2013/2156(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)

- having regard to Council Directive 2006/54/EC 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 (recast)1, __________________ 1 OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p.23.

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 e (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2011 on the face of female poverty in the European Union1, __________________ 1 Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0086.

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H h (new)

Hh. whereas the 2012 report on the implementation of the EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Development 2010-2015 was published in November 2012;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H h (new)

Hh. whereas in many sectors, including those in which women predominate, there is still a glass ceiling that prevents women from reaching higher positions, especially top management positions; whereas this discrimination takes the form, inter alia, of underestimation of their skills and their work, and the unequal division of resulting professional responsibilities;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H i (new)

Hi. whereas 31 gender mainstreaming initiatives were implemented in 2013 in various countries (including Bulgaria, Estonia, Denmark and Spain), notably including studies examining the impact of the crisis on women’s lives;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H i (new)

Hi. whereas the underrepresented gender on the boards of large listed companies in the EU, mostly women, must have a minimum of 40% representation by 1 January 2020; whereas, according to the Commission, women only accounted for 16.6% of the members of such boards in April 2013 and 11.8% in October 2010;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April 2012 between UN Women and the EU, reaffirming the partnership between the two organisations and their commitment to promote and support capacity development for the inclusion of gender mainstreaming in all policies and programmes and to ensure that national plans and budgets are sufficient to implement gender equality commitments1. __________________ 1 Memorandum of Understanding between the European Union and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).deleted

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April 2012 between UN Women and the EU, reaffirming the partnership between the two organisations and their commitment to promote and support capacity development for the inclusion of gender mainstreaming in all policies and programmes and to ensure that national plans and budgets are sufficient to implement gender equality commitments1. __________________ 1 ~~Memorandum of Understanding between the European Union and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)~~http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/who/partne rs/international- organisations/documents/un- woman_en.pdf.

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas poverty is increasing, with 26 % of women being considered at risk of poverty in the EU 27, against 23.9 % of men1; __________________ 1 Source: EUROSTAT

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. Whereas on average 3 in 10 households in the European Union are single-person households, the majority of them comprising women living alone, particularly elderly women, and the percentage is rising; whereas these households are more vulnerable and more at risk of poverty, in particular at times of economic adversity; whereas single- person or single-income households in most Member States are treated unfavourably, both in absolute and relative terms, with regard to taxation, social security, housing, health care, insurance and pensions; whereas public policies should not penalise people for – voluntarily or involuntarily – living alone;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas there has been little progress over the past decade regarding correcting the gender balance in political decision- making, with the EU average improving by just 4 percentage points, 22% in 2003 to 26% in 20121; __________________ 1 European Commission Report on Progress on equality between men and women 2012 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender- equality/files/swd_2013_171_en.pdf

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 f (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 17 June 2010 on gender aspects of the economic downturn and financial crisis1, __________________ 1 OJ C 236 E, 12.08.2011, p.79.

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas violence against women is a prime obstacle to equality between women and men, is a violation of the fundamental rights of women and remains the most widespread violation of human rights despite measures taken by politicians to counter it; whereas economic recession also spawns increased violence in close relationships, and austerity measures affecting support services leave women who are victims of violence even more vulnerable than usual;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas an important role can be played by the media not just in disseminating stereotypes, degrading the image of women, and hypersexualising young girls, but also in overcoming gender stereotypes, promoting the participation of women in decision- making and promoting gender equality;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas a new Memorandum of Understanding between the European Union and UN Women was signed in April 2012 with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two institutions to promote women's empowerment and gender equality throughout the world; whereas its priorities include ensuring better representation of women in economic, political and judicial decision- making, providing greater professional and social prospects for women, and combatting sexual and gender-based violence;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation, in which the vast majority of victims are women and girls, is an unacceptable violation of human rights and is a modern form of slavery;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas women and young girls are the main victims of human trafficking;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)

Ic. whereas the right to health, particularly sexual and reproductive health, is a fundamental right that all women should be guaranteed, regardless of their social status, age, sexual orientation, origin, legal status or ethnicity;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)

Ic. whereas violence against women, whether physical, sexual or psychological, is a direct attack on their fundamental rights and a violation of human rights; whereas such violence knows no geographic, economic, social or cultural borders;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)

Id. whereas women in rural areas suffer more from multiple discrimination and gender stereotypes than women in urban areas and the employment rate of women in rural areas is much lower than that of women in cities; whereas, in addition, a lot of women are never active in the official labour market and, therefore, are neither registered as unemployed nor included in unemployment statistics, which leads to particular financial and legal problems in relation to the right to maternity and sick leave, the acquisition of pension rights and access to social security, as well as problems in the event of divorce;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)

Id. whereas in some cases the media, across all sectors, tend to convey gender stereotypes, thereby even portraying a demeaning image of women;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)

Ie. whereas many women, such as women with disabilities, women caring for children or other dependents, elderly women, women from ethnic minorities immigrant women and women with little or no education suffer from multiple and multisectoral discrimination and are more vulnerable to social exclusion, poverty and extreme human rights violations;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 g (new)

- having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)

Ie. whereas the collection of statistical data on inequality between the sexes is a priority to combat the causes that prevent gender equality being achieved in the European Union;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)

If. whereas positive actions aimed at women have proved to be fundamental for their full incorporation in the labour market, in decision-making and in society in general;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Recognises that the European Union is guilty of meddling and "mission creep" in its determination to impose ever more social legislation and employment laws on the Member States, and stresses that social legislation and employment law are best proposed and developed by individual Member States at their local or national level as to cater to the specific needs and requirements of their demos;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a(new)

-1a. Notes that part-time work has increased during the crisis and continues to be the most common form of employment for women (32.1 % in 2012, up from 30.8 % in 2007 and that involuntary part-time work has also increased and in 2012, accounting for 24 % of overall female part-time employment (against 20 % in 2007); __________________ 1 Source: SWD82013)171 final.

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Notes that the current crisis has had a particular impact on young people, with the unemployment rate for under-25s standing at 22 % (10.7 % women, 10.6 5 men) in September 20121; __________________ 1 Source: Eurostat 155/2012, 31 October 2012.

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that the standard of living of most Europeans continues to decline, particularly in the case of women, for whom the unemployment rate in the EU27 stood at 10.8 % in the last quarter of 20121. __________________ 1 Source: SWD82013)171 final.

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that flexible working hours should be the worker’s decision, and should not be imposed or enforced by the employer; rejects situations of flexibility and contractual uncertainty that do not provide for family formation and stability;deleted

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that flexible working hours should be the worker’s decision, and should not be imposed or enforced by the employer, and supports the model of weekly working hours and teleworking over daily working hours in order to encourage self-managed flexibility; rejects situations of flexibility and contractual uncertainty that do not provide for family formation and stability;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)

- having regard to European Directives since 1975 on the different aspects of equal treatment for men and women (Directive 2010/41/EU, Directive 2010/18/EU, Directive 2006/54/EU, Directive 2004/113/EC, Directive 92/85/EEC, Directive 86/613/EEC and Directive 79/7/EEC),

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that flexible working hours should be the worker’'s decision, and should not be imposed or enforced by the employer; ~~rejects situations of flexibility and contractual uncertainty that do not provide for family formation and stability;~~calls on Member States and employers to enable working to have flexible working hours and working places:

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Points out that the experience of previous crises shows that the male employment rate generally recovers more quickly than that for women;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to encourage dialogue with social partners to look into issues such as transparency of payment, part-time and fixed-term contract conditions for women, encouraging women's participation in "green" and innovative sectors;

Amendment 133 #

Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on Member States to invest in affordable, high-quality facilities for the care of children, the sick, the disabled, the elderly and other dependent persons, making sure that they have flexible opening times compatible with full-time working days and are accessible so that as many people as possible can combine professional with family and private life; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that men and women caring for children or other dependents receive recognition through dependency allowances and by giving them individual social security and pension rights; invites the social partners to present specific initiatives to validate the skills acquired during a care-related leave period;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls for the adoption of the necessary measures to promote higher employment rates among women, such as affordable care and childcare, adequate maternity, paternity and parental leave schemes and flexibility in working hours and places of work, which will make it possible to reconcile their private and working lives;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to pay more attention to ensuring that European directives on the equal treatment of women and men are properly applied by all Member States;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that whilst there has been a trend towards a reduction in gender inequalities on the labour market following the crisis in terms of the gaps in employment and unemployment rates, this reduction is not the result of Europe suddenly making progress towards greater parity, but rather the consequence of a rapid fall in male employment which has been more affected by the crisis; calls on the Member States to maintain their efforts to achieve better representation of women in decision-making processes, to improve the work-life balance, and to continue to combat violence against women;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Stresses the fact that, despite unemployment rates for men and women being comparable, the crisis affects women differently; points out that working conditions for women have become considerably more insecure, especially with the increasing prevalence of atypical forms of contract, and that women’s incomes have fallen significantly thanks to a number of factors, including the persistent wage gap which stood at 16.2 % in the EU in 2011 and over 20 % in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Greece, with the resultant inequality in their respective levels of unemployment benefit and pensions and the feminisation of poverty. __________________ 1 Source: Progress on equality between women and men 2012 – A Europe 2020 initiative.

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls on the Council to break the deadlock on the adoption of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to look into the possibility of introducing electronic voting from home or proxy voting, so that MEPs on sick leave, particularly those on maternity leave or on paternity or parental leave, can fulfil their electoral duties;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)

- Aa. whereas equality between women and men is a fundamental right enshrined in the Treaty on European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas the objectives of the European Union in this field are to ensure equal opportunities and treatment for men and women and, in addition, to combat all discrimination based on sex;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Member States to strengthen and ensure the full use of collective bargaining in the private and public sectors ~~as an irreplaceable instrument with which~~ to regulate labour relations, combat wage discrimination and promote equality;

Amendment 142 #

Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Member States to strengthen and ensure the full use of collective bargaining in the private and public sectors as an irreplaceable instrument with which to regulate labour relations, combat wage discrimination and promote equalityExpects the Commission to take all the measures at its disposal to enforce all aspects of EU directives on equal treatment for men and women, including by the social partners who negotiate collective agreements;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Encourages Member States to promote measures and actions to assist and advise women who decide to become entrepreneurs;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Draws attention to the need to strengthen public mechanisms for labour inspection and to adopt methodologies able to measure the value of work and, for example, identify the existence of low- paid forms of work where the workforce is mainly female and which create situations of indirect wage discrimination;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the role of collective negotiation and bargaining in combating discrimination against women, especially regarding access to employment, payment, conditions of work, career development and training;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the fact that, despite unemployment rates for men and women being comparable, the crisis has affected women differently; points out that working conditions for women have become considerably more insecure, especially with the increasing prevalence of atypical forms of contract, and that women’s incomes have fallen significantly thanks to a number of factors, including the persistent wage gap between men and women and the resultant inequality in their respective levels of unemployment benefit and pensions, the rise in compulsory part-time working, and the rise in the number of temporary or fixed-term jobs to the detriment of more stable employment; points out that the experience of previous crises shows that the male employment rate generally recovers more quickly than that for women, and expresses concern that the budget cuts will exacerbate the problem, as women will be disproportionately affected; calls on Member States’ governments as well as on social partners to draw up an action plan and concrete, ambitious targets, and that they assess the gender impact of the economic and financial crisis through gender equality impact assessments;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Urges the Member States to include a gender perspective in the cohesion policy for 2014-2020 in order to meet the objectives set by the 2020 strategy; calls, in particular, for a commitment by the EU to ensure equality between women and men and its mainstreaming in all EU and Member State policies; notes that some measures above all require the mobilisation of genuine political will, which has so far been lacking in creating sustainable, inclusive, fair and equal conditions for men and women;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Member States to combat all forms of precarious employment, in line with the principle that permanent jobs should involve proper employment contracts;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Notes that equal participation by men and women in the labour market could significantly increase the economic potential of the EU, while confirming its fair and inclusive nature; points out that, according to OECD projections, total convergence in participation rates would result in a 12.4% increase in per capita GDP by 2030;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)

-Aa. whereas equality between women and men is a fundamental principle of the European Union, recognised in the Treaty on European Union and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Calls on the Member States to adopt active employment policies which promote the grade and quality of jobs and net job creation;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Points out that, in December 2012, the Commission recognised that youth policies (the Youth Employment Package and the Youth Guarantee) need to be pursued according to a gender mainstreaming approach; urges the Commission to give greater encouragement to Member States to adopt measures ensuring that the education and vocational training prospects for girls are the same as those for boys;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Calls on the Member States to develop specific measures targeted at the long- term unemployed, essentially focussing on professional training and swift reintegration into the job market;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Calls on the Member States to respect the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work of equal value’ and to strengthen public mechanisms for labour inspection and the adoption of methodologi~~Notes that, for all the progress made in reducing gender pay gaps, wage inequalities are still substantial, not to say increasing, in some Member States; urges the Commission and the Member States to ~~mea~~ensure th~~e value of work in the production chain and to identify, for example, the creation within companies of semi-skill~~at the fundamental principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ is observed for ~~unskilled wage categories mainly made up of women~~women and men alike;

Amendment 154 #

Minodora CLIVETI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that women in general have careers without spectacular developments; calls on the Member States to encourage and support women to have successful careers, creating adequate conditions and having equal opportunities with men regarding the promotion at the workplace;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to increase the participation of women in the labour market as well as to fight gender segregation in the labour market as the future economic prosperity of the EU depends crucially on its ability to fully utilise its labour resources;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Points out that women workers performing jobs of similar skill, effort and responsibility to those performed by men should have equal opportunities at all ages for training, advancement, re- skilling and re-training, as well as pension rights and unemployment benefits that are equal to those applicable to men;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Reiterates that Directive 2006/54/EC, in its current form, is not sufficiently effective to tackle the gender pay gap and achieve the objective of gender equality in employment and occupation; urges the Commission to revise Directive 2006/54/EC without delay and to propose amendments to it in accordance with Article 32 of the Directive and on the basis of Article 157 TFEU, following the detailed recommendations set out in the annex to the Parliament’s resolution of 24 May 2012;

Amendment 158 #

Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Emphasises that reducing gender inequalities, including by closing the gender pay gap, will bring benefits not only for women but also for society as a whole, and insists that closing the gender pay gap should not be seen as a cost but as an investment; in this respect, points out that according to the European Added Value Assessment conclusions, a one- percentage-point decrease in the gender pay gap will increase economic growth by 0.1 %, which means that closing the gender pay gap is of crucial importance in the current economic downturn;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to reward with a distinctive symbol those enterprises which obtain corporate equality status as a result of good practices.

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A b (new)

- Ab. whereas despite the progress made in this field many inequalities still exist between men and women, whether in terms of women's rights as human rights, career, employment and pay prospects, access to education and health services, or participation in the economy, decision- making or political representation;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to do their utmost to narrow the gender pay gap; urges the Commission and Council to make girls more interested in growth sectors in which women are underrepresented, to help them enter such sectors and to provide them with continuing education opportunities throughout their working lives, and to promote complete pay equity at every level;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Member States to guarantee decent wages and pensions, reduce the gender pay and pension gap, create more high quality jobs for women as well as enable women to benefit from public services of a high standard and improve welfare provisions;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Member States to encourage and support women to have successful careers, creating adequate conditions and having equal opportunities with men regarding the promotion at the workplace;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Reiterates that Directive 2006/54/EC, in its current form, is not sufficiently effective to tackle the gender pay gap and achieve the objective of gender equality in employment and occupation; therefore urges the Commission to revise Directive 2006/54/EC without delay and to propose amendments to it in accordance with Article 32 of the Directive and on the basis of Article 157 TFEU, following the detailed recommendations set out in the annex to the Parliament’s resolution of 24 May 2012;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes that the proportion of women in economic, scientific, and research sectors is low; calls for more intensive awareness campaigns to reverse that trend and counteract the pronounced segmentation of the labour market;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Member States to introduce gender budgeting with the intention of analysing not only programmes that are specifically targeted at women, but also to examine all government programmes and policies, their effects on resource allocation and their contribution to equality between women and men;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Requests the Commission to support Member States in reducing the gender pay gap by at least five percentage points annually with the aim of eliminating it by 2020, by implementing policies to close the gender pay gap and exchanging and promoting best practices;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls for further equal pay information campaigns in order to foster growing awareness of the fact that, from the point of view of fairness and rights, it is vital to aspire to equal treatment of women and men;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to take appropriate measures to reduce the gender pension gap, which is a direct consequence of the gender pay gap, and to assess the impact of the new pension systems on women, paying special attention to part-time and atypical contracts;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Calls on the Commission to give continuing encouragement to initiatives aimed at promoting equal pay for women and men, not least by offering tangible support to companies as they seek to achieve parity at the workplace;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

~~A. whereas the standard of living of most Europeans continues to decline, particularly for women, for whom the unemployment rate in the EU27 stood at 10.8 % in the last quarter of 2012.~~deleted

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to combat all aspects of precarious employment, in line with the principle that ~~permanent~~all posts should be accompanied by proper contracts, and to adopt active employment policies to increase the level and quality of jobs and promote net job creation;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to combat all aspects of precarious employment, in line with the principle that permanent posts should be accompanied by proper contracts, and to adopt active employment policies to increase the level and quality of jobs and promote net job creation; calls on Member States to ensure decent social security rights and right to training for workers with a-typical contracts;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to combat all aspects of precarious employment~~, in line with the principle that permanent posts should be accompanied by proper contracts,~~ and to adopt active employment policies to increase the level and quality of jobs and promote net job creation;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses the need to enhance the responsibility of states and employers in relation to generational renewal and maternity and paternity rights, which means that women must have the right to be both mothers and workers without forfeiting labour rights;

Amendment 174 #

Minodora CLIVETI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Emphasises the necessity to define the status of working mother, as a special worker in the labour market, which is different from women and men workers, and should be recognized as such with its problems and its contribution to the social value;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes that women and in particular the young women are over-represented in part-time work, which reduces the duration of gainful employment, and make up most of the workforce in the informal economy, in which they are more likely to be in precarious jobs, more vulnerable to dismissal, and not properly covered by social security systems;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses the fact that women constitute 52% of the total European population, but only one-third of the self-employed or of all business starters in the EU, highlights that women face more difficulties than men in access to finance, training, networking, and in maintaining a work life balance; therefore calls on the European Commission and the Member States to encourage female entrepreneurship and utilising the potential of half of Europe’s population to ensure sustained, long term growth1; __________________ 1 Commission communication on ‘Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan. Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe’( COM(2012)0795 final)

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to gauge the impact of the new pension systems on the different categories of women, focusing in particular on part-time and atypical contracts, and to adjust social welfare systems, especially where the younger generations are concerned;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Urges the Member States and the Commission, using information and awareness campaigns, for example, to encourage women to participate in fields of activity that stereotypes term ‘masculine’, not least sciences and new technologies, the object being to make the most of the human capital to be found in European women and hence enable the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and gender equality to be achieved to more fruitful effect;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Points out that since women tend to a greater extent to be employed in precarious jobs, they are less likely to find other work if they lose their job;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

~~A. whereas the standard of living of most Europeans continues to decline, particularly for women, for whom the unemployment rate in the EU27 stood at 10.8 % in the last quarter of 2012.~~deleted

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Takes the view that helping women to return to the labour market requires multidimensional policy solutions incorporating lifelong learning and action to combat precarious work and promote work with rights and differentiated work organisation practices, at the woman’s request, so that they do not have to give up their careers or take career breaks;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses the need for urgent action to improve the situation of young women, of women employed in insecure conditions, especially migrant women and members of ethnic minorities, who are even more vulnerable at a time of economic and social crisis; insists on the need for further action to reduce gender inequalities in public health systems and that equal access to those systems must prevail;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that according to the Commission statistics’, 15.8% of seats on the boards of the largest listed companies are currently held by women and, progress in rectifying the situation has been slow with an annual increase of just 0.6% among the top business leaders of these companies; notes that — 97% of company board presidents are men1, calls therefore on the Commission and the Member States to take measures to promote better gender balance in management positions in companies and thus contribute to better business performance, improved competitiveness and economic gains for the EU; __________________ 1 European Commission, Database on Women and Men in Decision-Making

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Is concerned about the legislation in some Member States which does not expressly prohibit the handing of pre-signed resignation letters to employers when women are recruited, which has the effect of enabling maternity laws to be circumvented;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Notes that social security is particularly targeted by two of the main thrusts of austerity policy: reduction of budgetary deficits through reducing social spending and improving competitiveness and cost-efficiency by cutting contribution payments by enterprises;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Calls on the Commission to support the Member States in increasing the employment prospects of disadvantaged women, such as migrant women, women from ethnic minorities, women with disabilities and single mothers, and thus increasing their chance of leading an economically independent life, by improving their access to education and vocational training;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Calls on the Member States to strengthen social protection for the unemployed as a means of addressing the rise in poverty, particularly among women;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Calls on the Member States to encourage women to participate in vocational training in the context of lifelong learning, in response to the switch towards a sustainable economy, with the emphasis on SMEs, thereby enhancing the employability of female workers;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4e. Calls on the Member States to apply specific measures targeted at young workers, specifically by prohibiting the abusive hiring of young people for posts that are essentially permanent and ensuring the existence of written contracts, traineeships and training grants which respect applicable collective bargaining agreements, and provision of social security;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4e. Calls on the Member States to combat the undeclared employment of women which contribute to the full deregulation of women’s pay structures, causing increased poverty among women, especially in later life;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the standard of living of most Europeans continues to decline, particularly for women, for whom the unemployment rate in the EU27 stood at 10.8 % in the last quarter of 201213 .; whereas it is necessary to improve female labour participation in order to ensure sustained, long-term growth;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)

4f. Stresses that making the Youth Guarantee a reality requires public investments that will promote net job creation, create permanent jobs with proper employment contracts, and respect collective bargaining for wages and the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; urges the Member States to ensure that the Guarantee, when implemented, does not reproduce the same gender inequalities existing in the labour market;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)

4f. Encourages the Member States to provide adequate financial support and appropriate training to women wishing to set up businesses, with a view to fostering female entrepreneurship;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 g (new)

4g. Insists that prevention is better than cure; therefore urges the Member States to more closely follow the situation of children, by monitoring youth unemployment, the percentage of young people not in education, employment or training, family disposable income, the at- risk-of-poverty rate and wage inequality, which will enable more rapid and accurate identification of major social and employment problems;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 h (new)

4h. Calls on the Member States to increase their child support budgets, specifically by expanding the public network of day care, nurseries and public services providing extracurricular activities for children;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 i (new)

4i. Strongly recommends to the Member States that they boost investment in public education, strengthening its democratic outlook and pedagogical organisation, upgrading school curricula, improving working conditions in schools, guaranteeing universal free access to high-quality and inclusive educational and social provision and thereby combating school failure and dropout;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

~~5. Strongly urges the Member States to increase their investment in public services, particularly health services relating to sexual and reproductive health;~~deleted

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

~~5. Strongly urges the Member States to increase their investment in public services, particularly health services relating to sexual and reproductive health;~~deleted

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly urges the Member States to increase their investment in public services, education and health, particularly health services relating to sexual and reproductive health, nurseries and care centres for elderly and disabled persons, grants for school canteens, etc;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly urges the Member States to increase their investment in public services, particularly health services relating to sexual and reproductive health; stresses that Member States should ensure that all women share the same rights when it comes to contraception, maternity or sexuality and calls therefore on the Member States to collect data in order to know the situation faced by women regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly urges the Member States to increase their investment in public services, particularly health services relating to sexual and reproductive health; Calls on the Commission to address the lack of affordable child care facilities in the country specific recommendations of 2014;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 24 May 2012 with recommendations to the Commission on application of the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value1; __________________ 1 Text adopted, P7_TA(2012)0225.

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly recommends to the Member States that they boost investment in public services, particularly primary care health services, re~~lating to sexual and reproductive health~~-focusing on health promotion and disease prevention; recommends to the Member States that they safeguard women’s right to free, high-quality public gynaecological and obstetric healthcare services and to sexual and reproductive health in general, including the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Strongly u~~Urges the Member States to ~~increase thei~~gether to seek, and to exchange, best practice with a view to opening up new sources of finance for investment in public services, particularly health s~~ervic~~ystems, taking into account the difficulties relat~~ing~~ed to ~~sexual and reproductive health~~the crisis and the demographic challenges posed by population ageing while avoiding any lowering of the high standards and the requirements laid down in the relevant European models;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recalls that the UE ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 22 January 2012, according to which signatory members undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability and to refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent with the Convention;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Reiterates its position on sexual and reproductive health rights, as stated in its resolutions of 10 February 2010, 8 February 2011 and 13 March 2012 on equality between women and men in the European Union – 2009, 2010 and 2011; expresses concern in this respect about recent funding cuts to public health, family planning and sexual education and also restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health services in some Member States, in particular pregnancy and maternity protection, annual gynaecological check-ups and safe and legal abortion; stresses that all women must have control over their sexual and reproductive rights including by having access to affordable high-quality contraception;

Amendment 204 #

Barbara MATERA, Anne DELVAUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Emphasises the need for public spending to include gender mainstreaming as a horizontal guideline, supporting policies to promote a non- sexist distribution of care responsibilities as a fundamental to eliminating labour discrimination and promoting real equality of opportunity;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recommends that the Member States develop educational programmes in secondary schools, for teenagers from the age of 12 and above, to combat gender stereotyping. This education should be based on good practice and should educate male and female students on gender, in an attempt to destroy stereotypes relating to social roles and the representation and significance of being a woman or a man. These stereotypes – according to which, for example, women are designed to carry out certain jobs, such as looking after children, the elderly and the home, while men are designed to have an income-producing job and career – should not be included in text books;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Member States to pay special attention, when framing policies, to new measures and policies concerning the work-life balance, focusing particularly on measures to safeguard motherhood;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that the average gap between men’s and women’s pensions is 39%, whereas the gender pay gap is estimated to stand at 16%; notes that the amounts of pension that women receive are, in general, affected by a number of factors including the types of precarious employment that they are forced to accept and career breaks;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls on the Member States to recognise that women are contributing to society when they choose – or are compelled – to work shorter hours in order to devote themselves to their child(ren) or to one or more dependent close relatives, given that they can find no accessible care facilities;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Points out that women are increasingly becoming family breadwinners; calls on the Member States to take steps to establish a ‘family caregiver’ status serving not only to prevent women from being penalised at work, but also to confer legitimacy on the vital role that they are performing in society;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of the European Union enshrined in the Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas although the Union has set itself the specific task of mainstreaming gender equality in all its activities, many inequalities between men and women still remain;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5d. Points out that the measures to raise the employment rate in the 20- to 64-year age group to 75%, in keeping with the 2020 strategy, have been drawn up; urges the Member States to implement those measures and, more specifically, to emphasise policies enabling women and men to achieve a better work-life balance, one means to that end being to expand facilities for preschool- and school-age children and family support or parenting centres, and pave the way for flexible working by choice and an appropriate parental leave system, while encouraging greater sharing of family responsibilities;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5e. Points to the vulnerability of women with disabilities and women with a disabled dependent child; urges that care facilities and services be set up in order to ensure that these women can strike a better balance between family needs and their careers and that they will not have to give up work altogether because they have no support and no one to look after their dependants from the time when they are born until they reach adulthood;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to increase their child support budgets in order to expand the public network of day care, nurseries and public services providing extracurricular activities for children, as well as grants for enrolment, books, school meals and school transport;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to increase their child support budgets in order to expand the public network of day care, nurseries and public services providing extracurricular activities for children and day care and residential homes for the elderly, who are cared for almost entirely by women in the private sphere;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls on the Member States to increase their child support budgets in order to expand the public netw~~Stresses the importance for women to be awarded the possibility of balancing work and family life in order to participate morke o~~f day care, nurseries and public serv~~n the labour market; therefore calls on the Member States to elaborate policies ~~providing extracurricular activities for children~~mixing flexible work arrangements, encouraging parental leave for fathers as a viable option, and increasing the availability of affordable and qualitative childcare facilities;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls on the Member States to increase their child support budgets in order to expand the public network of~~Points to the need for specific proposals making for better balance in terms of working, family, and personal life by encouraging men and women to share occupational, family, and social responsibilities more evenly, especially where assistance to dependants and childcare are concerned; notes that more comprehensive day care, and nurser~~ies and public services providing extracurricular activities for children~~y facilities depend not only on the necessary public policies, but also on incentives to businesses to offer such solutions; urges (regional) chambers of commerce and industry, in addition, to facilitate networking of entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs, with a view to working out solidarity-based joint approaches to work-life balance;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that fiscal tightening should not jeopardise the progress achieved by policies promoting gender equality;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Reiterates its call from its Resolution of 13 March 2012 on the Commission to put forward a comprehensive communication on the situation of single- person households in the EU, with policy proposals to achieve fair treatment in areas like taxation, social security, housing, healthcare, insurance and pensions, based on the principle of policy neutrality with regard to household composition;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Member States to create adequate conditions to improve women’s employability and increase their participation in the labour market, through affordable care and child-care, parental leave schemes and flexible working conditions, particularly when women return to the labour market after long periods of inactivity as a result of having children or meeting other family commitments;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal for different types of leave (paternity, adoption, care leave and filial) in order to improve the reconciliation of professional, family and private life, which at the same time could unlock the blocking of the Maternity Leave in Council;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the European directives on equal treatment for men and women adopted since 1975 have made a considerable contribution towards effectively promoting gender equality;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that in order to eliminate gender stereotypes and promote egalitarian behaviour models in social and economic life, it is extremely important to inculcate these values from an early age, in schools, and to carry out awareness campaigns in schools, workplaces, and the media, highlighting men’s role in promoting equality, the equal distribution of family responsibilities and creation of work-life balance;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Urges the Member States to recognise the value of unpaid housework for the wellbeing and cohesion of families and to include it in national accounting as an instrument with which to increase public awareness of the social value of such work;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Maintains that the availability of good, affordable nurseries and care centres is a priority from the point of view of developing women’s employment; maintains that action in the above area has to go hand in hand with measures in every form enabling women to achieve a sound work-life balance and respond flexibly to life’s vicissitudes;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas a diversity of family structures exists in the various EU countries, based on civil partnership or marriage, between persons of the same or different sexes, families where the parents are married or unmarried, of the same or different sexes, single parents, foster parents and families with children from previous relationships, all of which deserve equal protection under EU laws;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that the destruction of jobs and the rise in unemployment are two of the most salient features of the current crisis, as shown by the increase in unemployment rates in the EU 27 from September 2011 to September 2012, from 9.8 % to 10.6 % respectively, representing a further 2.145 million people unemployed1; 1 EUROSTAT news release of 31 October 2012, 155/2012.

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Stresses that all European Commission policy initiatives on families to cover all families, without discrimination to their composition.

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Recalls in this context the targets set and re-affirmed by the Council in the European Pact for Gender Equality (2011-2020) to improve the provision of childcare in the Member States (the Barcelona targets);

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Highlights the importance of developing the legal construct of shared ownership with the aim of ensuring that women’s rights in the agricultural sector are fully recognised, that they receive appropriate social security protection and that their work is recognised;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Welcomes the fact that the new Parental Leave Directive has been transposed reasonably quickly, but greatly deplores the deadlock in the Council regarding the legislative resolution amending the directive on the protection of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth or are breast-feeding, which was adopted by Parliament, by 390 votes to 192, with 59 abstentions, on 20 October 2010;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. 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- represented, and to improve the quality of employment of women, in particular by means of lifelong learning and education programmes at every level; urges the Commission and Member States to make use of the European Structural Funds to achieve this;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the economic crisis has led to a decline in the standard of living of most EU citizens; whereas for the 26 million unemployed Europeans the male and female unemployment rates converged during the fourth quarter of 2012 to reach figures of 10.8% and 10.6% respectively; whereas this reduction in the gap between unemployment rates for workers of different sexes should not obscure the fact that many more women than men were not working in 2012 and that women are often a correcting variable for fluctuations in overall labour supply;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Notes that in 2012, according to Commission figures, 31.6% of men and 40% of women in the EU aged between 30 and 34 have a higher education qualification; points out that women account for 60% of new graduates but are underrepresented in, for example, the science and research sector; calls on the Commission and the Member States to raise women’s awareness of training in the above field and ensure that they have the same chances as men to enter the corresponding professions and make a career in them;

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to give priority to and take particular note of groups of women with special needs, such as disabled women, women with dependants, elderly women, minority and immigrant women and women with little or no professional training, and to develop targeted measures to meet their needs and circumstances;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Stresses that the need to combat the reproduction of social stereotypes relating to women and draws attention to important measures included in Parliament’s report on the elimination of gender stereotypes, which was adopted in 2013, such as monitoring of media advertisements promoting stereotypical views of women’s and men’s roles in domestic and working life.

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Draws attention to the increasing prevalence of flexible working hours: weekend work, more irregular, unpredictable and extended working hours; also notes that flexible working times mainly apply to part-time workers, who are mainly women, so that the latter are more affected than men by week-to- week variations in their schedules which make it difficult to balance family and working life; emphasises the importance of promoting measures designed to reconcile professional, personal and family life;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6d. Stresses that flexible working hours should be the worker’s decision, and should not be imposed or enforced by the employer; rejects situations of flexibility and contractual uncertainty that do not provide for family formation and stability;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Emphasises that in order to promote the participation of women in decision- making, measures need to be set in motion to combat gender-based discrimination as well as stereotypes and prejudices about the role of women, along with specific policies to support equal rights and opportunities in economic, social, political and cultural life (to combat irregular and unforeseeable working hours, applying fair remuneration and equal pay and expand public childcare, nursery and school networks,) with the positive effect of strengthening women’s participation in all levels of social and political life;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Emphasises that in order to promote the participation of women in decision- making, measures need to be set in motion to combat stereotypes and prejudices about the rol~~Stresses the fact a gender-balanced representation at the political decision- making level is crucial in order to achieve a democratic representation of EU citizens; emphasizes the need to encourage more women to run in regional and local elections as well as in national ones; points out the importance of wcom~~en,~~batting gender stereotypes along with specific policies to support equal rights and opportunities in economic, social, political and cultural life (to combat irregular and unforeseeable working hours, applying fair remuneration and equal pay and expand public childcare, nursery and school networks,) with the positive effect ofgender mainstreaming in all decision-making processes, but especially in the ‘male- dominated’ ones such as energy and research and development in order to strengthen~~ing~~ women’s participation in all levels of ~~social and~~ political life;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Emphasises that in order to promote the participation of women in decision- making, measures need to be set in motion to combat stereotypes and prejudices about the role of women, along with specific policies to support equal rights and opportunities in economic, social, political and cultural life ~~(to combat irregular and unforeseeable working hours, applying fair remuneration and equal pay and expand public childcare, nursery and school networks,) with the positive effect of~~and strengthen~~ing~~ women’s participation in ~~all levels of~~economic, social, and political life;

Amendment 238 #

Claudette ABELA BALDACCHINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that the low participation of women in decision-making is affected by obstacles such as the lack of supportive environment, the persistence of gender- based stereotypes and the consequences of the economic crisis and its negative effects on gender equality;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Underlines the need for all EU Member States to have gender-balanced electoral lists at all levels of government;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the European Union is currently facing the biggest economic and financial crisis since the depression of the 1930s, a crisis aggravated by the so-called austerity measures that have been imposed on Member States by the EU institutions in the context of economic governance policies (SGP, European Semester, Pact for the Euro plus, fiscal compact) and ‘financial assistance’ programmes, and whereas unemployment rates in all Member States, and especially the southern Member States, have risen significantly as a result of this crisis;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls for the swift implementation of measures for promoting gender balance on boards of listed companies;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Member States to support parity by proposing a woman and a man as their candidates for the office of European Commissioner; calls on the nominated President of the Commission to aim at parity when forming the Commission; calls on the present European Commission to publicly support this procedure;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses the need for Member States to adopt measures, in particular through legislative means, to set binding targets to ensure the balanced presence of women and men in positions of responsibility in business, public administration and political bodies;

Amendment 243 #

Barbara MATERA, Anne DELVAUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that the inclusion of women in economic decision-making processes is not only a matter of justice but also essential to improving entrepreneurial competitiveness and that it should therefore be made a strategic goal in all policies to support productive activity. Inequality in this sphere amounts to a poor management of talent incompatible with the 2020 development model, which has knowledge as one of its key components;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Member States to promote a balanced, non-stereotyped image of women in the mass media. Television, in particular, should communicate and develop a vision of a more modern kind of woman, placing greater emphasis on her social development, constitutional rights and her role in civil society, the institutions and the working world;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Member States, and especially media regulators, to consider the place accorded – in both quantitative and qualitative terms – to women in the media and television in particular, not least in order to avert insults to the dignity of women, avoid conveying gender stereotypes, and curb any tendency to hypersexualise little girls;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that, according to a Commission study published in October 2012, the proportion of women on European company boards stands, on average, at just 16.6%, whereas 97% of top business management positions are held by men;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Highlights that gender equality in decision-making is especially important in these times of crisis as it has been acknowledged that more women in top economic positions bring strong organisational and financial company performance as well as better quality of decision-making, while improved female representation in top political positions is an essential requirement for the functioning of a democratic society;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Recalls that the European Elections 2014, followed by the appointment of the next European Commission and the nominations for the EU ‘Top Jobs’, are a chance to move toward parity democracy at the EU level and for the EU to be a role model in this field;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Asks the Council to present at the earliest possible date its common position on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges and related measures;

Amendment 25 #

Barbara MATERA, Anne DELVAUX

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas traditional gender roles and stereotypes depicting women as running the house and caring for children and men as protectors and the main source of family income continue to have a strong influence on the division of tasks between women and men in the home, in the workplace and in society at large; whereas gender stereotypes also tend to perpetuate the status quo of inherited obstacles to achieving gender equality, and to limit women’s range of employment choices and personal development, impeding them from realising their full potential as individuals and economic players, and therefore constitute strong obstacles to the achievement of equality between women and men;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Encourages the Member States to promote gender equality in the context of media information networks and to use all possible means to attempt to eliminate the tendency to use women’s bodies for profit- related or promotional purposes;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Points to the need to redouble efforts at European level to increase the representation of women in political spheres and in the European institutions, including the European Parliament; believes that women’s participation needs to be encouraged at national, regional, and municipal levels; points out that political parties have a key role to play;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive aimed at boosting women’s representation on non-executive boards of quoted companies by laying down a 40% minimum target for women to be met by 2020; calls on the Commission to use awareness campaigns to promote greater representation of women in the decision- making bodies of small and medium-sized enterprises;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Stresses that Member States should introduce measures to encourage career progression of women at all levels through positive actions such as networking and mentoring programmes;

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Welcomes the legislative proposal by the Commission on improving the gender balance in the boards of companies listed on stock exchanges, urgently calls on the Council to come to agreement in first reading on the file in order to reach an agreement by all EU Institutions before the end of the 7th legislature;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Points out that the European Elections in 2014, followed by the appointment of the next Commission and the nominations for the senior administrative positions within the European institutions, are a chance to move towards parity democracy at EU level; therefore askes the Member States to support parity by nominating a man and a woman as candidates for the post of Commissioner and asks the President-elect of the Commission to bear in mind the parity objective when forming the Commission; also calls on the Member States and political parties to support parity in their electoral lists;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Maintains that evenly balanced participation in politics by women and men is one of the democratic foundations of our political system and central to its underlying representative character; notes that the above point has a direct and indirect bearing on women’s participation in elections;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Points out that the use of electoral quotas has positive effects on women’s representation, and welcomes the parity and gender quota systems incorporated by several Member States into their legislation; calls on the Member States with particularly low representation of women in political assemblies to consider introducing equivalent measures;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Notes that the European Union, given its values and ambitions, should set an example by moving closer to gender parity within the institutions;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7e. Considers it regrettable that, according to European Parliament figures, female MEPs make up only 36% of the total and men, 64%; notes that the proportion of women in the national parliaments is as little as 26%, compared with a 74% figure for men, the respective percentages in the Commission being 32% and 68%;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas equality between women and men has a positive impact on productivity and economic growth, and greater female participation in the labour market has a host of social and economic benefits;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 f (new)

7f. Calls on the Member States to adopt targets for balanced representation of women and men in politics; maintains that the resolve to achieve gender balance should be shared by everyone involved in politics, be it at European, national, regional, or local level;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 g (new)

7g. Notes that some Member States have achieved significant results by legislating with a view to balancing the numbers of women and men in positions of responsibility, employing election quotas to that end; calls on the other Member States to follow suit;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 h (new)

7h. Maintains that the forthcoming May 2014 European elections offer a real opportunity to champion gender equality in the EU;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 i (new)

7i. Calls on the Member States and national parties to take gender into consideration when drawing up election lists and making appointments to senior administrative posts in the institutions; urges the political groups to be formed after the election to provide a measure of gender balance when assigning responsibilities;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~Violence against women~~(Does not affect the English version.)

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a . Observes that the economic crisis contributes to harassment and violence of all kinds, as well as prostitution, with women as the victims, and that this is a violation of human rights; insists on the need to increase public, financial and human resources with which to intervene in support of groups at risk of poverty and to tackle situations of risk faced by children and young people, the elderly, people with disabilities and the homeless;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Recognises the growing problem of men becoming victims to domestic violence from both women and men in relationships; and urges the Member States to do as much as they can to prevent instances, protect victims and to prosecute perpetrators;

Amendment 267 #

Sylvie GUILLAUME

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)

Combating sexist stereotypes

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Observes that increasing poverty and marginalisation, owing to so-called austerity policies, have led to an increase in female trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution and that there are signs that domestic violence is on the rise, as social tensions within families also increase, and that women now find themselves more economically dependent on their aggressors;deleted

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Observes that increasing poverty and marginalisation, ~~owing to so-called~~partly as a consequence of austerity policies, have led to an increase in female trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution and that there are signs that domestic violence is on the rise, as social tensions within families also increase, and that women now find themselves more economically dependent on their aggressors;

Amendment 27 #

Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas in Europe in 2011, 63.8 million women (25.2%) and 55.7 million men (23%) experienced poverty and social exclusion; whereas women face a greater risk of poverty than men;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Observes that increasing poverty and marginalisation, owing to ~~so-called austerity policie~~the crisis, have led to an increase in female trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution and that there are signs that domestic violence is on the rise, as social tensions within families also increase, and that women now find themselves more economically dependent on their aggressors;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Observes that ~~increasing poverty and marginal~~the feminisation, o~~wing to so-called aust~~f poverity ~~policies, have~~might lead to an increase in female trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution and ~~that there are signs that domestic violence is on the rise, as social tensions within families also increase, and that women now find themselves more economically dependent on their aggressors~~reduce women to greater financial dependence, including those who have suffered domestic violence;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Observes that increasing poverty and marginalisation, owing to so-called austerity policies, have led to an increase in female trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution and that there are signs thaNotes with worry the increase in all forms of violence against dwome~~stic violence is on the rise, as social tensions within families also increase, and that women now find themselves more economically dependent on their aggressors~~n, including domestic, sexual violence and human trafficking;

Amendment 273 #

Sylvie GUILLAUME

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to commit themselves more firmly to ending the sexist stereotypes conveyed by the media, and in advertising in particular, given the crucial role that these can play in altering the ways in which male and female roles are generally depicted;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points out that austerity measures in various countries have increased women’s vulnerability, both collectively and individually, adding to their exploitation and driving them towards poverty and marginalisation, which also feeds the trafficking of women and prostitution;

Amendment 275 #

Minodora CLIVETI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines the fact that the prostitution is a form of violence, an obstacle to equality between sexes and a way to develop organized crime; calls on the Member States to recognise the prostitution as a violence against women, and not to be considered a job, even if it is ‘voluntary’;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points out that the main responsibility for addressing trafficking in human beings lies with the Member States, criticises that in April 2013 only six Member States have notified full transposition of the EU Directive against trafficking in human beings, whose deadline for implementation expired on 6 April 2013;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses the importance of combating violence against women to achieving equality between women and men; calls on the Member States and the Commission, therefore, to undertake concerted action in the field; urges the Commission to consider the possibility of new measures on combating violence against women;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Emphasises that the elimination of gender stereotypes is a key element in combating violence against women and requires firm commitment in the family sphere, the educational system, social communication, publicity and everyday language; this response calls for a comprehensive strategy involving public authorities, private organisations, social agents and an individual commitment fomented by institutions, action plans and behaviour matching these values;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that access is available to various forms of prevention, legal protection and assistance in relation to domestic violence, also with reference to stalking;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the state of the labour market and that of social conditions remain critical, and whereas inclusive growth will require more strategic public investment;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to take further steps, as a matter of priority, to combat violence against women and to show the utmost firmness to that end;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Underlines the need to improve the collection of high-quality primary data on support services for women who have survived domestic violence, and that such data need to be comparable, reliable and not limited to criminal statistics provided by the police, which should be complemented with comprehensive, high quality studies based on field research;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combine their efforts in fighting organised crime and trafficking networks, and to adopt and strengthen legislative, administrative, educational, social and cultural measures that discourage demand for prostitution;

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen policies and measures to protect women’s dignity and psychological and physical integrity from all forms of exploitation, abuse and violence;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Notes that violence of this kind causes several hundred deaths in the EU every year and that it demands immediate practical responses;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Points out that the EU’s migration policies to ‘combat illegal immigration’ are based on a philosophy of criminalising the status of ‘illegals’ and clamping down on immigrants, as reflected in the 2010 Return Directive, and should be refocused towards social inclusion in host countries; stresses that these policies are adding to the vulnerability of, and failing to protect, undocumented migrant women victims of violence, who, for the most part, do not seek help;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Welcomes efforts, both at Community and national levels, to combat violence against women, men and children such as the European Protection Order, the Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and the legislative package to strengthen the rights of victims in the EU, but stresses that this phenomenon remains a major unresolved problem;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Points to the importance of greater cooperation, whether proceeding horizontally or vertically, in which the authorities of the Member States, regional and local authorities, women’s organisations, and civil society should work effectively to stamp out violence against women;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Points out that undocumented migrant women are in a more vulnerable position and that, in many countries, those who suffer domestic violence have no source of support other than the public health services;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Calls on the Commission to implement its commitment to mainstream gender equality in the Common European Asylum System.

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the unprecedented economic and financial crisis affecting Europe since 2007 has had different effects on the employment of women and men; whereas women were at first generally less affected by staffing adjustments than men because of the significant segmentation of the labour market between women and men; whereas this segmentation of the labour market demonstrates the structural inequalities of which women are victims;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Notes that, according to findings obtained in 2012, under the Cyprus Presidency, specialised services such as refuges for female victims of violence or emergency helplines are not available everywhere and in any case not spread evenly throughout the Member States; calls for these essential services to be developed so that women can report the acts of violence inflicted on them;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 e (new)

8e. Recommends to the Member States, in their national action plans to eliminate domestic violence, that they lay down the obligation of supporting undocumented migrant women in exactly the same way as women staying legally, without any requirement for institutions to report such cases to the authorities;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes with concern that – according to data from the Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States: Violence against Women, Victim support (2012), from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) – professional training and the sustainability of funding for public services, associations and NGOs providing services to women in situations of domestic violence is clearly being affected by the so-called austerity measures, threatening the continued existence of such services, and that this is a shameful step backwards in civilizational terms; recalls that tremendous inequality exists among the Member States in terms of access to support services, with secure and sufficient state funding existing in Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria;

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes with concern that – according to data from the Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States: Violence against Women, Victim support (2012), from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) – professional training and the sustainability of funding for public services, associations and NGOs providing services to women in situations of domestic violence are clearly being affected by the so-called austerity measures, threatening the continued existence of such services, and that this is a shameful step backwards in civilizational terms; recalls that tremendous inequality exists among the Member States in terms of access to support services, with secure and sufficient state funding existing in Denmark, the Netherlands and Austriaconsequences of the economic crisis;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes with concern that – according to data from the Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States: Violence against Women, Victim support (2012), from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) – professional training and the sustainability of funding for public services, associations and NGOs providing services to women in situations of domestic violence are ~~clearly~~ being affected by the ~~so-called austerity measures, threatening the continued existence of such services, and that this is a shameful step backwards in civilizational term~~crisis; recalls that tremendous inequality exists among the Member States in terms of access to support services~~, with secure and sufficient state funding existing in Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria~~;

Amendment 296 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Considers that violence against women is pervasive violation of women’s human rights worldwide, including in the EU; calls on the Commission to establish 2016 as the EU Year to End Violence against Women, and to deliver a related EU-wide strategy to end violence against women, comprising legally-binding instruments, awareness raising actions, data collection, and funding for NGOs, as announces in the Council Conclusions of March 2010,;calls on the Commission to promote national ratifications and launch the procedure for the accession of the EU to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission to present an EU-wide strategy and an action plan to combat violence against women and to put forward by the end of 2014 a draft law, based on Article 84 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, establishing measures to promote and support action by the Member States in the sphere of prevention of violence against women; also asks the Council to activate the passerelle clause and adopt a unanimous decision identifying gender- based violence (including female genital mutilation) as an area of crime listed in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Amendment 298 #

Laurence J.A.J. STASSEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recommends that the Member States strengthen their free public health services in the area of support to women subjected to violence and that they increase the number of refuges and their capacity, with specialised assistance to women of different nationalities, in a range of languages;deleted

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2013 on the application of the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value1; __________________ 1 Text adopted, P7_TA(2013)0375.

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the stereotypes which still exist with regard to the educational and professional options available to women help to perpetuate inequalities, and partly explain why sectoral and occupational segregation between women and men is not diminishing and is even increasing in certain countries;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recommends that the Member States strengthen their free public health care services in the area of support to women subjected to violence and that they increase the number of refuges and their capacity, with specialised assistance to women of different nationalities, in a range of languages; non-EU born migrant women and Roma women should have access to specialised health care services in this respect;

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Recommends that the Member States strengthen their free public health service~~Points out that violence against women is a major hindrance to gender equality; calls ion the area of support to women subjected to violence and that they increase the number of refuges and their capacity, with specialised assistance to women of different nationalities, in a range of languagesCommission to propose a comprehensive directive on the prevention and eradication of violence against women in all its forms, whether physical, sexual, or psychological; recommends that Member States provide better training to police, court, and social service personnel and improve cooperation among them to enable them to help women who have suffered violence;

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recommends that the Member States strengthen their ~~free~~ public health services in the area of support to women subjected to violence and that they ~~increase the number of refuges and their capacity, with specialised assistance to women of different nationalities, in a range of languages~~seek to offer them specialised assistance;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Commission to promote the collaboration between Member States and women NGOs and organisations in order to prepare and implement an efficient strategy to fight violence against women;

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Insists on zero tolerance towards all forms of violence against women as one of the top priorities of all institutions throughout Europe, reiterates the need for the Commission to present a legislative criminal-law instrument to combat gender-based violence,

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Points out that the Commission must continue its efforts to include gender equality in all negotiations with third countries and in its country progress reports; emphasizes the European Parliament’s important role in providing criticism and keeping tabs on the implementation of gender equality measures in country strategies and reports;

Amendment 307 #

Laurence J.A.J. STASSEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Observes that health care is a purely national matter and that the EU therefore does not have any powers in relation to it;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Asks the Commission to set up a European Observatory on Violence Against Women, within the existing institutional structures (European Institute for Gender Equality);

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Member States to promote in the media in general, and in advertising and promotional materials in particular, representation of the female image in a way that is respectful of women’s dignity, their diverse roles and their identity;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas, despite the fact that some Member States have taken steps, sometimes in the form of legislation, to promote changes in equality between men and women, the changes are too slow and insufficient;

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Points to the importance of systematic training for the qualified personnel who look after female victims of physical, sexual, or psychological violence; considers such training to be essential for providers of first- and second-line care, including emergency social services and medical, civil protection, and police services;

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Stresses the need to ensure continued funding for programmes that promote gender equality and the fight against all types of violence against women, children and young people in order to tackle the deeply rooted stereotypes in our society;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Appeals to the Member States to ratify at the earliest possible date the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and urges the Commission promote national ratifications and set in motion the process leading to the EU’s adhesion to the Convention, after having assessed the consequences and added value of adhesion;

Amendment 313 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Calls on the Member States to continue, and indeed expand, targeted prevention programmes to tackle the sources of violence against women before it happens;

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Stresses the need to include gender mainstreaming and the fight against gender violence into EU external, development cooperation and international trade policy; calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States actively to promote and support the empowerment of women to participate in their bilateral and multilateral relations with states and organisations outside the Union; stresses the importance of applying United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in the ambit of the EU’s external action;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Points to the importance of following up and specifically taking into account the recommendations made in the reports of the European Institute for Gender Equality;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas youth unemployment rates have reached unprecedented levels, averaging 23.1 % throughout the EU, and long-term unemployment has risen in most Member States, reaching its highest level ever in the EU as a whole;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas there are many disparities between EU countries as regards male- female segmentation on the labour market; whereas segmentation is highest in the countries where women work more;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)

Ae. whereas the net destruction of jobs has coincided with an increase in precarious employment, in the form of low-paid part-time jobs and short-term contracts;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas poverty has increased in the EU since 2007 and household income has dropped, with 24.2 % of the EU’s population now at risk of poverty or exclusion; whereas children, who are often looked after by women, are particularly affected and there has also been an increase in unemployment, the number of unemployed households and in poverty among the unemployed;deleted

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas studies on gender-based violence estimate that one-fifth to one- quarter of all women in Europe have experienced physical acts of violence at least once during their adult lives, more than one-tenth have suffered sexual violence involving the use of force, 12 to 15 per cent of women in Europe are victims of domestic violence and seven women die every day in the European Union from it1; __________________ 1 European Added Value Assessment of March 2013 on Combatting violence against women. PE 504.467

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas it is regrettable that some of the old Member States either do not yet apply these Directives correctly, or do not exercise sufficient control over the implementing legislation introduced;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the EU is currently facing the most significant economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s; whereas this crisis has been exacerbated by so-called austerity measures imposed on the Member States by the EU institutions within the framework of economic governance policies (Stability and Growth Pact, European Semester, Euro-Plus Pact, Budgetary Treaty) and ‘financial aid’ programmes;deleted

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 17 June 2010 on Gender aspects of the economic downturn and financial crisis1; __________________ 1 JO C236 E, 12.8.2011, p.79.

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 43 #

Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas fiscal consolidation has to be compatible with the employment and social dimension of Europe 2020, especially on matters relating to gender equality and non-discrimination;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas, for various reasons, the new Member States of eastern Europe have not yet fully implemented this important acquis communautaire;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas gender equality is a key economic asset to promote fair and inclusive economic growth, whereas reducing occupational inequality is not just a goal in terms of equal treatment, but also in terms of labour market efficiency and fluidity;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas in 2012, according to Eurostat, the overall employment rate for women in Europe aged between 20 and 64 was 62.4% compared to 74.6% for men.

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 6 February 2013 on the 57th session on UN CSW: Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls1; __________________ 1 Text adopted, P7_TA(2013)0045.

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas the employment rate is a major indicator for measuring inequality between men and women; whereas the quality and conditions of employment are just as important as parameters for measuring this inequality;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)

Cd. whereas the female employment rate is underestimated given the fact that many women are not registered as unemployed, particularly those who live in rural or remote areas; whereas this situation creates a disparity in terms of access to public services (benefits, pensions, maternity leave, sick leave, access to social security etc.);

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)

Ce. whereas, in 2011, 17.5% of young women and 13.4% of young men (aged 15-29) in Europe were unemployed and not following any educational or vocational training; whereas this rate was over 20% in eight Member States; whereas girls are under-represented in learning processes aimed at facilitating the transition from school to work;

Amendment 53 #

Norica NICOLAI

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas part-time work has increased during the crisis and continues to be the most common form of employment for women (32.1 % in 2012, up from 30.8 % in 2007; whereas involuntary part-time work has also increased and in 2012 accounted for 24 % of overall female part- time employment (against 20 % in 2007) ;deleted

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the search is still on for an appropriate solution to combine work, family and private life and, as a result, many women, who in most cases are responsible for looking after children and dependent family members, are forced to accept part-time jobs, and even have to leave the labour market, because of a lack of affordable childcare and care for the disabled and the elderly;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the Commission should do more to ensure implementation of EU directives in the field, notably by the social partners who negotiate collective agreements and are too often unaware of Community requirements regarding the equal treatment of women and men with respect to pay, access to employment and career advancement and social security;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas women work more often than men on the basis of part-time, fixed-term or temporary contracts; whereas this was the most common form of employment for women in 2012 (32.1% as against 8.4% for men); whereas involuntary part-time work increased to 24% of overall female part-time employment in 2012 (as against 20% in 2007)1; whereas these contracts offer less protection against dismissal or other forms of termination of contract; whereas these contracts penalise women, inter alia as regards their career development opportunities, their training opportunities or their pension rights, but do, in some situations, present an opportunity to help men and women who decide to reconcile their work and private lives; __________________ 1 SWD(2013) 171 final.

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas a high proportion of women work professionally on involuntary part- time, fixed-term or temporary contracts; whereas women are thus disadvantaged in the labour market in terms of career advancement, and particularly in terms of remuneration, with the pay often being lower than what a man with the same skills could earn;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 13 October 2005 on women and poverty in the European Union,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas young women more often start their professional lives in temporary part-time jobs; whereas the wage gap between women and men affects the level of pensions, resulting in a higher risk of poverty for women than for men; whereas, in 2011, 23% of women aged 65 and over were at risk of poverty, as against 17% of men;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas women are particularly affected by precarious employment, suffer wage discrimination and are more likely to be in part-time work, meaning that they also earn lower wages, enjoy less social protection and find it harder to become economically independent and pursue a career than men do;deleted

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. Wwhereas women are ~~particularly affected by precarious employment, suffer wage discrimination and ar~~more likely to be employed in part-time mwor~~e likely to be in part-time work, meaning that they also~~k (32.1 % in 2012, up from 30.8 % in 200714) and consequently earn lower wages, ~~enjoy less~~risk lower social protection and find it ~~harder to become economically independent and pursue a career than men do~~more difficult to achieve financial independence;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas women's sexual and reproductive health and rights are human rights and should be guaranteed for all women, regardless of their social status, age, sexual orientation or ethnicity;

Amendment 64 #

Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the policies applied in the name of the crisis have a particularly harsh impact on vulnerable people and particularly women, who feel the impact both directly – through loss of employment, wage, pension and benefit cuts, and loss of job security – and indirectly through budget cuts in public services and social care, particularly childcare and dependent care services and dependency allowances;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the ~~policies applied in the name of the~~ crisis has haved a particularly harsh impact on vulnerable people and particularly women, who feel the impact both directly – through loss of employment, wage, pension and benefit cuts, and loss of job security – and indirectly through budget cuts in public services and social care;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas ~~the~~austerity policies ~~applied in the name of the crisis have a particularly harsh impact on vulnerable people and~~have taken a disproportionally hard toll on women in particular~~ly women~~, who feel the impact both directly – through loss of employment, wage, pension and benefit cuts, and loss of job security – and indirectly through budget cuts in public services and social care;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the ~~policies applied in the name of the~~ crisis haves a ~~particularly~~ harsh impact on vulnerable people and ~~particularly~~ women, who feel the impact both directly – through loss of employment, wage, pension and benefit cuts, and loss of job security – and indirectly through budget cuts in public services and social care;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. Whereas lower wages for women lead inevitably to lower pension contributions, and therefore, translate into lower pensions;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas access to services providing care for children, elderly and dependent persons is essential for achieving equal participation of women and men in the labour market and in education and training; whereas home caregivers remain discriminated against in terms of the failure to count their years of work towards pensions and other entitlements;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2009 on non-discrimination based on sex and inter-generational solidarity,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

Fb. whereas the sharing of family and domestic duties between men and women, particularly by developing the use of parental leave and paternity leave, is a precondition for promoting and achieving gender equality;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas several factors have led to a reduction in women’s incomes, with wage inequality standing at 16.2 % in the EU in 2011, and over 20 % in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Greece;deleted

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas several factors have led to a reduction in women’s incomes, with wage inequality standing at 16.2 % in the EU in 2011~~, and over 20 % in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Greece;~~; whereas in 2011 78 % of women said that they carried out 'domestic work' every day (as did 37 % of men16 )

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas unemployment rates in the south and on the periphery of the euro zone reached an average of 17.3 % in 2012, compared with 7.1 % in the north the centre of the euro zone1; __________________ 1 EU Employment and Social Situation; Quarterly Review, IP/13/879, 02.10.2013.

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the gender pay gap and consequently the gender pension gap is still one of the main reasons women find themselves below the poverty line at a later stage in their lives;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the income of women doing the same work and with the same skills is still lower than that of men; whereas wage inequality is around 16.2% on average in the EU, with considerable variations among Member States that can range from a 10% wage gap to a disparity of over 20% in some Member States;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)

Gb. whereas the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) reached an average of 22.4 % in the south and periphery, compared with 11.4 % in the north and centre1; __________________ 1 EU Employment and Social Situation; Quarterly Review, IP/13/879 de 02/10/2013

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)

Gc. whereas there are 25.4 million children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU, who are exposed material deprivation going beyond poor nutrition; 5.7 million children are unable to buy new clothing and 4.7 million do not have two pairs of wearable shoes (including a pair of all-weather shoes) and children suffering from material deprivation are less likely to do well at school, enjoy good health and succeed in their adult life than those living in decent conditions;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)

Gd. whereas women entering working life are playing a leading role in the return to growth; whereas they make it possible for family income to increase, which leads to an increase in consumption, social security contributions and the volume of taxes collected, as well as revitalising the economy; whereas gender equality therefore has a positive impact on economic growth and in improving the standard of living;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G e (new)

Ge. whereas the increasing risk of poverty is closely and directly linked to the destruction of significant social functions performed by the state, as seen, for example, with the recent destruction of public social security systems in a number of Member States, along with cuts in key social benefits (family allowances, unemployment and sickness benefits and income support) which affect many women, particularly those with dependent families and responsible for managing all their household problems;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 c (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2011 on women and business leadership1, __________________ 1 Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0330.

Amendment 80 #

Norica NICOLAI

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas in 2011 78 % of women said that they carried out ‘domestic work’ every day (as did 37 % of men1 ) and whereas flexible working times mainly apply to part-time workers, who are mainly women, so that the latter are more affected than men by week-to-week variations in their schedules which make it difficult to balance family and working life; __________________ 1 Eurofound, 3rd European Quality of Life Survey p. 57.deleted

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas precariousness is a persistent feature of the EU’s labour market, which favours the accumulation of profit by management and primarily affects women, who suffer from wage discrimination and are more likely to be in part-time work, with lower wages, less social protection and fewer possibilities for economic independence; whereas women represent a large proportion of those engaged in undeclared work;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas families in the European Union are diverse and comprise married, unmarried and partnered parents, different-sex and same-sex parents, single parents and foster parents who deserve equal protection under national and European Union law;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas various economists and demographers (World Bank, OECD, IMF) use economic and mathematical models to highlight the economic value of household production (carried out mainly by women), and whereas women’s contribution to GDP would be even higher if their unpaid work were factored in, which illustrates the discrimination that exists against women’s work;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. Whereas cultural tradition, work organisation and daily practices are still of course the reasons why responsibility for care is largely a female issue; whereas European women aged between 25 and 45 devote 162 minutes more than men to domestic work and whereas this social contribution of unpaid domestic work is still not measured for the purposes of GDP;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas, in 2011, 78 % of women said they carried out ‘domestic work’ every day, as against 39% of men; whereas flexible working hours are a key element for achieving a better work-life balance, although they can sometimes make employment more precarious;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas the falling birth rate in the EU has been exacerbated by the crisis, given that unemployment, precarious situations and uncertainty regarding the future and the economy have led couples, and younger women in particular, to delay having children, thereby further reinforcing the trend to demographic ageing in the EU;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas the objective of gender equality implies that women are better represented in political and economic decision-making, and this representation has unfortunately not improved in any way in recent years; whereas there are still not many women in management posts in businesses and universities and the number of female politicians and researchers is rising only very slowly;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas this contribution has been essential for maintaining the welfare state and the European social model;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas self-employed, out-of-work or unemployed, elderly and disabled women, as well as those who are single parents are a particularly vulnerable group at risk of poverty;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 d (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 5 April 2011 on priorities and outline of a new EU policy framework to fight violence against women1, __________________ 1 Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0127.

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)

Hc. whereas in 2012 the Council and the European Parliament discussed the Commission’s proposal for the 2014-2020 multiannual framework, and Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality adopted an opinion which referred, among other issues, to ‘the need for increased funding for gender equality actions, in terms of employment and growth in order to tackle horizontal and vertical gender segregation and to combat the gender pay gap and pension pay gap and the increasing poverty rate among women, as well as in terms of rights and democracy calls on the Commission and Council to establish gender equality as a specific objective in the Rights and Citizenship programme, as well as safeguarding the Daphne programme as an independent subheading in this same programme’1; __________________ Opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality for the Committee on Budgets on the interim report in the interests of achieving a positive outcome of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 approval procedure, 19.9.2012;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)

Hc. whereas the equal participation of women and men in the labour market, education and training is directly linked to effective access to childcare, and care for the elderly and any other dependents;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)

Hd. whereas, in 2012, three out of four members of national parliaments were men and those countries with over 30 % women in their national parliaments were Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Germany, with women having less than 10 % representation in Malta and Hungary;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)

Hd. whereas, according to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions1, over six million women in Europe say that they cannot work full-time because of their family responsibilities; whereas the difficulties are even greater when faced with the absence or unavailability of sufficient childcare facilities and measures to facilitate a better work-life balance; __________________ 1 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Family life and work, 2010.

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)

He. whereas in 2012, local and regional assemblies in the EU included an average of 32 % women and national governments were made up of 27 % women, a 3 % increase since 2003, which shows minimal change, with major variations between countries (for example, figures for women in national governments show 49 % in France and 6 % in Greece)1; 1 EC, Report on Progress on equality between women and men in 2012, p.54

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)

He. whereas household responsibilities such as maternity and caring for elderly relatives or dependents are generally assumed by women, without conferring any status on them; whereas these societal functions or tasks receive no appreciation either financially or in terms of value or rights; whereas this role of caregiver is often a barrier to employment and professional career prospects for women; whereas these functions or tasks performed by necessity or by choice mostly penalise women professionally;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H f (new)

Hf. whereas the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women states that women shall be guaranteed, on equal terms with men, the right to vote and be elected to publicly elected bodies, to participate in the formulation of government policy and perform all public functions at all levels of government and to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H f (new)

Hf. whereas the lack of effective measures to enable women and men to reconcile their professional and private lives particularly penalises women who often take on more of the family responsibilities and have fewer opportunities for career advancement and pay increases;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H g (new)

Hg. whereas the Strategy for equality between women and men 2010 2015 notes that although women make up almost half the EU’s workforce and over half of university graduates, they are still under- represented in decision-making processes and positions and that according to the most recent available data (2010), although 46 % of all PhD graduates in the EU 27 are women, only 15.5 % of higher education establishments are headed by women and only 10 % of universities have a female rector1. 1 EC, She Figures 2012 - Gender in Research and Innovation (2013)

Amendment 99 #