During the state visit to the Republic of Lithuania the President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and the prominent representatives of the Republic of Finland visited EIGE to learn about the Institute’s work and the situation of women and men in the European Union.Among topics discussed was the achievements of Finland’s when it comes to gender equality and inspiring initiatives.
Europol sees this 102nd International Women’s Day with the theme The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum as the ideal opportunity to recognise the achievements of all women working within the organisation.Today more than 200 women from all over the European Union and beyond are working at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague. They represent a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and cultures and fulfil various roles and functions.Access Europol's webpage dedicated to International Women's Day
On 5 March EIGE's Director Virginija Langbakk met Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council.Virginija Langbakk and Herman Van Rompuy - (C) European UnionThe President and the Director exchanged views on gender equality issues and the efforts of EIGE in supporting EU and Member State policies.The President was particularly interested in the Gender Equality Index and its connection to the European policies, more in particular Europe 2020.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding and Commissioner Cecilia Malmström have today joined human rights campaigners to call for zero tolerance for female genital mutilation (FGM). The Commission organised a high-level roundtable event to discuss how the European Union can help Member States to eradicate the practice – thought to have affected several hundred thousand women in the EU.
A delegation of 13 members of the Committee of the Labour Market of the Swedish Parliament headed by Ms. Ylva Johansson (former Minister) visited EIGE. The Institute presented its work to the Committee and had a discussion on the current challenges on gender equality.EIGE's Director Virginija Langbakk (left) with Ylva Johansson, Head of delegation of the Committee on the Labour Market of the Swedish Parliament (right)
International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation 6 February 2013The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and Vice-President of the European Commission Viviane Reding will launch and present a new EU-wide study on female genital mutilation (FGM) on 6 March in Brussels. The study will provide an overview of the situation concerning female genital mutilation in the 27 Member States and Croatia.
Across Europe, women are more likely not to be equally represented in media top management and editorial board. Even women have managerial and decision making roles, still this doesn’t guarantee gender equality balanced news. Women are also more likely not to be used as experts in media. These are just a few findings discussed during EIGEs consultation meeting “From practices with potential to good practices in promoting gender equality in the area of women and the media”."There is a saying...
Mapping the current status and potential of administrative sources of data on gender-based violence in the EU and Croatia”EIGE has recently launched a study on “Mapping the current status and potential of administrative sources of data on gender-based violence in the EU and Croatia”. The final results of the study will be available in August 2013.Why do we need a study on administrative data collection on gender-based violence?The crucial role of data collection in the fight against gender-based violence has been increasingly recognised by governments, international and regional organisations, civil society, researchers and experts on this issue.While countless women in the European Union continue to be affected by gender-based violence (GBV), differences in the definitions and data collection methodologies across the Member States make it difficult to obtain a comprehensive and clear picture of the nature, extent and consequences of gender-based violence in the EU.
Equality between women and men is a fundamental value of the European Union and is recognised as vital to economic growth, prosperity and competitiveness. The effectiveness of the policies developed to achieve this needs to be evaluated. The development and dissemination of EU-wide, comparable and reliable gender statistics and indicators have greatly contributed to this better monitoring and assessment of progress in the EU.To supplement these, the creation of a composite indicator, to provide a synthetic measure of gender equality as a multi-dimensional concept, was initially introduced by the European Commission in its policy document “The Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men 2006-2010” and in the Action Plan of the Commission Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-2015 that followed.
Today the European Business Schools Women on Boards Initiative is migrating their 'Global Board Ready Women' list of 8000 women into an online database. The women on this list all fulfil stringent criteria for Corporate Governance as defined by publicly listed companies and are well qualified and ready to go on boards as of today. This ever growing list of "Board Ready Women" – which will now be consultable online for corporations and for executive search companies – makes it clear that there are more than enough eminently qualified women to help lead Europe’s and the world’s corporations into the 21st century and that it is now time to shatter the glass ceiling that keeps these women from ascending to board of directors positions."We need to use all of our society’s talents to ensure that Europe’s economy takes off.
On 6 December 2012 the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) adopted Conclusions on “Combating violence against women, and the provision of support services for victims of domestic violence” (.pdf) , prepared by the Cyprus Presidency on the basis of EIGE's report “Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States:
“Across Europe, around 1 in 5 women have suffered physical violence at least once in their lives and 1 in 10 have suffered forced sexual violence. Violence against women is the most brutal manifestation of gender inequality and is a violation of human rights that Europe must not and cannot ignore”, say Vice-President Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner.Access the statement by Vice-President Reding ahead of the International Day for Eliminating Violence against Women