Women in the economy: employment, entrepreneurship and gender-responsive budgeting
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 30 January 2025 (8th sitting) (see Doc. 16068, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Sena Nur Çelik Kanat). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 2025 (8th sitting).
1. Women have always had their place
in the economy and arguably have a longer experience than men in
managing the relationship between the production of goods and services
and the management of available resources, on a day-to-day basis.
Recognition of this place, however, is not widespread and has been
ignored, as in other areas such as science, the arts and literature.
In a history of advances and setbacks, women have come a long way
in affirming their economic value and independence. Nevertheless,
as in all the other dimensions of equality between women and men,
there is still a long way to go, globally.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly last addressed the subject of the
place of women in the economy in 2018, with a report entitled “Empowering
women in the economy” which led to
Resolution 2235 (2018). The rapporteur,
Ms Elena Centemero (Italy, EPP/CD), identified the main areas requiring
action (gender pay gaps leading to pension gaps, difficulties in
accessing employment, slower career progression, gender segmentation,
glass ceilings) and stressed the fact that “equality between women
and men in the economy is a precondition for advances in other spheres,
including public and political life”.
3. A 2023 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) highlights notable advancements in two critical
areas. Firstly, in the distribution of childcare responsibilities,
where approximately 40% of fathers in several countries now take
parental leave, albeit for systematically shorter periods than their
female counterparts. Secondly, progress has been observed in transparency,
particularly concerning gender pay gaps. In 55% of the 37 OECD member
countries, private firms are now required to report on gender pay
gaps.
4. Despite all the expert evidence and facts, the still ongoing
negative effects and fallout from recent crises, including the global
Covid-19 pandemic and the economic consequences of the conflicts
in and outside Europe, have shown the fragility of progress towards
gender equality and how much remains to be done. This is particularly
evident with respect to the persisting imbalance of care responsibilities,
still assumed mainly by women both in the home and in institutions,
and the lack of financial recognition for this type of work. Therefore, slow
progress is coupled with a real risk of backsliding, especially
in the current context. The Assembly considers that more account
should be taken of research that shows the potential of women, and
more action taken to accelerate change.
5. Due to the persistent lack of recognition of their rightful
place in the economy, women face greater discrimination compared
to men. Both conscious and unconscious gender biases operate to
their disadvantage, particularly in recruitment processes where
women are asked to prove their dedication, determination and leadership
abilities to a greater extent than their male counterparts. Moreover,
the caregiving responsibilities that women predominantly assume
and for which they are seen as indispensable tend to raise doubts
about their perceived ability to perform efficiently within the
economic sphere.
6. Although the number of women with higher education qualifications
has risen, young women remain less likely than young men to choose
science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) as fields
of study at graduate level. The existence of gender gaps in fields
of tertiary study indicates that young women often do not build
on good school performances to enter higher education in fields
with better employment prospects, such as studies related to STEM
and artificial intelligence (AI). The OECD explains this in part
by the lack of self-confidence girls have in their mathematics and
science abilities during school, and the lack of female role models
for girls in STEM and AI fields, which means that young girls have
little evidence to disprove the notion that mathematics and science
are somehow more “masculine” disciplines.
7. The Assembly calls on European leaders to respond to one of
the greatest challenges in establishing the place of women in the
economy, which is changing mindsets. There must be a willingness
on all sides to break the glass ceilings and mend the “broken rung”
– the first step towards managerial positions for women. Those who
have succeeded must act as champions and role models, showing that
their achievements are attainable by many other girls and women.
8. Equality must be championed in all aspects of daily life,
with particular attention to ensuring that traditions, identities
and gender-specific cultural differences are not used to perpetuate
existing inequalities. There is a need to address the negative effects
of the intersectionality of gender and other grounds of discrimination,
and to combat racism and all forms of intolerance that disproportionately
affect women, especially those from diverse groups and disadvantaged
backgrounds. Furthermore, inclusive approaches to diversity must
be prioritised and concerted efforts should be made to challenge
and dismantle pervasive stereotypes.
9. The Assembly also calls for gender to be mainstreamed in all
policies, all budgets and all areas of government and governance,
and for adequate funding to be earmarked for equality. Cross-cutting
policies must ensure continuity in support for women’s equal participation
in all areas. More disaggregated data are needed to identify root
causes of inequality and clarify the orientations that should be
taken, enabling evidence-based policy analysis that can more accurately
address specific disparities and inform targeted interventions for
achieving gender equality.
10. In light of the above considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member States as well as observer States and States
whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status
with the Assembly to improve their law and policy with respect to
gender-responsive budgeting. In particular, governments should:
10.1 ensure that gender-responsive
budgeting is mandated in the budget law and budget documents, and
that it is clearly defined within public finance management systems
at the national, regional and local levels, and that gender-responsive
budgeting tools are embedded at all stages of the budget cycle;
10.2 develop and introduce clear guidance and tools coupled
with capacity building of public officials at all levels, to identify
gender gaps through gender analysis and take specific action to
address and close these gaps;
10.3 strengthen the accountability of budget execution with
respect to gender equality and monitor results using gender impact
assessment;
10.4 build the capacity of supreme audit institutions to audit
expenditure through a gender lens and to evaluate whether intended
gender outcomes have been achieved;
10.5 ensure that budgets are grounded in evidence-based policy
analysis and publish regular, real-time expenditure reports that
are publicly accessible, enabling parliament, civil society and
the general public to see how resources are allocated to gender
equality;
10.6 take steps to ensure that women can participate in budget
discussions and have their voices heard.
11. With regard to employment, the Assembly calls on member States
to make more efforts to:
11.1 impose
pay transparency to expose gender pay gaps, and carry out effective
reviews of these gaps in all public services and private businesses,
accompanied by sanctions where differentiation persists;
11.2 develop and implement laws and policies to identify, eliminate
and sanction racism and all forms of intolerance and discrimination,
including intersectional discrimination against women from diverse groups
in the labour market, which hinder their economic empowerment, and
address the specific needs of disadvantaged groups;
11.3 eliminate conscious gender bias in recruitment, training
and promotion processes, and learn to recognise and screen out unconscious
bias;
11.4 ensure through legal measures, awareness-raising campaigns
and media visibility that the workplace is seen as a safe space
for everyone, and in particular women who are often the targets
of multiple and persistent “micro-aggressions” and other forms of
gender-based harassment;
11.5 recognise the value of types of employment where women
are in a majority, first and foremost in care and medical fields,
and reward these skills and competences at their true value;
11.6 promote women’s participation in traditionally male-dominated
sectors, such as STEM, as well as in emerging sectors like the digital
and green economy, by implementing targeted training and mentoring programmes,
to improve gender balance in the labour market and foster a more
inclusive digital and green future;
11.7 develop specific grant programmes for women entrepreneurs
who are starting businesses and start-ups, with accessible application
requirements for women from diverse backgrounds, along with support
and advisory services to guide them through the application process,
and provide financial literacy training;
11.8 ensure that technology used in human resources management
takes into account diversity and intersectionality, and that automated
decision making does not generate discrimination;
11.9 adopt measures to improve gender balance in leadership
roles across the economy, including on corporate boards, senior
management and public-sector decision-making positions.
12. With regard to care and family responsibilities, the Assembly
calls on member States to:
12.1 enact
legislation to support paid parental leave for both parents, flexible
working arrangements and caregiving leave for those caring for children,
elderly or disabled family members;
12.2 provide affordable and accessible, high-quality childcare
and elderly care services, thus reducing the caregiving burden that
often falls disproportionately on women;
12.3 promote the equal sharing of responsibilities through
public awareness campaigns and policies such as paid paternal leave,
in particular to encourage and incentivise men to share caregiving
duties;
12.4 introduce tax breaks or subsidies for families that employ
caregivers or provide in-home care services;
12.5 create programmes that ensure all children have access
to universal early education to allow parents, particularly women,
to engage in the workforce;
12.6 ensure that leave for care responsibilities does not affect
pension rights;
12.7 include unpaid work in national statistics by gathering
quantitative and qualitative data, particularly time-use surveys.
13. Concerning education, the Assembly calls on member States
to:
13.1 ensure that, from the earliest
age, school curricula avoid the gender bias and stereotyping which lead
children to channel their energies into gendered and stereotyped
roles and which, in particular, lead to girls losing confidence
in their abilities in science and mathematics;
13.2 provide equal opportunities for girls and boys to experience
a broad range of theoretical and practical studies in different
areas, and reinforce programmes such as job-information days or
career fairs in schools for both parents and students and early
work experience through education programmes and apprenticeships,
to encourage girls’ interest in science-related subjects;
13.3 organise extracurricular activities to enable girls to
discover and exercise technological skills and computing competences,
such as computer coding in non-competitive, game-based surroundings;
13.4 provide training and further training for teachers to
enable them to recognise and address their own conscious or unconscious
gender bias.
14. Finally, the Assembly calls on all Council of Europe member
States as well as observer States and States whose parliaments enjoy
observer or partner for democracy status with the Assembly to use
the research and tools at their disposal to collect more disaggregated
and intersectional data on gender-based discrimination in the economy
in order to better address it at all levels, and to take into account
the evidence showing that, if the full potential of women were realised,
national incomes would rise considerably in the short and medium
term.
