Preview

Gender Quota in European Companies

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1363 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gender Quota in European Companies
Can Guneyli ES4-3D 10020470
Drs. M.J. Kooper-Huigen
Advanced Writing Skills in English Part 2
Words: 1132June 4, 2013
Gender Quota in European Companies
Women are having a hard time reaching top positions in companies. The European Union recognizes this problem and decided to implement new laws that require quotas for women in businesses. According to the European Commission, women need to work an extra of 59 days to match the salary earned by men, which makes an average gender pay gap of 16.2% across the European Union in 2010. ("Equal pay day:," 2013). The reason why the quota system in Europe is not working is, because it has the status of a directive.
Equality is one of five values on which the Union is founded. The Union is bound to strive for equality between women and men in all its activities. (3 Articles 2 and 3 TEU, Article 8 TFEU). Therefore, the EU has laws that forbid discrimination based on sex. Article two of the Maastricht Treaty (TEU) clearly states men and women are equal. (Van Ooik, & Vandamme, 2010, p. 5). In addition, article 121 of the TFEU states that men and women have the right for equal pay. Finally, article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty specifically prohibits discrimination based on sex (Van Ooik, & Vandamme, 2010, p. 161). This means that women in the EU are protected by law against discrimination based on their gender.
However, in practice gender inequality still exists in European businesses. The European Union and its fight for gender equality has been a long battle. Despite EU law and directives the European Union has not been able to solve the problem. The main issue the EU is facing is that there are only a few women in top-positions in government institutions and private companies in Europe, and that the statistics have slightly improved in ten years. At this point, only 1 in 7 (13,7%) board members at Europe’s top companies is a woman. Which is a slight improvement from 11.8% in 2010 ("Women on boards:," 2012).
It is



References: Allen, K. (2010, August 19). Equal pay for women not likely till 2067, says research. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/19/equal-pay-women-2057 Coppola, F. (2013, May 13). Are gender quotas good or bad?. Retrieved from http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/are-gender-quotas-good-or-bad/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-gender-quotas-good-or-bad Ep calls on croatia to respect 40% women 's quota on election lists. (2013, May 20). Retrieved from http://dalje.com/en-croatia/ep-calls-on-croatia-to-respect-40-womens-quota-on-election-lists/468795 Equal pay day: Women in europe work 59 days ‘for free’. (2013, February 27). Retrieved from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-165_en.htm Groves, J. (2012, November 14). European plans for boardroom quotas for women ‘are patronising and wrong’ read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232620/european-plans-boardroom-quotas-women-patronising-wrong.html Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015. (2010, September 21). Retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0491:FIN:EN:PDF Van Ooik, R., & Vandamme, T. (2010). European basic treaties. (pp.7-165). Deventer: Kluwer. Women on boards: Commission proposes 40% objective. (2012, November 14). Retrieved from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1205_en.htm?locale=en

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    The Equal Pay Act of 1970 was originally formulated in response to Article 141 of the EU treaty which stated that ‘Each member state shall ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for work of equal value is applied. ' This piece of legislation, which was later amended in 1983, was intended to remedy the vast gender pay difference, allowing an individual right to the same contractual pay, benefits and conditions of employment to that of the opposite sex. This is based upon a man and a woman doing like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value under the same employer (Torrington, Hall and Taylor 2005).…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lujan, Ingrid. “Unfolding The Gender Wage Pay Gap”. Project 3. BIS 445: Meanings And Realities Of Inequality. Winter 2014.…

    • 1303 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender pay gaps persist not only in the United States but also around the world. The gender pay inequality is the reason why female in America makes 78 cents per 1 dollar of males’ salary. The gender is still the factor when it comes of determining a salary for an employee. Woman always placed with wage discrepancies and difference compared to what men earn. Unseen and often not acknowledged barriers that stop a woman from rising to upper position regardless of their achievement or qualifications. These patterns shows acceptance and power of social structure in our society.…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    ERR 201

    • 5541 Words
    • 22 Pages

    Directive 76/207/EEC -on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions…

    • 5541 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “In 2015, only half of the world’s working-age women are in the labor force, compared to 77 percent of working-age men,” (MAKERS). Everyday, women face unequal circumstances and situations within the workplace. The average woman’s wage is significantly lower than their male colleagues. This would also mean that men have more job opportunities than women. All these disadvantages women face negatively affect their careers. The government has tried to decrease the inequality by creating laws, but they are never harshly enforced. Improvements for women are needed in the workplace because they will increase women’s career rights and the quality in the workplace overall.…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For many centuries, women have had to fight for their rights. In today’s society, women are still discriminated against in the workplace. Generations of women have sacrificed for woman today to have the opportunity to be able to have a voice on what they want to do in life. In the workforce, women make up 47% of the United States workforce (“Women's Bureau (WB) - Quick Facts on Women in the Labor Force in 2010"). This is almost half but yet they are paid less than men. Men are often bound to receive a promotion, transfer, and compensation before women. The broader problems of obvious discrimination against women in the workforce have been dealt with for centuries. Across the world, women are discriminated against in the workforce through family…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This gender pay gap myth will, unfortunately, continue to be a part of feminist propaganda for a long time. We will always hear this ‘77%’ figure come up in feminist discussions for years to come. The truth is, the gender pay gap is NOT real. The evidence against it will be overlooked and…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Gender Pay Gap

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages

    According to the ILO, progress in reducing the gender pay gap is very slow in Europe and Central Asia. In certain countries there has even been evidence of an increase in the difference.…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    B. A 1ml graduated volumetric pipet is the best to use if you want 0.15 ml of reactant…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Over the past hundred years, women’s participation in the workforce has grown significantly. Today’s women are getting college degrees which was not common before the mid-twentieth century. More of them than ever are taking jobs that were originally run by men. Many women are going into medicine, engineering, and law which was nearly impossible fifty years ago. Their ability to get into these fields allows them to pursue careers they could never before. However, there is a major gender pay gap. Men are still to this day paid way more than women. Although men have a large impact on our nation’s workforce, women perform job tasks just as effectively, therefore they are completely worthy…

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wage Gap In America

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The pay gap between women’s and men’s salaries is an ongoing problem that will likely continue for many years. The gap has narrowed within the last 35 years and hopefully will continue on this path, maybe even at a faster rate. Treating women impartially despite race, age or level of education is one of the simplest solutions to increase the rate at which we reduce the wage…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Gender Pay Gap

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “There is nowhere in the world where women’s wages are equal to those of men” (Off Our Backs 2003). In the United Kingdom, women make 27% less than men (Off Our Backs 2005). In Korea and Japan, men make over 30% more than women, meaning that for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes less than seventy cents (Rampbell). In Belgium, the gender wage gap is less than 10%, meaning a woman makes more than ninety cents for every dollar a man makes (Rampbell). In the United States, women make about seventy-five cents for every dollar a man makes; between men and women, there is a 23-25% gap in income. There is no denying that the gender wage gap exists, but many question whether we should attempt to close it. The gender wage gap should be closed because there is no logical reason why it should exist in the first place, as there are just as many qualified women out there as there are men, if not more, and because it exists due to the fact that women are discouraged from entering various career areas that oftentimes pay more.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States, equal pay for equal work has been a controversial topic since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed. It was aimed to abolish wage disparity based on sex. In a study in 2015, female full-time workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). As indicated by their studies, if change proceeds at an indistinguishable moderate pace as it has for the last fifty years, it will take 44 years—or until 2059—for ladies to at long last achieve pay equality. IWPR's yearly sheet on the sex wage gap by occupation demonstrates that ladies procure less than men in any occupation (Hayes & Hegewisch, 2015).…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Feminization of Labour

    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Feminisation of labour is a marker given to the movement towards greater employment of women, and of men willing and able to operate with these more 'feminine ' modes of interaction (“Feminization of Labor Law and Definition”). The last few decades have witnessed an increase in the employment of women in most developing countries, despite the discrimination in wages and earnings. The changes brought about may be partly due to an improvement in the socioeconomic status of the population, such as the level of education of women along with the greater demand for both male and female labour in the workforce. In spite of the availability of new opportunities in high flexibility labour markets, I argue that the feminisation of labour brings more detriment than benefit to women in most developing countries.…

    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Equality

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Yet, measures and strategies are still being viewed and analysed to increase female involvement in politics. For instance, during the International women's Day celebration, which took place on 9 March 2011, the Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, stated that a quota system should be put in place to boost the number of women in politics. This is indeed a ' substantial step towards gender parity ‘.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays