EWL ‘gender contract’ sets new agenda

Date: 15/02/1996

EUROPEAN women's lobbies have launched a new campaign to ensure that EU legislators put the bold words of the UN's Beijing conference on women into practice.

The European Women's Lobby (EWL) believes that the positive response to the launch of its “platform for action” - the first concrete follow-up to Beijing - could mark the beginning of a real shift in attitude in its battle to improve equality between the sexes.

Among its detailed plans for a new 'gender contract', EWL has listed recommendations based on the 12 areas of concern identified at Beijing.

The idea of a 'gender contract' was welcomed by Social Affairs Commissioner Pádraig Flynn, who said it would act as a complement to Commission President Jacques Santer's confidence pact for employment.

EWL will now send each member state a questionnaire asking what resources have been allocated to the 12 areas covered at Beijing.

At an EWL conference last week, delegates called for “accompanying measures” to monetary union to strengthen women's economic position, and underlined the need for the Social Protocol to be reinforced, gender issues to be included in all educational programmes, better information on violence against women, and a directive on sexual harassment in the workplace, building on the existing recommendation.