Manual for gender mainstreaming social inclusion and social protection policies

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 26-38

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1. CONTEXT

Equality between women and men became an overarching objective25 of

the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion

in March 2006, when the European Council adopted a new framework for

the streamlining of the three policy areas of social inclusion, pensions, and

health and long-term care through a parallel and forward-looking reporting.

This objective raised the prominence of gender equality for the process as a

whole, which had previously been promoted separately by the three strands

and developed to varying degrees in each.

Results of the rst streamlined reports in 2006

Member States submitted the rst round of their National Reports on

Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion in the fall of 2006. The

Commission’s assessment of the gender mainstreaming applied in the 27

reports (EU-25 and Bulgaria and Romania) was, as expressed in the 2007

Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion26, that:

“Overall, Member States are incorporating gender concerns more eectively

and data are more often broken down by sex. Some are pioneers in applying

gender mainstreaming systematically. But there is still considerable room for

ensuring that policy measures are better informed by gender considerations

across all three strands of cooperation.”

Purpose of this manual

Gender equality is a fundamental right, a common value of the EU, and a

necessary condition for the achievement of the EU objectives on growth,

employment, and social cohesion. I n its Roadmap for equality between

women and men (2006-2010)27, the European Commission underlined

the need to achieve equal economic independence for women and men.

In par ticular, the Commission committed itself to strengthen gender

mainstreaming28 in the Open Method of Coordination for Social

Protection and Social Inclusion and to provide a manual to actors involved

in the process. The Portuguese Presidency Conclusions on Indicators in

respect of Women and Poverty29, adopted in December 2007, also urged

the preparation of such manual and called on Member States to use such

guidance in preparing their National Reports on Strategies for Social

Protection and Social Inclusion and to disseminate it as widely as possible.

25 New Common Objectives from 2006 for the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and

Social Inclusion: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_inclusion/docs/2006/objectives_en.pdf

26 Joint Report on Social Protection and social Inclusion 2007: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/

gr/07/st06/st06694.el07.pdf

27 Roadmap for equality between women and men. COMM(2006)92 of 1/3/2006: http://ec.europa.eu/

employment_social/gender_equality/gender_mainstreaming/roadmap_en.html.

28 The commitment to gender mainstreaming has been reinforced by the European Council in March

2006 with the adoption of the European Pact for Gender Equality. This Pact underlines the need to

contribute fullling the EU’s ambitions on gender equality as mentioned in the Treaty, to close the

gender gaps on employment and social protection, and to contribute to meeting the demographic

challenges. The Pact underlines the need to reinforce governance through gender mainstreaming and

better monitoring.

29 http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st13/st13947.en07.pdf