According to the interpretation of the principle, discrimination between men and women is potentially unwanted and desired to avoid. There are only two exceptional cases, in which it is acceptable. The first case is being justified by a legitimate aim, such as protection over violence against women (in which case it is accepted to provide a single-sex shelter for the victims). The second case is the freedom of association, in which case for example the “Gentlemen of Szeged” are allowed to form a single- sex social club.
1.2 Special case: insurance companies
Vast majority of insurance companies used to differenciate in premiums and fees according to sex. There was actually some scientific relevance for them to do so, since average life expectancy of men is lower than for women in most countries. However, all new insurance contracts signed after 21 December, 2007 must not use sex as a discriminating factor. There are, of course, exceptional cases, but they must be based on scientific facts, as well as statistical data available to the public.
1.3 Regulations to follow the Principle
In the European Union, Member States are always supervised and obliged to report on their operations to the European Union. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the Member State that any laws and regulations are abolished. It is also expected to widely spread all the information about the equal treatment of men and women.
In case the Member State does not fulfill its duties mentioned above, it most likely has to count on different kinds of penalties.
2. EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN
2.1 Occupation
Right from 1976, the European Union made significant actions against discrimination on the labour market. Since then, no employer is allowed to include gender in the selection criteria, not only while recruiting, but also during the process of promotion.
Not only does the regulation pronounce equal rights to access a job, it also provides equal working conditions and equal chances for dismissal for the genders. By this provided to the citizens of the European Union, all employees can be sure that their competence and experience will be taken into account when it comes to dismissal, rather than their sex. It is a very important right which is provided to the citizens.
2.2 Promotion
Employers are obliged to weigh competences, experience and other relevant qualities of a potential candidate for promotion, and must not consider their gender. However, top management still mostly consists of men, but there has been a significant improvement in the proportion of men and women in leadership over the past few years. An employee has the right to turn to legislative forces and sue the employer as soon as sexual discrimination arises.
Hopefully, in the next few years, the act will reach its aim and women and men will really have the same chance to get into the top management.
2.3 Equal wages and salaries
Since 1975, employers are obliged to pay the same amount of money for the same amount and quality of work done by their employees, regardless of their sex.
As earlier in history, deriving from customs, employers all over Europe tended to pay lower wages to women, since it was always the man who was considered to be the wage earner in a household. The European Union then, in 1975, denied this tradition. However, especially among the newly- joined Member States, it will definitely take some more years before the regulation turns fully into custom- especially in under-developed regions (such as Northern- Eastern Hungary), where customs are more alive than in well- developed regions (Budapest, Western- Hungary).
2.4 The decision- making process
The European Union encourages women to take part in the decision- making process more actively, as actively as men as a matter of fact. This refers to both the public and private sector.
As a start, Member States are advised to encourage girls to take part in discussion and express themselves confidently and actively as boys. It is a very important stage, because girls often feel swept over by their fellow male classmates, and therefore they never get the chance to learn the art of making public speeches.
Next, women are supposed to take part in traineeships as vividly as men, as it is the following important step to achieve the ability of taking part in the decision- making process later.
Without doubt, it is a very important element of this act, that Member States are required to promote women’s place in the decision- making process. It has to be widely advertised, and so that many talented women will have the courage to think of themselves as public speakers or even leaders. Nowadays, however our societies developed on such issues, many women still cannot think of themselves as competent participants in governing, for example.
Balanced participation is very important, as the lawyers and other professionals of this act recognized. Men and Women think differently, have different approaches to problems, and therefore balanced participation is beneficial. When a certain problem arises, men and women implies different approaches towards it, which results in a more complex and complete solution method of the problem, and ensures finding the best solution available.
3. SOCIAL EQUALITIES
3.1 Combining family and working life
Predetermined social models used to express that unpaid work was the responsibility of women, such as looking after the family, providing the warmth of the home and ensuring everybody’s happiness within this small circle of interconnected people. On the other hand, men were expected to obtain money deriving from an economically beneficial action. Therefore, it was socially accepted to see a woman taking care of the family, and a man working long hours to provide everything for them. Unfortunately, this custom excluded men from family life, just as much as it deprived women from a socially wider and more active life, from interactions with people outside the family.
Since 2000, the laws of the European Union pronounce and recognize that actually it is essential for the development of a society to women participate in the labour market and men participate more in the life of a family than they used to. Balanced participation of men and women in working life is equally important to them participating equally in the family life.
The Member States are encouraged to provide equal rights to the genders when it comes to childcare (a good example of this is paternity leave), taking care of the elderly or other dependant people in the family. They are specifically asked to protect and support single- parented families.
3.2 Parental leave
It is very important for citizens to know that their family peace is not shorten or even threatened by the fact that both parents are participants in the labour market. Therefore the Member States of the European Union must be very well aware of those specific rights in connection with family life.
Accordingly, it must be provided to both men and women to have the right of parental leave after the birth of a child, to take care of the child at least for 3 months, whichafter they must be provided the same job by their employer as before. This provides to all children the opportunity of being looked after by one of the parents directly.
Another very important, family protecting- decision is the right to leave in case some unforeseen events arise in a family. This naturally must be in sync with the national legislation.
3.3 Womanly duties
As most women sooner or later get to the stage of their life when childbearing is inevitable, Member States of the European Union all must provide enough rights for women to ensure no disadvantages because of their state.
First of all, there is a list of defined activities which under no circumstances are to be performed by pregnant women, such as working at night, working near x-ray-s etc. There is also another list which includes activities which cannot be perform by women who are breastfeeding. Also, maternity leave must be uninterrupted for at least 14 weeks, while women are excluded from work with no loss of salary while attending pregnancy- related medical examinations. These decisions all contribute to a both physically and mentally healthier society.
3.4 Childcare
Within the boarders of the European Union, all kinds of support for practising parents are supported in great deal. Not only are regulations provided for new parents with very small, dependant infants, but parents with older children are also helped in many ways.
First of all, employers must make sure that working schedule and environment is suitable for family members with the responsibility of upbringing children. However, there are some specific fields of the labour market where needs of parents are very hard to be met with the needs of employers. The objective is to comply those needs the best way they can be.
Secondly, family responsibilities should be shared between men and women- as seen above. It should not only be the duty of a woman to look after the children, on one hand she has to be given the opportunity to feel like a full member of the society, and on the other hand, children also have to be given the chance to see a man as a role model in the family.
Thirdly, childcaring services must be available in the entire territory of the certain Member State. This includes urban areas as much as rural areas. It does not only mean to provide childcare, but it means to provide childcare at an appropriate level, both from healthcare, both from psychological point of view.
Lastly, it is declared that childcare services must be reasonably priced. It is a great help especially for single- parented families, where the one single parent cannot afford to stay at home with the child.
4. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT AT WORK
Since it is mostly women that are the victims of sexual harrassment, it is important to declare the issue among those that deal with equalities between men and women. Luckily, within the boarders of the European Union, compared to outside countries, the number of sexual harrassments are quite low- according to relevant statistics, which we assume to be reliable. However, the objective is to declare sexual harrassment nill, as it is completely unacceptable, and so that some regulations were needed to be implemented.
According to these regulations, anybody who commits or even passively witnesses any form of sexual harrassment should be punished. The regulations seem to be really strict, which is completely understandable. Sexual harrassment has a really great effect on more people. First of all, the witnesses themselves in terms of health, confidence, and even carreer prospects. Secondly, other employees, who are not subjected to the harrassment itself, but if they have knowledge of it, it has effect on their working environment and performance. Last, for employers it might mean negative publicity or even legal implications.
5. GENDER ISSUES OUTSIDE THE EUROPEN UNION
Now let’s see some of the countries outside the European Union, without any form of regulations over gender issues.
5.1 China
It is safe to say that China is very far from reaching equality between the genders. Many traditional views are still alive in China, which discourages women from education. The numbers speak for themselves: 13% of Chinese women are illiterate, compared to only 5% of men. The government still does not emphasise on education of women, and therefore improvement is not expected in the near future.
5.2 Nigeria
Nigeria is a very controversial country. Although there are numerous women in the leadership of the country, and almost as many girls are educated as boys, on the level of everyday people, old- fashioned believes are still dominant. Even if girls are educated, at the end of the day they will still perform the duties of a good housewife, be under the influence of their husband, work only if their husband aloows them to, and only what he allows to.
5.3 Chile
Although in Chile, the belief is still common, according to which women reach full self-realization primarily through motherhood, since the 1990’s, the situation of women has significantly developed. Nowadays, it is very easy to find women occupying professions outside those typically considered to be ‘the jobs for women’, such as physicians. Many women can afford to have servants in their houses so that they can work full- time. The pressure on them is still huge to have children, however they have a lot less than their mothers and grandmothers used to.
Sources of information
Ingeborg Heide- Gender Roles and Sex Equality: European Solutions to Social Security Disputes
Anna Van Der Vleuten- The Price of Gender Equality: Member States and Governance in the European Union
Maria Dolors- Women of the European Union
Jill Steans- Gender and International Relations: Issues, Debates and Future Directions
Francine D. Blau and Ronald G. Ehrenberg- Gender and Family Issues in the Workplace
