President. – The next item is a short presentation of the report by Angelika Mlinar, on behalf of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, on gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament [(2015/2230(INI)] (A8—0034/2016).
Angelika Mlinar,rapporteur.– Madam President, the final goal of gender mainstreaming is a tool to realise real gender equality in our society. To reach such a result, concrete ideas of how to effectively put in place gender equality has to reach the hearts and minds of people.
Gender equality needs to become a natural part of daily life, but the truthful acceptance of gender equality means major changes in mindsets and behaviour, not only concerning the treatment of women, but also concerning the understanding of equality between humans in general. It is the fear of such broad and deep implications that is the reason why it is still so widely opposed. It is mostly women who engage themselves, lead the discussion and do the essential work toward strengthening the scientific and strategic base for the steps which are still so necessary to implement gender mainstreaming into everybody’s reality.
Therefore, I would like to warmly thank all the colleagues who contributed to the report, co-operating in a highly constructive and fair manner. I would like to name them: Julie Ward, Sirpa Pietikäinen, Eleanora Forenza and Monika Vana. Only though productive and horizontal cooperation do we now have such a shared and balanced text.
However, for public opinion, gender mainstreaming is still an unknown and generally contested concept. In practical terms, the concept means the integration of a gender perspective into the preparation and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies. It includes and needs spending programmes with a view to promoting equality between women and men. The report presents undeniable reasons for the necessary steps of building awareness and changing realities.
The three main points why we need to emphasise gender mainstreaming are the following: firstly, gender mainstreaming is a process to promote gender equality in the policy field, and no policy is exempted since the need for a balanced effect of policies is horizontal. This is one of the true dimensions of the concept. The other concerns the representation of women and men in the given policy area and for it to definitely make a difference to the policy outcome. Unfortunately, international recognition did not give this concept a concrete impact on the decision-making process in both dimensions.
Secondly, Parliament – further to several resolutions on gender mainstreaming – gradually developed a gender mainstreaming structure. However, analysis shows that the system is fragmented and not particularly efficient. It is time for corrective measures, as well as an efficient feedback and evaluation mechanism, if we want to prevent this resolution from remaining a dead letter.
Finally, the best way to promote gender equality is to set a good example, to live its essence, and to show how it is done. Gender mainstreaming and gender equality are principles that are enshrined in the Treaties. Who, if not the EU institutions, could be the best example when it comes to implementation? That is why we tried in the report to build an interinstitutional network involving, among others, the Council and the Commission. I personally believe that gender—sensitive policymakers should consider how gender relates to the content of policy measures to gain a better understanding of how women and men would benefit from gender equality. Parliament is not even close to reaching the targets in both dimensions.
I hope this report will be an instrument to raise awareness on the topic and initiate the implementation phase to reach more and more ambitious targets.
Catch-the-eye procedure
Michaela Šojdrová (PPE).– Paní předsedající, já bych chtěla poděkovat paní zpravodajce Mlinar za předložení zprávy, protože se domnívám, že je správné, aby Evropský parlament, jak sama ona řekla, šel příkladem a zhodnotil to, jaké příležitosti dává ženám, jak političkám, tak také ve vyšších administrativních funkcích. V této oblasti shledáváme vážné nedostatky, a proto doporučujeme, aby se vedení Evropského parlamentu touto situací zabývalo, aby dosáhlo vyššího zastoupení žen zejména právě v těch vyšších administrativních funkcích, kde by to mělo být až těch 40 %, a aby také pro ženy zde byly vytvářeny podmínky pro to, aby tuto funkci mohly vykonávat. Myslím, že to jsou všechno velmi správná opatření.
Bohužel, v této zprávě jsou ale návrhy, se kterými nemohu souhlasit. Například to, aby gender mainstreaming byl předmětem školení, certifikovaných kurzů, aby každý výbor musel zpracovat akční plán pro toto začlenění do své agendy. Obávám se, že jde o velkou administrativu, která by nesplnila ten účel, takže pokud tyto pozměňovací návrhy budou přijaty, nebudu moci pro zprávu hlasovat.
Julie Ward (S&D).– Madam President, today is my birthday. Tomorrow, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, and also by chance, my mother’s birthday. I am so proud that in the midst of these auspicious days, celebrating different generations of the fight for women’s rights and gender equality, this Parliament will be voting on a report that I have co-authored, a report the promotes the highest standards and sets a best practice example in respect of institutional and interinstitutional gender equality.
From its initial foundation, women’s rights and gender equality have been at the heart of the European project. It is therefore very fitting that on International Women’s Day we take a good hard look at how we do things here, at who makes the decisions and whether or not we can see ourselves reflected in the power structures. Gender mainstreaming requires commitment from both men and women to effect change. I commend this report.
Ruža Tomašić (ECR).– Gospođo predsjednice, aposlutno podržavam veći društveni i politički angažman žena jer bismo na taj način dobili dodatnu širinu i ostvarili veći uspjeh javnih politika koje se u većem dijelu jednako odnose na oba spola.
Smatram i kako naša društva ženama moraju omogućiti ravnopravan tretman u poslovnom svijetu jer je to jedino ispravno, a uvjerena sam da bi bilo i vrlo korisno za europske tvrtke jer bi većim uključivanjem žena proširile bazen talenta iz kojeg crpe vrijedne i kvalitetne radnike za odgovorne pozicije.
Europske institucije moraju preuzeti vodstvo u ovom procesu i dati priliku ženama da se dokažu svojim znanjem i radom na svim položajima. No, ovo izvješće ne mogu podržati jer ide u potpuno pogrešnom smjeru!
Nikad nisam čula skandalozniji prijedlog od uvođenja mjera za usklađivanje poslovnog i privatnog, odnosno obiteljskog života. Ne možemo dopustiti politici da se na ovaj način miješa u privatne živote građana i regulira odnose unutar njihovih obitelji. To si politika nije dozvoljavala ni u nekim totalitarnim sustavima, što dovoljno govori o ovom prijedlogu.
Monika Vana (Verts/ALE).– Frau Präsidentin! Also ganz im Gegensatz zu meiner Vorrednerin möchte ich mich der Berichterstatterin, Frau Mlinar, inhaltlich voll anschließen, dass der morgen vorgelegte und zur Abstimmung stehende Bericht, der ein sehr wichtiger und sehr passend zum Internationalen Frauentag ist, auch hoffentlich mit großer Mehrheit – wie auch im FEMM-Ausschuss – angenommen wird.
Er zeigt den großen Handlungsbedarf, den wir im Rahmen von Gender-Mainstreaming in diesem Haus haben, sei es bei der Repräsentanz von Frauen unter Erhöhung des Frauenanteils – nicht nur bei den Beschäftigten, sondern auch in den Ausschüssen und bei den Ausschussvorsitzenden – aber auch, was zum Beispiel den Vorschlag der Einführung eines gender impact assessments, also einer Gender-Folgenabschätzung, unserer eigenen Beschlüsse und Entscheidungen hier im Haus betrifft, aber auch die Durchführung von gender budgeting, wie es eigentlich auch seit Langem in Beschlüssen des Rates, aber auch des Europäischen Parlaments vorgesehen ist.
Wichtig ist aber auch, dass nach der morgigen Abstimmung den schönen Worten auch Taten folgen und die Forderungen tatsächlich in die Praxis umgesetzt werden – insbesondere die Stärkung des Gender-Mainstreaming-Networks im Haus und die Aufnahme der Änderungsanträge zum Gender-Mainstreaming in die Geschäftsordnung und auch, dass die Kommission endlich einen tatsächlichen Gleichstellungsbericht vorlegt.
Romana Tomc (PPE).– Seveda se želim najprej zahvaliti poročevalki za dobro opravljeno delo in najbrž je jutri slučaj, da je dan žensk, ampak te teme bi se morali dotakniti večkrat, ne samo na takšne dneve.
V zadnjem času smo naredili kar dober napredek, pa kljub temu ostaja kar nekaj neenakosti na določenih področjih in jaz bi rada na tem mestu predvsem izpostavila področje podjetništva in področje zastopanosti žensk na vodstvenih položajih in v upravah velikih podjetij. Opustiti moramo te stereotipe, ki se pojavljajo v poslovnem svetu, v politiki in v družbi nasploh in seveda omogočiti večjo udeležbo žensk pri sprejemanju odločitev. To bi po mojem mnenju pripomoglo tudi k večji učinkovitosti podjetij in k večjemu GDP-ju.
Pravi napredek pa bomo seveda dosegli šele takrat, ko za izboljšanje udeležbe žensk ne bomo več potrebovali kvot in umetnega spodbujanja, ampak bo to samo po sebi umevno.
Soledad Cabezón Ruiz (S&D).– Señora Presidenta, evaluar el impacto de género en las políticas públicas no es una cuestión solamente de modernización de estas. Evaluar cómo afectan de forma diferente a hombres y mujeres las diferentes políticas públicas y hacer e impulsar medidas para la equidad, para conseguir una igualdad de oportunidades entre hombres y mujeres, es un derecho fundamental, humano y de justicia social.
No existen políticas neutras que se pongan en marcha sin una perspectiva de género. Por eso yo saludo y celebro esta Resolución que pide que todos los trabajos del Parlamento Europeo se acompañen de una evaluación del impacto de género y, por supuesto, también los presupuestos, porque eso es comprender mejor la sociedad: más eficiencia, más transparencia, mejor redistribución de los recursos y oportunidad de mayor participación y, sobre todo, mayor democracia.
Branislav Škripek (ECR)– Čítanie tejto správy je dosť neuveriteľné. Všimnite si prosím niektoré z týchto absurdností:
Uplatňovanie hľadiska rodovej rovnosti vraj musí zahŕňať práva, perspektívy a blaho osôb LGBTIQ, ako aj osôb všetkých rodových identít a tiež riešenie otázky zastúpenia mužov a žien a osôb všetkých rodových identít v politických oblastiach. Na aké všetky identity tu spravodajkyňa myslí? Existujúce alebo také, ktoré ešte len niekto prinesie? Ďalej, aby politiky EÚ rovnocenne zastupovali chlapcov a dievčatá, mužov a ženy, ako aj ostatné rodové identity. Snáď tieto osoby už nie sú chlapci a dievčatá? Tiež zdôrazňuje význam a pozitívny dosah používania rodovo neutrálneho jazyka a žiada osobitné odborné kurzy o používaní rodovo neutrálneho jazyka pre prekladateľov a ešte navrhuje zriadiť vnútorný monitorovací orgán. A to čo tu ešte všetko chceme sledovať, sa pýtam. Vážení kolegovia zo ženského výboru, myslím, že toto asi nemyslíte vážne. Verím, že každý z nás chápe pravú podstatu rovnosti medzi ženami a mužmi a to, že sme si rovní. Preto vás prosím, aby ste zajtra pri hlasovaní podporili pozmeňujúci návrh č. 4, ktorý je alternatívou k tejto správe.
Marijana Petir (PPE).– Gospođo predsjednice, gospođo povjerenice, vama i svim ženama čestitam sutrašnji Međunarodni dan žena. Međutim, ovo izvješće ničime neće doprinijeti da on bude sretan. Ovo izvješće neće doprinijeti poboljšanju položaja žena, smanjenju njihove nezaposlenosti, adekvatnom vrednovanju njihovog rada na poslu i kod kuće, smanjenju zlostavljanja i diskriminacije žena.
Ovim izvješćem Odbor za ravnopravnost spolova postat će super odbor, nadređen svim drugim odborima, što je u suprotnosti s demokratskim i zakonskim procedurama Europskog parlamenta. Ovo izvješće doprinijet će, nažalost, generiranju dodatnih procedura, papirologije i više birokracije te će doprinijeti da bude sve manje Europe, sve manje transparentnosti i sve manje brige za probleme žena.
Stoga ovo izvješće, nažalost, ne mogu podržati.
Beatrix von Storch (ECR).– Frau Präsidentin! Es geht um die Umsetzung der Gender-Ideologie in der internen Organisation des EU-Parlaments, den Bericht Mlinar. Der Bericht fordert Leitlinien für die Personalabteilung, um das Wohlergehen lesbischer, schwuler, bisexueller, transsexueller, intersexueller und quersexueller EU-Beamten am Arbeitsplatz zu verbessern. Das muss man nicht kommentieren, das muss man nur bei der nächsten Wahl einfach in Erinnerung rufen. Wir tun das mit großem Erfolg gerade in Deutschland.
Der Bericht Mlinar hat zwei Vorteile: Es wird klar, welche Steuermittel in welcher Höhe für die Gender-Ideologie verschwendet werden, und der Bericht liefert uns jede Menge Argumente. Der Text bestätigt nämlich alle Vorurteile, die über das weltfremde EU-Parlament kursieren. Vielen Dank dafür!
Seán Kelly (PPE).– Madam President, I would first like to congratulate Ms Ward on her birthday – coincidentally, I share the same birthday as my mother as well. Ireland joined the European Union 1973. At that time, women who got married had to retire from working in the civil service. The European Union insisted that the rule be changed, and of course it made sense and it has been that way ever since. So the European Union has form in trying to promote gender equality, and I agree completely with that. Incidentally, we have just emerged from our general elections. We had a quota for women candidates for the first time ever – it had to be 30 % – and while many people were against it, it was significant that far more women were elected to the next government – or the next Dáil as we call it – than the previous one. So while people might not agree with quotas, this does seem to work, and it is necessary until we get proper equality between men and women.
(End of catch-the-eye procedure)
Věra Jourová,Member of the Commission.– Madam President, I would like to thank Ms Mlinar for this draft report on gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament. Gender mainstreaming is an important tool to achieve real equality between women and men. For the EU, it is Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which states that: ‘in all its activities, the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality between men and women’. Gender mainstreaming is therefore not a choice, but an obligation. All major institutions, including the European Parliament and the Commission, are confronted with the permanent challenge of putting gender mainstreaming into practice and continuously improving its effectiveness.
The so-called ‘dual approach’ of specifically targeted gender equality actions, on the one hand, and gender mainstreaming on the other hand, has proven successful not only at European level, but also at national, regional and local levels. The Commission also follows this dual approach in the recently published strategic engagement for gender equality 2016—2019. This strategic paper, in line with the principle of gender mainstreaming, emphasises the need to integrate a gender equality perspective into all EU policies, legislation and funding programmes. In practice, this is translated into constant efforts to integrate a gender equality perspective into every aspect of EU intervention. It means assessing the impact of Commission action on both women and men and taking responsibility for adjustment if necessary, so that equality between women and men is promoted and equalities are not perpetuated.
In order to monitor the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the Commission in practice, the strategic engagement announces that the Commission will consider issuing a report on gender mainstreaming in 2017. The Commission’s inter-service group for equality between women and men, managed by the DG for Justice and Consumers, plays a key role in implementing gender mainstreaming at the Commission. Finally, let me congratulate Ms Ward on her birthday today and wish all of us a good Women’s Day tomorrow.
President. – The item is closed.
The vote will take place on Tuesday, 8 March 2016.
Written statements (Rule 162)
Νότης Μαριάς (ECR), γραπτώς.– Η ενσωμάτωση της διάστασης του φύλου στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο είναι απαραίτητη προκειμένου να προωθηθεί η ισότητα των δύο φύλων και να καταπολεμηθούν οι διακρίσεις και οι παραβιάσεις δικαιωμάτων που παρατηρούνται εις βάρος των γυναικών σε διάφορα κράτη μέλη της ΕΕ. Ειδικότερα στην περίοδο της χρηματοοικονομικής κρίσης που διανύουμε, οι διακρίσεις μεταξύ των δυο φύλων είναι ιδιαίτερα έντονες στον εργασιακό τομέα, όπου το μισθολογικό χάσμα ανέρχεται στο 16,4% και το συνταξιοδοτικό χάσμα στο 39%. Επισημαίνεται ότι σε χώρες όπως η Ελλάδα, που πλήττονται από τις μνημονιακές πολιτικές, οι γυναίκες είναι τα μεγαλύτερα θύματα. Επομένως, προκειμένου να εξαλείψει η ΕΕ τις διαφορές αυτές, θα πρέπει να επιβάλει διαφάνεια στον εργασιακό τομέα και στα συνταξιοδοτικά συστήματα καθώς επίσης και να φροντίσει να ενισχύσει την επιρροή της Επιτροπής ως προς τα δικαιώματα των γυναικών και την ισότητα των φύλων κατά την κατάρτιση πλευρών του προϋπολογισμού της ΕΕ που συνδέονται με την ενσωμάτωση της διάστασης του φύλου στο έργο του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου. Τέλος, προκειμένου να εξαλειφθούν οι διακρίσεις μεταξύ των δυο φύλων, θα πρέπει να θέσει η ΕΕ τέλος στις πολιτικές λιτότητας που πλήττουν κατεξοχήν τα δικαιώματα των γυναικών.
Claudia Tapardel (S&D), în scris. – Egalitatea de șanse și de gen este un concept care a intrat în forță pe Agenda Europeană în 1996, odată cu angajamentul Comisiei de dezvolta un sistem dual de soluționare a inegalităților dintre femei și bărbați. După 20 de ani, nici Comisia Europeană, nici statele membre nu au reușit să se ralieze principiului egalității de șanse și de gen.
Se spune că femeile care vor să fie egale cu bărbații nu sunt suficient de ambițioase, ceea ce poate fi un citat potrivit pentru o cauză feministă de Ziua Internațională a Femeii, dar nu este nici pe departe un citat care reflectă realitatea. Realitatea este că încă un număr important de femei sunt discriminate în UE pe motive de gen; realitatea este că anumite domenii, precum transporturile, rămân inaccesibile multor femei; realitatea este că nu am reușit să integrăm în politicile publice europene o veritabilă educație privind egalitatea de șanse și de gen.
Comisia Europeană trebuie să vină, după 20 de ani de la angajamentul din 1996, cu o nouă strategie și comunicare pentru egalitatea de gen în UE. Avem nevoie de soluții concrete, de programe dezvoltate și finanțate corespunzător pentru integrarea femeilor în poziții de decizie în toate instituțiile europene.