Gender pay gap: “It’s time to go from legislation to good practice”

“How is it possible that after having legislation on equal pay for over 50 years it doesn’t work and we still have a 16%-17% gender pay gap in the EU?” asks Slovakian Christian Democrat Edit Bauer. Mrs Bauer is the author of a report on equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value. In this interview Mrs Bauer speaks about the EU’s focus for this year’s International Women’s Day, to be celebrated on 8 March.

Read the article on the EP website…

European Equal Pay Day: We are on the right track, but a lot more still needs to be done

Edit Bauer MEP and European Parliament Rapporteur on the “Application of the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value” in the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM), welcomes the second European Equal Pay Day. “Equal Pay for Equal Work will also be the motto of this year’s European Parliament event on International Women’s Day (8 of March) and I am delighted this topic is high on the agenda”, says Edit Bauer MEP.

The Gender Pay Gap Report reiterates the recommendations adopted by the European Parliament in 2008, while also taking into account the statistical data and research information on the issue of the gender pay gap which have been released in recent years. “The principle that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work has been enshrined in the European Community Treaties”, points out MEP Bauer.

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EIN: European Ideas Network convenes in Bucharest to discuss priorities arising from the economic crisis and the Black Sea Region

The EPP Group will launch the 10th annual Summer University of its think-tank, the European Ideas Network (EIN) in Bucharest, Romania, on 22-24 September 2011. The central themes of discussion will be the Black Sea Region and the priorities arising from the economic crisis indicating the possible path towards economic union.

EIN Summer Universities provide a private forum for intense debate among stakeholders in European policy-making. The meeting in Bucharest will focus on the challenges Europe is facing and will try to update European policies in order to better correspond to the present day economic and societal realities. A series of panels will debate issues such as a competitive free single market for a cohesive continent within the multi-financial framework EU 2020, financial market regulation, demography and inclusion, innovation and creativity in European society, a renewed role of the Transatlantic Community, defense of Christian democratic values and the path towards the EU of countries of the Balkans.

Read the article on the EPP website…

EPP Group highlights for this week (19-23 September)

EPP TV in this short video describes the political priorities of the group for this week. More stories on www.eppgroup.eu.

Hearing: Girls in migration

A hearing organized by the EPP Group (concretely by French MEP Veronique Mathieu in cooperation with MEPs Bauer, Saifi and Theocharous) will take place on 21st September 2011 (Wednesday) in the European Parliament. The main topic of the hearing is the migration of young girls.

Around the globe and according to most recent official data, more than 10 million girls aged 10 to 19 are international migrants. More than a quarter of them live in Europe (including a million and a half in the European Union) and they account for at least 5 million individuals in developing countries. The immigration of girls has been rising steadily in the European Union now covering a broad range of migration categories (economic migration, family-related migration, irregular and/or forced migration, political or climate refugees, asylum seekers). The main objective of the hearing is to emphasize the importance of policies which identify and address the specific vulnerabilities of girls in the migration processes while investing in their potential and defending their autonomy.

You can download the programme of the hearing in .doc format here.

Don´t overlook the economic potential of women 50+

The plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the report of the MEP Edit Bauer (EPP, Slovakia) on the disadvantageous situation of women approaching retirement.

The report deals with and formulates recommendations toward the European Commission and the Member States about the age group that is the most neglected one on the labour market. Shameful but a fact is, that the employment rate for women aged more than fifty is only 37 per cent, up against the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy that aims to reach 75 per cent. According to Edit Bauer, rigorous steps should be taken to keep the mentioned age group on the labour market preventing them from spending their retirement years in poverty. As the MEP emphasized “These women are in the possession of knowledge, skills and experience that must not be neglected.”

Unfortunately women over fifty often have to face multiple discrimination on an everyday-basis. They are overshadowed not only because of their gender, but also because of their age. Edit Bauer pointed out that women are considered old much earlier than men and this in itself indicates a clear discrimination. In addition, the gender pay gap among older women is much deeper than in any age group. This is mainly due to the fact that women are often forced to interrupt their careers, most often because of childbirth or homecare of their dependent family members. These so-called “inactive periods” accumulate and make a significantly negative impact on the reckoning of pension. As Edit Bauer said, it has to be prevented that women are penalized simply because of motherhood or taking care of family members. In her report she calls on the European Commission and Member States to take these factors into account while preparing the pension-reform.

Another huge problem and also a cause of early retirement is the health status of elderly women. Both the European and the national health policies should take into account the specific diseases of women, like breast and cervical cancer and osteoporosis. Most of these diseases can be prevented if recognized in time, so Member States shall take appropriate measures to draw the attention of women for regular cancer-screening and prevention. Member States should ensure these tests to be available all the time.

Economic potential of women 50+ must not be overlooked

The plenary session of the European Parliament today overwhelmingly adopted a Report by Edit Bauer MEP on the disadvantageous situation of women approaching retirement.

The Report deals with and formulates recommendations to the European Commission and the Member States on the most neglected age group on the labour market. A shameful fact is that the employment rate for women over the age of fifty is only 37 percent, the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy being to reach 75 percent. According to Edit Bauer, rigorous steps should be taken to keep this age group on the labour market preventing them from spending their retirement years in poverty. Mrs Bauer said: “These women possess knowledge, skills and experience that must not be neglected.”

Unfortunately, women over fifty often have to face multiple discrimination on an everyday basis. They are overshadowed not only because of their gender, but also because of their age. “Women are considered old much earlier than men and this in itself indicates a clear discrimination. In addition, the gender pay gap among older women is much deeper than in any age group. This is mainly due to the fact that women are often forced to interrupt their careers, most often because of childbirth or homecare of their dependent family members. These so-called ‘inactive periods’ accumulate and have a significantly negative impact on the reckoning of pension”, pointed out Edit Bauer. Furthermore, we have to prevent women being penalised simply because of motherhood or taking care of family members. In her Report, Edit Bauer calls on the European Commission and Member States to take these factors into account while preparing the pension reform.

Another huge problem and also a cause of early retirement is the health status of elderly women. Both the European and the national health policies should take into account the specific diseases of women, like breast and cervical cancer and osteoporosis. “Most of these diseases can be prevented if recognised in time, so Member States should take appropriate measures to draw the attention of women to regular cancer screening and prevention. Member States should ensure that these tests are available all the time”, concluded Edit Bauer.

My speech as rapporteur at the beginning of the debate:

Highlights: Priorities and Political Position of the EPP Group (12-16/09/2011)

You can find the positions of the EPP group for the september plenary session in the PDF document, including information about my report on Women approaching retirement with vote on Tuesday.

EPP Group Bureau Meeting in Wrocław – Prioritise Neighbourhood and Energy Policies

The EPP Group held a two-day meeting of its Bureau in Wrocław, Poland on 8 and 9 September 2011. Debate centred on Neighbourhood Policy with special attention on the Eastern Dimension and on Energy Policy focusing on external relations and security of supply.

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Disabilities: promoting disability requires a joint European commitment! Ádám Kósa MEP

“Our ageing European society cannot avoid integrating the more than 80 million people with disabilities into the education and labour market in order to manage current and upcoming employment challenges”, said EPP Group MEP Ádám Kósa, host of today’s EPP Group Hearing on Inclusion and Mobility of People with Disabilities. At the event, which was the first completely barrier-free public hearing in the history of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission announced that the new European Accessibility Act will be presented in the autumn of 2012.

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