A paper examined gender equality within European institutions and the European Parliament. It said that the rise in female participation had been slow but substantial over the previous two decades, but representation in the most influential positions remained low. The report said that major improvements were unlikely unless stricter measures were enacted, and it called on the European Union to take action and to consider the need to use more quota-based measures.
Source: Vilde Renman and Caroline Conroy, Advances in EU Gender Equality: Missing the mark?, European Policy Institutes Network
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs discussed issues relating to women in sport, considering how to close the gap between male and female participation rates.
Source: Women and Sport, First Report (Session 2014–15), HC 513, House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report provided findings from an All Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into how to create a more aspirational, modern, and representative Parliament and, in particular, how to increase the number of women in public life. Recommendations included: to create a zero tolerance response to unprofessional conduct in the chamber; to rebalance parliamentary and constitutional priorities; to improve the predictability of the parliamentary calendar with better advance planning; and to establish a Women and Equalities Select Committee.
Source: Improving Parliament: Creating a better and more representative House, All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined the extent to which the Equality Act 2010 could contribute to achieving gender equality in the United Kingdom. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, it argued that neoliberalism had prevented the Act from having a genuinely transformative effect and that an effective equality strategy for the future would require feminism to challenge neoliberalism by reuniting the three strands of gender justice-redistribution, recognition, and representation.
Source: Becci Burton, 'Neoliberalism and the Equality Act 2010: a missed opportunity for gender justice?', Industrial Law Journal, Volume 43 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined a theoretical framework for analyzing discrimination against second-generation immigrant girls in education and the labour market. Drawing upon elements of the findings from the Neskak Gora Project conducted in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, it discussed the variable ways in which class, gender, and 'race'/ethnicity intersected to produce a 'discontinuity' of axes of inequality across contexts, institutional settings, and the individual's life cycle.
Source: Sara Farris and Sara de Jong, 'Discontinuous intersections: second-generation immigrant girls in transition from school to work', Ethnic and Racial Studies, Volume 37 Number 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined ways in which national equality bodies might engage with equality duty bearers (defined as people and organizations that had an explicit legal duty under European Union and national equality legislation). The report outlined the range of EU-wide obligations, considered available engagement tools (such as legal mechanisms, research, training, and dialogue), and discussed issues relating to the choice of the 'right tool'.
Source: Joint Responsibility for Equal Treatment: How equality bodies work with duty bearers, Equinet (European Network of Equality Bodies)
Date: 2014-May
A report brought together the core findings from a series of six short statistical reports about the reconciliation of work, private, and family life in Europe. It said that the work had highlighted large gender disparities in employment situations between parents and non-parents, with lower employment levels, fewer work hours, and more underemployment among mothers in many western European countries, as compared with women without children and men with or without children. The work had also found persistent inequality among social groups, that certain groups such as single parents were more vulnerable to the challenges of work-life balance, and that long-standing social and cultural norms played a role in perpetuating gender inequality in employment. The report said that there were large differences between European Union member states in levels of, and support for, employment, and that, although the situation varied between countries, childcare and cultural norms regarding children were still important factors in employment decisions. The report concluded that there had not generally been a move away from the 'male breadwinner' model, and said that the findings illustrated the importance of recognizing the heterogeneity among groups (of women, men, parents, or non-parents), the importance of considering gender roles and cultural norms, and a need for work-life reconciliation policies targeting vulnerable groups. The supporting work was published as a series of annexes, alongside this report.
Source: Melinda Mills, Flavia Tsang, Patrick Prag, Kai Ruggeri, Celine Miani, and Stijn Hoorens, Gender Equality in the Workforce: Reconciling work, private and family life in Europe – final report, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 1: Melinda Mills, Patrick Prag, Flavia Tsang, Katia Begall, James Derbyshire, Laura Kohle, Celine Miani, and Stijn Hoorens, Use of Childcare Services in the EU Member States and Progress Towards the Barcelona Targets: Short Statistical Report No. 1, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 2: Celine Miani and Stijn Hoorens, Parents at Work: Men and women participating in the labour force – Short Statistical Report No. 2, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 3: Kai Ruggeri and Chloe Bird, Single Parents and Employment in Europe: Short Statistical Report No. 3, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 4: Melinda Mills and Patrick Prag, Gender Inequalities in the School-to-Work Transition in Europe: Short Statistical Report No. 4, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 5: Flavia Tsang, Michael Rendall, Charlene Rohr, and Stijn Hoorens, Emerging Trends in Earnings Structures of Couples in Europe: Short Statistical Report No. 5, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Annex 6: Patrick Prag and Melinda Mills, Family-Related Working Schedule Flexibility across Europe: Short Statistical Report No. 6, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2014-May
The Council of Europe published its gender equality strategy. The strategy had five objectives: to combat gender stereotypes and sexism; to prevent and combat violence against women; to guarantee equal access to justice; to achieve balance in the participation of women and men in political and public decision-making; and to achieve gender mainstreaming in all policies and measures.
Source: Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017, Council of Europe
Links: Strategy
Date: 2014-Mar
A report examined human behaviour with regards to equalities in three policy areas: the development of existing policy to build equalities leadership among the private sector; scoping a strategy to promote engagement with smaller firms on workplace equalities issues; and the development of governmental and private sector interventions to improve outcomes for female entrepreneurs.
Source: Shamit Saggar and Tilmann Eckhardt, Equality 2.0: Complementary and alternative paths to equality final report, Government Equalities Office/Department for Culture, Media, and Sport/ESRC
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Mar
A report examined the work of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee in contributing to the effective implementation of gender mainstreaming in the committees and delegations of the European parliament.
Source: Manuela Samek Lodovici, Flavia Pesce, Davide Barbieri, Daniela Loi, Erica Melloni, and Cristina Vasilescu, Gender Mainstreaming in Committees and Delegations of the European Parliament, European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Mar
An article compared the gendered allocation of household labour between married and cohabiting couples in five European countries: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Cohabiting couples were found to have a more egalitarian division of labour, but there were important country differences.
Source: Marta Dominguez-Folgueras, 'Is cohabitation more egalitarian? The division of household labor in five European countries', Journal of Family Issues, Volume 34 Number 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
A special issue of a journal examined the unintended gender consequences of European Union policies. Despite gender mainstreaming and other policy tools designed to encourage gender neutrality in all policy areas, the EU continued to enact and enforce legislation that had the potential to challenge the integrity of the European gender project.
Source: Women's Studies International Forum, Volume 39
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Heather MacRae, '(Re-)gendering integration: unintentional and unanticipated gender outcomes of European Union policy'
Ania Zbyszewska, 'The European Union Working Time Directive: securing minimum standards, with gendered consequences'
Gill Allwood, 'Gender mainstreaming and policy coherence for development: unintended gender consequences and EU policy'
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined how different marriage and cohabitation were for women's financial satisfaction and income sharing in Denmark, France, and Great Britain. A woman's financial satisfaction was lower in cohabitation than marriage, due perhaps to the lack of income pooling. But there was also substantial heterogeneity among married couples: the difference between marriage and cohabitation was better explained by the level of relationship investment in marriage in terms of its duration. In Denmark, where marriage and cohabitation were most equated by law, the relative difference between marriage and cohabitation for a woman's financial satisfaction was the greatest. No relative variation in results was observed between Great Britain and France.
Source: Nevena Kulic, 'The type and duration of family unions and income sharing: the implications for women's economic well-being', Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 44
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the associations between social mobility, income inequality, and socio-economic differences in mortality in European countries. Both income equality and social mobility were found to be associated with larger socio-economic differences in mortality, particularly in women. These findings suggested that although social mobility and income equality might improve population health, they might also increase socio-economic health inequalities.
Source: Audrey Simons, Danielle Groffen, and Hans Bosma, 'Socio-economic inequalities in all-cause mortality in Europe: an exploration of the role of heightened social mobility', European Journal of Public Health, Volume 23 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
A report prepared for the Northern Ireland Assembly examined gender issues. It discussed a range of gender disparities and said that women were under-represented across all major positions of political, economic, social and judicial power. The report said that certain policy decisions, such as budget reductions, appeared to have greater impact on women than men. It noted the existence of the Gender Equality Strategy, but said that updates to the strategy had not demonstrated significant change in the position of women in Northern Ireland over time.
Source: Review of Gender Issues in Northern Ireland, Research Paper 15/14, Research and Information Service, Northern Ireland Assembly
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jan