Activities of Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA related to 2017/2008(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Women’s economic empowerment in the private and public sectors in the EU (short presentation) PL
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Private and Public Sectors in the EU
Amendments (45)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas women's economic empowerment and equal opportunities in the labour market are crucial for women individually but also instrumental for EU's economic growth with positive impact on GDP, inclusiveness and competitiveness of businesses as well as challenges related to the ageing population in the EU
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas gender equality policies have a strong impact on GDP and by 2050, improving gender equality would lead to an increase in EU GDP per capita by 6.1 to 9.6%, which amounts to €1.95 to €3.15 trillion (EIGE's estimates)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas equality between women and men is a key economic asset to promote fair and inclusive economic growth, and reducing occupational inequality is not just a goal in terms of equal treatment, but also in terms of labour market efficiency and fluidity;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that equal opportunities for economic independence and the guaranteeimplementation of the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work andor work of equal value applied by the Member States as defined in the article 157 of TFEU are necessary steps for women’'s economic empowerment;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Member States to promote the well-being of women, by tackling the pay and pension gaps and combating atypical and insecure forms of work and employment, such as temporary contracts or involuntary part-time workand equal opportunities for women, by tackling the pay gap, addressing and eliminating breaches of anti-discrimination legislation in employment, combating insecure forms of work and employment, such as involuntary part-time work or the use of contracts which do not correspond to the nature of the work performed in accordance with the national law;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses that preventing and eliminating the gender pension gap and reducing women's poverty in the old age first and foremost depend on creating conditions for women to make equal pension contributions through further inclusion into the labour market and safeguarding equal opportunities in terms of pay, career advancement and possibilities to work full-time;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas education, qualifications and the acquisition of skills are essential to the empowerment of women at social, cultural and economic level, and education opportunities are recognised as a core element to combat inequalities such as underrepresentation in decision- making and manager posts, engineering and science, thus improving economic empowerment for women and girls;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas violence against women is one of the main impediments to equality between women and men and be combatted through education and subsequently social and economic empowerment; whereas workplace violence has serious negative consequences for the female and male workers affected, their co-workers and families, as well as the organisations they work in and the society as a whole;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas effective work-life balance hasand family-friendly policies have positive health aspects and promotes economic growth, competitiveness, overall labour market participation, gender equality, reduction of the risk of poverty, and intergenerational solidarity, and also helps address the challenges of an aging society and positively influences birth rates intrigger positive demographic trends across the EU;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas equotaal representation of women and men in decision-making positions haves been found to improve the performance of private companies and boost wider economic growth, in addition to bringing about better use of the talent pool in the labour force;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. points out that digitalisation has a profound impact on the labour market by changing value chains, conditions and nature of work as well as creating new job opportunities and more flexible working patterns; notes that opportunities for flexible and teleworking arrangements brought about by digitalisation may serve as a an effective tool for further inclusion of women into the labour market as well as better reconciliation of professional and domestic duties for both women and men;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas trade unions have the potential to strengthen women’s economic empowerment through promoting equal pay between women and men and investing in work-life balance in their sector;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. highlights that improving digital skills and IT-literacy among women and boosting inclusion into the ICT, which is one of the highest paying sectors, could contribute to their economic empowerment and independence resulting in the reduction of the total gender wage gap;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Points out that the demand for digital technology professionals in the EU has grown by 4% annually in the last ten years and the number of unfilled vacancies for ICT professionals is expected to double by 2020; calls therefore on the Member States and the Commission to advance their efforts to promote digital skills and e-literacy among women and girls, who remain underrepresented in this sector, from the earliest stages at school and going through the whole educational cycle as well as in the framework of life-long learning;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that women’s economic participation and empowerment are key for strengthening their fundamental rights, enabling them to reach economic independence, to exert influence in society and to have control over their lives; and are instrumental for EU's economic growth with positive impact on GDP, inclusiveness and competitiveness of businesses as well as challenges related to the ageing population in the EU
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Encourages Member States to introduce age appropriate ICT education at early stages with a particular focus on inspiring and supporting girls to pursue their interest and talents in the digital field and safeguarding them from constraining and negative stereotyping which discourage girls from advancing their e-skills;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls Recognises that domestic work and provision of household services, which are largely feminised, are often perfor measures to guarantee the economic and social dignity of feminised work, such as domestic workd as undeclared work; calls on the Member States to promote and further develop the formal sector of domestic services through facilitation and incentives to employ domestic workers with the aim of reducing the undeclared work and improving reconciliation of private and professional life for the working families;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that the yearly cost of the lower female employment rate corresponded to 2.8 % of the EU’s GDP20 , while the cost of a woman’s exclusion from employment is estimated at between EUR 1.2 and 2 million, depending on her educational level; highlights that gender equality policies have a strong impact on GDP and by 2050, improving gender equality would lead to an increase in EU GDP per capita by 6.1 to 9.6%, which amounts to €1.95 to €3.15 trillion (EIGE's estimates) __________________ 20 In 2013 - see Eurofound: ‘The gender employment gap: Challenges and solutions’.
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes that women constitute 52% of the total European population, but only one third of the self-employed or of all business starters in the EU, facing more difficulties than men in access to finance, training, networking, and in maintaining a work-life balance;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Highlights that women's economic empowerment and equal opportunities in the labour market are not only crucial for women individually, but also instrumental for EU's economic growth with positive impact on GDP, inclusiveness and competitiveness of businesses; points out that, according to OECD projections, total convergence in participation rates would result in a 12.4% increase in per capita GDP by 2030;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on policy makers, also through the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work, to recognise household services, family employment and home- care as a valuable economic sector which needs to be better regulated within the Member States with a view to create both secure position for domestic workers and provide families with a capacity to assume their role as employers;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Stresses the need to combat all forms of violence against women at the workplace; calls on the Commission and the Member States to embark on concerted action, including public awareness and information campaigns, on violence against women, and to encourage the exchange of good practices;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Member States to enforce laws and workplace policies that prohibitsure proper application of the existing equal treatment legislation in order to eliminate gender-based discrimination in the recruitment, retention and promotion of women in employment in both the public and private sectors and at work in both the public and private sectors and to offer women a level-playing field in terms of pay and career advancement;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls for the adoption of the necessary measures to promote higher participation of women in the labour market in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century; welcomes in this regard the Commission proposal on work-life balance to improve the reconciliation of professional and private life, which will allow women and men to share occupational, family and social responsibilities more evenly, especially where assistance to dependants and childcare is concerned;
Amendment 113 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. RecallHighlights the importance of the Women on Boards Directive and calls on the Member States to ensure equal representation and leadership equal representation of women and men in decision-making position in both the public and private sector; recalls the importance of the Women on Boards Directive which aims at balancing the labour market, in economic andshare of the under-represented sex in non-executive board-member polsitical decision-making structures and institutions, as well as in enterprises and on corporate boardons in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Member States to promote and further develop the formal sector of domestic services through facilitation and incentives to employ domestic workers and improved national regulation with a view to create both secure position for domestic workers and to provide families with a capacity to assume their role as employers in order to enhance reconciliation of private and professional life;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Emphasises that better work-life reconciliation and strengthened equality between women and men are essential for supporting and enhancing the participation of women in the labour market, in particular women-carers and single mothers, and achieving the goals of women empowerment;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. InsistsTakes note that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is enshrined in the EU Treaty; highlightnotes, in this context, the Commission’s recommendation on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Insists that the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value ifor male and female workers enshrined in the EU Treaty and defined in the article 157 of TFEU needs to be effectively applied by the Member States; highlights, in this context, the Commission’s recommendation on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency;
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Member States to strengthen and enforce the full exercise of the right of collective bargaining in the private and public sectorssocial partners to use collective bargaining to advance equal opportunities for women and men, to ensure that the existing equal treatment legislation is applied in practice as well as to address and combat the gender pay gap;
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to implement and enforce public social care policies as well as to provide quality childcare fafurther develop care facilities for the dependent, including children and elderly, with the view of enhancing reconciliaties and promote the equal sharing of unpaid domestic work and co- responsibility in care.on of private and professional life for the working families and increasing women's participation in the labour market as a precondition for women's economic empowerment;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Expresses its conviction that achieving equal pay for male and female workers for equal work of equal value requires a clear framework of specific job evaluation tools with comparable indicators to assess ‘value’ in jobs or sectors; invites the Commission, therefore, to delivconsider such a framework and to assist the Member States in implementing it;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Encourages the Member States based on the provisions of the Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU) to promote the use of social clauses in public procurement as a tool for enhancing equality between women and men where relevant national legislations exists and can act as a ground for social clauses;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights that improving digital skills and IT-literacy among women and boosting inclusion into the ICT, which is one of the highest paying sectors, could contribute to their economic empowerment and independence resulting in the reduction of the total gender wage gap;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Stresses that preventing and eliminating the gender pension gap and reducing women's poverty in the old age first and foremost depend on creating conditions for women to make equal pension contributions through further inclusion into the labour market and safeguarding equal opportunities in terms of pay, career advancement and possibilities to work full-time;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Takes the view that initiatives are needed at both national and EU level to enhance female participation in male- dominated sectors and to increase the recognition of women's skills and economic performance at the workplace, so as to overcome horizontal and vertical exclusion and to increase the number of women in decision-making bodies in the political and business sphere;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that gender equality plans on a company or sectorial level may contain multiple human resource measures addressing recruitment, pay, promotion, training and work-life balance; that they often include concrete measures such as gender-neutral language, prevention of sexual harassment, appointment of the under-represented gender to top positions, part-time work and fathers participating in childcare, and that a variety of approaches exist in Member States regarding mandatory introduction of such measures;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Underlines the importance of promoting gender equality in education and training related initiatives, particularly initiatives taken to alleviate gender imbalances in literacy, including media and digital literacy, also reducing the digital gap as mentioned in the Europe 2020 Digital Agenda;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Invites the Member States and the Commission to promote, through information and awareness-raising campaigns, the participation of women in sectors traditionally viewed as 'male', notably the sciences and new technologies, with a view to fully benefitting of the human capital represented by European women and hence enhancing the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and mainstreaming gender equality in the digital agenda of the forthcoming years;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Emphasises that ensuring gender balance in collective bargaining teams is crucial tocan have positive effects in view of ensuring a bn equal ancedd appropriate representation of women and men, and therefore considers thatnotes in this regard the possible benefits of trade unions should strengthening the positions of women within the social partnership structure, in particular in decision-making roles, and should negotiateing gender equality plans at company and sectorial level;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls onEncourages the Commission to work closely with social partners in order to strengthen them in their key role of detecting invisiblediscriminatory gender bias in the setting of paywage scales and in providing job evaluations which are free of gender bias;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Maintains that current economic models and practices do not take account of gender-based differences and are not responsive to the issue of closing gender gaps; believes in this context that tax policies and spending priorities during crises must be rethought in order to take women into account as economic actors;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Encourages the Member States based on the provisions of the Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU) to promote the use of social clauses in public procurement as a tool for enhancing equality between women and men where relevant national legislations exists and can act as a ground for social clauses;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Encourages Member States to promote measures and actions to assist and advise women who decide to become entrepreneurs, stressing that financial independence is a key to equality; calls on the Member States to encourage women entrepreneurship, facilitate access to credit, cut red tape and other obstacles to women's start-ups;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to advance their efforts in putting an end to the digital divide between men and women by increasing women's access to information society, boosting the acquisition of e-capacities and improving ICT literacy among women, with a particular focus on increasing female visibility in the digital sector;