Strategies for Gender Equality in the European Union - Coursework Example

Strategies for Gender Equality in the European Union Strategies for Gender Equality in the European Union Executive Summary Gender equality refers to the equal representation of both men and women in the citizenship and democratic rights of a particular institution. Gender equality stimulated the establishment of European Union in 1957 where equal pay for work of equal value was addressed in the Treaty of Rome. The union established equality legislation that the lawmakers proposed would help address the aspects of gender inequality, equal opportunities and, representation in all the aspects of the union’s functions. The consequences evident at present are increased number of women in employment and educational institutions. Amidst all the laws formulated, gender segregation still exists in the labor market. Discrimination in the workplace setting either manifests as horizontal or vertical segregation (Freixes,Román, & Cerrato, 2014). Horizontal segregation in this context refers to where men and women work in different industries and occupations while vertical segregation applies to both genders working at various hierarchical levels in the production unit. Recent study analysis reveals that the society regard those occupations where women predominate as less valued, less paid and less skilled. Numerous researchers in the field have formulated manuals explaining how to measure sex segregation at the workplaces in a bid to further document and explain the persistence of gender segregation. The main subject in the European Union gender cases has been gender mainstreaming for many years. Three main challenges exist as to why gender discrimination continues to exist in the European Union. First, the success in the field of gender equality contrast strongly with the poor development of European Union social policy. In addition to the nation states government, numerous stakeholders such as the employers, trade unions, and other public players are involved in addressing gender equality. As a result, the European Union finds it difficult to realize a universal perception of what gender equality entails. Consequently, proposals to address gender equality may threaten the interests, positions, and ideas of a particular group and consequently provoke opposition (Freixes,Román, & Cerrato, 2014). Secondly, the achievements do not fit the proposed neoliberal project. Lastly, the history of gender equality has suffered from inconsistencies of outcomes of the policy process and policy implementation. Gender inequalities are thus witnessed in the sex disparities in the European companies’ board members and national governments. Gender-based violence remains to be a vice in Europe with 25 percent physical abuse occurrences. As a result, the topic gender equality is of relevant study in the present-day European Union. Context and Importance of the Problem Equal Economic Independence Economic independence is a requirement for men and women to create self-determined lives. As previously noted, the women-dominated occupations are less paid as the employers consider the occupations of less value and significance. Traditionally, women dominated the conventional sectors that earn little profits. Cultural perceptions and girl-child upbringing affects women economic dependency in the European Union member states. Moreover, the highly rated social and economic activities in the current labor market are paid employment while domestic work, care of children and the elderly are underrated even when the task is done for paid wages. As a result, in the underdeveloped and developing countries such work are not included in the overall GDP calculations when in actual sense, that type of work is indispensable for a society (Freixes,Román, & Cerrato, 2014). Conversely, the developed countries have formulated approaches in which the domestic work is included in the market. The inclusion results into highly paid domestic labor that significantly shifts the GDP figures. Consequently, women living in the developing countries depend on men for economic and financial security. Most women attend to the household chores as their husbands and sons go out to work. Policies that regulate women involvement in paid labor markets will help balance the work-life cycle of the female gender. The policies may permit women to carry with them their children to their workplaces or acquire leaves for lactating and pregnant women (Lucarelli et al., 2014). Researchers have concluded that if women could increase their workforce involvement in paid work while, simultaneously, keeping constant their working hours at home and for family, their total working day would be disproportionately longer compared to men’s. Furthermore, research associate less economically endowed countries with the domination of subsistence and domestic sectors. Evidently, the countries have greater inequalities among the female gender that exclude women in the labor markets. These nations are distinguished by a lower level of education among the women and large families. Violence against Women Violence against women according to the European Union statutes refers to the violation of human dignity that, in its worst form, violates the right to life. In its broadest sense, it refers to physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Statistics from the various health institutions reports that one in three women experience physical or sexual violence (Duncan, & Pfau-Effinger, 2012). Violence against women in the European Union takes many forms. Women suffer from trafficking, female genital mutilation, forced and early marriages, honor killing, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence. Most of these cases go unreported and, therefore, adversely affects the overall results. Gender-based violence significantly affects women’s access to employment, while negatively affecting their financial independence and the economy. Combating violence against women issues calls for unified actions among numerous stakeholders such as the employers, health professionals, and internet service providers. Women can also perpetuate gender-based violence. Men and boys may sufferer from violence initiated by both sexes, but the results from numerous surveys indicate that female violence committed by men predominates (Duncan, & Pfau-Effinger, 2012). The result of men perpetrated violence is usually sexual violence and harassment. The European Union considers domestic violence a private issue to which the state has little role to play. The European Union has therefore established laws that serve to protect women from such occurrences. The EU legislature recently modified the current gender-based laws to address adequately trafficking in women and girls and female genital mutilation. However, it has failed to address certain types of gender-based violence such as sexual harassment of smaller magnitudes. Moreover, those working at the EU and member states to combat violence against women are faced with inadequate and incomplete data on its level and nature. The policy initiatives to address the occurrence are hence hindered. The police reports and criminal statistics from case laws partially solve the issue as most cases of gender-based violence go unreported (Freixes,Román, & Cerrato, 2014). Additionally, most of the criminal justice systems have difficulty in bringing the perpetrators to account. The systems, therefore, do not accurately serve the needs and rights of the victims. In 2007, the EU established the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), which effectively raised the issue of gender equality while including the area of violence against women. The institute’s findings in a survey launched in 2013 found that the European member states gave greater priorities to data collection in some areas such as employment in preference to others such as in the family (Lucarelli et al., 2014). The EU member states’ recent recognition of the gender-based violence phenomena as a fundamental right abuse has significantly facilitated efficient response and address of the issue by the concerned member states. Policy Options Presently, the European Union is implementing gender equality policies that ensure equal consideration of men and women in the decision-making processes. The council has recruited more women from the member states to the decision-making positions. The union sets to see the inclusion of women in the crucial posts of government as the decision-making process increase in the near future. The Commission has also established a group that is responsible for ensuring that gender equality issues are considered throughout the Commission. The group reviews the Commission’s organization and internal workings in every level and field to determine the higher gender discrepancy positions and hence make appropriate adjustments (Duncan, & Pfau-Effinger, 2012). The ministers are tasked with ensuring that more women are promoted to the senior positions in the EU institutions. The ministers also recruit more women directors, mid-level managers, and the executives. The Commission also facilitates a gender equality program that ensures equal opportunity and attainment of financial independence between the genders. The EU has set employment guidelines in addition to the formulation of directives on equal labor market conditions and the right to parental leave. The guidelines ensure equal consideration in the labor markets, hence financial independence. The member states follow the guidelines annually to ensure concrete expression of both genders in national action strategy for employment. Moreover, the union contributes actions that reconcile work and family life in the member states (Lucarelli et al., 2014). Equal pay for equivalent work is another fundamental policy in the EU’s mandates. The principle is in the Treaty of Amsterdam that explicitly expressed that men and women should receive the same pay for equivalent work of equal value. The law also states that men and women should get equal wages not only when they do the same job but also when the work done has equal value. Furthermore, the Amsterdam Treaty provides for positive discrimination on the labor market. The principle means that the employers offer more supporting facilities to the minority group in a workplace (Duncan, & Pfau-Effinger, 2012). The less represented gender enjoys additional advantages such as easy promotion and further learning financial assistance. The Beijing platform, a European Union strategy, is responsible for fighting and eradicating violence against women ranging from sexual to psychological violence within the family. The EU has also illegalized trafficking of human beings in its legislation. Consequently, over the last few decades women have surpassed men in terms of university enrollments in a bid to close the education gaps. Women have a higher probability of enrolling in a university and graduating as compared to men because of the legislation procedures to promote woman education. Critique of Policy Options The EU policies have functioned to bridge the gender gaps that existed for decades. The evidence of large female enrollment in the learning institutions and equal competition for the inadequate job opportunities is enough evidence. However, there still exist significant disparities in the fields of study chosen by men and women in the learning institutions. Men’s enrollment in science-based and engineering courses is higher as compared to the women’s (Lucarelli et al., 2014). Women enroll in great numbers in the humanities and arts fields and, therefore, land jobs with low pay once they graduate. Elimination of such stereotypes is such a notable challenge in the EU policy formulation. Moreover, the woman employee still earns less compared to men in the workplaces. It, therefore, remains the EU’s top challenge to bridge the pay gap. Various proposals to promote woman entrepreneurship and consequential self-employment may help bridge the pay gap. Community perception of gender roles also remains a significant challenge to the EU in realizing its policy objectives as pertain gender equality. Policy Recommendations The European Union has made notable steps towards realizing a gender sensitive society where men and women are treated equally. However, the main challenge is the society’s cultural beliefs regarding gender roles and various typecasts. EU should formulate policies that change the society’s perspectives regarding both genders and, consequently, view the genders as of equal in all aspects. The policies should promote self-employment through the promotion of entrepreneurship among the female gender. The result would be gender independence and financial security between men and women. Finally, the policies should address issues of gender inequality in larger fields such as globalization, fisheries, EU enlargement, and asylum and refugee policy as opposed to only in the employment sector. References Duncan, S., & Pfau-Effinger, B. (2012). Gender, Economy and Culture in the European Union. NY: Routledge. Print. Freixes, S. T., Román, L., & Cerrato, G. E. (2014). Protection of the Gender-Based Violence Victims in the European Union: Preliminary Study of the Directive 2011/99/EU on the European Protection Order. Tarragona: Publications URV. Print. Lucarelli, S., Viviani, A., Duke, S., & Martinelli, M. (2014). Gender and The European Union.Firenze:Firenze University Press. Print. Read More