Tag: gender equality

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has kicked off a three-month debate that could result in more decisive legislative action, a year after she called on companies to take voluntary steps to increase the number of women on boards to 30% by 2015 and 40% by 2020.

Enforcing gender quotas on company boards and making existing voluntary ethical codes binding are all options that may emerge from a European Commission consultation paper published yesterday (5 April).

Turkey's record on gender equality remains inadequate and has substantially worsened under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). However, strong measures for women in education, family planning and political representation can reverse the trend, writes the Brussels representative of Turkey's opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kader Sevinç.

The 20th Century brought great advances for gender equality all over Europe, argues the vice-president of Italian Senate, Emma Bonino, but much remains to be done, especially in Italy. In this exclusive interview with EurActiv, she suggests a few tools that could accelerate women's empowerment.

Starting from 2012, insurance companies will no longer be able to charge different premiums for men and women, after the European Court of Justice ruled against using gender-based criteria to set prices.

The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index provides a comprehensive framework for benchmarking global gender gaps but should give data on issues such as paternity leave to give a more balanced picture, writes Dr Jane Hailé, a consultant to governments and the European Commission specialising in gender, human rights and development.

The European Commission is considering introducing quotas to tackle gender imbalances in the decision-making bodies of private companies, where only 10% of members are women.