About

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) develops and shares reliable evidence on gender equality in the EU and the Member States to support better informed policymaking. Since its creation in 2010 it is increasingly referred to as the EU knowledge center for gender equality matters.

As a major achievement EIGE developed and launched the Gender Equality Index in 2013 as a unique statistical tool for measuring progress in gender equality in several policy areas. Since then EIGE has introduced new variables in its domain of Work. For the first time a composite indicator was developed in the satellite domain of violence against women; this domain was completely empty in 2013 because of a lack of comparable data. The Index published in 2013 included data collected in 2010; now data for 2005 and 2012 have been incorporated to show progress over time. The Index will definitely bring you up to date.

EIGE’s Gender Equality Index 2015 will be presented to the European Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and other important stakeholders during an official launch event in Brussels. Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Ms Věra Jourová has confirmed her presence as a key note speaker at the event.

The results of the Index for the EU and the Member States will be presented for the first time at the launch. At the conference Member States’ official representatives will tell you how they managed to increase scores in several of the Index’ domains. Once revealed this tool will allow you to evaluate the impact of your work in the strategic frameworks for gender equality.

Agenda

08:30-09:00 Registration
9:00-9:30 Opening session

Virginija Langbakk, Director, EIGE

Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality

Ulrike Lunacek, Vice-president, European Parliament

Lydia Mutsch, Minister of Equal Opportunities, Luxembourg

 

9:30-11:15

Session 1

Update of the Gender Equality Index, main trends and relevance at EU and national level

Presentation:  Dr Jolanta Reingardė, Senior Researcher/AnalystEIGE

Moderator: Dr Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides, member of EIGE’s Management Board, Professor, Jean Monnet Chair, University of Cyprus

Panellists:

  • Elke Ferner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany
  • Marco Peronaci, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy at the European Union
  • Demetris Michaelides, Senior Employment Officer, Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, Cyprus
  • Martina Vuk, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Slovenia

This session presents the updated methodology for the domain of work and reveals the scores of the Gender Equality Index at three different time points: 2005, 2010 and 2012. The update also includes scores for Croatia, following its accession to the EU in 2013. A breakdown by domain is provided, highlighting where progress has been made and where scores remain most problematic.

11:15-11:40 Coffee Break
11:40-11:50

Opening speech

Reinis Uzulnieks, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Welfare, Latvia

11:50-13:00 Session 2  

Gender Equality Index in a broader context

Presentation: Dr Viginta Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė, Research Officer - Research Statistics IndicesEIGE

Moderator: Salla Saastamoinen, Director for Equality, DG Justice, European Commission

Panellists:

  • Baudouin Baudru, Head of Cabinet, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion (DG EMPL)
  • Agnès Hubert, Associate researcher at PRESAGE Sciences Po
  • Xavier Prats Monné, Director-General, Directorate-General for Education  and Culture (DG EAC)
  • Dr Wendy  Sigle,  Professor, London School of Economics
  • Viviane Teitelbaum, President, European Women’s Lobby

Gender equality is a stand-alone goal, but also need to be incorporated into other policy areas. This section examines the Gender Equality Index scores in relation to economic growth (GDP), social protection expenditure, rates of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), formal childcare provision, women’s representation in academia and health care expenditure.

13:00-14:30

Lunch

14:30-14:40

Opening speech

Dr Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Malta

14:40-16:00 Session 3  

Towards a composite measure of violence against women

Presentation: Thérèse Murphy, Head of Operations, EIGE

Moderator: Michele Palma, member of EIGE’s Experts’ Forum,

Director General of the Office for General and International Affairs and Interventions in the Social Field, Department for Equal Opportunities, Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Panellists:

  • Dr Joanna Goodey, Head of Freedoms and Justice Department, FRA
  • Rosa Logar, President, Wave Network (Women against violence Europe)
  • Liri Kopaçi-Di Michele, Head of Equality Division, DG of Democracy, Council of Europe
  • Prof. Sylvia Walby, OBE, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, UNESCO Chair in Gender Research, Lancaster University

This section presents an overview of a first attempt to develop a composite indicator that measures direct violence against women across the EU and can act as a tool that can support the monitoring of progress in the eradication of violence against women. Scores are provided only in relation to the EU average, with EU Member States clustered into three categories around this average. Results are then contextualised using other relevant indicators, including attitudes surrounding the general acceptability of violence against women, awareness of incidents of violence against women within the social environment, as well as the level of trust in police and justice institutions.

16:00-16:30

Closing session

Virginija Langbakk, Director, EIGE

Salla Saastamoinen, Director for Equality, DG Justice, European Commission

16:30-17:30

Networking and coffee

Launch Index 2015 - Agenda in pdf

Presentations

Location

The conference will take place on Thursday 25 June 2015 in the Auditorium of the Belgian Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

Parc du Cinquantenaire, 10 Jubelbark

Bruxelles 1000 Brussel