General Assembly Resolution on the Reconciling of Employment & Family Life and Gender Equality - May 20, 2006 The General Assembly of the European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), held on 20 May 2006 in Budapest, Hungary, has unanimously adopted the following:
Resolution on the Reconciling of Employment and Family Life and Gender Equality
Having regard to:
• the Community’s aim and horizontal positive obligation to eliminate inequalities and to actively promote equality between men and women as it is enshrined in Art. 3 (2) TEC;
• the Commission’s Communication “Roadmap for equality between women and men for the Period 2006-2010 ” as it was published on 1 March 2006;
• the Statement on the above Roadmap issued by EWLA in April 2006.
Given:
1) the persisting ineffectiveness of gender equality principles in the area of work and employment;
2) that an unbalanced participation of women and men in family responsibilities is already recognised as one of the factors responsible for this lack of effectiveness;
3) the integration of maternity and paternity provisions in the broader issue of reconciling employment and family life.
Knowing that many gender discriminatory practises at work and in employment are the consequence of an unbalanced participation of women and men in the responsibilities of family and care assistance.
And having regard to: …
1) The formal recognition of maternity protection rules of European Union legislation as a part of gender equality principle, as stated in article 2 paragraph 7 of Directive n. 2002/73, from 23 September 2002, regarding the implementation of gender equality at work and in employment.
2) The formal recognition of the importance of the role of both working parents in the assistance of young children, by Directive n. 96/34, from 3 June 1996, regarding parental leave.
3) The formal recognition of a balanced participation in family and working life, both by women and men, as a substantive condition for gender equality, by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers adopted on 19 June 2000.
4) And the formal recognition of gender equality as a fundamental task of the European Union, in article 2 of the EU Treaty, as well as the obligation of pursuing this goal at all levels and in all policies of the European Union, throughout all means available.
EWLA, reaffirming its previous statement on the European Commission’s Roadmap Towards Gender Equality, demands:
1) That, in future developments of European Gender Equality Law, the issue of reconciling employment and family life is taken into account for the practical achievement of gender equality law, especially in the area of employment.
2) That, in the same sense, maternity provisions are to be considered as a part of the gender equality principle, this principle being considered in a substantive way.
3) That it must be stressed that parental rights are individual and non transferable and that measures regarding paternity must be developed in order to ensure the right of working fathers to participate in a more active way in family life, and thus promote a more balanced participation in working and family life for women and men.
4) That the future, and needed, revision of Pregnancy and Maternity Directive (Directive n. 92/85, from 19 October 1992) and of Parental Leave Directive (Directive n. 96/34, from 3 June 1996) takes the previous points of this Resolution into consideration.