Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-12-Speech-1-082-000"
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"en.20120312.17.1-082-000"2
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"Madam President, the annual equality report presents us with an opportunity, time and again, to discuss the legitimate demands of women in Europe, to highlight misalignments in our societies once again, and it is an opportunity that we are exploiting.
However, we should concentrate on the important points, namely on the things that we can actually change at this point. Ms in ‘t Veld’s report puts the necessity of economic independence at the heart of the debate. Economic independence means the ability to act on one’s own and is therefore the key to autonomous living, for both women and men.
Even in the 1960s it was still the case in Germany that women had to get the approval of their husbands before they could go out to work. We can but smile about that today; it is something we have overcome. Yet we still have not managed to achieve equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.
What right do men have to earn an average of 17.5% more than women in Europe? Somebody should explain that to us at some point. This wage gap also stretches right on into old age, and we have observed in Germany that pensions are so low that there is a gap of 59% between men’s and women’s old age pensions. That, of course, is down to the course of women’s working lives, which are certainly different than those of men: raising children, family and care give the working biographies of women a different pattern to those of men.
Yet this work is of at least equal value. In fact, I would argue that family and community work are actually fundamentally more valuable to society than many a job based in an air-conditioned office. We need to continue to work for equal pay for equal work and for equal pensions if we are serious about wanting equality between the sexes.
As we move towards that goal, we also need more women on executive boards. I am very grateful to Commissioner Reding for making this issue her issue and for handling it as she has. She has adopted a very clear position on the matter, and I hope for broad, cross-party support for it.
I am aware that we women who have today made these grand speeches, often still have to fight for majorities in our own parties. I invite everyone here to do this together as a cross-party initiative. We need broad support from all the parties and all the social groups.
One thing is very clear, and that is that we need more women in executive positions in the decision-making executives if we want to change anything, and we women do want change. As a minimum, we want equality in Europe. We all need to work together towards achieving that."@en1
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