96 Amendments of Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ related to 2019/2169(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 a
Citation 1 a
- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights, in particular principles 2, 3, 6, 9 and 15 thereof,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
- having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) thereof, in particular goals 1, 5, 8 and 10 and their respective targets and indicators,
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 c (new)
Citation 1 c (new)
- having regard to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Equal Remuneration Convention of 1951, and to the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention of 2019,
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 d (new)
Citation 1 d (new)
- having regard to the Commission Recommendation of 7 March 2014 on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency2a, __________________ 2a OJ L 69, 8.3.2014, p. 112.
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 e (new)
Citation 1 e (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019,
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 f (new)
Citation 1 f (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s EU Action Plan on tackling the gender pay gap for 2017-2019 (COM(2017)0678),
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 g (new)
Citation 1 g (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s 2019 report on equality between women and men in the EU,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 h (new)
Citation 1 h (new)
- having regard to Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation3a and Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU 3b, __________________ 3a OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23. 3b OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, p. 79.
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 i (new)
Citation 1 i (new)
- having regard to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s Gender Equality Index, in particular the Index’s 2019 report,
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 j (new)
Citation 1 j (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 13 June 2019 on Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Key Policies and Measures,
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 k (new)
Citation 1 k (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 10 December 2019 on Gender-Equal Economies in the EU: The Way Forward,
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 l (new)
Citation 1 l (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on poverty: a gender perspective,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2018 on gender equality in the media sector in the EU,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 m (new)
Citation 1 m (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2017 on a European Pillar of Social Rights,
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 n (new)
Citation 1 n (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 o (new)
Citation 1 o (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2017 on women’s economic empowerment in the private and public sectors in the EU,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 26 February 2014 on sexual exploitation and prostitution and its impact on gender equality,
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 p (new)
Citation 1 p (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 16 November 2017 on combating inequalities as a lever to boost job creation and growth,
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 r (new)
Citation 1 r (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 30 January 2020 on the gender pay gap,
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 s (new)
Citation 1 s (new)
- having regard to the Commission Communication of 5 March 2020 on A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025,
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Citation 1 t (new)
Citation 1 t (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 15 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences,
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas gender equality is one of the common and fundamental principles of the European Union, enshrined in Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union, Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union expressly states that the Member States must ensure the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas economic independence is an essential requisite for the self- fulfilment of women and men and guaranteeing equal access to financial resources is critical to the process of achieving gender equality;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas across the EU, women receive disproportionately lower earnings than men; whereas according to the latest European Commission figures the EU gender gap in hourly pay is 15,7 % although this varies significantly across Member States; whereas the pay gender gap rises to 30,1% when employment rates and overall labour-market participation are considered; whereas while only 8% of men in the EU work part-time, almost a third of women across the EU (31%) does so because of various reasons, including stereotypes, structural reasons and societal expectations;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital A i (new)
Recital A i (new)
Ai. whereas the ramifications of the gender pay gap include a 37% gender gap in pension income, a situation that will persist for decades to come and an unequal level of economic independence between women and men with 1out of 5 women workers in the EU belong to the lowest wage group, compared to 1out of 10 men;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital A j (new)
Recital A j (new)
Aj. whereas failure to pay women equally limits their ability to attain economic independence and thus their ability to decide over their lives more independently; whereas the poverty rate among working women could decrease from 8,0% to 3,8% if women were paid the same as men according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research; whereas of the 5,6 million children in poverty today, 2,5 million would come out of poverty if the gender pay gap closed;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital A k (new)
Recital A k (new)
Ak. whereas pay transparency can play a crucial role in ensuring substantial progress in addressing the gender pay gap and fight inequalities and could help disclosing the systematic undervaluation and insufficient appreciation and remuneration of women’s work in the centre of the persistent gender pay inequalities; whereas pay transparency can furthermore support collective bargaining strategies to reduce unfair pay differentials, as well as tackle low pay in general;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Recital A l (new)
Recital A l (new)
Al. whereas the gender gap in gross monthly earnings among employees aged 15-24 years(7 %) was more than five times lower than among employees aged65 years or above (gender gap of 38 %) and shows today a clear earnings penalty when it comes to motherhood; whereas poverty is mostly concentrated in families where women are the sole earners with 35 % of lone mothers in the EU at risk of poverty, compared to 28 % of lone fathers in 20171a; __________________ 1a EIGE’s calculation, EU-SILC.
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the right to equal treatment is a defining fundamental right recognised in the European Union Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and essential for its further development;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Recital A n (new)
Recital A n (new)
An. whereas an intersectional approach is crucial to understanding the multiple discriminations which compound the gender pay gap for women with a combination of identities and the intersection of gender with other social factors; whereas more than half of women of working age with disabilities are economically inactive; whereas in all Member States the severe material deprivation rate of women with disabilities is higher than that of women without disabilities;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Recital A s (new)
Recital A s (new)
As. whereas, especially because of traditional stereotypes, women’s working life risks to be particularly affected by the sanitary measures adopted by Member States in response to the Covid-19 crisis;
Amendment 38 #
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 women face intersecting inequalities and discrimination, including those linked to their race, ethnic or social origin, sexual orientation, gender identities and expression, religion or belief and residence status; whereas advancing gender equality and investing in women and girls not only benefits the whole society but is a goal in itself; 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 40 #
Draft opinion
Recital A u (new)
Recital A u (new)
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Recital A v (new)
Recital A v (new)
Av. whereas the risk of poverty rises sharply along the life-course, pointing to the accumulating impact of pay inequalities; whereas poverty among those aged 75 years and above is consistently concentrated among women, due mainly to the impact of gendered unpaid care duties and women’s reduced time in work and/or lower earnings throughout their careers and resulting lower pensions received;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Recital A w (new)
Recital A w (new)
Aw. whereas psychological or sexual harassment at the workplace or harassment with important consequences on personal and professional aspirations is according to UN experienced by almost 35% of women worldwide and harm women’s self-esteem and their negotiation position for fairer remuneration; whereas fair remuneration and economic independence is an essential requisite for women’s ability to leave an abusive, violent relationship;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EU has adopted important legislation and provided key impulses to achieving gender equality; whereas, however, these efforts have slowed down in recent years, while movements opposing gender equality policies and women’s rights have flourished; whereas these movements are attempting to influence national and European policie trying to re-establish traditional gender roles as the norm, questioning the status quo and blocking further progress; whereas these movements opposing gender equality policies, family diversity, same-sex marriage, sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as gender mainstreaming, try to influence national and European policy-making and whereas threats to women’s rights mean always also threats to democracy and social and economic progress;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas violence against women in all its forms 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 gender-based violence in health like e.g. obstetric and gynaecological violence are forms of violence that only came to light in recent years and whereas violence against older women still remains largely under- recognized; 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 leading to public opposition and harmful political decisions in some Member States;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas trafficking in human beings is a growing part of organised crime and a human rights violation and concerns mostly women and children, especially for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
Amendment 73 #
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 complemented by further measures in order to involve more men in unpaid work and to foster the equal earner – equal carer model; whereas traditional structures, unpaid care work and disincentives in national taxation systems contribute to push or keep women in second earner status which has negative consequences for women and their economic independence as well as for the society as a whole;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates its call on the Commission to present a legal instrument on gender pay transparency as soon as possiblethe Gender Pay Transparency Directive as soon as possible and within the end of this year, given that it had been promised for the first 100 days; furthermore calls on the Commission to not put in question its urgency in the current crisis that will result in even deeper gender inequalities and discrimination in the labour market;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses further that the responsibility lies in large extend with employers themselves and calls on the European Commission and the Member States to introduce measures obliging all employers, in both public and private sectors, to adopt full pay transparency policies and practices, such as pay audits, annual gender equality action plans and their monitoring, and gender-neutral criteria for job evaluation, as well providing effective access to justice and setting penalties and sanctions for employers that violate the right to pay equality;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Believes that for the future Pay Transparency Directive to bring about real change it must also empower workers and their unions to collectively bargain for positive action and progress and that it is essential that collective bargaining is supported so that it can play its essential role to effectively implement the principle of equal pay; calls on the Commission to promote the role of collective bargaining and to strengthen the right to negotiate and conclude collective agreements at all levels (national, sectoral, local and company) in the future pay transparency legislation;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Calls on the Member States to strengthen their efforts to eliminate the gender pay gap by rigorously enforcing the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, not only through legislation and measures to combat salary discrimination but also by restoring, promoting and defending collective bargaining, and exchanging best practices; calls, furthermore, for measures that tackle vertical and horizontal segregation in employment and discriminatory practices in decisions concerning recruitment and promotion; calls for measures that increase social protection in the fields of maternity, unemployment, sickness (including diseases affecting exclusively women), workplace accidents and occupational diseases;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt measures to fight against the phenomenon of glass ceiling, such as extensive parental leave, access to high quality, affordable childcare, and the elimination of every form of direct and indirect discrimination linked to promotions in the labour market;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the participation of women in the labour market does not secure their equal participation in decision-making and therefore limits women’s potential to change economic, political, social and cultural structures; whereas gender quotas, zipper list systems and sanctions have proven to be efficient measures to secure parity and to work against unequal power relations;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, including gender equality, is a pre- requisite for the creation and distribution of diverse cultural and educational expressions as all cultural and creative sectors have a considerable influence on our beliefs, values and perception of gender issues;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the feminisation of poverty in all its forms, particularly by factoring gender into pension entitlements in order to eliminate the gender pension gap, and by improving working conditions in feminised sectors; points out the importance of addressing the cultural undervaluation of jobs dominated by women and the overrepresentation of women in atypical forms of work; underlines the fundamental role of women as care givers in the family, towards children but especially towards elderly, and urges Member States to legally recognise it, also through pension entitlements; emphasises the need to strengthen collective bargaining in order to foster stable and quality employment;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas women and girls face a number of obstacles in the field of sports and are not only subject to violence, but also face pay, prize money and work condition discrimination and are widely underrepresented in boards of sport organisations and media;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission and the Member State to pay particular attention to the gender dimension when designing and implementing measures to cope with the Covid-19 crisis in order to protect women during and after crisis, in particular to avoid women being forced to leave their job at the advantage of domestic and family care and to help them balance family and (tele-)work obligations, to support them at their workplace, to protect them against domestic violence, to ensure that that they are not left behind in the recovery and in getting back into work, and to avoid the surge in gender inequalities;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the Covid-19 pandemic underlined once more persistent inequalities showing women are the most vulnerable and at the same time the most vital to maintaining public life, essential services and recovery; whereas women are affected the most, immediately and for the long-term; whereas specific measures to counterbalance this are needed; whereas recovery programs or transition funds should not be only directed towards male dominated economic sectors; whereas austerity policies have proven harmful for women, women’s rights and gender equality in the past;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the impact of climate change is experienced differently by women, as they are more vulnerable and face higher risks and burdens for various reasons ranging from unequal access to resources, education, job opportunities and land rights to social and cultural norms and their diverse intersectional experiences; whereas gender equality and the inclusion of women in decision-making is a prerequisite for sustainable development and the efficient management of climate challenges in order to achieve a fair and just transition that leaves no one behind; whereas all climate action must include a gender- and an intersectional perspective; whereas opportunities must be created to facilitate women playing stronger roles in the climate change discussions and decisions as leaders, professionals and technical agents for change;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Highlights the tireless and admirable work of frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as of essential workers working to maintain public life and services and to guarantee access to essential goods; stresses that 70 % of the global health and social workforce are women, often only paid the minimum wage and in precarious working conditions; calls therefore on the Commission to present an assessment of the working and employment conditions and quality employment of frontline and essential workers before the end of the year, identifying the sources of their precariousness and to propose European legal instruments to ensure decent working conditions for all workers including in particular essential workers, strengthening their collective agreement coverage and giving them the just recognition they deserve;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Is concerned that changes in labour conditions such as physical and psychological impacts of teleworking, the right to disconnect, the surveillance of work, and the intensification of work are accelerating due to the COVID-19 crisis, with women being affected far more than men due to their predominant or still traditional role of home and family caretakers; calls therefore on the Commission to come forward with a gender-sensitive legislative proposal on the Right to Disconnect, as well as the Directive on Mental Well-being at the Workplace aiming at recognizing anxiety, depression and burn-out as occupational diseases, establish mechanisms for prevention and reintegration of affected employees into the workforce, and to facilitate the adoption of an EU legal instrument that will protect workers from mental diseases at the workplace;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas access to comprehensive and age-appropriate information, and to sexuality and relationship education, as well as access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, are essential to achieving gender equality and rights, including family planning, contraceptive methods and safe and legal abortion, are essential to achieving gender equality and eliminating gender-based violence; whereas girls’ and women’s autonomy and ability to free and independent decisions about their body’s and lives is a precondition for their economic independence and thus for gender equality and elimination of gender-based violence;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to invest in and promote a strong and widespread system of quality public and private services to improve work-life balance; to extend and modernise the existing care and educational services for children so that women do not have to choose between family and participation in the labour market, to financially invest in a women- friendly welfare state according to the Barcelona Targets;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas gender-disaggregated data is essential to make inequalities visible and create targeted policies, but is still lacking in different areas of EU and Member States policies; whereas gender sensitive data is crucial in artificial intelligence and similar developments in order to create non-biased, non- discriminatory and ethically sound AI, algorithms etc.;
Amendment 156 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to introduce effective and binding measures to define and prohibit violence and harassment in the world of work, including having effective access to gender-responsive, safe and effective complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms, support, services and remedies and requiring employers to take steps to prevent violence and harassment including gender-based violence and harassment;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the adoption of the Commission communication entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’, delivered on time within the first 100 days of the new Commission, as a strong sign for political engagement with European gender equality policies and as a decisive, clear and ambitious policy framework to counter attacks on women’s rights and gender equality; supports the Commission’s goal of an European Union without discrimination and structural inequalities for all people in all their diversity; underlines the importance of the chosen dual approach, consisting of targeted measures and the consistent application of gender mainstreaming and intersectionality as cross-cutting principles, and welcomes the strong link between the areas of work and the elimination of stereotypes, gender biases and discrimination and calls for strong monitoring mechanisms in order to regularly measure and evaluate the success of the strategy and its measures;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Reminds that, in line with the intersectional approach, particular attention concerning access to work has to be granted to those categories encountering multiple discriminations; calls therefore on the Member States and the Commission to collect disaggregated data to better measure and monitor progress in closing the gender pay gap, paying particular attention to groups experiencing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and to remove all barriers to access to work for migrant women (also through a revision of the system of recognition of professional qualifications) and disabled women (in particular by removing all physical and technical barriers), ethnic-minority and Roma women, older women, single mothers and LGBTIQ people;
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls for the immediate revision and an ambitious new Gender Pay Gap Action Plan by the end of 2020, which should set clear targets for the Member States to reduce the gender pay gap over the next five years and ensure that such targets are taken account of in the country specific recommendations; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the factors leading to the pension gap under the Action Plan, and to assess the need for specific measures to reduce this gap at EU and national level; highlights, in particular, the need to include an intersectional perspective in the new Action Plan;
Amendment 175 #
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 concrete timeframes and additional targeted actions, as well as guidelines on how to implement the intersectional approach effectively; calls in particular for clear timeframes with regards to the development of a new framework for the cooperation of internet platforms, the new EU strategy on the eradication of trafficking in human beings, the gender equality strategy in the audio-visual industry (as part of the MEDIA sub- programme) and the EU-wide communication campaign combatting gender stereotypes;
Amendment 181 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the European Commission to involve social partners in developing the new policies to close gender pay gap; calls in this context on social partners to engage in discussions and work together to address the pay gap also through positive action measures, as well as collaborate with civil society organisations in order to strongly engage public opinion since closing gender pay gap is a mainstreaming and universal priority, which will increase workers’ motivation productivity and well-being at the work-place;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the Commission’s plan to continue pushing for the EU-wide ratification of the Istanbul Convention; underlines, in this context, the need for specific measures to address the existing disparities between Member Statesin laws, policies and services between Member States and the increase of violence during the Covid-19 pandemic; draws attention, however, to the fact that several attempts to convince reluctant Member States have already failed and Hungary’s government recently decided not to ratify the Convention at all; warmly welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s intention to propose measures in 2021 to achieve the objectives of the Istanbul Convention if the EU’s accession remains blocked; calls for starting preparatory actions fonow in order theo launch of additional legally binding measures to eliminate violence against women; very much welcomes the planned extension of definitions of areas of particularly serious crime under Article 83(1) of the TFEU, but calls for the inclusion of alland an EU-directive to prevent and combat gender-based violence, including cyber violence and online hate speech against women as soon as possible; welcomes the initiative extending the areas of crime to specific forms of gender-based violence, in order to take a proactive approach and lay the groundwork for an EU directive on this issueaccordance with Article 83(1) TFEU;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the plan to table an additional recommendation on the prevention of harmful practices, and to launch an EU network on the prevention of both gender-based and domestic violence; requests that the definitions and goals of the Istanbul Convention be applied and that women’s rights and civil society organisations be involved on a continuous basis; highlights the importance of the engagement of local and regional governments in this process; underlines the role of education, including boys’ and men’s, and calls for countering toxic masculinity in this regard;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the scope and impact of violence and harassment in the workplace; points out that informal carers, domestic workers and farm workers in particular lack protection and visibility 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; and to ensure that complaint mechanisms are independent, confidential and accessible for all women without discrimination and specific measures are provided to protect complainants from employer retaliation and repeated victimisation; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to adopt, as employer, a new comprehensive legal framework with a set of preventive and reactive measures against harassment in the workplace;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. emphasises the need to recognise and combat all types of violence and harassment in the educational system, schools, universities, traineeships, programmes for professional development and all others, across the whole sector;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the proposed specific measures to tackle cyber violence often directed at women daring to speak out, like activists, women politicians and other public figures being used in order to silence women and shut them out of male dominated public life; calls for binding legislative measures to combat these forms of violence and to support Member States in the development of training tools for the police force, the justice system and the information and communication technology sector;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the Commission to present the long-awaited EU strategy on the eradication of trafficking in human beings and underlines the need for a clear gender focus, as women and girls are the most affected and are trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation; thus requests that the strategy looks closely at the situation of women in prostitution and the impact of cross-border prostitution; highlights the important role and work of the EU-Anti- Trafficking Coordinator and underlines the importance to continue this work in the future; insists on the importance of including measures and strategies to reduce demand like for example the so-called Nordic Model;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the revision of the Barcelona targets to ensure free, accessible and high- quality childcare; calls for financial support for and the sharing of best practices among Member States which have not yet achieved the targets; welcomes, furthermore, the development of guidance for Member States on tackling financial disincentives in relation to social, economic and taxation policies; underlines the goal of equal carers and equal earners which needs to be at the heart of these efforts and welcomes, in this context, as a first step the work-life-balance directive;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses the importance of accessible, affordable, quality and inclusive early childhood education and care in particular for young mothers in giving them the opportunity to work and/or to study; recalls in this respect the principle eleven of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 281 #
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 which can be a useful tool to detect gaps and discrimination in the same sector; points out, however, that the issue of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value across different occupational sectors still needs to be addressed to cover differences in pay for work which may not seem comparable at first sight and is performed in sectors that are highly gendered, which often results in lower wages being attributed to sectors which mostly employ women, such as nursing, care, retail, sales and the education sector, compared to, e.g., the manufacturing sector or technical professions highly dominated by men; 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 account 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 that gender-neutral job evaluation tools and classification criteria need to be developed for this purpose in close cooperation with the social partners;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Highlights that 70 % of the global health and social workforce are women, often only paid the minimum wage and in precarious working conditions, and calls for the levelling up of wages and working conditions in strongly female-dominated sectors like care, health and retail sales, as well as the eradication of the gender pay and pension gap and labour market segregation;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Stresses that gender pay gap in the media sector is high and female journalists are more likely than men to face harassment, violence, sexism, discrimination; recalls the second chapter of the European Pillar of Social Rights on fair working conditions; therefore calls on Member States to safeguard the right to fair and safe working conditions of all workers in media sector;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the support for gender parity in elected bodies such as the European Parliament and calls for the introduction of a binding quota and stresses that it must serve as a role model in this regard; welcomes furthermore the European Commission’s announcement to lead by example with regards to management positions and calls for strategies to guarantee a meaningful representation of women from diverse backgrounds in decision-making roles in the European Commission;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes that the film industry is one of the highest segments of cultural and creative sectors with considerable cultural, social and economic weight and that film is a powerful medium that both reflects and shapes society and culture; regrets that women are severely under- represented in key creative positions in the film industry across Europe, including directing, even though an almost equal number of women and men graduate from film schools; therefore recommends that Member States keep close attention to the processes producing inequalities within the whole sector and thus further contributing to the unequal position of women, girls and LGBTIQ persons and calls on Member States to develop and implement policies to eradicate persisting inequalities within the whole audio-visual sector in order to prevent a further decline of the opportunities for women and girls;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls upon the Member States to promote and develop policies within the performing arts sector which will respect the value of equal opportunities as well as gender equality in all activities with an emphasis of derogating the negative effects of the long lasting disparities and inequalities such as the gender divide across the music sector where it is roughly 70% male to 30% female across all regions and in Europe, women representing 20% or less of registered composers and songwriters, on average earn 30% less than men working within the sector, compose only 2.3% of classical works performed at concerts and own only 15% of record labels;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls upon the Member States to promote and develop policies within the sports sector to fight the especially high pay and prizemoney discrimination, violence against women and girls in sports and to also ensure that more women in sports (players, managers, etc.) are included in media representation and in deciding positions of sport organisations; calls on the European Commission to include the aspect of sports into the planned campaign against gender stereotypes;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Regrets the underrepresentation of women in the ICT sector, and points out the risk of this reinforcing and reproducing stereotypes and gender bias through the programming of AI and other programs; highlights the possible negative impacts of digitalisation on women and girls and calls for gender mainstreaming in all of Europe’s digital policies; calls for technologies and AI to be transformed into tools in the fight to eradicate gender stereotypes and to empower girls and women to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and ICT fields of study and to stay on these career paths;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Underlines the importance of access and development of digital skills for older women, women in rural areas and women and girls in disadvantaged positions with limited access to new technologies in order to remain connected to the active life and to facilitate the keeping of contact with friends and relatives;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Reiterates the importance of gender mainstreaming as a systematic approach to achieving gender equality underlines therefore its importance to be part of any solution to any challenge the EU and its Member States are confronted with like the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impact; welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s newly established task force on equality; underlines the importance of transparency and the involvement of women’s rights and civil society organisations from diverse backgrounds; urges the Commission to incorporate provisions making the consideration of inputs from the task force compulsory for Directorates- General;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Highlights the important work of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) for the aim of achieving gender equality and underlines the need for its continuous and adequate funding;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges that gender mainstreaming be incorporated into EU environmental and climate policies, such as the Green Deal, that financial and institutional support, gender expertise and strong policy measures to encourage the equal participation of women in decision-making bodies and national- and local-level climate policy be guaranteedaction is vital for achieving long- term climate justice, and that recognition and support be given to women and girls as agents for change;
Amendment 372 #
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 women; underlines the negative consequences of failing to incentivise women’s employment and their economic independence and draws attention to the high gender pension gap resulting from joint taxation; stresses that tax systems should no longer be based on the assumption that households pool and share their funds equally; underlines the impact of period poverty on many European women due to expensive menstrual hygiene products and high levels of taxation of these in many Member States and thus urges the European Commission and the Member States to take action against this indirective tax discrimination and period poverty;
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls for the EU’s recovery fund to be dedicated to women and their economic recovery, too; therefore calls the funding to be based on a measurable gender mainstreaming principle through which a fair, adequate and coherent distribution of funding can be guaranteed, in order to meet the actual needs of women and to contribute to gender equality; furthermore asks for a special women corona fund supporting the fight in main areas against persisting inequalities like violence against women, access to sexual and reproductive health and rights and women in the labour market; stresses the need to advance on a gender sensitive budget in order to make sure women do not loose investment opportunities or funds;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reiterates the need for a regular exchange between Member States and the Commission on gender aspects in health, including guidelines for comprehensive sex and relationship education, gender- sensitive responses to epidemics and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); calls on the Commission to include SRHR in its next EU Health Strategy, and to support Member States in providing high- quality and low-threshold access to healthcare services; calls on the Member States to effectively guarantee safe, timely and full access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the necessary healthcare services for all women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic and possible other crisis situations in the future;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Highlights that the current Covid- 19 pandemic showed clear differences between women and men with regards to the mortality rate which underlines once more the importance of gender-specific medicine and research; calls on the Commission to support such research and share and promote its results;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls on the Commission to support research on non-hormonal contraception for women, providing them with more alternatives as well as to support research on contraceptives for men, aiming to provide for equality in access to and use of contraceptives as well as shared responsibility;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Calls on the Commission to assist Member States in the establishment of university chairs in gender studies and feminist research and to develop education tools for gender sensitive education in order to tackle stereotypes from an early age on; calls on the Commission to help sharing best practices in the field of sexist advertisement;
Amendment 405 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Demands support for women’s rights defenders and women’s rights organisations in the EU and worldwide; underlines as well their financial difficulties resulting from the current crisis and calls for increased funding in order to sufficiently fund their continuous work; calls for continuous monitoring of the state of play in relation to women’s rights and disinformation on gender equality policies in all Member States and for an alarm system to highlight regression informing the Commissioner for Equality, the Commissioner for Demography and Democracy and the President of the Commission; calls on the Commission to support studies analysing the impact of attacks and disinformation campaigns on women’s rights and, gender equality as well as on democracy, and calls on the Commission to analyse their root causes, developing fact checks and counter- narratives;
Amendment 415 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls for coherence between and the mutual reinforcement of the EU’s internal and external policies on the principles of gender mainstreaming and gender equality, countering gender stereotypes and norms, as well as harmful practices and discriminatory laws, through external relations; highlights in this regard in particular the EU’s trade policies, development cooperation and human rights policies;
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Welcomes the renewed commitment to women’s and girls’ rights and the reference to the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular to SDG 5 as a key framework for the Gender Equality Strategy;
Amendment 428 #
21. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to ensuring the inclusion of a specific chapter on trade and gender equality in the modernised Association Agreement with Chile, and to promoting and supporting the inclusion of such chapters in all further EU trade and investment agreements building on existing international examples;
Amendment 432 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Reiterates its continuous support for the work of the Commission in this field;