Arbejdsmarkedsudvalget 2004-05 (1. samling), Det Politisk-Økonomiske Udvalg 2004-05 (1. samling)
AMU Alm.del Bilag 74, PØU Alm.del Bilag 12
Offentligt
The Hague, November 5, 2004
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NETWORK OF PARLIAMENTARY
COMMITTEES FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN AND MEN OF THE
PARLIAMENTS OF THE EU MEMBER STATES AND CANDIDATE COUNTRIES
AND OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (NCEO)
Preliminary remarks
1.The annual Conference of the delegates of the Network of Parliamentary Committeesfor equal opportunities of the parliament of the EU Member States and the EuropeanParliament took place in the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives of theStates-General in The Hague on the 5thof November 2004. Delegates of the NationalParliaments of the Member States and Candidate Countries and of the EuropeanParliament participated in the Conference. The Conference was alternatively presidedover by Mrs. Tineke Lodders and Mrs. Andrée van Es. In her welcoming speech, thePresident of the Dutch Senate, Mrs. Yvonne E.M.A. Timmerman-Buck, pointed outthat with respect to the subject of Women’s Economic Independence some issuesseemed to be somewhat outdated, but that in fact these issues still required attention.She pointed out the issue of the gender pay gap in the European Union. She went on tostate that new challenges have arisen such as the bringing back of women in theworkforce. Mrs. Timmerman-Buck concluded that the ultimate goal we should try toachieve is making sure that the economic independence of all women is nothing morethan a personal choice.2. From the outset two specific topics were placed on the agenda: women’s economicindependence in general and economic independence and the position of women fromimmigrant groups and ethnic minorities in particular. HRH Princess Máxima held anopening address in the Conference in which she stated that diversity is something youhave to take account of when you talk about emancipation and participation.Emancipation and participation are two sides of the same coin.3. Speaking on the subject of women’s economic independence, Mrs. Janneke Plantenga,Associate professor at the Utrecht School of Economics and professor at theUniversity of Groningen, presented data on several indicators which together gave agood perspective on the socio-economic position of women (and men) in the EUMember States. As economic independence is essentially dependent on an equaldistribution of both paid and unpaid labour, she also presented some data on what hasbeen referred to in the Dutch debate as ‘care independence’.Mrs. Lydia la Rivière-Zijdel, President of the European Women’s Lobby,stressed that the feminisation of poverty continues to be a reality across Europe. EUMember States should give more visibility to women’s participation in the social andsolidarity-based economy by gathering and disseminating qualitative and quantitativeinformation on this issue. The added value of women’s participation to the paidemployment market has been proven in various studies.4. In her presentation on the subject of women’s economic independence and theposition of women from immigrant groups and ethnic minorities, The director of theNetherlands Family Council, Mrs. Erna Hooghiemstra, briefly sketched the history ofthe migration of Dutch women with different ethnic backgrounds. She gave a broadoverview of the Dutch politics concerned with the emancipation and integration ofwomen with a foreign background. She paid special attention to two very importanttransitions during the course of women’s lives: starting a family and its effects on theparticipation in society by women with different migrant backgrounds.Mrs. Philomena Essed, senior researcher at the Amsterdam Institute forMetropolitan and International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdamand visiting professor of Women’s Studies of the University of California, argued thatmore attention should be paid to the gender specific implications of assimilation andintegration and to the hampering effects of multiple discriminations. Focus first onwhat (ethnic minority) women can and want to offer, how this can be accomplished,and what kind of institutional and legal support is needed to realize their ambitions.Procedural remarks
The representatives of the National Parliaments of the Member States and CandidateCountries and of the European Parliament attending the 9thConference of the Network ofParliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, in The Hague,1. Agree to report in their respective Assemblies on the progress achieved at this meetingand to place the important issue of economic independence of women and the measuresrequired to enable it as soon as possible on the parliamentary agenda.2. Desire that this meeting be followed by a report in each country on the implementation ofnational policies targeting economic independence for women from the perspective of theLisbon objectives.3. Propose a new methodology for the next conference: to define a specific theme fourmonths in advance of this conference, so that each country may submit a writtencontribution on the chosen topic to be presented during the plenary meeting of thenetwork.4. Ask the President of this Conference to forward these Presidency conclusions toPresidents of the National Parliaments and the European Parliament, the Presidents of theEuropean Commission and the Council of Ministers.
Women’s economic independence
The representatives of the National Parliaments of the Member States and CandidateCountries and of the European Parliament attending the 9thConference of the Network ofParliamentary Committees for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, in The Hague,5. Underline the fact that economic inequality forms the basis for a broader inequalitybetween men and women.6. Take note of the target of 60% female employment which was set during the Lisbonagenda of the European Union.7. Take note of the targets with regard to childcare set during the Barcelona agenda of 2002i.e. 33% of childcare places for children under three and 90% for children from the age ofthree until mandatory school age.8. Are aware of the full diversity of women’s situations and conditions and recognize thatmany women face particular barriers to their empowerment.9. Believe that gender should not always be seen in isolation but should be interwoven withother structural factors such as ethnicity and age.10. State that women’s economic independence contributes to labour participation as a whole.11. Call on the governments of all Member states to develop a global policy for promotingeconomic independence of women, within four important policy lines:- employment policy- wage policy- reconciliation of work and family- Equal sharing of unpaid work12. Welcome the European Council Conclusions of the Spring Summit 2004 that call for thedevelopment of strategies to enlarge the net participation of women and older employees,the encouragement of a gender mainstreaming approach to realize the general Lisbonobjectives and to handle the differences in pay and the creation of more family friendlyjobs to get more women to join the workforce.13. Call on the national governments and other relevant stakeholders to take concrete steps toimplement these conclusions.14. Call on the governments of all Member States to continue to develop new strategies toenlarge the net participation of women in society.15. Advise governments to develop and implement measures that encourage self-employmentand (social) entrepreneurship as an effective way to achieve women’s economicindependence16. Welcome the idea of recognizing women’s unpaid employment within and in relation tothe domestic sphere within the GDP in order to elevate women’s economic independence.17. Propose the development and implementation of specific vocational training programmesfor women who are victims of gender violence, so as to enable them to access the labourmarket, since economic independence forms a handicap for those who wish to escapefrom these violent situations18. Express the wish that more attention is paid to the fact that improvements are only feasibleif the emancipation of partners is taken into account and if suitable solutions are found forthe combination of work and care.19. Express the wish that more attention would be paid to equal sharing of unpaid work bysetting for example targets for the taking up of parental leave by men.20. Are aware of the fact that one of the groups with the lowest participation rate in societyconsists of migrant women and believe that it is very important to invest in these women,not only because for the sake of their own emancipation process, but also for the sake ofthe next generation of women and men these women are raising.21. Are aware of the fact there is a large group of migrant women who are doing well, whoare fulfilling an important role in society as role models but who still have a problem inthe employment market.22. Call on the governments of all Member states to take appropriate measures in the field ofsocial policy and education in order to offer often socially-excluded migrant women andwomen from ethnic minorities the opportunity to acquire the necessary language skills andvocational training so they can participate and be integrated in the labour market23. Welcome the idea of establishing a European Gender Institute and call on the EuropeanCommission to put forward a detailed proposal.
