Activities of Maria da Graça CARVALHO related to 2019/2164(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers (debate)
Amendments (34)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020),
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 6 December2018 on ‘Gender Equality, Youth and Digitalisation’,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 10 June 2016 entitled ‘A New Skills Agenda for Europe: Working together to strengthen human capital, employability and competitiveness’ (COM(2016)0381),
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science of the United Nation on 11. February, in order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 8 October 2015 on the application of 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 occupation,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)
Citation 10 c (new)
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. Whereas policies targeted at increasing the participation of women in the fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and AI, and the adoption of a multi-level approach to address the gender gap in all levels of education and employment in the digital sector need to be further promoted;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the low numbersunderrepresentation of women who work in innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can negatively affect the design, development and implementation of these technologies, causing the replication of existing discriminatory practices and stereotypes, and the development of ‘gender-biased algorithms’;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas gender stereotypes constitute already during education a serious obstacle to equality between male and female students and further widen the gender gap in the STEM job sector, thus constituting a serious obstacle to equality between women and men;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. highlights that the full potential of women’s skills, knowledge and qualifications in the STEM, digital, AI and ICT (information, communication and technology) fields can contribute to boosting the European economy and supporting the goals defined in various EU policies and especially in the Green Deal;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Highlights that high level STEM skills are critical to the process of innovation in cutting-edge ICT areas such as AI or cybersecurity and will therefore be increasingly important to the competitiveness of the European Union in global markets;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to devise policy measures that fully incorporate the gender dimension, through awareness-raising campaigns, training and education curricula or career guidance;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to give full support to the European Commission’s initiatives in raising awareness on digital opportunities such as the “ no women, no panel” approach, the EU Code week, , the “Digital skills and Jobs coalitions”,the “EU prize for women’s innovators”, #SaferInternet4EU initiatives across Europe, and the skills Agenda for Europe”;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 and its action to ‘Encourage women’s participation in STEM’, and hopes that it will help to develop more attractive and creative ways to encourage girls to pursue STEM studies, as well as to boost women’s self- confidence in their digital skills; calling to use EU funds and programmes, including Erasmus+, to effectively support lifelong learning and training in STEM sectors as well as for gender equality to be duly incorporated in the future EU youth strategy and policies;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Underlines the importance of ensuring gender mainstreaming in STEM education at all levels, including in the extra-curricular,informal and non-formal education, also for the teaching staff; calls therefore for specific age appropriate strategies;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on educational entities to integrate the subjects of robotics, coding, ICT and programming more at an earlier stage in pre-school and primary education to encourage female students to take up mathematics and science subjects; calls to establish compulsory internships in STEM businesses during education;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls on educational entities to encourage girls to take up mathematics, coding, ICT classes and science subjects in schools;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Underlines the importance of female self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics becoming an integral part of female identity as soon as in pre-school and primary school, thus fighting harmful gender role stereotypes for girls and boys;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Emphasises the need for special funding programs for schools in rural areas as they are increasingly finding themselves without the funding for advanced technologies that many urban school districts take for granted; additionally calls for a better support for educators in rural school systems to tackle STEM curricula especially regarding training, tools, or infrastructure;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that male teachers and other male staff dominate STEM-related studies in schools and, later on, in universities and workplaces, leading to an absence of female role models and limited guidance and mentoring opportunities; encourages gender mainstreaming in primary, secondary and tertiary education, calls for a better career guidance and for new and creative ways to inspire female students to consider a STEM career path and urges the committees and institutions involved in recruitment to promote gender balance to avoid the ‘outsider effect’;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls as well for addressing the needs for financial education including financial-trials and the relation to the gender pension gap; highlights that teaching younger women on subjects such as the gender pay gap will pave the way for a future filled with financially- confident women;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up mentoring schemes with female role models in STEM within all levels of education;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets the fact that women face disproportionately more obstacles in their careers than men do, owing to the lack of a proper work-life balance and an increase in unpaid care work in most households; urges public and private institutions to establish better work-life balance policies and adequate measures to guarantee better maternity and significantly more and longer paternity leaves, flexible working hours, on-site childcare facilities or to promote telework; urges the Member States to fully transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive and calls on the Commission to monitor it effectively; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fully assess the causes and factors that lead to a high drop-out rate of women from STEM careers, and to develop mechanisms and programmes to integrate women and girls into education, training and employment initiatives;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Calls to provide incentives for companies supporting women for role models, mentoring programmes and career paths, and to increase the visibility of women and to promote their access to STEM sectors;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Calls to assess the reasons why women leave technical occupations and, if necessary, formulate recommendations for action to prevent this;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Highlights the relation between the gender gap and the pension gap; calls therefore on Member States to address both and narrow those and to take further steps to ensure that women have adequate access to education, the chance to attain economic independence and career progression opportunities;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. HConsiders that AI can significantly contribute to promote gender equality, provided that an appropriate legal framework is developed, that conscious and unconscious biases are eliminated; highlights that one of AI’s most critical weaknesses relates to certain types of biases such as gender, race or sexual orientation as a result of humans’ inherent biases; encourages the relevant actors to take action and promote a greater role for women in the design, development and implementation of machine learning, natural language processing and AI;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls for policies to unleash and support female’s entrepreneurial potential, as they remain an untapped source of economic growth, innovation and jobs creation;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets the fact that women are under-represented in innovation-driven business start-ups and highlights the gender biases and systemic disadvantages that exist in social structures, in particular in those at the intersection of STEM and entrepreneurship; also considers it to be of the utmost relevance to have more women role models and to increase the number of women in leadership positions in the STEM sector;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the leaky pipeline phenomenon for women in STEM, to fully assess the causes and factors that lead to a high drop out rate of women from STEM careers and to develop mechanisms and programmes to integrate women and girls into education, training and employment initiatives in the digital sector, and thus to adopt adequate policies and measures;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase financing opportunities for female start-up entrepreneurs and innovators through EU programmes, to loans and equity finance, to facilitate their access to existing funds, create special funds and look for new and innovative ways to financially support them and help them to overcome the barriers they face; calls to include the European Investment Bank in terms of access to microfinance as well;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. Recognises that awareness raising and information campaigns of EU funding possibilities are necessary to provide a tailored support for female business owners and female entrepreneurs;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20 b. Calls to further expand the European Business Angels Network and European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs, including through gatherings of female innovators, tech professionals and investors to encourage and boost innovations and funding for women-led ventures;