,EU and Gender Equality Seminar on Best Practice of European Support to Women Entrepreneurship Petra

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,EU and Gender Equality Seminar on Best
Practice of European Support to Women
Entrepreneurship Petra Schott European
Commission, October 2009Petra.Schott_at_ec.europa.eu

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Directives IGender Acquis

• Directive 79/7/EEC on equal treatment in social
  security
• Directive 86/613/EEC on equal treatment for
  self-employed
• Directive 92/85/EEC on protection of pregnant
  workers and maternity leave provisions (14 weeks
  minimum sick leave pay)

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Directives II

• Directive 96/34/EC on parental leave (3 months
  for each parent, no payment, return to job
  clause)
• Directive 2004/113/EC equal treatment in the
  access to and supply of goods and services (first
  Directive dealing with equal treatment outside
  employment) equal treatment in every day
  contracts and situations (not media and
  advertising, not education), gender specific
  actuarial factors in insurances might be kept up
  under certain conditions
• Directive 2006/54/EC (recast) reformulating 4
  Directives (75/117/EEC on equal pay, 76/207/EEC
  on equal treatment in access to employment etc.,
  amended by Directive 2002/73/EC 86/378/EEC on
  equal treatment in occupational social security
  schemes, amended by Directive 96/97/EC and 97/80
  on the shifting of the burden of proof) which
  have been repealed with effect from August 2009
• (Link to the Directives on our website
  http//ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId639lang
  Iden

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Material Scope I
The Directives prohibit discrimination as regards

• Access to employment, self-employment, vocational
  guidance and training
• employment and working conditions, including
  dismissals and pay
• membership in organisations
• occupational social security and statutory social
  security (the latter covering employed and
  self-employed), the principle of equality of
  treatment applies only partly)
• Access to/supply with goods and services

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Concept of discrimination

• Direct discrimination Where one person is
  treated less favorably than another is, has been
  or would be treated in a comparable situation on
  grounds of sex
• Indirect discrimination Where an apparently
  neutral provision, criterion or practice would
  put persons of one sex at a particular
  disadvantage compared with other people
• Harassment/Sexual harassment When an unwanted
  conduct/of a sexual nature related to the sex of
  a person occurs with the purpose or effect of
  violating a persons dignity and of creating an
  intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or
  offensive environment
• Instruction to discriminate is also treated as
  discrimination

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Specialised Bodies(Art 20 Directive 2006/54/EC)

• The Directive requires
• Creation of a national body/equality body for
  the promotion of equal treatment for gender
  equality with the following tasks
• Independent assistance to victims
• Independent surveys
• Independent reports and recommendations

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Infringement procedure

• If Member States do not comply with EU-Law, the
  Commission starts with infringement procedures
• 1. Letter of Formal Notice
• 2. Reasoned Opinion
• 3. Referral to European Court of Justice (ECJ)
• Most of the cases at the ECJ arrive there
  directly from Member States Courts asking for
  preliminary rulings, Art 234 EC Treaty

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ECJ case law Gender Equality I

• Problem pregnancy and maternity
• Judgment of 14.7.1994, case C-32/93, Webb, (no
  dismissal of an employee replacing another
  pregnant employee on grounds of pregnancy)
• Judgment of 2.3.2000, C-207/98, Mahlburg, (no
  refusal of an application of a pregnant women on
  the grounds that a pregant women is not allowed
  to this job)
• Jugdment of 27.2.2003,C-320/01, Wiebke Busch, (a
  woman may, in the context of an application for a
  job, hide her pregnancy)

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ECJ case law Gender Equality II

• Problem indirect discrimination
• Judgment of 13.7.1989,C-171/88, Rinner-Kühn, (no
  exception from sick-pay for woman working only
  for few hours)
• Judgment of 7.3.1996, case C-278/93, Freers and
  Speckmann, (reimbursement for part-time workers
  participating in a one day training must be
  compensated on basis of a full days work (not
  only part-time))

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Further projects as regards the Gender-Acquis

• Further work on the gender pay-gap (for more
  information http//ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?c
  atId681langIden)
• Proposal to amend maternity protection (documents
  under http//ec.europa.eu/prelex/detail_dossier_r
  eal.cfm?CLfrDosId197460)
• Proposoal to amend the directive on self-employed
  and helping spouses (link http//ec.europa.eu/pre
  lex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CLfrDosId197459
• Proposal to amend parental leave
  (http//ec.europa.eu/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cf
  m?CLfrDosId198504)

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EU Policy for gender equality

• Is achieved through Positive actions and
  gender mainstreaming
• Positive actions measures directly aimed at
  supporting equality through
• Legislation/administrative measures/targeted
  projects and
• Financial support
• Gendermainstreaming Integrating a gender
  perspective in all policies through
• Roadmap for gender equality (one of the
  priorities being Equal participation in decision
  making)
• Employment Strategy
• Structural funds, PROGRESS programme.
• Statistics, indicators, good practice examples

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Improving governance for gender
equality

• Involves partnerships between institutions,
  social partners and NGOs
• The European Pact for Gender Equality (March
  2006) demonstrates the commitment to gender
  equality at the highest political level
• European Institute for Gender Equality
  Regulation adopted 20 December 2006 (Seat in
  Vilnius (Lithuania) 2007-2013 budget 52.2
  million Euros will be composed of Management
  Board, Forum of Experts and Director

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Conclusion

• The gender acquis and gender equality policies
  are further developping and are an important
  field of action for the Commission
• The Commission will not hesitate to take the
  action necessary to ensure full and correct
  transposition
• Thank you for your attention!