EU committee adopts inequality report by Qrendi deputy mayor

A report for the European Union's Committee of the Regions (CoR) by Qrendi deputy mayor Claudette Baldacchino deplores the fact that, decades after Europe agreed on equal pay legislation, women still earn an average 15 per cent less than men across the EU.

The report, adopted by the Committee of the Regions yesterday, says that regional and local authorities should lead by example to create a European society that pays more than just lip service to gender equality.

The report was compiled with the expert help of Godfrey Pirotta in response to consultation by the European Commission on its "roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010", launched in March this year.

In her report, Ms Baldacchino welcomes the initiative, which focuses on six main areas, namely equal economic independence, reconciliation of private and professional life, equal representation in decision-making, eradication of gender-based violence, elimination of gender stereotypes, and promotion of equality in external and development policies.

However, she criticises the Commission for failing to acknowledge the vital role that regional and local governments can play in ensuring that these objectives are translated into concrete action at grassroots level. She urges the Commission to help fund equality initiatives at local level, underlining that more effective measures are needed to encourage men to assume a fair share of family responsibility, and for better and more childcare facilities which are accessible and affordable for those who need them.

The report highlights the impact that grassroots gender equality strategies can have in combating sex-related violence.

"By working actively for greater equality we can create societies in which boys and girls are given the same chances and rights, one in which girls and women are not subjected to male violence. Local and regional authorities... have a major responsibility in these areas, but they also have a lot of experience, with best practice and programmes targeting both the victims and the perpetrators of crime," Ms Baldacchino notes.

She welcomed the Commission's focus on the problem of under-representation of women at all levels of political and economic decision-making.

The CoR itself, she notes, could set a better example since women currently accounted for only 47 of the Committee's 317 full members.

She proposed that the CoR should draw up a plan to address this imbalance as part of its commitment to the 2007 Year of Equal Opportunities for All.

She calls for the assembly to host an annual Equality Forum bringing together local and regional, public, private and voluntary sectors to engage in exchanges on methodology, expertise and experience, and also recommends that the gender equality issues become a key element of the Commission's Plan D for democracy, debate and dialogue, aimed at increasing public participation and interest in EU affairs.

The Commission is due to publish an implementation report in 2008 and an evaluation with a follow-up proposal in 2010.