“Equality between women and men”
19-20 September 2011, Brussels

Introductory session Priorities for gender equality policies at European level

Speech by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by saying how pleased I am to be here with you this morning.

In fact, this topic has been at the top of my agenda since I took up office in 2002 as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

As a matter of fact, I opened last Friday – at the London 2012 Olympic Park – the Council of Europe’s European Women and Sport Conference, which provided me with much food for thought for this event today. Sport is in many ways a good reflection of society, and the inequalities and discriminations we see in other fields of life are all too evident: only one woman on the International Olympic Committee Executive Commission; male-only delegations at the last Olympic Games; a marked imbalance in sports participation among teenage boys and girls. The playing field is not yet level!

Progress has been made. Today, the necessary legal framework aimed at ensuring equality exists. Important legal instruments have been adopted – globally, regionally or nationally – to promote gender equality. This of course is a very good thing. What is less good is that, despite all the instruments in force, equality is still not a reality for millions of women across the world, and also here in Europe. There is still a gap.

Today’s Conference is an opportunity to see how to bridge that gap and to focus on the priority areas which will make gender equality a reality.

I believe that the European Commission and the Council of Europe can usefully work together in these key areas over the coming years.

Let me now mention these areas but please note that there is no hierarchy between them.

The first one is the need to get more women to participate in political and public decision-making – at national, regional and local level. Women are often working hard behind the scenes, but visibility counts in order to set the agenda and to change perceptions. In 2003, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe set the benchmark of at least 40%. This of course would be a significant improvement in most cases, but “better” should not be enough. You do not need to be a maths genius to figure out that 40% and 60% are not equal ratios. Only 50%-50% will suffice.

But even the 40% is a long way off in our member states. I recently visited a member state – where the government-set target for increasing the participation of women in public life was set at 5%! I repeat – 5%. If it is any consolation, I can tell you that the target was met, and even surpassed by 0.3%... This shows that we still have a long way to go. You can be assured that this will be a priority topic in our discussions with member states.

The same goes for our justice systems. Women and men must and should have equal access to national and European justice systems. “But they do!”, you will say, because there is no law that keeps them from seeking justice. And yet, women seem to be less present across the spectrum of judicial proceedings and that is a good indicator of the level of their participation in the economic and social life of our societies.

Statistics from the European Court of Human Rights possibly reflect a trend at national level : between 1 January 2009 and 31 March 2010, of the judgments handed down by either a chamber or the Grand Chamber and invoking Article 14 – prohibition of discrimination – of the European Convention on Human Rights, only 28% related to applications lodged by a woman.

The second key area is to reduce the wage gap between women and men. Years ago, in 1969, when I graduated from law school, I wrote my thesis on the then Article 177 of the Rome Treaty – now renumbered Article 157 of the Lisbon Treaty – which guarantees the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. My conclusion was the same as it is today: legal rules are in place but women continue to earn less than men for the same job across Europe. We have to raise awareness of this fact. Among the men, I mean. Women, I can assure you, do not need to be reminded. In this respect, we welcome the proposal to organise a European Day of equal wages for women and men - that is a day in the year which marks how many extra days are required by a woman to earn the equivalent of a man. The Council of Europe has unanimously voiced its firm support for this Spanish proposal - to be celebrated every year on 22 February - and expressed the wish that it be adopted by all Council of Europe member states.

The third area is combating violence against women. There are still too many women victims of violence in Europe and the world today. This is the worst consequence of inequality and the existing balance of power between women and men. This scourge is not only unacceptable from the human rights perspective but, on top of that, protecting women and combating this problem not only saves lives, it also comes at a lesser financial cost for our societies. This is why the Council of Europe attaches such importance to action to combat violence against women. Tomorrow, my colleague Mrs Marja Ruotanen will address you on these issues. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was opened for signature in May this year. It has now been signed by 16 Member States. The Convention, as it is the case with most recent Council of Europe conventions, is also open to non-European countries. I certainly hope that many, as well as the European Union, will join.

Finally, - but this is maybe the core of the matter - we need to change attitudes and behaviour in women and men, but particularly in men. Male norms still prevail, requiring women to adapt, but not men. To use again the playing field analogy – it is men who have chosen the surface, set the rules and marked the boundaries. Domestic work still remains undervalued and women are required to double up their roles as bread-winners and primary care providers. And society needs to allow men to change.

I would also add the need to address stereotypes. This is an area on which we are working; particularly in respect of education and the media. It is important that the school system allows children to develop a critical mind vis-à-vis the image of women and deconstruct gender stereotypes. Also of importance, the media. New technologies, in particular, exhibit a penchant for traditional gendered role models, reinforcing them and taking us backwards rather than forwards. We have a handbook under preparation to help media professionals to combat gender stereotypes in their work.

Ladies and gentlemen, in these times of financial crisis and social unrest, it is crucial to underline that gender equality should not be approximate equality, discreet or “reasonable” equality.

I sometimes wonder whether the financial crisis would have happened if the financial institutions contained a little more oestrogen. Research has been done on this question and it does not provide a definitive answer but I personally believe that things would have turned out differently if banks had more women executives and board members in key roles. I know that Commissioner Kroes has also raised the question of whether the world would be like it is today if the Lehman brothers had been the Lehman sisters.

I recently heard of some interesting research which shows that it is often in times of crisis – scandals or failing companies – that women are brought in to direct the board. Perhaps a more balanced representation, earlier on, would make sound business sense.

Whatever the truth of this, the key ways forward are those that I mentioned earlier.

The fact that we are still organising a Conference on the situation of women 30 years after CEDAW is very telling. We need to step up a gear if we are really going to have any hope of achieving real gender equality in our societies.

To this end, as from 2012, the Council of Europe will have in place a new transversal programme to promote gender equality. Its principal objective will be to provide our member states with support in the implementation of agreed international standards in our member states. As specific gender equality policies and gender mainstreaming are dual and complementary, the emphasis will be put in mainstreaming the gender dimension into all fields: this cannot just be an “add-on” or a “nice-to-have”. From the first stages of policy development, it is crucial to take the gender aspect into account.

A new Gender Equality Commission will provide specialist advice on this and work with national focal points in member states and gender equality rapporteurs in the different intergovernmental, parliamentary and civil society bodies of the Council of Europe. The European Commission, UN Women and our other external partners will be fully associated in this work.

The Commission’s work will help us identify the most urgent needs for action and point at any possible loophole which might exist in the standards agreed upon so far.

So, despite great progress, the challenges remain huge but I am confident that, together we can, we must, and we will make a difference.

Our campaign for genuine gender equality repairs an injustice made to women, but beyond that important aspect, it brings significant and tangible benefits to everyone in society – men, as well as women. Equality is not only fair, it is also effective.

Thank you for your attention.