Activities of Marie PANAYOTOPOULOS-CASSIOTOU related to 2008/2047(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Equality between women and men - 2008 (debate)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (36)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 9 March 2004 on reconciling professional, family and private lives1,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
Α. Whereas the Commission report on Equality between women and men 2008 1 Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Equality between women and men 2008. 2 Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Equality between women and men 2008. (COM(2008)0010)12 suggests that while female participation in employment has steadily increased, there remain significant challenges as regards the quality of female employment, in particular the persistent pay gap between women and men, the continuing horizontal and vertical labour market segregation, the fragmented professional careers of women and the difficulty in reconciling professional and family life, all of which prevent equality during working lives and thereafter treatment in education and during working lives and even development during retirement,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2007 on a regulatory framework for measures enabling young women in the European Union to combine family life with a period of studies2,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 c (new)
Citation 14 c (new)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas equality between women and men is a fundamental right and principle of the EU, recognised by the Treaty establishing the European Community and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, whereas in spite of the significant progress made in this field, many inequalities between women and men remain,
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. Whereas the Flexicurity Strategy raises expectations for a better reconciliation of the professional and private life of women and men; whereas not all Member States will attain the Barcelona targets by 2010; whereas care facilities for dependent family members other than children and the recognition of atypical and non-formal qualifications are not yet incorporated in policy strategies,
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council (March 2000), which aimed to increase the rate of employment in the European Union to 70% and the rate of employment of women to more than 60% by 2010; having regard also to the conclusions of the Stockholm European Council (March 2001), which added the interim target of 67% for the general rate of employment and 57% for the rate of employment of women by 2005,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas women's participation in decision-making is a decisive indicator of equality between women and men, whereas the presence of female managers in companies is stableand universities remains slight and the number of female politicians and researchers is rising only very slowly,
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission and Member States to improve gender mainstreaming in all employment and social security policies, in particular in the Flexicurity Strategy, and to promote the incorporation of the gender dimension into all their policies;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas a number of challenges and difficulties affect women more than men, notably quality of employment, part-time and temporary employment, the situation of ‘helping’ spouses in agriculturereas such as agriculture or fisheries and small family businesses, health and safety at work and maternity protection, as well as a higher risk of poverty,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the reconciliation of professional, life and training or study periods and family and private lives remains an unresolved issue for women as well as for men,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the social partners play an important role in defining and effectively implementing actions for gender equality at the European, national, regional, sectoral and corporate levels,
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Asks the Commission and Member States to develop instruments that will ensure that high educational qualifications of women will result in "better jobs"women with high professional qualifications will have equal opportunities, in finding quality jobs and in professional development, as men with equivalent skills in the public and private sector;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas entitlements to paternity leave enable fthe sharing of family and domestic duties between men and women, not least by developing the use of parental leave and pathers to share the responsibilities and therenity leave, is a precondition fore promote equality between women and mening and achieving gender equality,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas access to services for the care of children, the elderly and other dependants is essential for equal participation of women and men in the labour market, education and training,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomesNotes that the increase in the number of women in work has not been accompanied by the expected increase in the quality of that work and that the Commission report andconfines itself to reiteratesing the dual nature of gender mainstreaming at EU level, designed on the one hand to ensuringe equality between women and men in all policy areas and, on the other hand, targeted measures to curb discrimination against women, including awareness-raising campaigns, the exchange of best practices, dialogues with citizens and public-private partnership initiatives;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the importance of combating violence against women in achieving equality between women and men, therefore calls on the Member States and the Commission for a concerted action in the field; urges the Commission to consider possibilitie with a view to assessing the effectiveness of newthe measures adopted ton combating violence against women and, if need be, to consider adopting new measures;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Proposes that the Commission continue to consult the social partners on the possible approach of Community action for a better reconciliation of professional, private and family life with a view to improving and supplementing the existing framework and implementing the objectives of the Barcelona Council (2002);
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers overall women participation in decision-making on local, national and EU levels to be insufficientunrepresentative, therefore invites the Commission, the Member States and political parties to consider positive actions to improve the situation, not least by organising active citizenship campaigns and political activity familiarisation programmes;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is concerned about the lack of progress as regards the gender pay gap over the last few years; thus, urges the Commission and the Member sStates to evaluateassess the strategies and actions in this area and to establish, whetherre necessary, in cooperation with the social partners, any new measures, or new approaches in implementation of existing measures, mayto improve the situation; stresses the need for a concerted action, especially in the context of the new cycle of the European Strategy for Growth and Jobs and for common principles of flexicurity;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the role of employers in creating a modern work organisation and Member States in providing accessible, in terms of distance, and affordable quality services in order to allow a better reconciliation of professional and family life, an objective which social corporate responsibility initiatives help achieve;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned about the persistent mismatch between women's and men's education level on one hand, and the situation in the labour market on the other hand, where females earn lower wages, are in more insecure jobs and experience a slower career than males, while the education performance of women is better than that of men; urges the Commission and the Member States to explore the reasons and find solutions to this situation;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Commission and the Member States to take the appropriate measures to tackle stereotypes inat all levels of education, and employment and the mediao raise the awareness and participation of the media, civil society and the social partners in those efforts and to emphasise the role of men in promoting equality;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes the importance of women control over their sexual and reproductive rights in women empowerment; therefore supports measures and actions improving women's access to sexual and reenjoying equal access to health services and a high level of maternity produtective health services and raising their awareness of their rights and available serviceson at work, and being informed of their rights and the services available to them and how to avail themselves of these;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on Member States to pursue the objective of equal economic independencepay and professional development for women and men;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Member States to support the Commission in its monitoring of the implementation of national measures to assess respect for the principle of equality, particularly as regards legal entitlements and pension and social security regimes;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take further measures to improve women's access to and participation in the labour market, especially in sectors such as high-technology, research, science and engineering, in which they are still under-respresented, and the quality of employment of women, in particular by means of lifelong learning programmes conceived for that purposeand education programmes at every level; urges the Commission and Member States to make use of the European Structural Funds to achieve this;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay attention to the situation of helping spouses in agriculturespouses helping in sectors such as agriculture and fisheries and small family businesses, both from the gender equality perspective and taking into account the fact that women are in a more vulnerable position than men;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to develop the legal construct of shared ownership, in order to ensure full recognition of women'sthe rights in the agricultural sector,of helping spouses, their appropriate protection in the field of social security and pensions and recognition of their work;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Encourages the Member States to promote female entrepreneurship in the industrial sector and to provide financial support for women setting up companiesand vocational guidance structures for women setting up companies, as well as the appropriate training;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission and of the Member States to give priority to and to pay special attention to more vulnerable groups of women, in particular disabled women, women with dependants, elderly women, minority and immigrant women and women prisoners, and to develop targeted measures aimed at their needs;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 l (new)
Paragraph 6 l (new)
6l. Calls on the Commission to support cooperation and the development of partnerships between all the bodies involved in order to promote better reconciliation of professional, family and private life in the context of the European Alliance for Families.
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the consultation between the Commission and the social partners aiming at improving the legislative and non- legislative frameworks for reconciliation of professional, family and private lives; is also looking forward to an analysis of that consultation and to proposals originating from it, in particular proposals relating to maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave, adoption leave and, care for dependent leave and leave that could cover close family members, such as grandparents;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Points out that any policy on the reconciling of work and family life must be based on the principle of free personal choice and adapted to different life cycles;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. NotesPoints out that reconciliation of work, private and family lives is one of the keys to increasing participation in the labour market and quality of employment and calls on the Commission and the Council to gather and disseminate, not least within the framework of the European Alliance for Families, best practices which allow for an effective training period- and work- life balance at every level, and greater involvement of men in family life;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Urges the Member States to provide appropriate training in gender mainstreaming to officials responsible for implementing Community programmes at national, regional and local level;