Europe to reassess gender equality strategy

The European Commission is set to draft a new strategy for improving the gender balance in business, amidst concerns that the bloc seems "stuck in inequality."

With the pay gap between men and women stuck at 16% on average round the world, a flood of reports over the past few weeks have looked at ways to balance gender representation in business.

One such report came from the European Women's Lobby (EWL), which highlighted gender quotas as crucial for improving gender equality on boards, accompanied by regular monitoring, intermediary targets, and strong sanctions. This opposes current European legislation which blocks gender quotas.

In response, EWL's Secretary-General Joanna Maycock said that Europe is "dragging its feet and making progress all too slow."

She continued: "There is a growing frustration about the fact that we seem stuck in inequality."

The European Commission is expected to review priorities of its current gender equality strategy and evaluate progress to date. A report is also being drafted by the European Parliament on the 2015 strategy for gender equality.

Nina Smith looks specifically at the impact of gender quotas on firms, noting that they do succeed in increasing the number of women on boards of directors. However, this appears to have little positive impact on firm performance and does not increase the pool of qualified female candidates in the medium and long-term. Instead of focusing on quotas, Smith advocates developing policies which help to balance the gender division of careers within the family.

Read more here.

Related articles:
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap, by Solomon W. Polachek
Gender quotas on boards of directors, by Nina Smith