14508/09 ADD 1 PL/vk 1 DG G COUNCIL OF THE ... - Europa

Integration of gender issues in the European employment strategy process
Gender equality has been broadly taken into account in the activities in the field of the European
employment strategy, notably the process of adopting and monitoring indicators or the Mutual
Learning Process. Not many of the country-specific recommendations proposed by the Commission
and adopted annually by the Council (from 2007), have addressed female employment but a number
of so-called "points to watch" also addressed concerns of importance for gender equality (childcare,
the gender pay gap, female participation in the labour market, gender segregation) for around half
of the Member States.
In several annual Joint Employment reports, the European Commission and the Council jointly
underlined that there was some progress in the way Member States were adopting a life-cycle
approach to work, notably in terms of gender. However they also found gaps in the implementation
of the gender mainstreaming principles:
• "Through the European Pact for Gender Equality, Member States were asked to include a
perspective of gender equality when reporting on implementation. In spite of this, the
promotion of female employment and systematic gender mainstreaming of policies are
rarely emphasised". (2006 Joint Employment Report.)
• "Progress in the field of gender equality has continued to be mixed. (…). Most countries are
still far from adopting a full gender-mainstreaming approach to employment policies,
notably through systematic gender impact assessment of policy measures".
(2009 Joint Employment Report.)
A detailed analysis of gender mainstreaming of employment policies was conducted by the Expert
Group on Gender, Social Inclusion and Employment (EGGSIE) in 2007 5 . It shows notably the
limited visibility of gender in the National Reform Programmes since 2005 and the fact that the role
and visibility of women's employment and gender equality seems to be declining. Moreover, this
report highlights some very positive developments at national level in the field of gender equality,
yet notes that they are not reported in the National Reform Programmes by the Member States.
5
Gender mainstreaming of employment policies – A comparative review of thirty European
countries –
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=126&furtherPubs=yes.
See also "The National reform Programmes 2008 and the gender aspects of the European
employment strategy",
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