European Law

6. HORIZONTAL ISSUES

6.1. Gender roles

Rigid gender roles can hamper individual choices and restrict the potential of both women and men. Promoting non-discriminatory gender roles in all areas of life such as education, career choices, employment and sport is thus an essential contribution towards gender equality. Gender equality needs the active contribution, support and participation of men and policies should also address gender-related inequalities that affect boys/men such as literacy rates,early school-leaving and

occupational health.

6.2. Legislation

The EU has a long-standing body of law against sex discrimination both in employment and in other fields of everyday life. Through recent major simplification and modernisation, this legislation has been made more accessible to correspond to societal change. The 2006 recast directive and the 2010 directives on rights to parental leave and on self-employed workers29 are important milestones in this exercise.

An effective legal framework requires monitoring, enforcement, regular evaluation and updating, as well as ongoing dialogue with business, social partners, equality bodies and civil society representatives to ensure that it is apt for its purpose. Equality bodies at national level which assist victims, promote rights and develop research are essential to application of the rights in practice, and the rights of associations and trade unions to defend victims are vital too. In this context, the Commission has launched a comprehensive study on the functioning of equality bodies across the 27 Member States and a more general study on access to justice in this area. Furthermore, the deliberations of the Forum on sex discrimination in access to insurance and related financial services set up under Directive 2004/113/EC will, together with the results of two in-depth studies on insurance practices and on potential sex discrimination in education, feed into the forthcoming implementation report on the Directive. The aggravated consequences of discrimination on two or more grounds, for example age and sex in the case of older women seeking access to employment, need to be addressed in the implementation of relevant legislation as well as of the legal acts providing protection from discrimination on the other grounds referred to in Article 19 TFEU. The Commission is also studying the specific issues pertaining to sex discrimination in relation to gender identity.

6.3. The governance and tools of gender equality

Strengthening cooperation with the various institutions and stakeholders active in the field of gender equality — MemberState governments, the European Parliament, social partner organisations, civil society, equality bodies, international organisations, EU agencies — will be crucial to ensure progress. On the basis of its Annual Report on equality between women and men, focusing each year on a particular theme and identifying good practices of Member States, the Commission will institute a yearly top-level Gender Equality Dialogue involving the European Parliament, the Council presidencies and key stakeholders such as the European social partners and civil society, to take stock of progress made in implementing this strategy.

Close cooperation with MemberState governments will continue through the highlevel group on gender mainstreaming. The Advisory Committee, composed of MemberState representatives, European social partner organisations and civil society, will continue to advise the Commission on policy and legislative initiatives. The Commission will intensify exchanges of good practice between Member States in all areas covered by this strategy. The Commission will continue to work closely with the European social partners and the organisations representing civil society.

Gender mainstreaming will be implemented as an integral part of the Commission’s policymaking, including via the impact assessment and evaluation processes. The Commission will increase the knowledge base on gender equality. A significant impact is expected following the establishment of the European Institute for Gender Equality. As part of its work programme, the Institute will help the Commission and the Member States to report on the EU-level indicators established under the Beijing Platform for Action in areas of particular concern and to develop further indicators where needed (such as on women and the environment). The Commission will continue to raise awareness of and publicise the benefits of gender equality policies. It will, for example, improve its gender equality web portal with links and updates on progress.

The next EU Multiannual Financial Framework will be presented in the first half of 2011. This will provide support after 2013 for implementation of the actions envisaged in this strategy. Moreover, better integration of gender equality issues in implementing and reporting on the current programmes (2007-2013) will provide a solid basis for ensuring that the gender perspective is incorporated into the design of the next generation of programmes so that they are underpinned by a solid assessment of the situation of women and of men.

Key actions

The Commission will:

• Address the role of men in gender equality; promote good practice on gender roles in youth, education, culture and sport.
• Monitor the correct implementation of EU equal treatment laws with a particular focus on Directives 2004/113/EC and 2006/54/EC. Monitor the extent to which gender has been taken into account in applying the non-discrimination directives.
• Promote full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action including the development and updating of indicators, with the support of the European Institute for Gender Equality.
• Present an Annual Report on progress on gender equality, especially in the areas covered by this strategy, ahead of an annual top-level Gender Equality Dialogue between the Parliament, Commission, MemberStates and key stakeholders.