More
Women in Work, but 'Better' Jobs Needed
Too
Women are continuing to
drive employment growth in Europe , but
remain disadvantaged in the labour market
in relation to men, says a report adopted
by the European Commission today. Despite
higher educational attainment, women continue
to be employed less and paid less than men.
The 2008 report on Equality between women
and men will be transmitted to EU leaders
at the Spring Summit on 8-9 March.
"Our strategy for
growth and jobs has been successful in creating
more jobs for women in the EU," said
Equal Opportunities Commissioner Vladimír
Špidla. "But ongoing challenges
like the pay gap, labour market segregation,
and work/life balance mean we still have
some way to go to make those jobs 'better'
jobs too. Overall, despite their better
educational attainment, women's careers
are shorter, slower and less well-paid:
it is clear that we need to do more to make
full use of the productive potential of
the workforce."
The Commission report highlights
that the quantitative progress of women
in the labour market has not yet been matched
in qualitative terms. On the one hand, more
than 7.5 out of the 12 million new jobs
created in the EU since 2000 have been taken
by women. Their employment rate now stands
at 57.2%, or 3.5 points above its 2000 level,
compared with a less than one point rise
in the rate of male employment over the
same period. Similarly, the rise in the
rate of employment of women over the age
of 55 has been significantly faster than
that of men, and now stands at 34.8%, i.e.
a 7.4 point increase on 2000.
On the other hand, several
aspects of the quality of women's work remain
problematic. Despite the fact that women
represent 59% of university graduates and
have a better educational attainment, their
employment rate remains lower than men's
(by 14.4 points) and they continue to earn
on average 15% less than men for every hour
worked[1].
Women also face greater
difficulties in reaching decision-making
positions. The presence of female managers
in companies is progressing very slowly
and stands at only 33%. Work/life balance
is one area where major differences persist
between women and men. The employment rate
of women with young children is only 62.4%,
compared with 91.4% for men with children.
And women have a disproportionately high
recourse to part-time work (32.9%) compared
with men (7.7%), underlining the imbalance
between men and women in the use of time.
The report underlines that
more efforts need to be made to create more
and better jobs. The creation of more jobs
must go hand in hand with an improvement
in quality. Quality jobs attract workers
and allow them to fully exploit their productive
potential and contribute to improving the
quality of life in society as a whole. Equality
between women and men is an essential quality
component of work, says the report. Special
attention should also be given to improving
both the supply and quality of services
to help people balance professional and
private life, in order to allow men and
women with dependants to (re-)enter and
stay in the labour market.
2008 Report on equality between
women and men:
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/news/index_en.html |
Passengers
aboard one of Mexico City's new women-only
buses.
MEXICO CITY (AP) —
Groping and verbal harassment is an exasperating
reality for women using public transportation
in this sprawling capital, where 22 million
passengers cram onto subways and buses each
day. Some men treat women so badly that
the subway system has long had ladies-only
cars during rush hour, with police segregating
the sexes on the platforms. But that hasn't
helped women forced to rely on packed buses,
by far the city's most-used form of public
transportation — until this week.
Acting on complaints from
women's groups, the city rolled out "ladies
only" buses, complete with pink signs
in the windshields to wave off the men.
As word spreads about the buses, the women
seem delighted, while some men forced to
wait a few minutes longer have shown their
anger. Still others have stumbled on board
despite the signs, much to their embarrassment.
On Thursday, passengers on one of the female-only
buses spent most of their trip down the
capital's tree-lined Reforma Avenue chatting
or putting on makeup, instead of fighting
off unwanted male attention.
When a man mistakenly climbed
aboard, the women immediately began teasing
him and shouting that he should read the
"ladies only" sign. "He's
a gentleman! He should get off," shouted
Yolanda Altamirano, a 64-year-old office
janitor. The man blushed and mumbled an
apology, then ignored the taunts until he
got off several stops later. "Now he
knows how women feel," Altamirano said,
unapologetic for giving him a hard time.
Mexico City's female-only
buses run along three busy routes throughout
the day for now, but the city plans to add
them to 15 other routes by April, said Ariadna
Montiel, who directs the public bus system.
"Women were asking for this service
because of the sexual harassment, especially
groping and leering," Montiel said.
And while some men have
complained that they have to wait longer
for a bus, she said the women are thrilled:
"The women are really happy and we
have been getting a lot of e-mail and letters
from them." Juliana Romero, a 49-year-old
secretary, said not riding with men is "fantastic."
"When the bus is packed, there will
inevitably be a lecherous man who will bother
you," she said.
Women-only buses or subways
have been rolling for years in India, Brazil,
Japan and other countries. Mexico City finally
took the action as part of a growing responsiveness
to complaints about discrimination against
women, Montiel said. While only seven female
public bus users complained last year, she
said the real number of offenses was probably
much higher because women rarely protest
openly against sexual harassment. Some women,
like Maria Elena Sanchez, have learned to
take matters into their own hands. A 47-year-old
office messenger who uses public transportation
all day, said she carries a sewing pin for
protection.
"I always carry the
pin so I can defend myself from abusive
men," she said — adding that
she's had to use it twice this month alone.
Traveling only with women, she said, makes
her feel more secure and allows her to relax
a bit on the way to work. "I don't
think I will use the pin on these buses,"
she said, giggling.
What do you think on that
separation of the societies daily live?
Like it or not? Do you share these experiences
or would you prefer other solutions? |
