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  Women in political decision-making in view of the next European elections
  

  This study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee. It provides analysis of women’s representation within the European Parliament and European Union institutions, key factors affecting ge...

  This study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee. It provides analysis of women’s representation within the European Parliament and European Union institutions, key factors affecting gender balance among elected representatives, and strategies and actions to promote gender balance. It also presents case studies of three Member States conducted through the lens of parity democracy, and issues recommendations for political parties, Member States, and EU institutions.

  • Published: 2019-02-22
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (European Parliament) ; OpCit Research
  • Subject: decision-making, employment policy, European election, European electoral system, female worker, participation of women, political figure, political involvement, politics, position of women, woman
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  Women in management
  Underrepresented and overstretched?

  Despite years of gender equality legislation, men outnumber women in management positions by two to one. While structural barriers continue to impede women’s career advancement, women themselves may be deterred from becoming managers if they perceive that it would have a negative impact on their...

  Despite years of gender equality legislation, men outnumber women in management positions by two to one. While structural barriers continue to impede women’s career advancement, women themselves may be deterred from becoming managers if they perceive that it would have a negative impact on their working and personal lives. What is the experience of women in management roles and how can their underrepresentation in management be addressed? These are the questions this policy brief seeks to answer by looking at the job quality of managers, both female and male, and the impact a management job has on personal life.

  • Published: 2019-01-31
  • Corporate Author(s): Eurofound (EU body or agency)
  • Subject: equal treatment, female worker, manager, middle management, position of women, professional career, senior management, woman, working conditions
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  Work in the EU
  Women and men at opposite ends

  Still today, gender is a defining factor in the EU labour market that divides the workforce. This leads to the untapped potential of talent, unmet aspirations and lost opportunities for women, men and society at large. In all EU Member States, men dominate specific fields such as engineering and...

  Still today, gender is a defining factor in the EU labour market that divides the workforce. This leads to the untapped potential of talent, unmet aspirations and lost opportunities for women, men and society at large. In all EU Member States, men dominate specific fields such as engineering and technology but are not present in others, such as teaching and care work. Out of the 20 largest occupations in the EU, only five have a gender-balanced workforce (at least 40% of one gender). Gender divisions in the labour market extend to the distribution of leadership positions, career advancement possibilities, allocation of job tasks or income. Gender segregation creates and reinforces gender inequalities in and beyond the world of work. It affects the EU economy by making the labour market less competitive and harder for companies to fill high-demand positions in IT and engineering. Segregation also creates differences in pay, higher risk of poverty and lower economic independence for women. The reasons behind this segregation are complex and cannot be explained by one single factor. A gendered division across study fields, combined with gender stereotypes or insufficient work-life balance options, come together to create the conditions for gender segregation.

  • Published: 2018-12-11
  • Corporate Author(s): European Institute for Gender Equality (EU body or agency)
  • Subject: equal pay, equal treatment, equality before the law, EU Member State, female worker, gender equality, labour market, position of women, sexual discrimination, woman, women's rights
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  Women active in rural development
  Assuring the future of rural Europe

  • Published: 2018-09-05
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (European Commission)
  • Subject: employment policy, EU policy, female worker, labour market, participation of women, rural development, vocational training
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  Backlash in gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights
  

  This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, is designed to identify in which fields and by which means the backlash against gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights in six count...

  This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, is designed to identify in which fields and by which means the backlash against gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights in six countries (Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia) is occurring. The backlash, which has been happening over the last several years, has decreased the level of protection of women and girls and reduced access to their rights.

  • Published: 2018-10-01
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (European Parliament)
  • Subject: abortion, Austria, civil society, contraception, domestic violence, female migrant, female worker, gender equality, Hungary, Italy, non-governmental organisation, Poland, position of women, Romania, Slovakia, woman, women's rights
• Case C-41/17: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 19 September 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Galicia — Spain) — Isabel González Castro v Mutua Umivale, Prosegur España SL, Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 92/85/EEC — Articles 4, 5 and 7 — Protection of the safety and health of workers — Worker who is breastfeeding — Night work — Shift work performed in part at night — Risk assessment of her work — Prevention measures — Challenge by the worker concerned — Directive 2006/54/EC — Article 19 — Equal treatment — Discrimination on grounds of sex — Burden of proof)

  • Published: 2018-09-19
  • Corporate Author(s): Court of Justice (Court of Justice of the European Union)
  • Subject: anti-discriminatory measure, care of mothers and infants, female worker, motherhood, national law, night work, paid leave, shift work, Spain, working conditions
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  Out of sight
  Migrant women exploited in domestic work

  Domestic workers contribute much to the EU’s societies and their economies. Their important work complements public social protection systems in EU Member States where such systems are not well developed, or their scope was reduced during the economic crisis. Their work in private homes also ena...

  Domestic workers contribute much to the EU’s societies and their economies. Their important work complements public social protection systems in EU Member States where such systems are not well developed, or their scope was reduced during the economic crisis. Their work in private homes also enables more women to participate in upper segments of the labour market. In spite of the economic and societal importance of the 2.5 million domestic workers working in the EU – the vast majority women – their rights too often remain illusory. Upholding labour law standards in domestic work is difficult: workers may not be aware of their rights, employers may not be committed to labour law standards, and labour inspectorates are usually not allowed to enter the domestic households where work is carried out. Domestic workers are also at heightened risk of experiencing severe labour exploitation – particularly exploitative working conditions that deviate significantly from standard working conditions as defined by legislation or other binding legal regulations. This concerns in particular remuneration, working hours, leave entitlements, health and safety standards and decent treatment. In some cases, domestic workers experience the most severe forms of labour exploitation, equalling slavery, servitude and forced labour.

  • Published: 2018-07-23
  • Corporate Author(s): European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (EU body or agency)
  • Subject: deprivation of rights, female migrant, female worker, home help, migrant worker, slavery, working conditions
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  Study and work in the EU
  Set apart by gender

  Gender segregation is a deeply entrenched feature of education systems and occupations across the EU. It refers to the concentration of one gender in certain fields of education or occupations (horizontal segregation) or the concentration of one gender in certain grades, levels of responsibility...

  Gender segregation is a deeply entrenched feature of education systems and occupations across the EU. It refers to the concentration of one gender in certain fields of education or occupations (horizontal segregation) or the concentration of one gender in certain grades, levels of responsibility or positions (vertical segregation). Though today women work in all occupations that formerly were ‘all-men’, their share within some occupations is still minor, for example, as construction workers, engineers or ICT professionals. On the other hand, a number of jobs are commonly dominated by women, namely pre-primary education, nursing, personal care and domestic work. Gender segregation narrows life choices, education and employment options, leads to unequal pay, further reinforces gender stereotypes and limits access to certain jobs while also perpetuating unequal gender power relations in the public and private spheres.

  • Published: 2018-08-22
  • Corporate Author(s): European Institute for Gender Equality (EU body or agency)
  • Subject: equal pay, equal treatment, equality before the law, EU Member State, female worker, gender equality, position of women, sexual discrimination, woman, women's rights
• Case C-103/16: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 February 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña — Spain) — Jessica Porras Guisado v Bankia SA and Others (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Social policy — Directive 92/85/EEC — Measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding — Article 2(a) — Article 10(1) to (3) — Prohibition of dismissal of a worker during the period from the beginning of her pregnancy to the end of her maternity leave — Scope — Exceptional cases not connected with the pregnant worker’s condition — Directive 98/59/EC — Collective redundancies — Article 1(1)(a) — Reasons not related to the individual workers concerned — Pregnant worker dismissed in the context of a collective redundancy procedure — Reasons for the dismissal — Priority for retention of the post of the pregnant worker — Priority for redeployment)

  • Published: 2018-02-22
  • Corporate Author(s): Court of Justice (Court of Justice of the European Union)
  • Subject: collective dismissal, female worker, job security, maternity leave, motherhood, occupational safety, reassignment
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  The role of PES in outreach to the inactive population
  Study report

  The inactive population is not a traditional target group for the Public Employment Services (PES), although a significant share of the inactive population wants to work and is potentially available for work. Concerns about demographic trends have made the inactive an increasingly central focus ...

  The inactive population is not a traditional target group for the Public Employment Services (PES), although a significant share of the inactive population wants to work and is potentially available for work. Concerns about demographic trends have made the inactive an increasingly central focus of EU labour market policy. A rapidly shrinking labour force can negatively affect the full economic potential of the Union. Since the inactive are ordinarily not clients of PES, the PES, or other actors, have to engage in outreach activities to establish a relationship to this target group. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of outreach measures for the inactive with particular reference to the role of PES. Within the framework of this small scale study, we focus more narrowly on outreach ac-tivities for three target groups among the inactive that are central to current policy discussions on increasing labour force participation and social inclusion: 1. Inactive older workers 2. Working-age women not in the labour force 3. Ethnic minorities and migrants. The first part of the study surveys existing policy regimes and outreach measures for the selected target groups, based on the existing research literature and on national and EU sources. The second part examines in greater detail outreach measures for the target groups in 6 country case studies.

  • Published: 2018-03-20
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission) ; ICON-INSTITUT
  • Subject: clandestine worker, ethnic group, EU employment policy, female worker, labour market, older worker, public service, unemployed person, working population