Importance of women's political empowerement - Gurmai Zita

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Rovana Plumb Importance of women's political empowerment Importance of women's political empowerment in light of the new economic and social challenges Today's economic challenges such as fierce unemployment, ageing societies, and lower productivity levels, to name a few, have had a strong impact on women's participation in the labour market as well as their empowerment in social, economic and political fields of activity. Despite an increase in female employment following the crisis, this has rather been the case with part-time or irregular work which is usually low-paid and uncertain. This issue draws our attention that Europe needs to bring more female workers into full-time employment to contribute to their empowerment and emancipation, by offering them the chance to have a thriving career after the completion of their education, and also to be on equal terms with men as far as quality of life, educational attainment, economic opportunities and political representation are concerned. Women are still disadvantaged in the highest-level professions, particularly in the political and financial areas because of the embedded perception that men are more competent in pursuing top-level careers. From this point of view, the European democracy still looks imperfect: by applying the criteria of competence to the access to an important position, the balance weighs in favour of male candidates. The engagement of women in the mechanisms that regulate civil life has low levels in many EU countries, including in Romania. Although Romania's accession to the EU has brought about an improvement in the status of women and an increase in their visibility in the labour market, Romanian women are not very well informed about their right to equal opportunities and equal treatment. I sincerely hope that the patriarchal mentalities will change in the long-term, leaving room for mutual understanding and respect for both sexes. At the same time, we need to relentlessly continue to work together towards promoting an adequate status of women both in Romania and in the EU, so that they can gain a rightful place in society, through financial independence, self-confidence and a sense of self-worth. When it comes to a leadership position, one rarely ever sees a genuinely fair and open competition between the two sexes, aimed at emphasizing personal achievements and skills. Women’s voices in policy-making are insufficiently taken into account as compared to men, which means that they do not have meaningful input into the social and political developments 63
64 Importance of women's political empowerment in light of the new economic and social challenges in their societies and as a result, do not gain the same political influence that men do. However, I firmly believe that the political and social scenes both in Romania and the EU cannot be devoid of female participation and leadership. Similarly, although the number of female university graduates is higher than men, the former are under-represented in the management boards of companies and public administrations, owing to a stereotyping of 'management' as a typically 'male' profession. This is because the business and political realms are often portrayed as 'aggressive', being broadly accessible to men, and therefore less open to women who are classified as weak, which explains why certain professions are 'feminised' (for instance, nursing, teaching, office work, care of the elderly and the disabled). These are generally lower-paid and limited in their prospects for offering advancement. Another issue that women are generally more confronted with than men is the work-life balance. This is unfortunately regarded as a 'woman's problem' and not an issue that should be of equal concern to both men and women, thus instilling the idea that women do not have sufficient time to assume the responsibilities of a high-level position due to other commitments that family life imposes. This is a sever under-estimation of the potential and skills of women who are just as capable in taking leadership positions as men are. I therefore believe that women's empowerment should start from the early stages of education, through the diversification of the educational and training opportunities available to women and girls, the promotion of self-esteem and leadership in girls, and also of life-long learning and training. In this respect, the young and qualified female workers should have wider access to top positions in companies and political organisations, in order to break down the viewpoint of women as passive help recipients in favour of that which presents them well-deservedly as dynamic promoters of social, political and economic progress. A fair and gender-balanced representation in politics and in the management boards of companies constitutes a progressive approach in tackling the social, demographic and economic challenges that Europe is confronted with. In light of these challenges, women's empowerment can bring about a multitude of benefits: creating a more effective use of skills, better human resources management, better working relationships, and on the whole, positive effects on the reputation and the productive potential of their workplace, be it a company or a political institution. A woman leader also has additional assets that can help towards more efficient and effective results in the long-term: diligence, empathy, communication, listening skills, compassion. Moreover, boosting female employability in positions of high responsibility can deliver the muchneed economic growth and can be a powerful deterrent against the high unemployment levels
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Importance of women’s political e
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4 Contents Rovana PLUMB Importance
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Daša Šašić Šilović Foreword o
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Zita Gurmai Member of the European
Page 13 and 14: 12 Foreword of the publisher backla
Page 16 and 17: Besima Boric Importance of women's
Page 18: Importance of women's political emp
Page 22 and 23: Sylvie Guillaume Women’s empowerm
Page 28 and 29: Zita Gurmai Importance of women's p
Page 30 and 31: Importance of women's political emp
Page 32: Edit Herczog Member of the European
Page 35 and 36: 34 Political empowerment of women t
Page 38 and 39: Mija Javornik Importance of women's
Page 44 and 45: Sonja Lokar Importance of women's p
Page 48: Sanja Major Adviser, City Office fo
Page 51 and 52: 50 Being a young woman in Croatia t
Page 54 and 55: Thomas Maes Importance of women's p
Page 60 and 61: Kaysa Penny Importance of women's p
Page 62: Rovana Plumb Member of the European
Page 68: Professor Dr.h.c.Christa Randzio-Pl
Page 71 and 72: 70 Women in Politics political solu
Page 74: Brigita Schmögnerová former Vice
Page 77 and 78: 76 Women’s voice to be heard The
Page 80: Judit Tánczos Policy Advisor, Foun
Page 83 and 84: 82 Forever assistants? Challenges o
Page 86: Patrizia Toia Member of the Europea
Page 89 and 90: 88 Greater equality for all If we a
Page 92: Britta Thomsen Member of the Europe
Page 95 and 96: 94 The importance of political empo
Page 98 and 99: Attila Benedek - Márta Bonifert Im
Page 102 and 103: Closing remarks Importance of women
Page 104 and 105: Annex Importance of women's politic
Page 106 and 107: Dan JØRGENSEN Denmark Socialdemokr
Page 108 and 109: António Fernando CORREIA DE CAMPOS
Page 110 and 111: Richard HOWITT United Kingdom Labou
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Annex II Charts and figures Women i
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Importance of women's political emp
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Republic of Korea Importance of wom
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Gender quotas in the EU Source: Der
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CEE Network for Gender Issues The C
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Importance of women's political empowerement - Gurmai Zita

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