Activities of Cindy FRANSSEN related to 2019/2169(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality
Amendments (57)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
— having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) thereof, in particular goal 5 and its targets and indicators,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 30 January 2020 on the gender pay gap,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 b (new)
Citation 13 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2020 on the EU priorities for the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2015 on external factors that represent hurdles to European female entrepreneurship,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 b (new)
Citation 21 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2017 on women and their roles in rural areas,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 c (new)
Citation 21 c (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 24 October 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23
Citation 23
— having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights and, in particular, its principles 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12 and 915,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Member States on average scored 67.4 out of 100 in the EU Gender Equality Index 2019, a score which has improved by just 5.4 points since 2005;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas structures and stereotypes throughout the world perpetuate inequality, and whereas overcoming these structures and stereotypes will advance gender equality; whereas it is important to examine the persistence and root causes of the leaky pipeline phenomenon; whereas a strong women’s rights movement is needed to uphold democratic values, fundamental rights and women’s rights in particular, and whereas threats to women’s rights also represent threats to democracy;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas 1 in 3 women in the EU aged 15 or over has experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence1a, 1 in 2 has experienced sexual harassment and 1 in 10 has faced online harassment; _________________ 1aFRA survey 2014, the most comprehensive at EU level in the field, based on 28MS
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas violence against women in all its forms (physical, sexual, psychological or cyber violence) is a violation of human rights and one of the biggest obstacles to achieving gender equality; whereas a life free from violence is a prerequisite for equality; whereas disinformation campaigns on gender equality also focus on the issue of violence against women, as has been seen in relation to the Istanbul Convention;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas traditional gender roles and stereotypes still influence the division of labour at home, in education, at the workplace and in society; whereas unpaid care work, mostly carried out by women, contributes to the gender pay and pension gap; whereas work-life balance measures, such as the Work-life Balance Directive, are important first steps, but need to be first and foremost properly transposed into national systems of the EU Member States, fully implemented on time and also complemented by further measures in order to involve more men in unpaid work, care duties and to foster the equal earner – equal carer model;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas estimates show that 80% of all care across the EU is provided by informal carers that are mostly women (75%), indicating the existence of a gender care gap strongly influencing gender pension gap; whereas more than 50% of carers under 65 combine care with employment this way performing a difficult balancing act; whereas carers may prefer low-skilled and low-paid jobs, which can be adapted to their caregiving schedule, as well as be obliged to reduce their working hours or leave paid work; whereas between 7% and 21% of informal carers reduce their working hours and between 3% and 18% withdraw from the labour market;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the provision of quality care in the EU varies greatly both within and between the Member States, between private and public settings, urban and rural areas, and different age groups; whereas the data on provision of care in the EU are rather fragmented, also a holistic approach is missing to address the demographic challenges the EU is facing with the resultant pressure on public expenditure;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas the EU gender gap in hourly pay is 16 %, although this varies significantly across Member States; whereas the gender pay gap rises to 40 % when employment rates and overall labour market participation are considered; whereas the ramifications of the gender pay gap include a 37 % gender gap in pension income;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the participunderrepresentation of women in the labour market does not secureis followed by their unequal participation in decision- making and therefore limits women’s potential to change economic, political, social and cultural structures; whereas vertical and horizontal segregation in employment and discriminatory practices in recruitment and promotion are one of the main causes of the gender pay gap;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas there is an economic argument in women’s full participation in the economy, as gender employment gap costs Europe €370 billion per year1a; _________________ 1a https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/news/ne ws-articles/gender-employment-gap-costs- europe-eu370-billion-per-year
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas women constitute only 34,4% of the EU self-employed and 30% of start-up entrepreneurs;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas poverty in Europe disproportionately affects women, in particular single mothers, women with disabilities, and elderly, migrant and ethnic minority women; whereas 15% of households with children at EU level are single-parent households; whereas on average, 85% of these households are run by single mothers, while 47% of single parent households were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2017; whereas women’s homelessness is a growing problem;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas women in rural areas face numerous challenges, including limited employment opportunities, poorer access to services, less developed infrastructure and underrepresentation indecision- making fora; whereas they may perform invisible work in the farms due to a lack of a status for assisting spouses allowing their work to be recognised by national systems;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas 46 million women and girls with disabilities live in the European Union; whereas this figure represents nearly 60% of the overall population of persons with disabilities; whereas most of disabilities are acquired with age;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the Gender Equality Index for 2019 reveals persistent inequalities between men and women in the digital sector; whereas closing the digital gender gap and guaranteeing women’s digital rights is of paramount importance, given the occurrence of discrimination resulting from biased data sets, models and algorithms in artificial intelligence (AI); whereas programmers in AI need to be aware of unconscious biases and stereotypes in order to avoid reproducing and reinforcing them; whereas the transformation and digitalisation of the labour market and the economy can deepen existing economic gaps and labour market segregation; with better access to technology and Internet for girls and women is of paramount importance; whereas women are an untapped resource in emerging fields, such as digital, AI and ICT, with women accounting for just 16% of the almost 8 million people working in ICT in Europe; whereas the share of men working in the digital sector is three times greater than the share of women; whereas boosting more women into digital sector and or other sectors of the future is vitally important to fight gender pay and pension gaps and guarantee their economic independence; whereas by integrating more women into the digital jobs market, there is potential for a €16 billion GDP boost to the European economy; whereas gender inequalities and discrimination have been reproduced through the design, input and use of artificial intelligence (AI);whereas incomplete datasets and incorrect bias can distort an AI system reasoning and jeopardise gender equality in society;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting and gender impact assessments are essential tools for achieving gender equality in all EU policy areas; whereas this is especially important for the socio-economic measures taken in the aftermath of the COVID-19 health crisis;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas collecting gender- disaggregated data is of utmost importance for a gender-focused approach in all issues at stake, such as amongst others gender-based violence, disabilities, cancer and rare or chronic diseases, the impact of climate change, digital skills and STEM;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas gender equality is addressed in EU policies through various EU funds and instruments, and whereas enabling optimal synergies between those in the gender equality area is a very important tool;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the priority given to gender equality by the new commission and its president as well as the nomination of a dedicated commissioner for equality, and awaits the annual report on equality as a useful evaluation tool to evaluate progress and spot the existing gaps and the needs for gender mainstreaming in policy framework;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the announcement of several complementary strategies and calls for a strategic framework to connect them, and for an intersectional approach to be adopted in all of them; stresses the importance to monitor the situation and flexibly adapt to the results as well as to the upcoming challenges, using current policies or suggesting new tools, as the recent COVID crisis has shown;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that the strategy remains vague on the issue of timelines for several, highly welcomed, measures; calls, therefore, on the Commission to establish a concrete roadmap, with timeframes and additional targeted actions, as well as guidelines on how to implement the intersectional approach effectively;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses however the need for a opportunities-based approach of the Gender Equality Strategy; asks the Commission to take ‘equal opportunities for women’ as the starting point to further roll out the strategy;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Underlines that it would be a wrong signal to postpone some elements of the new strategy; therefore urges the Commission to stay on track with the Gender Equality Strategy and to stick to the proposed timeframe; welcomes the commitment to present a legislative proposal on pay transparency by the end of 2020, to strengthen the enforcement of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value between women and men and to address the gender pay and pension gaps in cooperation with the social partners;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Stresses the need to allocate adequate funding with due attention to women's needs within in the next MFF, including the EU cohesion policy and CAP, the Citizens Equality Rights and Values programme, Horizon Europe, InvestEU; calls on the Commission to continue its efforts in implementing gender budgeting as an integral part of the budgetary procedure across with improved monitoring of spending on gender equality, following its commitments in the Gender Equality Strategy; calls on the Commission and the EU Member States to take due account of women's needs while designing and distributing funds agreed within the ‘Next generation EU’ recovery plan for Europe;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. We may equally call to incorporate within the Commission's monitoring process Gender Equality Index by EIGE, develop gender pension gap indicator, following Parliament's recommendations in its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the genderpension gap, to be monitored within GES as the only one accumulating all inequalities women experience throughout their lives, consider also other indicators on gender pay and care gaps, gender digital divide etc.;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the scope and impact of violence and harassment in the workplace; ptherefore calls on the Member States to ratify the recently adopted International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 190 on harassment and violence in the workplace; Points out that informal carers, domestic workers and farm workers, among others, in particular lack protection and therefore calls on the Member States to adopt International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 190 and 189, in order to strengthen the rights of workers, especially women, in the informal economy;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the proposed specific measures to tackle cyber violence which disproportionally affects women and girls (including online harassment, cyberbullying and sexist hate speech); welcomes in this regard the announcement to work with the tech platforms and the ICT sectors, in order for the latter to address the issue through adequate technical measures such as prevention techniques and response mechanisms to harmful content; calls for binding legislative measures to combat these forms of violence and to support Member States in the development of training tools for the services involved at all stages from prevention and protection to prosecution, such as police force, the justice system andtogether with the information and communication technology sector;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the proposed 2020 EU Strategy for Victims; asks in particular a specific approach for psychological violence on women and the impact on their mental health on the long run; stresses the need to address current gaps in EU legislation with regards to international standards on violence against women, such as the Istanbul Convention, with a view of enhancing the legislation on victims’ rights, protection and compensation of victims; stresses the need for all victims to have access to justice through the implementation of the Victims Rights Directive, which is still incomplete in some Member States;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Asks for continuing the promotion of the victims’ rights also through the existing instruments such as the European Protection Order;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Asks in this regard the European Commission to produce a Directive on Combatting Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in the EU as trafficking for sexual exploitation represents the most widespread form of trafficking;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. WelcomesUnderlines the need to collect disaggregated data on all forms of gender-based violence; welcomes in this regard the announcement of a new EU- wide survey on the prevalence and dynamics of violence against women;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines the fact that violence against women is often the main reason why women experience homelessness; therefore urges the Commission to take the necessary measures to prevent violence against women leading to or prolonging homelessness;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission, the Parliament and the Council to closely examine women's needs and participation in the labour market as well as horizontal and vertical labour market segregation while designing programmes within the next Multiannual financial framework as well as the recovery plan Next Generation EU;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Calls on the EU Member States to timely and effectively transpose the work- life balance Directive as well as on the Council to effectively monitor its implementation;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Calls on the Commission to collect data on the provision of different types of care (childcare, care for older people and persons with disabilities or persons requiring long term care), feeding into a study examining the care gap to inform an initiative for a European Care Strategy; notes that the strategy in question has to respect the competences of the Members States as laid in the Treaties but would aim to improve the cooperation and coordinator of all measures which could be beneficial for the EU informal carers and the people they are taking care of; stresses that cooperation at European level together with the efficient use of EU funds can contribute to the development of quality, accessible and affordable care services;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to table binding measures on pay transparency by the end of 2020; stresses in this regard on the importance of a full cooperation and involvement of the social partners and all the stakeholders; points out, however, that the issue of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women across different occupational sectors still needs to be addressed; strongly recommends the inclusion of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value between women and men, which could be defined as follows: ‘Work shall be deemed of equal value if, based on a comparison of two groups of workers which have not been formed in an arbitrary manner, the work performed is comparable, taking into accneeds to be defined; points ount factors such as the working conditions, the degree of responsibility conferred on the workers, and the physical or mental requirements of the work’; points out thatthe usefulness of gender-neutral job evaluation tools and classification criteria need to be developed for this purpose;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the Commission to campaign for more women in economic decision- making positions by highlighting the economic and societal advantages thereof, and sharing best practices, in order to break the deadlock on the Women on Boards directive; urges the Commission to continue working with the Member States as well as current and incoming EU presidencies to urgently unblock the deadlock in Council and adopt the proposed Directive on “Women on Boards”;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls upon the Commission to advance female entrepreneurship and access to loans and equity finance through EU programme sand funds; stresses on the need of awareness raising regarding the existing and future EU funding possibilities for women and girls entrepreneurs;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the support for gender parity in elected bodies such as the European Parliament and stresses that it must serve as a role model in this regard; notes the efforts made in that sense in the composition of the current European Commission;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Urges the Commission to ensure the adoption of concrete gender mainstreaming measures in the implementation of the Single Market Strategy and the Digital Agenda;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to use Horizon Europe to provide insights and solutions on addressing potential gender biases in AI; asks, however, to use all possible funding to support projects which encourages girls and women to improve their digital skills, and which makes them familiar with STEM;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission, the Parliament and the Council to create a thematic sub-programme for women in rural areas through the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD); stresses that this sub-programme would seek to encourage women’s employment and female entrepreneurship using opportunities linked to agro-tourism and the development of digital villages, improving female farmers’ access to land, credit and financial instruments, skills and performance through education, training and advisory services, increased participation in local action groups and the development of local partnerships under the Leader programme; calls in this regard for earmarking EU funds for better living and working conditions in rural areas, including better access to services and development of infrastructure, with a particular focus on access to broadband internet as well as supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and access to credit, thereby empowering women in rural areas; calls on the Member States to exchange best practices on professional status for assisting spouses in the agricultural sector, thereby addressing women’s social security rights, including maternity leave or pension entitlements, as well as requests that the Commission prepares guidance in this regard;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission to have a specific approach for single mothers, as single mothers are particularly economically vulnerable as they often earn less than men and are more likely to leave the labour market when they become a parent; calls on the Commission to enhance in this regard the enforcement of existing legal tools on cross-border collection of alimony, with public awareness raising of their availability; urges the Commission to work closely with the Member States to identify practical problems linked with alimony collection in cross-border situations and to develop tools to effectively enforce payment obligations;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that tax policies have varying impacts on different types of households; stresses that individual taxation is instrumental in terms of achieving tax fairness for womenwelcomes the Commission's commitment to develop guidance for Member States on how national tax and benefits systems may impact financial incentives or disincentives for second earners;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Asks the Commission to address health inequalities; while women have a higher life expectancy than men, their healthy life expectancy is about the same, meaning that women spend a larger share of their lives in bad health; therefore asks the Commission to address health inequalities within the forthcoming EU Health Strategy and calls for an increased health aspect in the Gender Equality Strategy which should focus on access to preventive health at all stages of life, health and safety of women in the workplace, and a specific gender focus in the Europe’s beating cancer plan;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Urges the need to further incorporate the gender perspective in the upcoming Disability Equality Strategy 2021, with due attention to improved access to the labour market through targeted measures and actions;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Asks the Commission to reach in particular the most vulnerable women; calls, therefore, to make sure that all relevant actions of the strategy leave no woman behind;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. Asks the Commission, in light of the proven benefits of human milk for new-borns, to promote breastfeeding, especially for preterm infants; calls on the Commission to support policies which enhance uptake of human milk both breastfeeding and donated milk for preterm infants and to promote the cross- border use of milk banks to ensure that women in border regions can avail of this support when necessary;
Amendment 426 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Welcomes a values-based EU trade policy with a high level of protection of labour and environmental rights as well as the respect of fundamental freedoms and human rights, including gender equality; recalls that all EU trade and investment agreements must be gender mainstreamed and include an ambitious and enforceable chapter on trade and sustainable development (TSD); welcomes the Commission’s commitment to ensuring for the first time the inclusion of a specific chapter on trade and gender equality in the modernised Association Agreement with Chile, and to; stresses that it should be properly implemented, evaluated and assessed in practice before/ with the view of promoting and supporting the inclusion of such chapters in all further EU trade and investment agreements;
Amendment 429 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Welcomes the upcoming Gender Action Plan III building on the current GAP II, as a key instrument for promoting gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment in external relations in, tackling women's and girls' rights through four pivotal areas: girls’ and women’s physical and psychological integrity, including fight against female genital mutilation; promoting the economic and social rights and the empowerment of girls and women; strengthening girls’ and women’s voice and participation; and a horizontal pillar consisting of shifting the institutional culture of the Commission services and the EEAS in order to more effectively deliver on the EU’s commitments;