EU calls for gender equality

The European Union marked International Women’s Day today with a pledge to fight discrimination and domestic violence against women.

The European Union marked International Women’s Day today with a pledge to fight discrimination and domestic violence against women.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, prepared to chair an EU summit, the first woman to do so in more than two decades.

While gender gaps in employment and education are narrowing, the pay gap remains about 15% across the 27-nation EU. Women account for just 32% of managers, 10% of board members and 3% of CEOs of large companies.

A Brussels report by EU statistical agency Eurostat compiled from national data gathered between 1998 and 2006 said women were more likely to be unemployed than men.

“Patriarchal structures still exist and women tend to be in lower positions. The reduction of salary inequalities has not gone far enough,” German development minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul told a seminar at the European Parliament.

The European Commission has announced plans to use educational programmes to increase awareness of gender inequality in schools, eradicate gender stereotypes and encourage promotion of women into senior positions.

It is also promoting flexible working arrangements, so men and women are able to remain in the labour market when bringing up children.

The EU also pledged to promote women’s participation in political life, fight trafficking of women and children and combat domestic violence.

“Around the world women continue to suffer horrific domestic violence, discrimination and persecution.

"Protecting women’s rights and empowering them as decision-makers are fundamental principles of the European Union’s work across the globe,” EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

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