International Women’s Day on March 8 was an opportunity to recall the persistent inequalities between men and women.

These inequalities appear first and foremost when it comes to wages: women still earn on average 16% less then men.

Their pension contributions suffer as a result of lower salaries, and multiple career breaks to raise children and care for other members of the family only aggravate this situation. In consequence, the pensions of women in Europe are on average 60% lower than those of men, even though women make up 40% more of the 65 and older age group than do men. Nearly 25% of European women are threatened by poverty (source: Eurostat).

Under-representation of women in political structures remains a relevant topic: according to estimates, women account on average for only 25% of government and parliamentary officials in Europe. The percentage of women on Boards of Directors of major European companies drops to a mere 13.7%.

Given this reality, a large number of associations and nearly half of Europeans (47% according to Eurobaromètre) consider that the European Union has a fundamental role to play to reduce gender inequality. Beyond PROGRESS, the European Social Fund and similar funding programs that support such initiatives, the Commission is called upon to take a greater number of concrete measures. With the Consultation on Gender imbalance in corporate boards in the EU, launched and presented on March 5, 2012 by Vice-President Ms. Viviane Reding, the Commission has taken a step forward. More will be needed.

Face à cette réalité, un grand nombre d’associations et près de la moitié des Européens (47%, selon Eurobaromètre)  considèrent que l’Union européenne a un rôle primordial à jouer pour réduire les inégalités hommes-femmes. Au-delà des programmes de financement type PROGRESS et du Fonds social européen qui soutiennent des initiatives dans ce sens, la Commission est sommée de prendre davantage de mesures concrètes. Avec la consultation sur le déséquilibre hommes-femmes au sein des organes décisionnels des entreprises dans l’UE, lancée et présentée par la vice-présidente Mme Viviane Reding le 5 mars 2012, la Commission a fait un pas. Il en faudra d’autres.