The Commission is a key institution in the EU, but how equal are women and men in the Commission? And what is the Commission doing to live up to the high ambitions of the European Union in the area of equal rights between women and men?
This webinar discussed the present situation, the drivers and barriers to explain this situation, as well as potential remedies. This included discussions of the importance of the inner workings of the Commission for the EU, as well as the fundamental issue of how equal rights impact the quality of policy-making and the lives of the citizens of the member states of the EU.
Two analyses published by SIEPS were presented by their authors:
Miriam Hartlapp and Agnes Blome (both of Freie Universität, Berlin) describe the gradual increase of women as Commissioners and Directors Generals, with a discussion of drivers and barriers for this development. The text is available here (sieps.se).
Rachel Minto (Cardiff University) and Lut Mergeart (Yellow Window) discuss gender mainstreaming in the Commission, i.e. procedures to promote the inclusion of gender-related aspects in all policies. Problems are identified and explanations are discussed. The text is available here (sieps.se).
A recent report, Gender Mainstreaming in the EU-budget: Time to turn words into action, was presented by Eva Lindström, Swedish member of the European Court of Auditors. The report looks at whether the EU has applied gender mainstreaming in the EU budget to promote equality between women and men from 2014 onwards. The report is available on the Court of Auditors' homepage: www.eca.europa.eu
Comments were given by Cecilia Malmström, former Swedish Commissioner, and by Lena Ag, Director General of the Swedish Gender Equality Agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten).
