Posts tagged Economic
Gender equality progress equals economic growth
0Progress in gender equality leads to economic growth, says EU report.
Improving equality between women and men is essential to the EU’s response to the current economic crisis, according to the European Commission’s latest annual report on gender equality. The report looks at progress over the past year in tackling the remaining gaps between women and men in employment, the economy and society in general. While some progress has been made in increasing the number of women in top jobs in business and in narrowing the gender pay gap, major challenges remain. EU countries need to get more women into the labour market if they are to meet the EU’s overall objective of 75% employment rate for all adults by 2020. One of the way’s of improving Europe’s competitiveness is to obtain better balance between women and men in economic decision-making positions. Studies have shown that gender diversity pays off and companies with higher percentages of women on corporate boards perform better than those with all-male boards.
“The economic case for getting more women into the workforce and more women into top jobs in the EU is overwhelming,” said Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. “We can only reach our economic and employment goals by making full use of all our human resources – both in the labour market as a whole and at the top. This is an essential part of our economic recovery plans.”
Today’s report on progress made during 2011 on equality between women and men is part of the Commission’s broader report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the past year (IP/12/370). It highlights the main developments at both national and European level across the five key areas in the EU’s overall gender equality strategy for 2010-2015, namely: the economy, equal pay, decision-making, gender-based violence and gender equality beyond the EU.
In the labour market, the employment rate for women is 62.1%, compared to 75.1% for men, meaning the EU can only reach the overall Europe 2020 target rate of 75% employment with a strong commitment to gender equality. Under the Europe 2020 strategy, the Commission has highlighted the need to promote a better work-life balance, in particular through adequate childcare, more access to flexible working arrangements, and by making sure tax and benefit systems do not penalise second earners (IP/11/685). These can all help to make sure more women enter and remain in the labour market.
The gender pay gap has narrowed slightly across the EU. On average, women earn 16.4% less than men for every hour worked. The gender pay gap is caused by multiple factors such as labour market segregation and differences in educational choices. The second European Equal Pay Day highlighted this issue and the potential solutions (IP/12/211). Slow progress in narrowing the gender gap in company boardrooms led the Commission to launch a public consultation on possible measures at EU level to address the problem, which risks holding back innovation and growth in Europe (IP/12/213).
Finally, the Commission took an important step towards the goal of ending gender-based violence by proposing a package of measures to strengthen the rights of crime victims (IP/11/585). This included a series of measures specifically aimed at helping women who fall victim to domestic violence.
Background
Promoting more equality in decision-making is one of the goals set out in the European Women’s Charter (see IP/10/237), which was initiated by President José Manuel Barroso and Vice-President Reding in March 2010. The Commission pursued these commitments by adopting a Gender Equality Strategy in September 2010 for the next five years (see IP/10/1149 and MEMO/10/430). The Strategy sets out a series of actions across four further areas in addition to equality in decision-making: equal economic independence; equal pay for work of equal value; dignity, integrity and ending gender-based violence; and gender equality in external policies.
A growing body of evidence points to significant economic benefits stemming from a better gender balance in economic decision-making. Having more women in top jobs can contribute to a more productive and innovative working environment and improved company performance overall. This bolsters competitiveness. Women account for 60% of new university graduates but few make it to the top of companies. Opening the door to senior positions acts as an incentive for women to enter and stay in the workforce, helping to raise female employment rates and making better use of women’s potential as human resources.
For more information: European Commission – DG Justice newsroom:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/index_en.htm
European Commission – Gender equality:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality
Video clip – gender pay gap:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/gender-pay-gap
Homepage of Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner:
Future pensions
0Economic dependency ratio, not retirement age, will determine future pension funding needs
Informal meeting of labour and social affairs ministers organised by the Polish presidency, 7-8 July, Sopot Poland.
"By far the most effective response to an ageing population in Europe is to make full use of available employment potential", noted Leila Kurki at an informal meeting of the ministers for labour and social affairs held on Thursday. Kurki is president of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship of the European Economic and Social Committee.
Kurki said, boosting employment among older people by making changes to pension systems, tightening pension conditions, weakening pension rights or raising the statutory retirement age would simply not work.
"It has to be borne in mind that future pension funding needs will not be determined by the demographic ratio (ratio of older people to people of working age); the decisive factor is rather trends in the economic dependency ratio, or in the ratio of people receiving benefits to people in employment."
"If the labour market participation rate of people of working age can be effectively increased across the EU over the next few decades, then it will be possible to contain the increase in the economic dependency ratio", said Kurki.
She pointed out that employment potential existed not just among young graduates, but also notably among the unemployed, older people, people with disabilities or health problems, migrants and underemployed people.
"Thus the issue with the employment market concerns not so much the supply of labour, but rather the lack of appropriate or adequate professional skills among workers and the negative attitude to certain categories of job-seeker, as well of course as the most serious problem of a lack of jobs."
Women represented considerable employment potential in many EU countries. "Flexible, personalised working-time arrangements would allow both women and men to more effectively reconcile work and family life". If the aim was to raise the retirement age, it was necessary to ensure that people were able and willing to work for longer.
"Jobs must be designed so that people are able to work at least up to the statutory retirement age." Kurki pointed out that this would entail radical changes in working life.
Work and management would have to be organised in a way that accommodated ageing at every stage of a person’s career. Working conditions and the working environment must be adapted to suit workers of different ages. Discrimination and negative value judgments against older workers must be combated.
Updating of professional skills and preventive healthcare were of key importance.
Guidelines for Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies, Ireland.
0HIQA publishes Guidelines for Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies, Ireland.
The Guidelines, while aimed primarily at health technologies, provide an economic assessment model that can be applied across the Irish health system.
The Guidelines will provide ‘value for money’ information to those making decisions about the allocation of health resources and will supply the evidence to support why decisions are made.
"The Authority’s Economic Guidelines show how to estimate the
cost-effectiveness of treatments, including relative cost-effectiveness
of alternatives where appropriate. In particular they can be used to
identify therapies that are worth providing and those that are not. ..more
