Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are one of the key issues in the discussion on human rights and they are inseparable from the realisation of the fundamental right to health, as well as the achievement of gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence. A person’s bodily autonomy and the right to decide about one’s body and life is the absolute precondition for reaching gender equality. Violations of SRHR constitute breaches of human rights. All challenges related to SRHR faced within Member States constitute common European challenges and this is a human rights issue as well as a health issue, which must be addressed by a unified approach. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises the need for a universal access to SRH as a component of the right to health. We aim to have a Gender Equality Strategy that ensures universal access to comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality and relationship education, a range of high-quality, accessible, affordable modern contraceptive methods and supplies, family planning counselling, fertility treatments and information on contraception, as well as free, safe and legal abortion care.

The situation in the European labour market demands an urgent and comprehensive approach in order to overcome the existing inequalities. One in three women in the EU does not have a paid job and the vast majority of part-time jobs in the Union are held by women. Women’s work has traditionally been undervalued and the gender segregation is still significant, with women over-represented in less profitable sectors. Women’s empowerment in the world of work is a crucial step when talking about social and economic development and it is a precondition of a strong competitive economy. A swift transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive is therefore essential with an emphasises on looking into ways to broaden its scope. Additionally, both the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages and Women on Boards must be implemented. This report recognises that the main reason for the gender pay gap is the systematic lower pay in female-dominated sectors (care, healthcare, education, retail) compared to wages in male dominated sectors, which also leads that these sectors are not attractive for men reinforcing harmful norms and stereotypes. There is a pressing need to develop guidelines allowing the definition and comparison of “the value of work” and to set up gender-neutral job evaluation tools and criteria with the aim to better evaluate and fairer remunerate work in female dominated sectors. The issue of safety at work, both in the work spaces as well as in the context of remote work, must be addressed.

Education and training are essential for gender equality and for everyone’s ability to adapt to labour market changes and tertiary education is vital for quality job opportunities. In the European Union today, horizontal and vertical gender segregation in education is still persistent and it is detrimental for gender equality. As such, granting full and unobstructed access to education, training and supporting women’s participation in STEM education and all other areas and careers are crucial. It is estimated that there are 8 million ICT specialists in the EU but only 17 % of them are women. Globally, only 22 % of AI professionals are women. The importance of these subjects and related jobs is growing and we must ensure that women are not left behind and that they are safe in the digital sphere, including when addressing the issue of algorithms and other current tools. Being aware that the current private ownership structure and key players of the big online platforms have created an online world harmful to women’s rights and gender equality, we must be able to tackle this and protect all women and girls across the EU. Also, men must be encouraged to enter female dominated sectors, by better working conditions and fair pay. The new Gender Equality Strategy must develop a framework, which will create safe spaces for girls and boys to learn, educating parents and teachers about gender stereotypes and setting up positive women and feminist men role models.

Care responsibilities for children and other dependents are a significant constraint in female labour market participation. Unpaid care responsibilities keep around 7,7 million women in the EU from participating in the labour market, compared to only 450.000 men. At the household level, an uneven division of unpaid care work between women and men constrains women’s equal labour force participation and career advancement. This situation is harmful to achieving a truly just work-life balance framework and the new Strategy has to address these issues. Our aim is to work towards reaching an “Equal carer – equal earner model” in society. We therefore need to closely monitor, evaluate and, if needed, further develop the Work-Life-balance directive but there is also a need to put forward a European Care Deal, based on the European Care Strategy, with binding legislation and financing from EU level. Women have been taking the burden of care in different categories and we need to equalize the playing field on a European level.

Diverse groups take better, more inclusive and more sustainable decisions. Only the decisions that consider everyone’s view are fit to pave the way for a future that is better for all and women in decision-making positions are key role models and help shape the framework for an equal future. We need to address the gaps in the decision-making on the political, as well as the economic level while also tackling institutional inequalities preventing women from realising their full potential.

In the times of rising global conflicts and uncertainty, EU foreign, defence and security policy must be a feminist one with the achievement of women’s rights and gender equality as one of the horizontal principles and key goals. In our external policies, we must be able to reflect a peace-building mission and one of the prerequisites for this is the equal participation of female leaders and stakeholders. The agenda of promoting and protecting women’s rights, as well as the support for women activists, educators and leaders in conflict zones must be a priority in all EU conflict response strategies as well as any crisis-response tools and mechanisms. The principle of the 3 R’s (rights, representation and resources) must be applied to all external actions of the EU.