#EmbraceEquity: reflecting on the situation of women in the labour market
International Women's Day (8 March) celebrates women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. It also marks a call to action for accelerating women's rights and gender equality, upholding women's accomplishments, and recognising the challenges that women face.?
This year's campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity. Unlike equality, equity goes a step further and recognises the different circumstances of each individual and assigns the exact resources and opportunities needed to gain an equal outcome.
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Labour market participation
Women make enormous contributions to society and economies, whether in businesses, as employees, or by doing unpaid work or care work at home. Still, women prevail underrepresented in the labour market According to OECD G7 Dashboard on Gender Gaps 2022,?67.7% of women were employed, while men's employment stood at 78.5% in 2021. While there has been a slight decrease in the gender employment gap in the last 10 years, women's underrepresentation and unequal assembly of women and men in various job sectors in the EU remain a persistent issue, significantly impacting the economy.?
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Gender Pay Gap?
On average, women earn less than men. In 2020, this gender pay gap stood at 13.0 % for the EU27, experiencing only a small decline since 2010, according to the European Commission.
Why do women earn less? Several factors contribute to this gap:
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Care responsibilities
To ensure that more women enter or stay in employment, the availability of affordable and high-quality care services, such as childcare and long-term care, is essential. This also lowers the poverty risk and social exclusion among older women, children, and vulnerable groups. To try and break those barriers to female labour-market participation and gender stereotypes about the division of care responsibilities, the European Commission has recently adopted a European Care Strategy, which supports several principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, especially in the area of early childhood education and care, gender equality and work-life balance.?
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EU law on gender balance on corporate boards
Women's talent is essential for Europe's growth. The European Union continuously strives for greater women's empowerment and gender equality.
After 10 years since its proposal by the European Commission, the EU law on gender balance on corporate boards has been formally adopted. The Directive on women on boards proposes that by 30 June 2026, companies will need 40% of the underrepresented sex among non-executive directors or 33% among all directors. The Directive aims to ensure the gender balance in corporate boards in listed EU companies, transparent appointments to board positions, and objectivity when assessing candidates to board positions, regardless of gender.
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EURES and women's employment?
Sustainable economic growth is impossible without women's empowerment, and work is one of the best ways to empower women economically. EURES recognises the importance of gender equality, especially when it comes to closing the gap in the labour market.
There are currently more than 3 million open vacancies on EURES Portal; you can find your dream job today by registering today.?