Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-03-08-Speech-2-052-000"
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"en.20110308.7.2-052-000"2
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"Madam President, 8 March 2011, the one hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day. That calls for a celebration of everything we have achieved, such as the franchise for women, the right to equality and reproductive rights, at least in the more civilised countries. However, this is also a day for feeling sad about all the things that are still not as they should be. In the EU, women are still severely under-represented in decision making, caring responsibilities fall almost entirely on women’s shoulders and there is still a persistent income gap between men and women, including outside the EU, where some countries have not even begun working on giving women the franchise.
The hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day also calls for an historical comparison. The first really major step for women in the labour market was taken during the two world wars, especially the Second World War. There were simply too few men to do the work in factories and offices. Employers no longer had a choice and women entered the labour market in large numbers. Such a period is upon us again. This time, not because of a war, fortunately, but because of an ageing population. In five to ten years, there will again simply be too few men to fill the vacancies at various levels. Employers need to attract and retain women. The ageing population could provide an ideal opportunity for gender equality.
It is up to us, as European politicians, and it is up to our colleagues in national parliaments, to encourage this development by providing quality maternity leave for mothers
quality paternity leave for fathers, by providing a sufficient level of affordable childcare, by providing the right to flexible hours and part-time work with good social rights, by establishing quotas for women’s inclusion in corporate executive bodies and politics, or making credible threats to that effect. Together, we can ensure that it does not take
hundred years before men and women have equal rights and equal opportunities in every sphere."@en1
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"another"1
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