Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-10-20-Speech-2-384"
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"en.20091020.37.2-384"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the number of women taking part in decision making may have been rising over recent years but power in the political and economic areas still lies firmly in male hands. Stereotypical preconceptions about the role of women and men and the difficulties of establishing a work-life balance, along with other forms of overt or hidden discrimination, constitute obstacles that prevent women from gaining access to responsible, leading positions.
Over recent decades, women have become more involved in political decision making in most EU countries. The speed of these changes is slow and, unfortunately, the overall proportion of women in powerful positions remains low. In the economic sphere, the proportion of women with decision-making powers is very unsatisfactory. In the private sector, men account for nine out of ten directors of top European companies. Only 3% of these companies have boards headed by a woman.
The Commission cares very much about supporting the better representation of women in senior roles and it backs the activities of Member States in this regard by collecting, analysing and disseminating comparable data for this area, supporting networks of interested parties and encouraging the sharing of experience and proven approaches at a European level. The European network for supporting women in managerial positions, which the Commission set up in June 2008, has stressed the importance of measures aimed at supporting mentoring, developing networks for supporting women, raising the profile of women who take on important roles and encouraging women to apply for senior positions. During 2010 the Commission will arrange information activities and the sharing of proven approaches.
The Commission reports with satisfaction that many Member States have launched initiatives to support the access of women to leading roles, particularly through cultural events in the private sector, educational programmes for women who are interested in careers at the most senior levels, the development of a charter or mark for companies that support gender equality, the introduction of codes of good practice in companies and events in support of the work-life balance and the fight against gender-based prejudice.
The question of quotas for women on the boards of large companies is under discussion. In my opinion, there is a need in this context to study the experience of Scandinavia, where this radical approach has been adopted. It is, however, entirely up to the Member States which strategy to choose, based on their specific circumstances. I would like to point out that Article 141 Paragraph 4 of the Treaty allows Member States to adopt ‘positive action measures’. The European Court of Justice, however, has interpreted this option narrowly and has prohibited the automatic adoption of such measures, requiring that each case be examined individually according to objective criteria.
The Commission intends to submit a new strategic framework for gender equality in mid-2010 which will be accompanied by a detailed impact analysis and will take account of the results of implementing the existing plan for the period 2006-2010. It should be a Commission priority to support the greater participation of women in senior roles. Last but not least, the Commission will submit a proposal at the beginning of next year for a new post-2010 growth and employment strategy. The issue of gender equality should be a central element in the new strategy.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to stress that the equal representation of women and men is an issue not only of political principle, democracy and ethics, but is, in essence, a fundamental economic issue, since there can be no hope for future development unless our society makes use of all of its talents in the best possible way. I must therefore state clearly that gender equality and an appropriate representation of women in leading roles in itself constitutes an active component of European competitiveness."@en1
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