Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-24-Speech-4-011-000"
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"en.20120524.5.4-011-000"2
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"Madam President, it is a nice day and we start with an important topic. Gender equality is a fundamental right enshrined in the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, but it is also a prerequisite for economic growth, social inclusion and well-being in our societies. The most recent figures indicate that the gender pay gap in the European Union decreased by 1.2% between 2007 and 2010, from 17.6% to 16.4%. However, the situation is very different from one Member State to another, and in some the gap is still widening.
Finally, with our exchange of good practices programme on gender equality, we are working to foster closer coordination among Member States. In this framework the Commission organised in Germany in December 2011 an exchange of views on instruments to tackle the gender pay gap. Representatives from several Member States participated. I would like to thank you again for speaking up in order to address this truly important question.
The gender pay gap is also an expression of how our pool of well-educated and highly-skilled women is under-exploited. This is an untapped potential for the European Union economy that is needed especially at a time when human capital is the key factor for our future and for competitiveness.
With today’s debate and the subsequent vote, the European Parliament will take a position on an important issue. On behalf of Vice-President Reding, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Edit Bauer, for her efforts and also for her excellent work over the last years on this issue. I would also like to thank all Members of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality for their support.
The Commission is determined to further promote gender equality. Equal pay is one of the Commission priorities set out in its strategy for equality between women and men for 2010-2015. As you know, the principle of equal pay is enshrined in the Treaty and also in Directive 2006/54/EC on equal treatment of women and men in employment and occupation.
Some of our priorities for the coming years will be to monitor the correct application and enforcement of the equal pay provisions of the directive, and to support Member States and other stakeholders with a proper enforcement and application of the existing rules. The Commission plans to publish a report on the implementation of the 2006 Equal Opportunities Directive next year (2013).
In addition, enhanced transparency on the issue will be crucial in the coming years. As mentioned in your report, awareness-raising campaigns to keep employees and stakeholders informed regarding the existence and risk of the gender pay gap can play an important role. The European gender pay gap information campaign which we launched in 2009 is already a good example. This campaign has created a real partnership amongst social partners – ministries for employment, social affairs and equality, NGOs in the field of gender equality, and both private and public recruitment agencies who have acted as multipliers of the campaign messages. My colleague would like to explore this potential further in the future.
In addition, on 2 March this year we held the second European Equal Pay Day. This day is fixed each year on the date corresponding to the extra days that women are required to work in Europe in order to earn the same salary as a man during a full year of work. You might have seen advertising in national newspapers and our web clip highlighting the absurdity of pay inequalities between women and men.
As highlighted in the report, employers are key actors in tackling the gender pay gap. For this reason, the Commission has recently launched an initiative to raise companies’ awareness of the gender pay gap and of its causes and consequences, and to support businesses in their efforts to tackle it. The initiative will promote training activities and support the exchange of good practices on the business case for gender equality. These activities are also open to organisations that facilitate training and dissemination of messages, such as business organisations, social partners and others. We are also following closely the pilot projects launched in some Member States.
Your report also mentions the need to improve the quality of statistics. Eurostat constantly encourages the Member States to provide their national data in a timely manner. Eurostat has recently introduced a new breakdown which should show the impact of the type of contracts, part-time in comparison to full-time, in the gender pay gap. Preliminary data are now also available on the Eurostat website. Amongst other things, the Commission is further exploring the impact of part-time work and fixed-term contracts on equal pay."@en1
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