Identify the more common approaches emerging from the analysis

• Author: Sansonetti, Silvia; Davern, Eamonn
• Pages: 45-46

Study Report on PES approaches to the promotion of gender equality

45

2020

5. IDENTIFY THE MORE COMMON APPROACHES EMERGING FROM THE ANALYSIS

The PES responses reflect positive developments in considering gender equality in that

40% of respondents ranks the overall objective as ‘very important’, 32% as ‘important’

and another 12% consider it ‘moderately important’. This perspective is supported by some

strategic considerations reported by 60% of respondents: for 40% by a specific PES gender

equality strategy PES and for 20% by the inclusion of a gender equality objective in the

existing mainstream PES employment strategy. Awareness about gender equality

translates in activities for both PES employees and PES end-users.

On one hand, PES undertake various initiatives for their employees in the area of work-life

balance, adopt gender-sensitive criteria in personnel recruitment, and hire specific support

staff to work on internal gender equality issues. Actions to promote gender equality within

the organisation are pivotal to raise awareness among personnel and therefore promote

an adequate implementation of gender equality policies for end-users.

On the other hand, PES implement gender-sensitive activities for end users. They include

the collection of regular gender-disaggregated data (76% of respondents) and the

implementation of policies to promote women’s employability, including in non-traditional

sectors, fostering work life balance, and supporting women in vulnerable situations.

However, specific procedures to assist women accessing PES are less common, only 16%

of PES implement these. Similarly, gender awareness courses for clients/customers are

seldom provided. It is important to note that several respondents conflated gender

neutrality (meaning non-discrimination which is obviously a legally mandated guarantee)

in processes and procedures, with gender equality policies. To properly implement gender

equality in policy making the European Commission advocates gender sensitiveness: this

implies analysing the issue from a gender perspective and then taking appropriate

measures to counteract existing gender inequalities and address potential gender biases

which may ensue from the newly implemented policy.

Among the good/promising practices mentioned by PES, several are EU funded. This result

confirms the important role played by European institutions in promoting gender-sensitive

labour market policies. In particular, the ESF has been playing a prominent role in

supporting gender equality since 2000-2007 programming period. So, for instance the ESF

Regulation for the programming period 2014-2020 addresses some of the most burning

gender equality issues and strategies to overcome gender gaps47. The good/promising

practices recently implemented or still under implementation by PES in the area of gender

equality have benefitted in particular from the initiative supporting work-life balance

through the ESF thematic objective ‘promoting sustainable and quality employment and

supporting labour mobility’. This includes a section on ‘Equality between men and women

in all areas, including in access to employment, career progression, reconciliation of work

and private life, and promotion of equal pay for equal work’.

47 Casavola P., Rosselli A. and Sansonetti S. (2011), Evaluation of the European Social Fund support to Gender

Equality, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6643&langId=en.

See also the European Standard on Gender Mainstreaming available on the website of the Community of

Practice on gender equality for ESF. Available at: http://standard.gendercop.com/european-

policy/implementation/structural-funds-regulations/index.html.