LIU, Alm.del - 2016-17 - Bilag 30: Invitation til Interparalamentarisk Udvalgsmøde fra Europa-Parlamentets FEMM-udvalg

Ligestillingsudvalget 2016-17
LIU Alm.del Bilag 30
Offentligt

Workshops -

Short descriptions

Block I

Workshop n° 1:

“Women in STEM: progress stalled or being eroded?”

Organised in cooperation with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – four areas crucial to economic and

employment growth. Despite a strong demand for professionals in this sector, women remain highly under-

represented in STEM in general and in specific occupations in particular. Several reasons, including stereotypes

in education choices or lack of female role models explain this gender gap. The emerging data also shows that

progress of women’s employment in STEM might have stalled or is even on the reverse trend in some countries,

especially in such areas as ICT. The consequences of high gender segregation in this field are vast. Not only does

it narrow down employment choices, lead to a gender pay gap, but also further reinforces gender stereotypes.

Based on EIGE’s research on economic benefits of gender equality, an increase in women’s employment in STEM,

on the other hand, would create new and highly productive jobs and would boost the overall capacity of the

economy. This workshop will provide a forum to review the current status quo of women’s participation in STEM

and to look into policy measures and initiatives providing additional stimulus for tackling gender segregation.

Workshop n° 2:

“Global perspective: freedom from violence and empowerment”

Organised in cooperation with the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) of the

European Parliament

The main objective of the workshop is to raise awareness of the shared challenges with regards to gender justice

and freedom from gender-based violence (GBV), to highlight the responsibility of parliamentarians and to

identify opportunities that ensure mechanisms of implementation for laws and policies in their respective

countries. The workshop will address the link between GBV and female economic empowerment. While freedom

from violence is certainly a pre-condition to empowering women economically, their ability to challenge state

laws, societal norms and violence increases when women are more economically independent. The varying

approaches and contexts of different countries will be discussed by addressing the gap between the existing

legislations or international commitments and the realities. It will tap into the parliamentarians’ experience with

key actors, cases or events that triggered GBV debates in their respective countries. The workshop will

additionally seek to address the issue of public funding that supports advocacy and campaigning initiatives

seeking to advance both state and societal attitudes, norms and practices.

Workshop n° 3:

“Gender-sensitive policy making at the core of inclusive growth”

Organised in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

LIU, Alm.del - 2016-17 - Bilag 30: Invitation til Interparalamentarisk Udvalgsmøde fra Europa-Parlamentets FEMM-udvalg

Equitable legislation for inclusive growth is not just a matter of passing wise labour law reforms. All policy

domains influence men and women’s ability to access and participate in the labour market, and attention to

economic growth cannot be divided from increasing the overall well-being of all parts of society, considering

aspects of security, justice, social development, etc. Parliaments play a crucial role in framing the overall

conditions for women's empowerment both in political and economic spheres. In fact, Parliaments are uniquely

positioned to redress gender inequalities within budgets, laws and policies that provide a foundation for the

more equal participation of women and men in economic, social and political life. Central to this debate are the

tools, incentives and accountability structures that Parliaments hold to advance gender-responsiveness of their

activity. Within the framework of the OECD 2015 Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Public

Life, this session will explore the role of Parliaments as legislators and policymakers working to embed a gender

filter in national laws, policies and budgets to ensure equitable outcomes for men and women in all policy

domains, towards the realization of inclusive growth and wellbeing for all.

Block II

Workshop n° 4:

“Shall we wait a century to close the gender gaps in the labour market?”

Organised in cooperation with Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European

Commission (EC/DG JUST)

This workshop will discuss the drivers of the gender gaps in employment, pay and earnings including work-life

balance policies, on the basis of the newly published Commission Report on Equality between Women and Men.

It will also review promising national practices and European actions to close these gaps. An expert will give

insight into the role of social partners.

Workshop n° 5:

“Global Perspective: Women’s Economic Empowerment and the UN Sustainable Development

Goals”

Organised in cooperation with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment

of Women (UN Women)

This workshop, will look at the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs). More specifically, the workshop will focus on SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work)

asking how the 2030 Agenda contributes to advancing women’s economic empowerment, also given the

universality of the Agenda. Moreover, the discussion will address the recommendations of the UN High-Level

Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment and the way forward to ensuring women’s full participation in the

labour market.