Gender equality: MEPs debate strategy for next five years

A new EU strategy for equality between women and men beyond 2015 will be debated by MEPs on Monday 8 June. The draft European Parliament resolution drafted by Maria Noichl states that progress in the EU has been slow and that much remains to be done over the next five years. Watch the debate live on 8 June from 18h CET.

Need for new strategy
The EU is looking for a new strategy to promote equality between women and men beyond 2015. Current priorities on gender equality, are set out in the Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-15, monitored by the European Commission which reports its findings in annual reports.

German S&D member Noichl has written a separate own-initiative report to serve as Parliament’s input to the new EU strategy. According to report, progress on gender equality in the EU is too slow and much still remains to be done over the next five years.

Noichl said: “The European Union needs a new strategy: a strategy that clearly proposes efficient means of tackling the issues and suggests ways of continuous evaluation. We need new and at the same time long-lasting solutions. This is why we need a strategy based on non-binding and on binding measures, taking into account the multiple discrimination women face and their living conditions.”

In the past MEPs  voted in favour of gender balance on company boards and also of combating violence against women. In May MEPs approved a resolution urging member states to resume talks over plans to harmonize maternity leave across the EU in order to break the current deadlock.

The gender equality index

First presented in 2013, the gender equality index shows how close or how far each EU country was to achieving gender equality in 2010. It is based on gender gaps, the difference in the levels of achievement between women and men on a given gender indicator (work, money, knowledge, time, power, health). The results are combined into a single summary measure. A score of one means total inequality, while 100 stands for full equality. The average for the EU is 54, excluding Crotia, which was not yet a member at the time.

Follow the debate live on 8 June from 18h CET.