Department of Social Policy of Panteion University Centre for Gender Studies

Department of Social Policy of Panteion University

Centre for Gender Studies

V. LangbakkDirector of the European Institute for

Gender Equality

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Are we on the way to real gender equality?

Centre for Gender Studies, Panteion University04/21/23

Layout of the presentation:

•EU agencies, EIGE and its mandate•Current challenges for Gender Equality in Europe•EIGE’s contribution to some of the areas

of gender equality work in the European Union

Centre for Gender Studies, Panteion University 204/21/23

Agencies: context information

EU decentralised agencies are independentbodies, entrusted by the EuropeanInstitutions with one or several tasks which theyundertake under their own responsibility.Agencies are almost entirely funded by an EU budget subsidy, except where the resources originate from invoicing services.


WHY EIGE ?

The Institute should carry out tasks that theexisting institutions do not deal with at aEuropean level, specifically in the areas of thecentralisation and dissemination of information, co-ordination of research, provision of visibility togender issues, and the construction of tools formainstreaming.

European Commission, Feasibility Study for a European Gender Institute,2002.


Need is for a technical institution that can collect and disseminate information which is currently scattered across Europe and is difficult to access systematically.

A European body that can make use of and add value to the work carried out at Member State level.

European Commission, Feasibility Study for a European Gender Institute, 2002.

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WHY EIGE ?

04/21/23

Structure


COLLECT

PROCESS

PRODUCE

DISSEMINATE


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Germany.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Spain_(Civil).svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_France.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Greece.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Cyprus.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Austria.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Portugal.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Sweden.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Finland.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Denmark.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Latvia.svg

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Belgium.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Malta.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Slovenia.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Slovakia.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg

NEW PREMISES


Pilot agency to share the premises with the European Parliament Information Office and the European Commission Representation in Lithuania will build synergies, reduce maintenance costs and increase the visibility of the EU

04/21/23

Parity in decision-makingWomen only make up 35% of members of the European Parliament, and 33% of the European Commission. Data base on women and men in decision-making. (Data base on women and men in decision-making http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=764&langId=en.)

Only 2% of ministers are women, In decision-making, women currently only occupy 35% of senior positions within government ministries. At the very top level positions, there are merely 26% present. (Women and men in decision-making: highlights (Fourth quarter 2010) http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=965&furtherNews=yes


Women in high-level positions related to climate change in national ministries competent for environment, transport and energy, by sector, EU 27, 2011


Source: Data collected from Member States in August - October 201104/21/23

Participation in the labour market

Having children affects the employment rates of women and men differently. Women's participation in the labour market drops by an average of 12% whereas men participate 9.1% more.Report on Equality between women and men 2010, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit G.1. Manuscript completed in December 2009.


Level of EmploymentIn 2008, men with children under 12 had a significantly higher employment rate than those without, 91.6% vs. 84.8%, a positive difference of 6.8 % whereas women had a significantly lower employment rate than those without, 67% and 78.5% respectively, a negative difference of 11.5 %.

Report on Equality between women and men 2010, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit G.1. Manuscript completed in December 2009.


"… If you asked me if I would stay at home with the kids and she would go to work, I find this

unimaginable and I wouldn't like this… In fact, yes, this would be humiliating for me to know that my wife is

the breadwinner. But also because I think that children need their mother more in the early years

than their fathers". A man from Hungary, 22 years old


"… I am upset that people still think in these terms, that they do not want to move further. They are not aware of the fact that some women do want to be placed only in the domestic sphere simply because

everyone expects them to do so, that this is the society pressure… [Also women] are educated in this

way since their childhood. They are not aware of other possibilities."

A woman from Slovakia, 23 years old


Care for children and dependent elderly

In the EU, around 30% of working-age women with care responsibilities are inactive or work part-time because of the lack of care services for children and other dependent persons.

Report on Equality between women and men 2010, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.


The impact of parenthood on women’s and men’s employment rates

84% of men who either have one or more children, or their wife/partner is expecting a child - have neither considered nor taken parental leave.

Provisional figure, sourced from Eurostat, 10.02.11. Table reference: Gender pay gap in unadjusted form in % [tsiem040].


Gender Gap in time used in paid and unpaid work (70 and more hours per week), 2005 and 2010

1716,2

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

SE FI DK DE BE NL AT LT EE BG UK IE LV LU MTEU27 FR PL SI CZ IT PT GR ES HU CY SK RO

Diff

eren

ce in

per

cent

age p

oint

s

2005 2010

Source: Eurofound, EWCS Note: a positive gap indicates more hours for women in comparison with men, while the opposite is true for a positive.

Gender-based violence

20-25 % of all women have experienced physical violence at least once during their adult lives and more than 10% have suffered sexual violence involving the use of force. (EWL, Unveiling the hidden data on domestic violence in the EU, 1999; Combating violence against women: Stocktaking study on the measures and actions taken in Council of Europe Member States, 2006 )

Between 40 and 50% of women in the European Union report some form of sexual harassment in the workplace (European Commission: Sexual harassment at the workplace in the European Union (Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1999)


Women and the media

There are four men for every woman who receive news coverage. In Europe, women are central to a news story only 10% of the time.

Only 32% of main TV characters are female.Global Media Monitoring Project 2005, Who makes the news?, 2005, available at:http://www.whomakesthenews.org/images/stories/website/gmmp_reports/2005/gmmp-report-en-2005.pdf ; http://www.womenlobby.org/IMG/pdf/MEDIA_EWL_Beijing_15_Report_Feb_2010.pdf


Women and the media

Women athletes only secure between 2-9% of television airtime devoted to sports.

Only 10% of European politicians in the news are women, women make up only 16% of experts and 14% of spokespersons.Wierstra, R., Breasts, Butts, Balkenende, Hilversum, Bureau Beeldvorming en Diversiteit, 2003. http://www.womenlobby.org/IMG/pdf/MEDIA_EWL_Beijing_15_Report_Feb_2010.pdfGlobal Media Monitoring Project 2005.; http://www.womenlobby.org/IMG/pdf/MEDIA_EWL_Beijing_15_Report_Feb_2010.pdf


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Of a total of 543 Nobel prizes and prizes in Economic Sciences awarded since 1901, only 41 have been awarded to women.

She Figures 2009. Statistics and Indicators on Gender Equality in Science. European Commission Directorate-General for Research Communication Unit. EUR 23856 EN.


Sciences and technologiesWomen account for only 36 % of graduates in science, maths, informatics and engineering (Report on Equality between women and men 2010, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit G.1. Manuscript completed in December 2009)

The fields of science, mathematics, computing and particularly engineering, manufacturing and construction is characterised by higher numbers of male PhD holders with women representing less than 25%.(She Figures 2009. Statistics and Indicators on Gender Equality in Science. European Commission Directorate-General for Research Communication Unit. EUR 23856 EN.)


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59% of women are university graduates, whereas 82% of men are full professors. Only 19 % of grade A academic professors in public universities are women.

The proportion of women full professors is highest in humanities and in the social sciences (27% and 18.6%) and lowest in engineering and technology (7.2%).

European Commission, She Figures 2009 – Statistics and Indicators on Gender Equality in Science, 2009, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she_figures_2009_en.pdf


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Only 13% of institutions in higher education are headed by women and just 9% of universities are led by a woman.On average in the EU-27, only 22% of board members of universities and research institutes are women.

European Commission, She Figures 2009 – Statistics and Indicators on Gender Equality in Science, 2009, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she_figures_2009_en.pdf


SUPPORT TO BETTER-INFORMED DECISION-MAKING 2010-2012

4 reports, 4 Main Findings for Polish, Danish, Cypriot and IrishPresidencies of the EU Council

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Four new Beijing indicators: women’s participation in climate change-related decision making and segmentation of tertiary education by gender in scientific and technical fields endorsed the EPSCO Council in June 2012.

New sets of comparable and reliable data at EU level: •on women’s participation in climate change-related decision making in the public sector at the national, EU and international levels.•on range, number, extent, use of services available for women victims of intimate partner violence.



EIGE’S DATABASE: ‘WOMEN AND MEN IN THE EU. FACTS AND FIGURES’

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Online database of gender trainers and training organisations (over 200).

Online database of gender training resources (over 200, in different languages)


STUDIES ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE



DATABASE on

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30 publications, factsheets and main findings6 studies on Gender-based violence

New databases:‘Men and Gender Equality’ FGM: •policies (320)•legal documents (270)•methods, tools and good practices (600)



• More than 170,000 records available online in several areas of gender equality work

• More than 26,000 records on GBV available on line• Partnerships established with documentation

centres from 5 MS

http://www.eige.europa.eu/rdc EU House

04/21/23


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EU agencies on Facebook


# EU agency Number of “likes”

1 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 76892 European Environment Agency (EEA) 6733

3 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 62224 European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) 3064

5 European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)

2172

6 European Training Foundation (ETF) 21257 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working

Conditions (EUROFOUND)2005

8 European Union Institute for Security Studies (ISS)) 14299 European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation

at the External Borders (FRONTEX)778

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GENDER EQUALITY INDEX FOR THE EUThe choice of domains

Based on a thorough analysis of:– EU Treaties

– International framework agreements

– EU policy documents

– Key equality theoretical frameworks


GENDER EQUALITY INDEX FOR THE EU


Work

• Experience of women and men within the domain of work vary significantly:– lower participation of women– greater segregation – lower levels of quality of work for women (work-life

balance, health and safety at work, well being, career advancement)

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Money

• Gender pay gap: women earn less than men• Women receive lower pensions and incomes• Women are much more at risk of poverty than men


Knowledge

• A greater proportion of young women now reach at least upper secondary school and women outnumber men as university graduates

• Patterns of segregation:– lower levels of literacy for boys, higher grades at final school

examinations for girls– women enter male-dominated fields, contrary untrue. – greatest segregation in STEM (science, technology, engineering

and mathematics)

• Participation in life-long learning


Time

• Economic activities stable for men, sharp increase for women historically

• Slightly less leisure time for women couple with lower quality of leisure time

• Women involved in care activities to much greater extent than men

• Decreasing differences between women and men, due to women’s reduced involvement rather than men’s greater

contribution


Power

04/21/23 Centre for Gender Studies, Panteion University

• Democratic deficit in the EU at all levels

• Low proportion of women in social areas:– top positions on scientific boards – professors at university levels – judiciary

• Under-representation in economic power:– boards of quoted companies – financial institutions such as central banks

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Health

• Women live longer, but shorter healthy life years

• Men are greater risks:– murders, dying in a car accident, smoking and drinking, engaging

in unsafe sex

• Women more likely to access health structures, but position in households can deprive them of access to health.


Violence

• Gender-based violence affects between up to a quarter of women in their lifetime, including physical, sexual or psychological harm

• Lack of progress in the area of gender equality has been attributed to a lack of attention to the cultural norms and attitudes that underpin gendered practices


Connections between domains

Conceptual framework loosely follows the development of gender equality policy at EU level

Social representation

PowerTime

Human capital

KnowledgeHealth

Human/fundamental rights perspective

Intersecting inequalities

Violence

Economic perspective

WorkMoney

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SUPPORT BETTER INFORMED DECISION-MAKING

2013-2015Developing reliable and comparable data:•Gender Equality Index•Database on Beijing Indicators

Providing reliable information and data on gender-based violence and identifying existing gaps.

Developing an analytical tool that identifies the benefits of gender equality.

Providing access to a processed and validated database of tools, methods and good practices for gender mainstreaming.


Making equality between women and men a reality for all Europeans and

beyond

EIGE becomes the European competence centre on gender

equality issues


Contacts

Virginija Langbakk- [email protected]

Jolanta Reingarde – Senior [email protected]

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

Gedimino pr. 1601103 Vilnius, Lithuania

[email protected]

Therese Murphy – Head of [email protected]

Barbara Limanowska- Senior expert on Gender [email protected]


Documents

Department of Social Policy of Panteion University Centre for Gender Studies