GPG  represents  the  difference  between  average  gross  hourly  earnings  of  male  paid 
employees and of female paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male paid 
employees.  
‘EU Employment and Social Situation. Quarterly Review. December 2012’, with special focus on the 
gender pay gap. 
See  ‘The  impact  of  the  economic  crisis  on  the  situation  of  women  and  men  and  on  gender  equality 
policies’,  report  of  the  European  Network  of  Experts  on  Gender  Equality,  commissioned  by  the 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-
2012.  Available 
European  Commission,  December 
equality/files/documents/enege_crisis_report__dec_2012_final_en.pdf. The bonuses are not included in 
the Eurostat definition of the Gender Pay Gap.  

at: 

EN 

16 

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(d) 

Equal  pay  policies  at  national  and  European  level  have  contributed  to  the  decline. 
Cooperation with social partners and increasing awareness in companies of equal pay 
policies  as  a  part  of  gender-aware  human  resources  policies  are  another  possible 
reason for the decrease of the GPG. 

As information on pay equality is key to address the GPG, the European Commission held the 
second  European  Equal  Pay  Day  on  2  March  2012.  The  European  Commission  will 
continue to raise awareness of the unequal pay conditions women face in the EU by marking 
the European Equal Pay Day and enhancing partnerships with Member States. 

Companies  and  employers  are  key  players  in  tackling  the  GPG.  To  support  equal  pay 
initiatives  at  the  workplace,  the  Commission  started  the  ‘Equality  Pays  Off’32  project  in 
2012. The purpose of the project is to support companies in their efforts to tackle the GPG by 
providing  training  for  companies  and  by  organising  exchanges  of  good  practices  between 
companies on actions to foster gender equality.  

The European  Parliament  resolution of 24  May 2012 on application of the principle of 
equal  pay  for  male  and  female  workers  for  equal  work  or  work  of  equal  value33  presents 
some action proposals addressed to the Commission, Member States, social partners and other 
stakeholders,  including  companies.  Some  of  these  requests  are  to  review  current  legislation 
(Directive  2006/54,  the  recast  directive)  in  relation  to  the  gender  pay  gap  issue  and  to 
continue with awareness-raising campaigns, including providing adequate information on the 
burden  of  proof.  The  resolution  also  encourages  the  social  partners  and  Member  States  to 
undertake  job  evaluation  schemes  free  from  gender  bias,  to  implement  job  classification 
systems, and to foster the concept of work based on equal pay. 

On 8 March 2012, the Belgian parliament adopted a law to reduce the gender pay gap. Under this 
law, differences in pay and labour costs between men and women should figure in companies’ annual 
audits (‘bilan social’) and therefore will be publicly available. Moreover, the new law stipulates that 
firms  with  over  50  workers  will  be  obliged  to  produce  an  action  plan  when  the  analysis  shows  that 
women  earn  less  than  men.  Finally,  if  discrimination  is  suspected,  women  can  turn  to  their  firm’s 
mediator,  who  will  determine  whether  there  is  indeed  a  pay  differential  and,  if  so,  will  try  to  find  a 
compromise with the employer. Besides legislative action, policies have been developed to tackle the 
key  question  of  pay  differentials:  several  training  programmes,  an  implementation  guide  and 
check-list  of  gender  neutrality  to  be used  by  private  and  public  employers.  Through  inter-industry 
agreements,  the  social  partners  are  encouraged  to  adopt  a  gender-neutral  approach  to  job 
classification. 

Equal Pay Day was celebrated on 19 April 2012 by some public activities in Estonia. In July 2012 
the Government approved the action plan to reduce the gender pay gap. It includes five main types of 
actions:  (1)  improving  the  implementation  of  the  existing  Gender  Equality  Act  (e.g.  improving  the 
collection  of  statistics,  awareness  raising,  supporting  the  work  of  the  Gender  Equality  and  Equal 
Treatment Commissioner etc.); (2) improving the scope for reconciling family, work and private life 
(e.g.  working  with  employers);  (3)  gender  mainstreaming,  especially  in  the  field  of  education;  (4) 
reducing gender segregation; and (5) analysing organisational practices and pay systems in the public 
sector, improving the situation where necessary.  

Despite  some  progress  the  GPG  is  still  very  high  in  some  countries  and  it  has  increased  in 
countries where it was relatively lower (Portugal, Bulgaria, and Ireland, for example). Fiscal 

32 
33 

See also the project website: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/equality-pays-off/. 
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2bTA%2bP7-TA-
2012-0225 %2b0 %2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0 %2f%2fEN&language=EN. 

EN 

17 

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consolidation,  including  wage  freezes  or  wage  cuts  in  the  public  sector,  with  a  majority  of 
female employees, might deepen the GPG in the future and reverse the current trends34. 

3.3.  Women’s earnings are playing a more critical role in household income 

Gender pay gaps are even wider in terms of annual earnings, because women receive lower 
hourly wages than men and also work fewer hours per year. Yet the household relies more 
and  more  on  women’s  earnings,  which  should  no  longer  be  seen  as  auxiliary  income. 
Women are increasingly the bread-winners in the household, not least because they live alone 
(18 % of households) or live with children but no partner (4 % of households) (see Figure 8). 
The  proportion  of  female-breadwinner  couples  also  increased  significantly  in  2008  and 
2009.Moreover,  dual-earner couples represent  two thirds of  all  working-age couples with at 
least one member working according to data made available in 2012 (see Figure 9).  

In  many  countries,  however,  women  still  constitute  the  second  earner  in  the  couple  and  the 
taxation  system  does  not  give  sufficient  incentives  for  them  to  work.  In  2012,  a  country-
specific  recommendation  on  fiscal  incentives  for  second  earners  was  addressed  to  two 
countries,  and  the  2013  Annual  Growth  Survey35  recalled  the  importance  of  removing 
fiscal disincentives for second earners.  

Figure 8: Type of household in the EU-27 

Source: Eurostat, LFS. If more than two adults live in the households (for example if a grandparent live in the 
household), the household is included in the category "2+adults".  

34 

35 

EN 

However the current indicator used to measure pay inequalities cannot fully reflect the trend in public 
sector's  wages  and  its  potential  consequence  on  the  gender  pay  gap.  Firstly  the  data  does  not  cover 
public administration (though it covers education and health sector). Secondly, data available in 2012 
cover pays in 2010 and cannot completely grasp the effect of fiscal consolidation policies that started in 
2010 in most countries. 
Communication 
http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf 

COM(2012)750: 

"Annual 

Growth 

Survey 

2013", 

18 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 9: Couples by partner’s earning role in 2009 

Source: EU-SILC, 2010, ENEGE calculation 

3.4. 

Gender gaps in pensions 

Gender inequality in old age has more to do with differences in labour market histories than 
with  pension  systems.  Due  to  the  higher  prevalence  of  part-time  working  and  career 
interruption among women, the gender earnings gaps are wide over careers. As most pension 
systems base their pension calculations on career earnings, the gaps can be very high. 

However, the design of a pension system matters because it can reproduce, exacerbate or 
mitigate  gender  disparities  in  employment.  It  matters  for  example  whether  there  is  a 
minimum  pension  or  an  adequate  survivor  pension  for  those  with  incomplete  careers  who 
have  not  earned  full  pension  entitlements,  mostly  women.  Some  mechanisms  help  to 
compensate women in retirement for their career interruptions to care for children. However, 
they cannot fully bridge the gap caused by career breaks.  

Gender  pension  gaps  are  considerably  wider  than  pay  gaps.  The  average  pension  gap  is 
39 %, more than twice as large as the gender pay gap of 16 %36. Moreover, the analysis 
shows that in most Member States, a sizable gap cannot be easily explained by differences in 
the  observable  characteristics  of  women  and  men  (education  age,  length  of  working  career, 
marriage  status  and  weight  of  pension  income  from  third  pillar).  This  highlights  that  better 
understanding  the  causes  of  the  gap  remains  an  important  policy  challenge.  The  report  also 
finds that in some Member States, more than a third of women have no pension. In others, the 
number of women with no pension is closer to one in ten.  

Women’s  statutory  pension  ages  are  still  below  men’s  in  several  Member  States, 
although most have planned or already adopted legislation to gradually bring them into line 

36  

"The Gender Gap in Pension in the EU", report prepared for the European Commission by the European 
Network of Experts on Gender Equality (ENEGE), 2013 

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
with  men’s  pension  ages.  In  2012,  a  country-specific  recommendation  to  harmonise 
pensionable ages and rights was addressed to three Member States37. 

Furthermore, policies need to support the extension of working life. The employment rate of 
women  aged  55  to  64  was  40.2 %  in  2011  compared  to  55.2 %  for  men.  This  shows  the 
magnitude  of  the  challenge  to  extend  working  lives.  There  are  gender-specific  obstacles  to, 
but also opportunities for, extending working lives. 

The White Paper on adequate, safe and sustainable pensions adopted by the Commission 
on  16  February  201238  puts  forward  a  range  of  initiatives,  including  encouraging  Member 
States  to  promote  longer  working  lives  and  closing  the  pensions  gap  between  men  and 
women. The Commission will also step up its support for policy coordination and joint work 
on enabling and encouraging older workers, women in particular, to stay longer on the labour 
market. 

3.5.  Women still face a higher risk of poverty and exclusion 

In  almost  all  countries,  women  face  a  higher  risk  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion,  as 
measured  by  the  indicators  agreed  within  Europe  202039:  55.7  million  (23 %)  of  men 
experienced  poverty  and  exclusion  whereas  63.8  million  (25.2 %)  of  women  were  in  this 
situation in the European Union in 2011. 

A considerable increase in the risk of poverty is visible in the last two years for which data are 
available  (2010  and  2011).  Recent  years  are  also  characterised  by  a  slight  decrease  in  the 
gender gap to 2.2 pp in 2011, from 3 pp in 2007. The reason for this narrowing of the gap may 
be that the crisis has had a different impact on men and women, as described at the beginning 
of the report.  

37  

38 

39 

Bulgaria,  Austria  and  Slovenia.  On  4  December  2012,  the  Slovenian  National  Assembly  passed  a 
pension reform which will gradually lead to the equalisation of the retirement age for women and men. 
White  paper  "An  Agenda  for  Adequate,  Safe  and  Sustainable  Pensions",  COM(2012)55: 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1194&furtherNews=yes 
The  Conclusions  of  the  June  2011  European  Council  set  lifting  at  least  20  million  Europeans  out  of 
poverty or social exclusion by 2020 as a headline target for the EU. The concept of ‘poverty’ or ‘social 
exclusion’ refers both to relative income poverty (i.e. a value relative to the median population income 
in  order  to  better  capture  poverty  as  a  social  and  historically  contingent  phenomenon)  and  to  a 
multidimensional  phenomenon  encompassing  other  domains  of  social  inclusion  —  namely  labour 
market attachment and access to a number of goods or services. Thus, people are at risk of poverty or 
social exclusion if they are at risk of poverty (i.e. earn an equivalent disposable income lower than 60 % 
of median equivalent income), are severely materially deprived (i.e. cannot obtain certain items in a pre-
defined list), and/or live in a household with no or very low work intensity. 

EN 

20 

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Figure 10: The risk of poverty and social exclusion, EU-27, 2005-2011 (%) 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 

Note: The ‘people at risk of poverty or social exclusion’ rate is the headline indicator for the EU2020 Strategy 
poverty  target.  It  reflects  the  share  of  the  population  which  is  either  at  risk  of  poverty  or  severely  materially 
deprived or lives in a household with very low work intensity. 

The Annual Growth Survey 201340 underlines that single-parent households (mainly women) 
represent  a  group  particularly  affected  by  poverty.  The  risk  of  poverty  is  also  significantly 
higher  among  elderly  women  over  75  (20.1 %  as  against  16.9 %  of  the  total  population). 
Inactive  and  unemployed  women  and  men  of  working  age  also  face  a  high  risk  of  poverty. 
This risk also affects self-employed and family workers (see Figure 11).  

40 

EN 

Communication 
http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ags2013_en.pdf 

"Annual 

Growth 

Survey 

2013", 

COM(2012)750: 

21 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 11: Poverty among different groups, EU-27, (%) 

Source:  Eurostat,  EU  SILC  (EU  27  estimates  for  2011).  Note:  The  reference  period  for  income  and  activity 
status for IE and UK  differs from that for the other countries (where it refers to the previous year). 

Note: The at-risk-of-poverty rate reflects the percentage of people with an equivalised disposable income below 
the ‘at-risk-of-poverty threshold’. The at-risk-of poverty threshold is set for each country at 60 % of the national 
median equivalised disposable income. 

* No gender breakdown available. 

To improve the situation of women who are self-employed workers or the spouses of the self-
employed  workers,  Member  States  had  to  transpose  Directive  2010/41/EU  on  the  equal 
treatment of men and women who are engaged in or contribute to an activity in a self-
employed capacity by August 5, 2012. The Directive prohibits discrimination on grounds of 
sex in this area and aims to ensure that the spouses of self-employed workers have access to 
social  security  schemes.  It  also  introduces  maternity  benefits  enabling  interruptions  of  the 
activities of women who are self-employed workers or the spouses of self-employed workers 
of at least 14 weeks.  

Member  States  could  request  an  additional  year  to  comply  with  specific  provisions  of  the 
Directive. 5 Member States have requested an extension for transposition. The Commission is 
checking compliance with the obligation to communicate the national transposition measures 
completely  or  (for  the  Member  States  that  have  requested  an  extension)  partially.  A 
comprehensive  monitoring  of  the  correctness  of  transposition  in  all  Member  States  will  be 
carried out after the expiration of the extended transposition deadlines.  

3.6.  Migrants and minorities: fragility and empowerment 

At  EU  level  the  risk  of  poverty  or  social  exclusion  is  much  higher  among  female  and  male 
migrants from a non-EU country (respectively 36 % and 34 %). Non-EU-born female migrants 
are also less likely to be employed. If employed, they are very likely to be over-qualified for 
the work they do. 

EN 

22 

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Table  1:  Employment,  over-qualification  and  poverty  among  migrants  and  total 
population, EU-27 (%) in 2010 

Total 
population 

Foreign-
born 

Employment rate  (20-64 years old)  Women 

Men 

Overqualification rate 

At risk of poverty and social 
exclusion (18 years old or over) 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC and LFS, 2010 

Men 
Women 
Men 
Women 

75 
62 
21 
22 
22 
24 

73 
56 
30 
36 
28 
31 

Of which 

EU born 

77 
62 
23 
31 
18 
23 

Non-EU 
born 
71 
53 
34 
39 
34 
36 

Note: The overqualification rate is defined as the proportion of the population with a high educational level (i.e. 
having completed tertiary education, ISCED 5 or 6), and having low- or medium-skilled jobs (ISCO occupation 
levels 4 to 9) among employed persons having attained a high educational level. 

Data  are  scarce  about  minorities  in  Europe,  and  therefore  about  gender  differences  among 
minorities,  including  among  the  Roma,  who  constitute  the  largest  minority  in  Europe. 
However the gender dimension of the problems faced by Roma communities is increasingly 
recognised. 

In  its  assessment  of  national  Roma  Integration  Strategies  presented  in  2012,  the 
Commission noted that several strategies ‘devote specific attention to the situation of Roma 
women,  even  though  additional  efforts  are  needed  to  enable  them  to  exercise  their  rights’41 
Roma  women  often  face  multiple  forms  of  discrimination  including  within  their  own 
communities. Poverty, lack of education, early marriage, domestic violence and exploitation 
typify their poor status in our societies. Many of them become victims of human trafficking, 
sexual  abuse  and  enforced  prostitution.  Therefore,  it  is  important  to  take  appropriate 
preventive measures, including awareness-raising campaigns, where relevant in cooperation 
with  NGOs,  to  provide  Roma  women  victims  with  specific  assistance  and  facilitate  their 
access  to  victim  protection  services.  Roma  women  deserve  to  be  respected,  but  their 
empowerment  is  also  crucial  for  improving  the  difficult  situations  of  whole  families.  As 
primary  caregivers,  they  have  a  direct  impact  on  the  lives  of  their  children  (e.g.  the  role  of 
Roma mothers in promoting the education of children as well as raising awareness of family 
health).  

41 

National  Roma  Integration  Strategies:  a  first  step  in  the  implementation  of  the  EU  Framework, 
COM(2012) 226. 

EN 

23 

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4. 

EQUALITY IN DECISION-MAKING 

Comparable  European  data  have  been  available  on  gender  balance  in  economic  decision-
making (4.1) and in political decision-making (4.2) since 2003, showing slow progress until 
recently42. For the first time this year, additional data are available on gender balance in the 
environment and energy at the highest decision-making level. 

4.1. 

Promoting gender balance on boards of companies listed on stock exchanges 

As a matter of basic equality, women and men should have the same opportunities to reach 
leadership  positions.  This  principle  is  set  out  in  the  European  Commission  Strategy  for 
Equality  between  Women  and  Men  (2010-2015)43.  In  addition,  there  is  a  well-established 
economic  and  business  case  for  gender  balance  in  business  leadership44.  Nevertheless,  data 
collected by the European Commission in October 2012 (Figure 12) show that the average 
share of women on the top-level boards of the largest publicly listed companies around 
the  EU  stands  at  just  15.8 %45.  Women  are  also  barely  visible  among  the  top  business 
leaders of these companies — 97% company presidents (board) are men.  

Figure 12 — Gender balance on company boards, October 2012 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making

46

42  

43 
44 

45 

46 

The  data  on  women  and  men  in  decision-making  are  regularly  updated  the  following  website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/gender-decision-making/database/index_en.htm. 
COM(2010) 491 final. 
‘Women in economic decision-making in the EU: Progress report’: 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/gender-
equality/opinion/files/120528/women_on_board_progress_report_en.pdf. 
The  data  cover  the  largest  publicly  listed  companies.  The  ‘largest’  companies  are  taken  to  be  the 
members  (max.50)  of  the  primary  blue-chip  index,  which  is  a  stock-exchange  index  of  the  largest 
companies by market capitalisation and/or market trades. Only companies which are registered in the 
country concerned are counted. Board members covered: in countries with unitary (one-tier) systems, 
the board of directors is counted (including non-executive and executive  members). In countries with 
two-tier systems, only the supervisory board is counted. 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/gender-decision-making/database/business-finance/quoted-
companies/index_en.htm. 

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Compared to previous years, though, the percentage is higher and is improving at a faster rate: 
a rise of 4 percentage points was recorded from October 2010 (11.8 %), see Figure 13. 

This improvement can be linked to an intensive public debate initiated by the Commission 
and supported by the European Parliament, and to concrete initiatives in a number of 
Member States. At present, eleven Member States have adopted some form of legislative or 
administrative regulation to improve gender balance in private and/or state-owned companies 
(Austria,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal, 
Slovenia and Spain). 

Figure 13 — Percentage point change in the share of women on boards, Oct 2010 — Oct 
2012 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

It is clear that the rate of improvement in individual Member States has been uneven and self-
regulatory  initiatives  have  not  made  enough  progress.  Therefore,  after  a  public  consultation 
and  following  the  request  of  the  European  Parliament,  the  Commission  took  a  pro-active 
approach to accelerate progress towards gender balance on the boards of listed companies. 

The  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  improving  the  gender  balance  among  non-executive 
directors  of  companies  listed  on  stock  exchanges  and  related  measures47  sets  a  minimum 
target of 40 % of the under-represented sex among non-executive directors on boards of large 
listed  companies,  to  be  achieved  by  2020  (2018  for  listed  companies  that  are  public 
undertakings). It obliges companies with a lower percentage (40 %) to make appointments to 
those positions on the basis of a comparative analysis of the qualifications of each candidate, 
by applying pre-established, clear, neutrally formulated and unambiguous criteria, in order to 
meet  the  40 %  target.  Member  States  have  to  implement  effective  and  dissuasive  sanctions. 
With  regard  to  executive  directors,  listed  companies  are  required  to  set  their  own 
commitments, to be met within the same timeframe as the target for non-executive directors.  

The reasons for the under-representation of women in senior positions are multiple and call for 
a  comprehensive  approach  to  tackle  the  problem.  They  stem,  among  other  things,  from 
traditional  gender  roles  and  stereotypes,  the  lack  of  support  for  women  and  men  to  balance 
care  responsibilities  with  work  and  the  lack  of  transparency  in  recruitment  and  promotion 
practices.  Therefore,  the  Commission  proposes  to  complement  the  proposed  legislation  with 

47 

COM(2012) 614 final of 14.11.2012. 

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policy  measures  to  fight  the  roots  of  gender  imbalance.  It  will  work  in  partnership  with 
governments and relevant stakeholders48. 

4.2. 

Gender balance in political decision-making: still a challenge for many Member 
States 

4.2.1.  Elected representatives: gender imbalance in many parliaments 

Gender-balanced  representation  in  political  governance  is  a  cornerstone  of  an  accountable 
democracy  and  a  key  condition  for  gender  equality  in  society  at  large.  Despite  the  fact  that 
elected  representatives  should  reflect  the  composition  of  the  population  they  represent, 
progress towards this aim has been slow (Figure 14). In 2012, three out of four members of 
the single/lower houses of national parliaments across the EU were men. 

In  the  last  quarter  of  2012,  only  national  parliaments  in  Sweden,  Finland,  Denmark  and 
Belgium  had  a  balanced  representation  with  at  least  40 %  of  each  gender.  The  Netherlands, 
Slovenia,  Spain  and  Germany  are  the  only  other  countries  where  the  proportion  of  women 
members has surpassed the critical mass of 30 %. 

At EU level there has been little progress over the past decade, with the share of women rising 
just 4 percentage  points from 22 %  in  2003  to  26 % in  2012. However,  significant  progress 
has  been  made  in  some  countries,  notably  Slovenia,  followed  by  France,  Greece,  Italy, 
Portugal  and  Spain.  Four  of  the  six  countries  demonstrating  progress  have  a  mandatory 
electoral quota system: Slovenia, France, Spain and Portugal.  

In Ireland the situation may change, since an important piece of legislation was introduced in 2012: 
political  parties  that  do  not  include  at  least  30 %  of  women  on  their  lists  for  the  next  parliamentary 
election will lose half of their state funding for the entire duration of the legislature. The level will be 
raised to 40 % in 2019. 

Figure 14 — Percentage of women in national parliaments (single/lower houses) in 2003 
and 2012 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

Note: 2003 data for CZ, PL, MT, and LT refer to 2004 (data not collected in 2003).  

48 

Communication  on  ‘Gender  balance  in  business  leadership:  a  contribution  to  smart,  sustainable  and 
inclusive growth’. COM(2012) 615 final. 

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Experience  at  regional  and  local  level  is  considered  an  important  stepping  stone  to  political 
participation at national level. At EU level, women account for 32 % of both regional and 
local assemblies49 compared to 26 % in national parliaments. 

The level of female representation in regional assemblies is above 40 % in four Member States 
(France,  Spain,  Finland  and  Sweden)  and  over  30 %  in  six  more  (the  UK,  Austria,  the 
Netherlands,  Germany,  Denmark,  and  Belgium).  However,  levels  of  15 %  or  less  persist  in 
Hungary, Italy, and Romania. In many countries, the levels of female representation in local or 
regional assemblies are quite close to that in the national parliament. 

At local level, balanced representation (at least 40 % of each gender) is found only in Sweden 
but  women  account  for  at  least  30 %  of  local  council  members  in  the  UK,  Finland,  Latvia, 
France, Spain, Denmark, and Belgium.  

Action to improve female representation at local level has been taken in Italy: in November 2012, a 
law was passed requiring municipal and provincial councils to have lists with no more than two thirds 
of  one  gender,  and  a  double  preference  system  (which  allows  for  the  possibility  of  expressing  a 
preference for a male and a female candidate) is to be introduced. The impact of the law has yet to be 
tested in future elections. 
4.2.2.  Gender imbalance in most EU national governments50 

Across the EU, the gender balance among appointed members of national governments (73 % 
men, 27 % women) improved by just 3 percentage points between 2003 and 2012, though the 
situation  varies  between  Member  States  (Figure  15).  Five  EU  countries  had  governments 
with at least 40 % of each gender in the fourth quarter of 2012: France, Austria, Denmark, 
Finland  and  Sweden.  Governments  in  the  Netherlands,  Belgium  and  Germany  are  not  far 
behind with 38 % women. 

Figure  15  —  Percentage  of  women  in  national  governments  (senior  ministers)  in  2003 
and 2012 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

Note: 2003 data for CZ, PL, MT, and LT refer to 2004 (data not collected in 2003).  

49 

50 

Data for regional assemblies are from the fourth quarter of 2012 while data for local assemblies were 
collected between March and September 2011. 
Data refer to ‘senior’ ministers (members of the government who have a seat in the cabinet / council of 
ministers). 

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4.2.3.  Women and men in decision-making positions on the environment 
In the context of the regular monitoring process of the UN Beijing Platform for Action51, and 
under  the  initiative  of  the  Danish  Presidency  of  the  Council  (first  half  of  2012),  the 
Employment,  Social  Policy,  Health  and  Consumer  Affairs  Council  (EPSCO)  adopted 
conclusions52  highlighting  the  gender  perspective  in  dealing  with  environmental  challenges. 
The document stresses the urgent need to improve gender equality in decision-making bodies 
in the transport and energy sectors, in scientific and technological occupations and in relevant 
high-level scientific bodies.  

In the EU, the share of female senior and junior ministers with environmental portfolios 
decreases  when  transport  and  energy  are  taken  into  account:  29.5 %  of  ministers  in 
charge of the environment were women in 2012 but this share drops to 19.6 % when transport 
and  energy  responsibilities  are  included.  Mirroring  the  situation  at  ministerial  level,  women 
are  more  present  at  the  top  of  the  administrative  hierarchy  in  ministries  in  charge  of  the 
environment and climate change than in transport and energy policy. 

51 
52 

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/. 
http://www.womenandtechnology.eu/digitalcity/servlet/PublishedFileServlet/ 
AAABTYHK/Council_Conclusions_on_gender-equality_and_environment.pdf. 

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5. 

DIGNITY,  INTEGRITY  AND  ENDING  GENDER-BASED  VIOLENCE:  A  GROWING 
ATTENTION TO A PERSISTING ISSUE 

In 2012, all EU institutions again committed to a strong policy response to combat all forms 
of violence against women and gender-based violence. All key EU players shared a common 
approach,  recognising  violence  against  women  as  a  violation  of  human  rights  and  an 
obstacle  to  gender  equality.  They  contributed  to  major  policy  developments  in  the 
reinforcement  of  victims'  right  (5.1)  and  of  a  comprehensive  set  of  policies  and  tools 
(including  support  to  victims',  reporting,  data  collection)  under  the  Cypriot  presidency  (5.4) 
with a focus on female genital mutilation (5.2) and the human trafficking (5.3).  

5.1. 

Reinforcing the rights of victims of crime 

The Directive on  minimum  standards for victims of crime was adopted by the European 
Parliament and the Council in 201253. It includes the right to respect and recognition, the right 
to provide and receive information and the right to protection. It also aims to ensure that the 
needs of victims are individually assessed and that the most vulnerable, including victims of 
all forms of gender-based violence, receive treatment appropriate to their requirements. This 
Directive must be implemented at national level by 16 November 2015 at the latest. 

The proposal for a Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters is 
still  under  negotiation  between  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament.  It  aims  to 
complement  the  European  Protection  Order  (which  applies  in  criminal  matters)  adopted  in 
December  2011.  These  two  instruments  will  ensure  that  protection  measures  issued  in  one 
Member  State  can  be  recognised  in  another,  following  a  speedy  and  efficient  procedure,  to 
avoid victims losing their protection if they move or travel. 

At UN level, the General Assembly adopted a resolution at the end of 2012 on ‘Intensification 
of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women’54. 

On 8 March the President of Romania promulgated the changes made to law 217/2003 on preventing 
and  combating  domestic  violence.  The  law  now  allows  the  victims  of  domestic  violence  to  ask  the 
courts for a restraining order (or protection) against the aggressor. The list of acts of domestic violence 
now includes stinging, biting and pulling the victim’s hair. It includes not only physical acts but also 
acts of verbal, psychological, sexual, social and spiritual violence, the authorities now being forced to 
respond urgently to cases of domestic violence. The victim has the right to a private life, dignity and 
respect of personality, social protection, reintegration, free social assistance and medical assistance. 

5.2. 

A strong stance against female genital mutilation (FGM) 

On  13  June  2012,  the  European  Commission  and  the  European  External  Action  Service 
(EEAS)  made  a  joint  declaration  on  FGM  confirming  their  commitment  before  the 
European  Parliament.  The  day  after,  an  almost  unanimous  European  Parliament  adopted  a 
resolution on ending female genital mutilation55, urging the Commission to make it a priority 
to end violence against women and girls and the Member States to take firm action to combat 
this illegal practice. 

53 

54 
55 

Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the rights 
of victims of crime establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of 
crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA. 
A/RES/67/144 
European  Parliament  Resolution  of  14  June  2012  on  ending 
(2012/2684(RSP)), adopted by 564 votes in favour, 0 against and 2 abstentions. 

female  genital  mutilation 

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At UN level, the General Assembly adopted in November 2012 a much anticipated resolution 
aimed at ‘Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations’56. 

A  bill  outlawing  female  genital  mutilation  has  been  passed  in  Ireland.  As  well  as  prohibiting  the 
practice, the law includes the principle of extra-territoriality, which makes it possible to prosecute the 
practice also when it is committed abroad. 

5.3. 

Towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 

According to preliminary data collected by Eurostat, women and girls accounted for 79 % of 
the total victims  of  trafficking in  human beings  and  are used  for sexual exploitation. On 19 
June 2012, the European Commission adopted the ‘EU Strategy towards the Eradication of 
Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  (2012-2016)’57  focusing  on  concrete  actions  to  support  and 
complement the implementation of the EU legislation on trafficking in human beings adopted 
in 2011, namely Directive 2011/36/EU (deadline for transposition 6 April 2013). 

5.4. 

Violence against women as a key priority of the Cypriot presidency 

The  outcomes  of  the  European  Police  College  (CEPOL)  Presidency  Conference  on 
‘Overcoming  Attrition  in  Domestic  Violence  through  Policing’  fed  into  a  European  Union 
handbook  of  good  police  practices  in  overcoming  attrition  in  domestic  violence.  The 
handbook calls on Member States to aim to encourage ‘victims and witnesses to report (…) 
crimes to the authorities and to contribute to their effective investigation and prosecution’. 

An EU gender equality conference on violence against women held in Cyprus in November 
2012  reviewed  progress  at  EU  level  and  good  practice  in  Member  States.  The  European 
Institute  for  Gender  Equality  (EIGE)’s  “Review  of  the  Implementation  of  the  Beijing 
Platform  for  Action  in  the  EU  Member  States:  Violence  against  Women,  Victim  Support” 
was  commissioned  by  the  Cyprus  presidency;  it  is  the  first  report  to  deliver  a  full  set  of 
comparable and reliable data on support services for women victims of violence in the 27 EU 
Member States and Croatia. The findings indicate that specialised services are insufficient and 
unequally distributed in and among the Member States. According to the report, only 12 out 
of the 27 EU Member States legally foresee state funding of specialised services for women 
victims  of  violence.  Women  shelters  and  helplines,  possibly  the  most  common  support  for 
victims of domestic violence, are not in place and available everywhere.  

On  the  basis  of  these  findings  the  EPSCO  Council  adopted  conclusions  on  Combating 
Violence Against Women and the Provision of Support Services for Victims of Domestic 
Violence  on  6  December  2012.  These  conclusions  reaffirm  that  neither  custom,  tradition, 
culture,  privacy,  religion  nor  so-called  honour  can  be  invoked  to  justify  violence  against 
women,  which  is  a  violation  of  human  rights  and  the  most  brutal  manifestation  of  gender 
inequality. They stress that it is important to improve the protection of victims of violence, by 
providing adequate and sustainable support services and by implementing the newly adopted 
Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the  rights, support  and protection 
of  victims  of  crime  as  well  as  the  European  protection  order  in  civil  matters.  They  call  for 
improving  the  registration  and  handling  of  complaints  as  well  as  the  collection  and 
dissemination  of  data  by  Member  States  in  this  under-reported  field.  They  insist  on  the 
importance  of  collecting  comparable  EU  data  to  enhance  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the 
phenomenon  and  to  build  further  appropriate  and  informed  policies.  As  violence  against 
women covers  so many forms of abuse, the Council conclusions encourage further research 

56 
57 

A/C.3/67/L.21/Rev.1 
COM(2012)286: 
c09d042c7181 

http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/entity.action?id=714114c7-cd42-46cf-85eb-

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on other forms of violence. They also call on Member States to sign and ratify the Council of 
Europe Convention on violence against women adopted in May 201158. 

All these initiatives were valuable contributions to a strong EU position at the 57th session of 
the UN Commission on the Status of Women that took place in March 2013 on the issue of 
violence  against  women.  In  addition,  the  European  Commission  has  supported  several 
focused activities on this topic in 2013, such as the launch of a campaign on violence against 
women on 6 March, and a public consultation on FGM. 

58 

http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Word/210.doc. 

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GENDER EQUALITY IN EXTERNAL ACTIONS 

6. 
The 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place in February 
2012.  The  CSW  is  the  UN’s  principal  global  policy-making  body  on  gender  equality  and 
advancement  of  women.  The  priority  theme  in  2012  was  the  empowerment  of  rural  women 
and  their  role  in  poverty  and  hunger  eradication,  sustainable  development  and  current 
challenges. The session was characterised by difficult discussions and did not reach agreement 
on the main output, the CSW agreed conclusions. 

In  April  2012,  the  EU  and  the  United  Nations  Entity  for  Gender  Equality  and  the 
Empowerment of Women (UN Women) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The 
MoU  forms  the  basis  of  a  partnership  aimed  at  making  progress  towards  achieving  the  key 
international  commitments  in  the  area  of  gender  equality  and  women’s  empowerment.  The 
partnership also aims to contribute to the transformation towards a world where societies are 
free of gender-based discrimination, where women and men have equal opportunities, where 
the  comprehensive  economic  and  social  development  of  women  and  girls  is  ensured,  where 
gender  equality  and  women’s  empowerment  are  achieved,  and  where  women’s  rights  are 
upheld in all efforts to further development, human rights, peace and security. 

In  May  2012,  the  European  Commission  adopted  its  European  Neighbourhood  Policy 
package59.  The  package  takes  stock  of  policy  achievements  with  both  eastern  and  southern 
partner countries. Its Strategy Paper highlights that building sustainable democracy also means 
ensuring gender equality and increasing the participation of women in political and economic 
life.  In  some  countries,  legislative  provisions  enacted  with  the  aim  of  ensuring  a  more 
balanced  composition  of  parliaments  have  encountered  resistance  in  practice  and  therefore 
have not had the desired effect. The Strategy Paper also underlines that women have been key 
players  in  the  Arab  Spring,  and  that  they  should  not  lose  out  in  the  subsequent 
transformations. The EU will continue to step up its efforts to support women’s rights across 
the region, ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed into all relevant cooperation activities 
and promote effective action against trafficking across the neighbourhood. 

Human rights have proven to be the silver thread that runs through everything that EU does in 
the  external  relations.  In  June  2012,  the  European  Union  has  adopted  its  new  Strategic 
Framework and Action Plan on Human rights and democracy60. This is the first time that 
the EU has had a unified Strategic Framework for this vital policy area that also provided an 
agreed  basis  for  a  truly  collective  effort,  involving  EU  Member  States  as  well  as  the  EU 
Institutions. The Action Plan covers priority areas, all designed to improve the effectiveness 
and  consistency  of  EU  policy  as  a  whole  and  it  also  anchors  a  commitment  to  genuine 
partnership with civil society. Following the adoption of the Human Rights package the first-
ever thematic EU Special Representative on Human Rights was appointed. The EUSR works 
on  exploring ways to better engage and develop synergies with as many relevant  players as 
possible  as  well  as  with  civil  society  organisations,  and  contributes  to  the  better  coherence, 
effectiveness and visibility of EU policies and actions for the protection and promotion of all 
human rights 

In  September  2012  in  the  margins  of  the  UN  General  Assembly  the  Equal  Futures 
Partnership was launched. The EU is founding member and committed concrete initiatives 
for women's political participation and economic empowerment.  

59  
60  

Joint Communication, 'Delivering on a new European Neighbourhood Policy', JOIN(2012)14 final 
See http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/131181.pdf 

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The European Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package in October 201261. The 
Strategy Paper highlights, as a key challenge facing most enlargement countries, the need to 
strengthen the handling by law enforcement bodies of issues such as gender-based violence. 
The country-specific progress reports contain an assessment of progress in terms of alignment 
with  the  legal  acquis  in  the  field  of  gender  equality  and  its  implementation.  They  cover  in 
particular  issues  related  to  female  labour  market  participation,  gender  balance  in  economic 
and political decision-making, gender-based violence, and administrative capacity. Accession 
negotiations with Iceland on social policy and employment, including gender equality, were 
opened in June 2012. 

In November 2012 human rights and gender issues were integrated in the agenda and the Joint 
Conclusions  of  the  EU  –  UN  Steering  Committee  on  Crisis  Management  (for  the  first  time 
since 2009). 

EU  development  policy  continued  to  work  for  progress  in  gender  equality  and 
empowerment  of  women.  The  EU  Plan  of  Action  on  Gender  Equality  and  Women’s 
Empowerment  in  Development  2010-2015  contains  commitments  for  the  Commission,  the 
European  External  Action  Service  and  the  Member  States  to  support  developing  countries’ 
efforts  to  improve  the  situation  of  women  with  regard  to  equal  rights  and  empowerment.  In 
November  2012,  the  second  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  EU  Plan  of  Action  was 
published62. It concludes that further progress has been made but that some challenges remain.

61  
62  

Communication, "Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2012-2013", COM(2012) 600 final 
2012  Report  on  the  implementation  of  "EU  Plan  of  Action  on  Gender  Equality  and  Women 
Empowerment in Development 2010-2015", SWD(2012) 410 final 

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7. 

HORIZONTAL ISSUES 

7.1.  Mainstreaming gender equality 

Gender  mainstreaming  is  the  integration  of  the  gender  perspective  within  every  stage  of  the 
policy  process  —  design,  implementation,  monitoring  and  evaluation  —  with  a  view  to 
promoting  equality  between  women  and  men.  The  Commission  organised  three  calls  for 
proposals63  on  improving  gender  mainstreaming  in  national  policies  and  programmes 
between  2007  and  2010.  The  last  gender  mainstreaming  projects  implemented  by  Member 
States64 under the PROGRESS programme have just been closed. It is now time to take stock 
of the progress made in implementing and practicing gender mainstreaming 

In total, 31 initiatives have been supported with the aim of: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

raising awareness of the importance of gender mainstreaming in national policies as 
an  effective  contributor  to  equality  between  women  and  men  and  to  better 
governance; 

improving  knowledge  of  the  key  concepts  and  issues  of  gender  mainstreaming  and 
ensuring  a  better  understanding  of  gender  mainstreaming 
in  policies  and 
programmes; 

developing  the  necessary  methods  and  tools,  including  dissemination  to  the  main 
stakeholders, thus ensuring a more long-term effect. 

The  vast  majority  of  projects  have  addressed  government  officials  while  some  training  has 
targeted  parliamentarians,  parliamentary  staff,  officials  at  regional  level  and  stakeholders. 
Some projects focused on supporting, strengthening and equipping a network of officials for 
the  implementation  of  gender  mainstreaming  (for  instance  the  establishment  of  ad  hoc 
horizontal units on gender mainstreaming in 15 line ministries in Bulgaria, or the creation of a 
specialised ‘pool of contacts’ on gender budgeting at departmental level in Estonia). 

A  large  amount  of  material  has  been  produced  (gender  impact  assessment  guides,  gender 
budgeting  guides,  check  lists,  training  modules,  databases,  e-learning  tools),  which  may  be 
transferable  in  some  cases  and  contribute  to  enrichment  of  the  knowledge  and  methods  for 
gender mainstreaming at European level. 
For  example,  Denmark  has  developed  a  website65  presenting  both  gender  mainstreaming  tools  and 
concrete examples showing how public services have taken the gender dimension into account. One of 
the  lessons  learned  is  that,  in  addition  to  being  available,  tools  need  to  be  visible,  functional  and 
attractive  in  order  to  ensure  their  implementation.  A  clear  message  on  the  benefits  of  gender 
mainstreaming should also be conveyed to civil servants. 

Spain has also developed tools for helping public policy planners to mainstream gender in the design, 
implementation and monitoring of employment and economic reactivation measures, such as a guide 
to  measuring  the  impact  of  employment  and  economic  recovery  policies  on  women,  a  report  with 
recommendations  for  strengthening  gender  mainstreaming  in  active  employment  and  economic 
recovery policies and measures, and a virtual tool to simulate gender impacts66.  

63 
64 
65 
66 

EN 

VP2007/010, VP2008/12 and VP2010/009. 
National authorities in charge of gender equality policy or designated equality bodies. 
http://www.ligestillingsvurdering.dk/. 
Both 
the  simulation 
the  documents  and 
http://paralaigualdadenelempleo.mspsi.gob.es 

tool  are  available  on 

the  programme’s  website 

34 

   EN 

 
                                                 
7.2. 

Investing in gender equality 

On  the  basis  of  a  proposal  of  the  European  Commission  on  the  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  discussed  in  2012  the  future  funding 
programmes covering the period 2014-2020. Gender equality will be explicitly included in the 
Rights, Citizenships and Equality Programme. 

Moreover,  integrating  a  gender  perspective  in  the  preparations  for  the  cohesion  policy 
period 2014-2020 is important in order to meet the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy in 
a  way  that  supports  development  towards  a  more  gender-equal  society.  Following  the 
European  Commission’s  adoption  of  a  legislative  package  for  future  cohesion  policy  in 
October  2011,  the  draft  regulations  were  discussed  by  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament  in  2012.  The  proposals,  scheduled  to  enter  into  force  in  2014,  are  designed  to 
ensure  that  EU  investment  is  targeted  at  Europe’s  long-term  goals  for  growth  and  jobs  and 
priorities  identified  under  the  Europe  2020  strategy.  The  proposals  also  envisage  the 
conclusion of Partnership Contracts between the Commission and the Member States in 2013. 
Preparatory  work  for  these  Partnership  Contracts  was  carried  out  in  2012  both  within  the 
European  Commission  and  at  national  and  regional  level.  Gender  equality  considerations 
should play an important role in the Partnership Contracts, both in terms of specific actions 
enhancing  gender  equality  and  in  terms  of  effective  and  correctly  implemented  gender 
mainstreaming.  In  2012,  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Equal  Opportunities  for  Women  and 
Men adopted an opinion on how cohesion policy can be used effectively to achieve the EU’s 
commitments on gender equality over the 2014-2020 period67. 

67  

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-
equality/files/opinions_advisory_committee/opinion_on_gender_equality_in_the_cohesion_policy_201
4-2020_en.pdf. 

EN 

35 

   EN 

 
                                                 
8. 

 SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS 

The economic challenges of recent years reveal the current role of women in the economy and 
their  determination  to  play  an  increasing  role  on  the  labour  market.  Women  are  a  growing 
share  of  the  EU  workforce.  They  are  also  increasingly  the  breadwinners  for  their  families. 
New research confirms the economic gain of an equal participation in the labour market 
for the society as a whole: gender equality can significantly increase the growth potential of 
the EU economy.  

Focused  policies  can  close  gender  gaps  and  thereby  promote  growth  and  inclusion.  A 
concrete  example  is  the  European  Commission's  proposal  on  gender  balance  in  boards  of 
publicly listed companies. Intense public debate and regulatory measures have contributed to 
improving  gender  balance  in  decision-making  and  the  2012  figures  on  women  on  boards 
represents the highest year-on-year change yet recorded.  

The policies that can enhance women's labour market participation and contribute to reach the 
target of 75% of employment are also well-known: increasing childcare facilities, removing 
fiscal disincentives for second earners and making work pay for women and men. These 
policies  have  been  highlighted  throughout  the  second  ‘European  Semester’  and  reflected  in 
the 2012 and 2013 Annual Growth Survey. It is essential that Member States continue to work 
to ensure that both women and men can fully participate in the labour market and reconcile 
work and family life.  

While  this  report  shows  that  progress  has  been  made  in  some  areas,  significant  challenges 
remain  in  most  fields.  To  meet  the  targets  of  the  Strategy  on  equality  between  women  and 
men,  further  efforts  will  have  to  be  made  taking  action  in  the  five  priority  areas. 

EN 

36 

   EN 

 
STATISTICAL ANNEX 

Employment 

Employment rate of population aged 20-64 (as %) – men and women – in 2012 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

37 

   EN 

 
 
Employment rate of population aged 20-64 (as %) – men and women – in 2007 and in 2012 

Women 

Men 

Gender Gap 

2007 

2012 

2007 

2012 

2007 

2012 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

62.1 

60.3 

63.5 

62.4 

74.7 

66.7 

72.5 

64.4 

51.6 

58.0 

64.8 

49.9 

67.7 

70.7 

69.5 

61.0 

55.5 

37.4 

70.7 

67.2 

55.5 

66.3 

57.9 

67.1 

58.7 

72.5 

77.1 

68.4 

62.4 

61.7 

60.2 

62.5 

72.2 

71.5 

69.3 

59.4 

45.2 

54.0 

65.0 

50.5 

64.8 

66.4 

67.9 

64.1 

56.4 

46.8 

71.9 

70.3 

57.5 

63.1 

56.3 

64.6 

57.3 

72.5 

76.8 

68.4 

77.8 

75.0 

73.4 

81.5 

83.2 

79.1 

81.4 

83.0 

80.4 

80.7 

75.0 

75.8 

86.4 

80.1 

76.5 

78.3 

70.2 

78.7 

84.8 

81.6 

70.2 

79.1 

71.0 

77.5 

76.0 

77.2 

83.1 

82.2 

74.6 

72.7 

65.8 

80.2 

78.6 

81.8 

75.2 

68.1 

65.3 

64.5 

73.8 

71.6 

76.1 

70.2 

69.4 

78.5 

68.1 

79.0 

82.5 

80.9 

72.0 

69.9 

71.4 

71.8 

72.8 

75.5 

81.9 

80.0 

15.7 

14.7 

9.9 

19.1 

8.5 

12.4 

8.9 

18.6 

28.8 

22.7 

10.2 

25.9 

18.7 

9.4 

7.0 

17.3 

14.7 

41.3 

14.1 

14.4 

14.7 

12.8 

13.1 

10.4 

17.3 

4.7 

6.0 

13.8 

12.2 

11.0 

5.6 

17.7 

6.4 

10.3 

5.9 

8.7 

20.1 

10.5 

8.8 

21.1 

11.3 

3.8 

1.5 

14.4 

11.7 

32.2 

10.6 

10.6 

14.5 

6.8 

15.1 

7.2 

15.5 

3.0 

5.1 

11.6 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

38 

   EN 

 
  
  
Employment rate of population aged 55-64 (as %) – men and women – in 2007 and in 2012 

Women 

Men 

Gender Gap 

2007 

2012 

2007 

2012 

2007 

2012 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

35.9 

26 

34.5 

33.5 

52.9 

43.4 

60.5 

39.6 

26.9 

30 

36 

23 

40.3 

52.4 

47.9 

28.6 

26.2 

11.6 

40.1 

28 

19.4 

44 

33.6 

22.2 

21.2 

55 

67 

48.9 

41.9 

33.1 

41.3 

39 

55.8 

54.8 

61.2 

42.7 

26 

36 

41.7 

30.9 

38.2 

52.5 

48.3 

34.3 

32.2 

15.8 

49.1 

34.1 

29.2 

42 

32.9 

25 

33.6 

59.7 

69.6 

51 

53.9 

42.9 

51.8 

59.6 

64.9 

59.4 

59.4 

67.8 

59.1 

60 

40.5 

45.1 

72.5 

64.6 

60.8 

35.6 

41.7 

45.9 

61.5 

49.8 

41.4 

58.6 

50.3 

45.3 

52.5 

55.1 

72.9 

66.3 

56.4 

46 

50.8 

60.3 

65.9 

68.5 

59.8 

55.8 

47.6 

52.4 

47.4 

50.4 

63.5 

53.1 

56.2 

47.4 

42.6 

51.7 

68.1 

52.5 

49.3 

51.5 

51.2 

40.7 

53.6 

56.6 

76.3 

65.4 

18 

16.9 

17.3 

26.1 

12 

16 

-1.1 

28.2 

32.2 

30 

4.5 

22.1 

32.2 

12.2 

12.9 

7 

15.5 

34.3 

21.4 

21.8 

22 

14.6 

16.7 

23.1 

31.3 

0.1 

5.9 

17.4 

14.5 

12.9 

9.5 

21.3 

10.1 

13.7 

-1.4 

13.1 

21.6 

16.4 

5.7 

19.5 

25.3 

0.6 

7.9 

13.1 

10.4 

35.9 

19 

18.4 

20.1 

9.5 

18.3 

15.7 

20 

-3.1 

6.7 

14.4 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

39 

   EN 

 
  
  
Part-time employment as percentage of the total employment, by sex, from 15 to 64 years 

Women 

2007 

30.8 

40.5 

1.9 

7.9 

35.1 

45.6 

10.6 

31.6 

9.9 

22.7 

30.4 

26.8 

10.4 

6.9 

9.7 

37.1 

5.5 

24.6 

74.8 

40.7 

11.7 

13.6 

8.9 

10.0 

4.3 

18.8 

39.5 

41.4 

2002 

33.1 

37.7 

3.5 

7.7 

31.1 

39.2 

8.4 

30.4 

7.8 

17.0 

29.6 

16.7 

10.8 

10.5 

10.7 

26.4 

4.9 

18.8 

72.7 

35.7 

12.2 

13.5 

10.7 

7.6 

2.7 

16.9 

32.3 

43.3 

2012 

32.1 

43.5 

2.5 

8.6 

35.8 

45.0 

13.2 

34.9 

11.8 

24.4 

30.0 

31.0 

13.1 

11.1 

10.6 

36.1 

9.3 

26.0 

76.9 

44.4 

10.6 

14.1 

9.7 

12.2 

5.5 

19.4 

38.6 

42.3 

2002 

6.0 

5.6 

2.1 

1.6 

Men 

2007 

7.0 

7.1 

1.1 

1.7 

10.1 

12.4 

5.2 

3.7 

6.0 

2.1 

2.6 

4.9 

3.5 

2.7 

6.7 

8.4 

1.7 

2.1 

3.7 

8.5 

3.8 

6.4 

2.5 

3.9 

5.5 

4.6 

3.0 

4.4 

6.5 

2.6 

2.5 

4.0 

2012 

8.4 

9.0 

2.0 

2.2 

14.8 

9.1 

5.1 

13.3 

4.7 

6.5 

6.4 

6.7 

6.4 

6.7 

6.9 

4.7 

4.3 

5.7 

20.6 

22.5 

24.9 

4.6 

7.3 

4.2 

8.9 

4.3 

1.1 

7.5 

9.7 

8.4 

6.2 

5.8 

4.7 

8.3 

6.5 

1.0 

8.3 

10.5 

9.4 

7.8 

4.5 

8.2 

8.6 

6.3 

2.8 

9.1 

12.5 

11.5 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

40 

   EN 

 
  
  
Female  employment  rate  and  female  employment  rate  in  full-time  equivalent  (FTE)  (20-64 
years old) in 2012 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

41 

   EN 

 
 
Employment  impact  of  parenthood:  difference  in  percentage  points  between  employment 
rates - age group 20-49 - with the presence of a child aged 0-6 and without the presence of 
any children in 2007 and in 2012 

Women 

Men 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

2007 

-13.6 

-2.8 

-19.4 

-43.1 

-0.6 

-24.4 

-25.7 

-17.2 

-6.9 

-8.0 

-10.6 

-5.8 

-3.2 

-17.3 

-7.0 

-3.5 

-35.1 

-13.9 

-8.1 

-17.1 

-10.1 

1.2 

-2.2 

4.9 

-33.8 

-18.4 

-21.9 

2012 

-9.7 

-0.3 

-16.0 

-35.7 

-2.0 

-18.2 

-24.4 

-10.8 

-1.0 

-1.5 

-6.3 

-2.0 

-3.7 

-9.6 

-0.7 

-0.8 

-32.6 

-6.3 

-2.5 

-9.8 

-9.8 

3.4 

-3.1 

1.6 

-31.8 

-17.4 

0.8 

-18.3 

2007 

9.7 

10.1 

5.0 

9.2 

7.0 

7.7 

11.6 

6.9 

14.9 

10.1 

10.2 

14.1 

9.9 

9.9 

10.8 

12.8 

9.0 

5.8 

5.7 

5.0 

14.9 

10.4 

10.5 

10.5 

8.3 

11.0 

4.8 

2012 

11.4 

12.3 

9.0 

9.6 

10.7 

8.0 

14.4 

10.3 

17.1 

14.2 

11.8 

15.7 

13.0 

12.6 

15.4 

12.3 

9.8 

11.3 

10.0 

6.4 

15.2 

13.4 

8.2 

15.2 

12.2 

11.8 

13.9 

8.2 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

42 

   EN 

 
  
  
  
  
Barcelona targets: percentage of children cared for under formal arrangements by age group 

Less than 3 years 

From 3 years to 
minimum compulsory 
age 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

2007 

26.0 

44.0 

8.0 

2.0 

70.0 

17.0 

15.0 

24.0 

10.0 

40.0 

27.0 

25.0 

18.0 

16.0 

20.0 

25.0 

8.0 

13.0 

43.0 

8.0 

2.0 

27.0 

6.0 

30.0 

2.0 

26.0 

47.0 

38.0 

2011 

30.0 

39.0 

7.0 

5.0 

74.0 

24.0 

19.0 

21.0 

19.0 

39.0 

44.0 

26.0 

23.0 

15.0 

7.0 

44.0 

8.0 

11.0 

52.0 

14.0 

3.0 

35.0 

2.0 

37.0 

4.0 

26.0 

51.0 

35.0 

2007 

81.0 

100.0 

59.0 

69.0 

97.0 

86.0 

86.0 

86.0 

65.0 

92.0 

93.0 

90.0 

80.0 

52.0 

59.0 

66.0 

80.0 

65.0 

91.0 

70.0 

31.0 

75.0 

57.0 

84.0 

75.0 

76.0 

91.0 

84.0 

2011 

84.0 

98.0 

60.0 

74.0 

98.0 

90.0 

92.0 

82.0 

75.0 

86.0 

95.0 

95.0 

73.0 

73.0 

65.0 

73.0 

75.0 

73.0 

89.0 

85.0 

43.0 

81.0 

41.0 

92.0 

75.0 

77.0 

95.0 

93.0 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 

EN 

43 

   EN 

 
  
  
Education 

Early leavers from education and training in 2012: proportion of persons aged 18 to 24 who 
have  finished  no  more  than  a  lower  secondary  education  and  are  not  involved  in  further 
education or training, as a percentage of the total population aged 18 to 24. 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

44 

   EN 

 
 
Early leavers from education and training in 2002, 2007 and 2012 

Women 

2002 

2007 

14.9 

11.0 

19.4 

5.9 

8.2 

12.5 

9.4 

11.2 

12.5 

24.2 

11.9 

20.5 

11.0 

11.0 

11.4 

19.6 

11.9 

49.7 

13.8 

10.2 

5.6 

37.2 

22.1 

3.2 

5.8 

7.6 

8.9 

13.0 

10.3 

14.7 

4.7 

9.5 

11.9 

: 

8.4 

10.6 

25.2 

10.3 

16.4 

6.8 

10.1 

5.1 

8.4 

10.1 

34.9 

9.3 

10.1 

3.8 

30.4 

17.4 

2.2 

5.8 

7.2 

6.5 

2012 

11.0 

9.5 

13.0 

4.9 

7.4 

9.8 

7.1 

8.2 

9.1 

20.8 

9.8 

14.5 

7.0 

6.2 

4.6 

5.5 

10.7 

17.6 

7.3 

7.3 

3.5 

14.3 

16.7 

3.2 

4.6 

8.1 

6.3 

17.1 

15.6 

12.4 

2002 

Men 

2007 

2012 

19.1 

17.1 

22.0 

5.4 

9.9 

12.5 

16.9 

18.0 

20.6 

36.8 

14.9 

27.8 

22.3 

22.7 

15.4 

14.4 

12.5 

56.5 

16.8 

8.7 

8.9 

52.6 

23.9 

6.8 

7.6 

11.8 

11.0 

18.1 

17.1 

13.9 

15.2 

5.7 

16.2 

13.1 

21.7 

14.6 

18.6 

36.6 

14.9 

22.9 

19.5 

20.0 

9.6 

16.6 

12.6 

41.3 

14.0 

11.4 

6.2 

43.1 

17.1 

5.8 

7.2 

11.2 

9.5 

17.6 

14.5 

14.4 

12.1 

6.1 

10.8 

11.1 

14.0 

11.2 

13.7 

28.8 

13.4 

20.5 

16.5 

14.5 

8.2 

10.7 

12.2 

27.5 

10.2 

7.9 

7.8 

27.1 

18.0 

5.4 

6.0 

9.8 

8.5 

14.6 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

45 

   EN 

 
  
  
Tertiary educational attainment by sex in 2012: the share of the population aged 30-34 years 
who have successfully completed university or university-like (tertiary-level) education with 
an education level ISCED 1997 (International Standard Classification of Education) of 5-6. 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

46 

   EN 

 
 
 
Tertiary educational attainment by sex (30-34 years old) in 2002, 2007 and 2012 

Women 

2002 

2007 

2012 

2002 

24.5 

39.0 

28.8 

11.4 

39.4 

21.4 

33.6 

33.0 

24.8 

35.8 

34.0 

14.2 

36.1 

22.1 

29.6 

21.5 

16.1 

: 

29.3 

: 

16.7 

16.9 

9.0 

29.1 

11.2 

49.3 

31.2 

30.7 

32.8 

46.4 

33.2 

13.7 

41.6 

25.7 

42.4 

48.8 

27.3 

44.6 

45.0 

22.3 

48.0 

31.5 

45.0 

38.1 

23.9 

23.7 

37.3 

20.5 

31.3 

24.7 

14.3 

41.1 

16.1 

55.4 

47.0 

40.1 

40.0 

50.7 

33.6 

29.1 

52.6 

32.9 

50.4 

57.9 

34.2 

45.3 

48.6 

26.3 

55.5 

48.1 

56.4 

48.9 

35.5 

24.0 

44.8 

26.6 

46.5 

30.1 

23.2 

49.6 

28.2 

55.4 

53.7 

50.2 

22.6 

31.5 

17.7 

13.7 

28.7 

26.8 

22.5 

30.9 

21.9 

31.0 

29.0 

12.0 

35.9 

12.4 

17.0 

25.6 

12.8 

: 

27.8 

: 

12.2 

9.1 

9.1 

12.9 

9.7 

33.4 

25.5 

32.4 

Men 

2007 

27.2 

36.6 

18.7 

13.0 

34.8 

27.3 

24.1 

37.9 

25.0 

34.8 

37.7 

15.0 

44.4 

19.8 

31.0 

32.4 

16.4 

19.5 

35.5 

21.8 

22.7 

15.0 

13.6 

21.7 

13.4 

39.3 

35.2 

36.9 

2012 

31.6 

37.1 

20.5 

22.4 

33.7 

31.0 

28.1 

44.0 

27.6 

35.0 

38.5 

17.2 

43.6 

26.0 

40.7 

50.4 

24.7 

20.7 

39.9 

26.0 

31.9 

24.3 

20.5 

29.5 

19.4 

36.7 

42.4 

44.0 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

Source: Eurostat, LFS 

EN 

47 

   EN 

 
  
The Gender Pay Gap 

Gender pay gap — Difference between men’s and women’s average gross hourly earnings as 
percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings (for paid employees) from 2007 to 2011 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

Difference 
2011- 2008 

EU27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

: 

10.1 

12.1 

23.6 

17.7 

22.8 

30.9 

17.3 

: 

18.1 

17.3 

5.1 

22.0 

13.6 

22.6 

10.2 

16.3 

7.8 

19.3 

25.5 

14.9 

8.5 

12.5 

5.0 

23.6 

20.2 

17.8 

20.8 

17.3 

10.2 

12.3 

26.2 

17.1 

22.8 

27.6 

12.6 

22.0 

16.1 

16.9 

4.9 

19.5 

11.8 

21.6 

9.7 

17.5 

9.2 

18.9 

25.1 

11.4 

9.2 

8.5 

4.1 

20.9 

20.5 

16.9 

21.4 

16.6 

10.1 

13.3 

25.9 

16.8 

22.6 

26.6 

12.6 

: 

16.7 

15.2 

5.5 

17.8 

13.1 

15.3 

9.2 

17.1 

13.8 

18.5 

24.3 

8.0 

10.0 

7.4 

-0.9 

21.9 

20.8 

15.7 

20.6 

16.1 

10.2 

13.0 

21.6 

16.0 

22.3 

27.7 

13.9 

: 

16.2 

15.6 

5.3 

16.8 

15.5 

14.6 

8.7 

17.6 

13.4 

17.8 

24.0 

4.5 

12.8 

8.8 

0.9 

19.6 

20.3 

15.4 

19.5 

16.2 

10.2 

13.0 

21.0 

16.4 

22.2 

27.3 

: 

: 

16.2 

14.7 

5.8 

16.4 

13.6 

11.9 

8.7 

18.0 

12.9 

17.9 

23.7 

4.5 

12.5 

12.1 

2.3 

20.5 

18.2 

15.8 

20.1 

1.1 

0.0 

-0.7 

5.2 

0.7 

0.6 

0.3 

-0.1 

2.2 

-0.9 

3.1 

-1.8 

9.7 

1.0 

-0.5 

-3.7 

1.0 

1.4 

6.9 

-3.3 

-3.6 

1.8 

0.4 

2.3 

1.1 

1.3 

Source: Eurostat, SES 

EN 

48 

   EN 

 
  
  
  
Gender segregation in occupations and in economic sectors in 2007 and in 2012 

Gender segregation in 
occupations 

Gender segregation in 
economic sectors 

2007 

2012 

2007 

2012 

EU27 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

GR 

HU 

IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

25.1 

26.3 

25.2 

29.3 

29 

28.5 

26.3 

25.4 

32.2 

27.3 

29.6 

26.3 

22.4 

28.7 

27.9 

23.6 

29.2 

27.2 

28.7 

23.1 

25.1 

25.8 

26.7 

22.8 

27 

26.4 

30.1 

25.1 

24.5 

26.9 

26.0 

28.6 

28.7 

28.4 

25.7 

24.9 

30.9 

25.7 

28.7 

25.9 

19.3 

28.2 

26.3 

24.7 

29.5 

23.8 

29.1 

24.3 

25.5 

26.7 

25.6 

22.8 

25.7 

25.8 

30.6 

24.1 

18.2 

18.5 

18.1 

20.5 

20.1 

19.4 

18.3 

18.1 

25.6 

20.8 

22.7 

18 

16 

19.8 

23 

17.7 

23.3 

18.9 

22.4 

15.8 

18.1 

19.4 

21.1 

16.3 

21.3 

17.5 

23 

18.4 

18.7 

19.1 

19.7 

20.9 

19.4 

21.0 

19.5 

19.5 

25.2 

19.4 

24.1 

18.9 

14.5 

20.6 

20.7 

19.7 

22.3 

17.1 

24.0 

16.3 

14.5 

21.1 

21.3 

17.4 

21.4 

19.9 

24.5 

19.0 

Source:  Eurostat,  EU  LFS.  Gender  segregation  in  occupations  is  calculated  as  the  average  national  share  of 
employment  for  women  and  men  applied  to  each  occupation;  differences  are  added  up  to  produce  the  total 
amount of gender imbalance expressed as a proportion of total employment (ISCO classification). 

EN 

49 

   EN 

 
  
  
Poverty 

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion by sex in 2011: Proportion of persons who are at 
risk  of  poverty  or  severely  materially  deprived  or  living  in  households  with  very  low  work 
intensity68. 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 

68 

Persons are only counted once even if they are present in several sub-indicators. At risk-of-poverty are 
persons with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 % 
of  the  national  median  equivalised  disposable  income  (after  social  transfers).  Material  deprivation 
covers indicators relating to economic strain and durables. Severely  materially deprived persons have 
living  conditions  severely  constrained  by  a  lack  of  resources,  they  experience  at  least  4  out  of  9 
following  deprivations  items:  cannot  afford  i)  to  pay  rent  or  utility  bills,  ii)  keep  home  adequately 
warm, iii) face unexpected expenses, iv) eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, v) a 
week holiday away from home, vi) a car, vii) a washing machine, viii) a colour TV, or ix) a telephone. 
People  living  in  households  with  very  low  work  intensity  are  those  aged  0-59  living  in  households 
where the adults (aged 18-59) work less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year.  

EN 

50 

   EN 

 
                                                 
People at risk of poverty or social exclusion by sex in from 2007 to 2011 

Women 

Men 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

EU27 

25.9 

25.0 

24.4 

24.6 

25.2 

22.9 

22.1 

21.8 

22.4 

23.0 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

23.1 

22.4 

21.8 

21.7 

21.5 

19.9 

19.1 

18.5 

20.0 

20.4 

61.9 

46.4 

48.1 

50.9 

50.5 

59.4 

43.0 

44.1 

47.3 

47.7 

17.4 

17.2 

15.7 

16.0 

16.9 

14.2 

13.3 

12.3 

12.7 

13.7 

17.7 

17.0 

18.2 

19.0 

19.5 

15.9 

15.7 

17.0 

17.7 

18.2 

22.3 

21.6 

21.2 

20.9 

21.3 

18.8 

18.5 

18.8 

18.6 

18.5 

24.2 

24.3 

25.5 

22.0 

22.9 

19.4 

18.9 

21.1 

21.5 

23.2 

24.6 

24.7 

26.4 

30.5 

: 

21.6 

22.7 

25.0 

29.3 

: 

29.9 

29.8 

29.0 

29.3 

32.3 

26.8 

26.3 

26.1 

26.0 

29.6 

24.6 

24.2 

24.4 

26.1 

27.3 

21.7 

21.6 

22.3 

24.9 

26.6 

20.0 

19.8 

19.7 

20.0 

19.9 

18.0 

17.3 

17.1 

18.3 

18.6 

28.1 

27.2 

26.4 

26.3 

29.9 

23.8 

23.2 

22.8 

22.6 

26.4 

27.6 

25.0 

25.0 

24.4 

25.4 

22.7 

19.8 

20.9 

21.5 

21.5 

37.7 

36.2 

38.7 

38.5 

40.4 

34.1 

31.0 

35.9 

37.6 

39.8 

30.9 

29.7 

31.4 

33.8 

33.6 

26.3 

25.3 

27.3 

32.9 

33.2 

16.9 

16.7 

19.6 

17.7 

18.0 

15.0 

14.2 

16.0 

16.5 

15.6 

30.1 

29.0 

30.0 

30.3 

31.4 

28.6 

27.3 

29.1 

29.4 

30.5 

20.6 

21.0 

21.4 

21.2 

22.2 

18.3 

18.2 

19.0 

19.4 

20.6 

16.9 

15.5 

15.9 

16.0 

16.6 

14.6 

14.3 

14.3 

14.1 

14.9 

18.9 

20.3 

18.9 

18.4 

18.5 

14.5 

16.8 

15.0 

14.7 

15.2 

35.1 

31.2 

28.6 

28.5 

27.7 

33.5 

29.9 

27.0 

27.0 

26.6 

26.0 

26.8 

25.8 

25.8 

25.1 

24.0 

25.0 

24.0 

24.8 

23.8 

46.7 

45.3 

44.2 

42.1 

41.1 

45.1 

43.0 

41.9 

40.8 

39.5 

19.2 

20.3 

19.1 

20.1 

21.1 

15.0 

16.6 

15.1 

16.5 

17.4 

23.1 

22.0 

21.1 

21.6 

21.7 

19.4 

18.9 

18.0 

19.6 

19.5 

19.0 

18.9 

17.9 

17.7 

18.5 

15.8 

15.9 

15.8 

16.0 

17.3 

14.2 

16.1 

17.5 

16.6 

18.0 

13.6 

13.7 

14.4 

13.4 

14.2 

24.1 

24.7 

22.8 

24.2 

24.1 

21.1 

21.7 

21.1 

22.1 

21.4 

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 

EN 

51 

   EN 

 
  
  
Decision-making  

Change in the share of women on company boards (percentage points), 2010-2012 

Percentage 
point 
change in 
Women 
Board 
Members 
2010-2012 

2010 

2012 

21.3 

21.6 

13.6 

26.4 

11.6 

8.4 

11.2 

7.0 

2.4 

6.2 

5.4 

10.5 

25.9 

9.5 

17.7 

8.7 

4.0 

11.8 

12.2 

23.5 

13.1 

12.6 

13.3 

3.5 

4.5 

14.9 

9.8 

12.3 

11.9 

13.8 

7.4 

25.5 

11.8 

8.7 

11.6 

7.8 

3.5 

7.9 

7.4 

12.9 

28.6 

12.3 

20.8 

11.9 

7.7 

15.8 

16.4 

28.2 

17.8 

17.9 

18.8 

9.7 

11.0 

21.5 

18.7 

25.1 

-9.4 

-7.8 

-6.2 

-0.9 

0.2 

0.2 

0.4 

0.7 

1.2 

1.7 

2.0 

2.5 

2.7 

2.8 

3.1 

3.2 

3.7 

4.0 

4.2 

4.7 

4.7 

5.3 

5.4 

6.1 

6.5 

6.6 

8.9 

12.8 

RO 

SK 

HU 

SE 

PL 

IE 

BG 

EE 

MT 

EL 

PT 

BE 

FI 

ES 

DK 

AT 

CY 

EU-27 

CZ 

LV 

LT 

DE 

UK 

LU 

IT 

NL 

SI 

FR 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

EN 

52 

   EN 

 
  
Share of women in national governments (senior ministers), 2003, 2008, 2012 

FR 

CY 

AT 

DK 

PL 

SK 

IT 

NL 

BG 

ES 

LV 

MT 

FI 

BE 

SE 

CZ 

EL 

PT 

EE 

IE 

LT 

RO 

HU 

SI 

UK 

DE 

LU 

2003 

21% 

9% 

27% 

28% 

6% 

0% 

9% 

31% 

19% 

25% 

25% 

15% 

44% 

36% 

52% 

12% 

6% 

17% 

9% 

14% 

15% 

21% 

13% 

14% 

24% 

46% 

37% 

2008 

34% 

8% 

36% 

37% 

25% 

6% 

18% 

28% 

26% 

50% 

21% 

22% 

60% 

40% 

45% 

11% 

11% 

12% 

21% 

20% 

14% 

0% 

13% 

17% 

32% 

38% 

20% 

2012 

49% 

33% 

43% 

43% 

20% 

7% 

16% 

38% 

24% 

29% 

29% 

18% 

47% 

38% 

54% 

13% 

6% 

17% 

8% 

13% 

13% 

19% 

9% 

8% 

17% 

38% 

27% 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

EN 

53 

   EN 

 
  
Percentage  of  women  in  national  parliaments  (single/lower  houses),  in  regional  assemblies 
and at local level politics in 2012 

National 
parliaments 
(women) 

Regional 
assemblies 
(women)  

Local level 
politics (women) 

EU-27 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

26% 

40% 

23% 

22% 

41% 

33% 

21% 

15% 

21% 

39% 

26% 

21% 

11% 

23% 

24% 

23% 

9% 

9% 

39% 

28% 

24% 

29% 

12% 

38% 

19% 

43% 

44% 

22% 

32% 

39% 

: 

19% 

34% 

32% 

: 

: 

17% 

42% 

48% 

13% 

: 

23% 

: 

: 

9% 

: 

33% 

33% 

25% 

25% 

15% 

: 

16% 

43% 

47% 

31% 

32% 

35% 

25% 

26% 

32% 

26% 

29% 

17% 

16% 

35% 

35% 

25% 

20% 

36% 

22% 

21% 

20% 

22% 

26% 

: 

24% 

28% 

: 

22% 

: 

37% 

43% 

30% 

Source: European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making 

EN 

54 

   EN 

 
  
Country codes 

Code Name  
BE   Belgium  
BG   Bulgaria  
CZ   Czech Republic  
DK   Denmark  
DE   Germany  
EE   Estonia  
IE   Ireland  
EL   Greece  
ES   Spain  
FR   France  
IT   Italy  
CY   Cyprus  
LV   Latvia  
LT   Lithuania  
LU   Luxembourg  
HU   Hungary  
MT   Malta  
NL   Netherlands  
AT   Austria  
PL   Poland  
PT   Portugal  
RO   Romania  
SI   Slovenia  
SK   Slovakia  
FI   Finland  
SE   Sweden  
UK   United Kingdom  

EN 

55 

   EN