On the road to
gender equality:
gender balance in the European Economic
and Social Committee
STUDY
European Economic
and Social Committee
On the road to gender equality: gender
balance in the European Economic and Social
Committee
Study
The information and views set out in this study are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee. The
European Economic and Social Committee does not guarantee the accuracy of the data
included in this study.
Neither the European Economic and Social Committee nor any person acting on the
European Economic and Social Committee’s behalf may be held responsible for the use
which may be made of the information contained therein.
General information
STUDY FOR
The European Economic and Social Committee
(EESC)
REQUESTING SERVICE
Workers' Group Secretariat
STUDY MANAGING SERVICE
Relations with Organized Civil Society and
Forward Studies Unit – Information Centre and
Studies
DATE
16 December 2019
MAIN CONTRACTOR
Alazne Irigoien Domínguez
AUTHORS
Citing this report: Irigoien Domínguez, A.
(2019) On the road to gender equality: gender
balance in the European Economic and Social
Committee. Brussels: European Economic and
Social Committee
CONTACTS
Secretariat of the Workers' Group
xxx@xxxx.xxxxxx.xx
IDENTIFIERS
ISBN
doi
STUDY
print
QE-04-19-809-EN-C
978-92-830-4680-6
10.2864/019787
PDF
QE-04-19-809-EN-N
978-92-830-4679-0
10.2864/783393
Foreword
This study was commissioned by the Workers’ Group (Group II) of the European Economic and
Social Committee (EESC) in May 2019. I wish to thank the person that made the study possible
in the first place and the Group II Secretariat, for their guidance and support during its elaboration.
Special thanks to Ms. Cunha for her first steps in looking at gender balance. I also wish to thank
the EESC members and personnel that kindly accepted to be interviewed, as well as the EESC
members and delegates who took the time to respond to the survey.
Abstract
This study looks at the state of gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee,
both at the political (members) and administrative (staff) level, and considers the main factors
influencing the gender composition of the Committee. Through the systematisation of data on the
gender of EESC members and personnel, and information gathered in interviews and a survey,
the study provides new and updated quantitative and qualitative information. It finds that there is
a persistent and systemic gender imbalance among the EESC members, with some variations
across the national delegations and the EESC Groups, among others. It reveals that, as regards the
nominations procedures for the EESC members, very few Member States and national
organisations establish gender parity/balance requirements and appear to be committed to gender
equality in practice. Overall, information and clarity about the national nomination and
appointment processes for becoming an EESC member could be improved in some Member
States. The study makes a number of key recommendations to the Member States, the nominating
organisations and to the EESC itself which, if implemented, would set the Committee on the path
to gender balance among its members and personnel.
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................... I
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... I
AIMS AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... I
MAIN FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................. II
GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC – POLITICAL LEVEL (MEMBERS) ......................................................... II
GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC – ADMINISTRATIVE LEVEL (PERSONNEL) ............................................. III
THE PROCESSES BEHIND - NATIONAL NOMINATION AND APPOINTMENT PROCESSES .............................. III
BEYOND GENDER BALANCE ......................................................................................................... IV
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................... IV
STUDY................................................................................................................................... 1
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1
2. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 3
3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................. 6
3.1
PRESENTATION OF THE EESC ............................................................................................... 6
3.2
GENDER BALANCE, DEMOCRACY AND THE EU ......................................................................... 8
3.3
WHY GENDER BALANCE BENEFITS ALL .................................................................................. 10
4. THE STATE OF PLAY: GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC ................................................................ 12
4.1
EESC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................. 13
4.1.1
OVERALL GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC ..................................................................... 13
4.1.2
GENDER BALANCE BY MEMBER STATE ......................................................................... 13
4.1.3
GENDER BALANCE BY EESC GROUPS ........................................................................... 16
4.1.4
GENDER BALANCE BY EESC SECTIONS ......................................................................... 17
4.1.5
GENDER BALANCE IN PRESIDENCIES AND THE BUREAU .................................................... 17
4.1.6
GENDER BALANCE AMONG RAPPORTEURS .................................................................... 18
4.1.7
GENDER BALANCE IN STUDY GROUPS, PANELS AND OTHER SETTINGS ................................. 19
4.1.8
GENDER BALANCE COMPARISON: 2013 AND 2019 ....................................................... 21
4.2
EESC PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 25
5. THE PROCESSES BEHIND.................................................................................................... 28
5.1
EESC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................. 28
5.1.1
APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES ...................................................................................... 28
5.1.2
NATIONAL APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES: GENDER BALANCE PER MEMBER STATE ................ 29
5.1.3
NATIONAL APPT. PROC.: GENDER BALANCE, DIVERSITY AND OTHER SELECTION CRITERIA ...... 36
5.2
EESC PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 38
6. BEYOND GENDER BALANCE ............................................................................................... 40
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6.1
EESC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................. 40
6.1.1
GENDER EQUALITY IN NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS .......................................................... 40
6.1.2
GENDER EQUALITY IN THE EESC ................................................................................. 40
6.1.3
GENDER MAINSTREAMING ......................................................................................... 42
6.2
EESC PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 43
7. BEST PRACTICES ............................................................................................................. 44
7.1
EESC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................. 44
7.2
EESC PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 44
7.3
EU INSTITUTIONS AND OTHERS ........................................................................................... 45
8. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 46
9. RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................... 49
9.1
EESC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................. 49
9.2
EESC PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................ 52
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 54
11. ANNEXES ...................................................................................................................... 57
11.1 ANNEX 1: TABLES OF THE STATE OF GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC.......................................... 57
11.2 ANNEX 2: TABLES OF THE STATE OF GENDER BALANCE IN THE EESC IN 2013 ............................. 61
11.3 ANNEX 3: COMPARISON T. OF THE STATE OF G. BALANCE IN THE EESC IN 2013 AND 2019 ......... 63
11.4 ANNEX 4: SURVEY QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 65
11.5 ANNEX 5: TABLES WITH SURVEY RESULTS PER MEMBER STATE AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............ 67
11.6 ANNEX 6: FIGURES ........................................................................................................... 69
List of abbreviations
CCMI
Consultative Commission on Industrial
Change
CFREU
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union
CoR
Committee of the Regions
DG
Directorate-General
EC
European Commission
ECJ
European Court of Justice
ECO
Section for Economic and Monetary Union
and Economic and Social Cohesion
EESC
European Economic and Social Committee
EIGE
European Institute for Gender Equality
EP
European Parliament
EU
European Union
Group I
Employers Group
Group II
Workers Group
Group III
Diversity Europe Group
HR
Human Resources
HoU
Head of Unit
INT
Section for the Single Market, Production
and Consumption
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
NAT
Section for Agriculture, Rural Development
and the Environment
REX
Section for External Relations
SOC
Section for Employment, Social Affairs and
Citizenship
TEN
Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure
and the Information Society (TEN);
TEU
Treaty on the European Union
TFE
Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union
UK
United Kingdom
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Introduction
Equality between men and women is one of the founding values of the European Union
(EU). However, despite the progress made on gender equality in Europe in the last decades,
significant gender inequalities persist. Women are still under-represented in many power
domains, including within the EU itself. As women continue to demand their rightful place as
equals in all aspects of society (including the corridors of power and influence) the EU institutions
and their advisory/consultative bodies have increased their focus on gender balance due to its
links with EU values and democratic legitimacy.
Only 28% of the 350 members who sit in the European Economic and Social Committee
(EESC) are women. What lies behind this unsatisfactory statistic and how can women's
representation in the EESC be improved in a lasting manner? This study analyses the gender
composition of the EESC in the broader context of the ongoing discussion about the persistent
lack of women's voices in decision-making in political, economic and social spheres, notably the
EU institutions and other EU bodies. By doing so, it demonstrates the need for gender balance
and gender equality as necessary components of democracy and justice.
Aims and Methodology
The EESC is intended to represent the voice of organised civil society in the field of
European policymaking. Every year it produces on average 170 opinions and information reports,
giving recommendations to the European institutions on a wide range of issues that impact on the
lives of European citizens (EESC, 2019). However, the low-level of women among its members
gives rise to legitimate concerns regarding whether it can effectively fulfil its mission.
This study is part of the EESC's own efforts to improve on the equal participation of men
and women in the Committee and start paying attention to broader gender equality issues. It aims
to analyse the state of gender balance in the EESC as well as the main factors that influence its
gender composition, with a view to reducing the knowledge gap in this regard. Although it
considers both the political level (members) and administrative level (personnel), it focuses
mainly on the political level due to its close links with to democracy, representativity and the EU's
governing system.
It explores the causes of the gender imbalance among the EESC members by looking at the
processes involved in their selection and appointment, which allows for a better understanding of
why this situation persists. Based on this analysis, it provides recommendations aimed at the
relevant European institutions, the Member States and the nominating organisations with a view
to encouraging a reflection on the composition of the EESC and encouraging them to take
concrete and structural action leading to improved gender balance in the next EESC mandate
(2020 – 2025) and beyond.
There is a lack of publicly available information about the gender breakdown of the EESC
members and gender balance regarding the Committee's structures. Similarly, information
regarding the processes behind the selection and nomination of the EESC members at the national
level is not readily accessible. For the purposes of this study, this information had to be compiled
using a variety of sources and the study combines different methodological tools to provide both
I
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Executive Summary
quantitative and qualitative data.
Information regarding gender balance in the Committee was
primarily obtained by using the EESC's online search engines -
EESC Members Page Search and
EESC Document Search – and internal documents. Through this process, it has been possible to
compile data about the gender balance in the EESC by Member State and regarding the
Committee's different structures, such as its three Groups (Employer
s, Workers and Diversity
Europe).
A literature review revealed two previous studies, undertaken in 1997 and 2007, that
comprehensively analysed appointment procedures in the EU 27 Member States. An online
survey with 69 respondents and 12 face-to-face interviews of some members and personnel were
used to complement and update this information. Obtaining the necessary information,
particularly regarding the national nomination and appointment procedures, is highlighted as one
the challenges of this research.
In addition to the analysis of gender balance, the study provides an initial consideration of
wider issues related to gender equality by looking at what consideration this is given in the
national organisations and in the EESC itself: Is the principle of gender equality considered by
national organisations and, if so, what activities do they undertake? How do members and
personnel perceive work-life balance measures in the EESC? Are members and personnel trained
on gender issues? How, if at all, does the EESC take account of the gender perspective in its
work?
Main findings
Gender balance in the EESC – political level (Members)
The research reveals structural gender imbalance at all levels. Over two-thirds (72%) of
EESC members are men. Half (14) of the Member States have national delegations with either a
minority of women or with no women at all and only two have delegations with a majority of
women. This gender imbalance in the national delegations is reflected in the composition of the
three EESC Groups – at 35%, only Group II (Workers) has a gender composition of slightly more
than one third of women. This imbalance also affects the composition of the EESC's bodies and
structures. In the interviews and survey responses, the members indicated that greater attention to
gender balance is necessary.
II
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Executive Summary
Table - Levels of gender balance per Member State
No. of Member
No. of
Member State
States
seats
All-male
Cyprus, Malta, Portugal
3
22
Minority of
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland,
14
197
women
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,
Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
Majority of
Croatia, Estonia
2
15
women
Gender
Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary,
9
1141
Balance
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Sweden,
United Kingdom
An analysis of the rapporteurs of the EESC's opinions in 2018 shows that these were
overwhelmingly men: only 17% of the rapporteurs were women. Currently, men hold the EESC’s
key leadership positions i.e. the EESC President and the three Group Presidencies. Interestingly
however, at the time of the research there was gender parity among the presidents of its sections
and similar bodies. A comparison of the gender composition of the EESC in 2013 (during the
2010 – 2015 mandate), reveals only marginal improvement in its gender balance, going from 25%
of women members in 2013 to 28% in 2019. As regards the Member States, some show little
change in the gender balance of their delegations though this improved in eight countries and
worsened in six.
Gender balance in the EESC – administrative level (personnel)
The considerations affecting gender balance among the EESC's staff are very different to
those affecting its members. The research shows better female representation among the EESC
personnel than among its members. There is almost gender parity among the EESC's middle
managers (Heads of Units) and women hold the greater number of its 'Administrator' positions.
However, a closer look at the Heads of Unit (HoU) posts reveals that six out of the seven HoU
leading the sections' secretariats (and so responsible for the legislative work) are men. Men make
up only 29% of 'Assistant' positions, meaning that a greater number and proportion of women are
in lower and non-managerial positions. In terms of broader gender equality issues at the
administrative level, the interviewed personnel were generally satisfied with the work-life balance
measures available, but highlighted that more attention to horizontal gender segregation, the bias
in staff evaluations, and protection against harassment, is required.
The processes behind - national nomination and appointment processes
To better understand the gender composition of the EESC, it is necessary to consider the
nomination procedures for the selection of the members., There is, however, a lack of information
and clarity regarding the national nomination and appointment procedures for becoming a
member in some national organisations. According to the survey results and literature review,
very few Member States and national organisations have formally established gender parity or
balance requirements/quotas and, where these do exist, not all comply with their rules.
1 The total number of members is 348 as at the time the data was obtained the German and Greek delegations were each down by 1
member.
III
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Executive Summary
Organisations represented in Group II seem to “consider” gender balance and diversity criteria
more often than organisations represented in the other two Groups. However, the results show
that that such “consideration” is not translated into gender balance in Group II either.
Beyond gender balance
While the focus of the research is the gender balance in the EESC, it also takes a brief look
at some wider gender equality considerations relevant for the EESC. This information is based on
the interviews and survey responses. According to the members, in general national organisations
appear to give little consideration to the gender perspective. Whilst a few members did say that
the principle of gender equality was established within their organisations, conversely, others
mentioned that although their organisations were in favour of gender equality, there was little
evidence of a willingness to implement changes either within the organisation or in its external
work.
Members also raised several other issues during the interviews relating to sexism in the
EESC, insufficient training and knowledge on gender issues, and difficulties regarding work-life
balance. Additionally, the principle of gender mainstreaming does not seem to be effectively
implemented in the EESC. There are no procedures in place for effective gender mainstreaming
and thus, the inclusion of the gender perspective appears to be purely ad hoc and dependent on
personal attentiveness/awareness of individual members.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This study points to a persistent and systemic gender imbalance in the EESC, notably at
the political level i.e. its members. While a number of factors contribute to this state of affairs, it
is clear that a lack of formally established requirements/quotas regarding gender parity or, at least,
gender-balance in the appointment processes at the national level is a major contributory factor.
Moreover, more clarity on the criteria for the selection of members at national level would be
desirable, particularly in some Member States. Even in cases where the Member State or national
organisation may have a commitment to the principle of gender equality, this is not reflected in
the selection/nomination of the EESC members.
Other factors not directly to do with gender balance but linked to wider gender equality
concerns may also contribute to the lack of women among the EESC members. For instance,
women's primary and unequal share of caring and domestic responsibilities may hamper their
access to spheres of power and influence. In the EESC, some members referred to the need to
improve the rules governing the functioning of members’ activities in order to facilitate work-life
balance.
In light of these findings, this study sets out a number of recommendations aimed at
improving the gender balance in the EESC. As a starting point, the Council of the European Union
should include a recommendation on gender balance/parity to the Member States regarding their
national delegations of EESC members. The Member States should also ensure that the national
organisations from which the EESC members are drawn, have in place policies on gender equality
and that their nominations are gender balanced as far as this is possible.
IV
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Executive Summary
This study could only provide a limited analysis of the gender composition of the EESC
and its structures, and a corresponding overview of the state of play regarding gender balance
within the Committee. The periodical collection and publication of data disaggregated by sex
regarding the composition of the EESC and its structures, rapporteurs, and study groups preparing
the EESC's opinions, is essential to provide concrete information regarding the Committee's
gender balance. Such data would also allow for a monitoring of the evolution of the situation.
Both the EESC and the European institutions, notably the European Parliament, have a role to
play in this regard.
For the EESC to be truly effective in contributing to strengthening the democratic
legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Union, it is essential that its members are genuinely
representative and that the opinions they prepare take account of the diversity of our society. To
this end, the EESC should adopt gender equality and diversity policies and ensure that these are
mainstreamed throughout its work. The following tables summarise a number of key
recommendations which, if implemented, would set the Committee on the path to gender balance
among its members and personnel.
Recommendations: EESC members
Actors involved
1. Establish gender parity/balance requirements
Member States; national
organisations
2. Recommend gender parity/balanced national
Council of the European Union;
delegations
EESC; EESC President; Group
Presidents
3. Collect, systematise and make public data on gender
EESC; Member States; national
organisations
4. Monitor and ensure accountability
EESC; European Parliament
5. Establish clear, transparent and participatory
Member States; national
national nomination and appointment processes
organisations; EESC; Council of
the European Union
6. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
EESC; national organisations
7. Implement gender mainstreaming
EESC
Recommendations: EESC personnel
1. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
2. Tackle gender segregation and assure non-biased evaluations
3. Promote and implement work-life balance
4. Provide information and training on gender equality for all staff
V
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Study
1.
Introduction
“Where are the women?” is one of the questions that can spring to mind when looking at
the boards or leading positions of many institutions and organisations. In the European Union
(EU), women remain under-represented in the decision-making positions that shape politics,
economics, and society (EIGE, 2019). Despite the progress of recent years, when it comes to
power, the EU is, indeed, still far from reaching gender equality2.
Given that women constitute half of the EU population, having an equal presence of women
and men in power and decision-making positions is a matter of justice. However, when women
are under-represented in democratic and governing institutions, it also becomes an issue of
democratic legitimacy and functioning (Irigoien, 2018).
According to Article 13 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), "the European
Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall be assisted by an Economic and Social
Committee and a Committee of the Regions acting in an advisory capacity”.
The EESC’s mission is to contribute to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and effectiveness
of the European Union by enabling representatives of organised civil society from the Member
States to express their views at European level (EESC, About, 2019). Its members are
representatives drawn from Europe's social and economic - interest groups (EESC, About, 2019),
and yet, women are hugely under-represented among the EESC members. Only 28% of them are
women.
There is an increased interest in the question of democracy, representation and gender
equality in the EU institutions, including their advisory/consultative bodies. This study aims to
contribute to the debate on gender balance in the EU representative institutions, notably the EESC.
Gender balance is often understood as having a ratio of 40-60% of women or men, whereas gender
parity often refers to a 50-50 ratio of women and men. Gender equality is, however, far more
complex than achieving those ratios established in the notions of gender balance and parity. Our
societies are built on stereotyped social and cultural roles for women and men which determine
different rights and dignity for women and men in diverse legal, social, economic and cultural
situations, resulting in complex gender unequal societal systems (EIGE, 2019). The participation
of women in all spheres of society on a level playing field with men is indispensable to change a
society of gender inequality. In this context, this study frames gender balance and parity as a first
step which contributes to the broader objective of gender equality. Tackling structural
inequalities, unequal powered gender relations, stereotyped beliefs and sexism would be just some
further steps to take in order to achieve gender equality.
The EESC has repeatedly expressed its commitment to gender equality3. Its recent own-
initiative opinion
on
Gender Equality Issues calls on public institutions across the EU to promote
gender equality with their policies and external actions and to introduce exemplary internal
2 The European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE)
Gender Equality Index measures gender gaps between women and men in six
core domains, including “power”; and it is precisely the domain of “power” which holds the lowest score in the Gender Equality
Index. The Gender Equality Index is accessible online a
t https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index
3 Just to give a recent example, the EESC has dedicated its
2019 Civil Society Prize to innovative initiatives and projects which aim
to fight for equal opportunities for women and men and their equal treatment in all spheres of economic and social life.
1
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
measures in all of their policies and processes (Vareikytė, 2019, 4). It also recommends that the
Member States nominate members on a gender parity basis (Vareikytė, 2019, 4). The EESC is,
therefore, concerned about gender parity and balance in its own structures. The commissioning
of this study is part of the EESC’s own efforts to improve on the equal participation of men and
women in the Committee and start paying attention to broader gender equality issues within the
EESC.
This study also aims to address the knowledge gap regarding the EESC and its gender
balance4. To that end, it analyses the gender composition of the Committee at the political level
(members) and at the managerial and administrative level (personnel). Nonetheless, it focuses
more on the political level, due to its closer connection to democracy and the EU governing
system. The study is also intended to encourage a reflection among the Member States on the
composition of their national delegations in advance of the next EESC mandate (2020-2025).
The study is structured as follows:
-
First, it explains the methodology used to gather relevant information on which the study is
based.
-
Second, it describes its conceptual framework: it introduces the EESC, explores the links
between democracy, gender balance and equality in the EU, and advances some of the reasons
why gender balance benefits all, including the EESC and its members.
-
Third, it analyses the state of gender balance in the EESC: at the political level (members), it
examines the overall gender balance in the EESC's composition and its structures by
considering the gender balance by Member States and in the Groups, Sections, Presidencies
and Bureau, and among the rapporteurs of the EESC opinions. It also compares the current
state of gender balance in the EESC, to that of 2013. In addition, it looks at the gender balance
in the different personnel categories.
-
Fourth, it analyses the processes behind, by investigating the national appointment procedures
of EESC members. It also refers to some of the processes in the hiring and promotion of the
EESC’s personnel.
-
Fifth, it moves beyond gender balance and examines other issues related to gender equality
broadly in the EESC. It first analyses the different approaches towards gender equality in the
national organisations involved in the nomination of the EESC members. It then refers to
other aspects of gender equality, such as gender mainstreaming, in the EESC and its work.
-
Sixth, the study provides a list of different best practices found in the EESC itself, in other
EU institutions and some Member States.
-
Finally, it provides the main conclusions of the research and presents a list of
recommendations to improve the state of gender balance in the EESC and advance on other
gender equality related issues.
4 Besides in-house publishing of some gender statistics, there is a gap of knowledge regarding the EESC and gender balance, in both
political and personnel level, together with a lack of updated or clarified information regarding what criteria is used to select the
members at national level.
2
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
2.
Methodology
The study has used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the principal
aspects related to gender balance in the EESC. The combination of different methodological tools
has provided information of a diverse nature which has, in turn, enabled a more comprehensive
understanding of the matter.
Time-frame
The study focuses on the state of gender balance in the EESC in 2019. It provides the data
on gender balance as of July and August 2019 regarding EESC members, and as of January 2019
regarding the EESC’s personnel. It also considers the gender balance among the EESC members
in 2013, through the analysis of an internal document -
Vademecum 2013. The research was
carried out between May and November 2019.
Quantitative data collection
The data was collected from the EESC's online search engines: the
EESC Document Search
for information on the opinions, rapporteurs and co-rapporteurs, and the
EESC Members Page
Search for information regarding the members and their gender5. As information on the gender
balance of EESC members is not systematised or readily available, it had to be obtained by using
the public search engine for EESC Members and then categorising the data by Member State,
Group, Section, Presidencies and in the Bureau.
Unlike the European Parliament, the EESC does not provide information on the gender
balance of its members for each of the terms of office so an historical analysis of EESC’s gender
balance was not envisaged. However, in order to provide a brief historical comparison of the state
of gender balance in the EESC, an internal document showing the members of the EESC in 2013,
(Vademecum 2013) was analysed. It was, therefore, possible to compare some information on
gender balance in 2013 and in 2019. In addition, it was possible to collect and provide data on the
gender balance of the EESC’s Presidents since the Committee's beginnings as this information
was available at the
EESC Media Library6. Information regarding the Group Presidents from 1982
until the present was obtained by analysing internal documents.
Qualitative data collection
To understand broader aspects that can influence gender imbalance in the EESC, a number
of face-to-face interviews were conducted and members were asked to anonymously respond to
an online survey. The interviews and survey also served to identify good practices and to gather
the views of some EESC members on the issues of gender balance, diversity, the overall
appointment procedures and the functioning of the EESC.
1. Survey
An online survey was developed to better understand the processes behind the national
nomination procedures. The survey was initially available between 24 June and 8 July 2019. In
an attempt to secure responses from all Member States, a reminder was sent on 15 July,
5 The EESC Document Search and the EESC Members Page Search engines are accessible online at
https://dmsearch.eesc.europa.eu/search/opinion an
d https://memberspage.eesc.europa.eu.
6 The EESC Media Library is accessible online a
t https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/avdb/galleries/eesc-former-presidents
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
encouraging responses from some specific Members States, with a deadline of 26 July for further
responses. The survey was available in English and French. There were 69 responses in total, out
of a possible 350.
The survey asked about appointment processes, selection criteria and gender balance, as
well as broader gender equality and diversity issues, such as the gender perspective. The survey
questions can be consulted in Annex 4. The number of survey responses by Member State can be
consulted in Annex 5. Unfortunately, there were no responses from the delegations from Cyprus,
Ireland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The following table summarises the responses obtained:
Survey responses by gender, Group and language
Responses
Men
34
Women
35
Group I
15
Group II
34
Group III
20
English
55
French
14
2. Interviews
The face-to-face interviews provided in-depth qualitative information. They served to
understand the elements that could be impacting on the gender imbalance in the EESC and to
gather different perceptions about the issue of gender balance among members and personnel.
Ten interviews were conducted: 6 with members and 4 with personnel. The interviewee
candidates were selected based on Group or personnel category membership, gender balance,
geographical balance and diversity criteria (such as age and ethnic origin), with the guidance and
assistance of the Group II Secretariat. Two members (a woman and a man) for each of the three
Groups were interviewed. An email asking for their voluntary participation was sent to the
selected candidates.
As regards the personnel, one person per personnel category - Assistant, Administrator and
Head of Unit - as well as one person from Human Resources, was interviewed. The interviews
were semi-structured and covered the following issues: the value ascribed to gender balance in
the EESC, the appointment, recruitment and promotion processes, the functioning of the EESC,
the gender perspective (i.e. implementation of the principle of gender mainstreaming, knowledge
of gender issues, etc.). The interviews also collected recommendations to improve the state of
gender balance and overall gender equality issues within the EESC.
3. National nomination and appointment procedures
Information about national nomination and appointment procedures was drawn from the
interviews, survey responses and a literature review. With regards to the literature review, the two
most concise and systematised analysis of the appointment procedures are the studies by Van der
Voort (1997) and Fonseca (2007)7. These authors have consulted institutional sources to find out
7 Following Van der Voort’s categorisation, there are 4 different types of appointment procedures when looking at who has the main
responsibility for the selection and nomination of the EESC members: 1) Heads of State/Governments – a nomination procedure in
which the Head of State or central government holds the main responsibility- ; 2) Departments/individual ministers - a nomination
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
about the selection and nomination processes, and thus, their findings complement the
information that this study has gathered through EESC members and delegates themselves8.
Women/Men categories
With regards to the categories of “women” and “men”, and in order to identify the number
of female and male EESC members, attention has been paid to the sex ascribed to each name and
the picture in the search engines. In addition, the survey provided respondents with the
opportunity to identify themselves non-binarily with the option “other”. However, none of the
respondents chose that option and preferred to identify themselves as either “woman” or “man”.
The survey also asked about the age range and other identity attributes that respondents wanted
to highlight, such as origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other. Some respondents
mentioned belonging to an ethnic minority, having a disability, chronic disease, being part of the
LGBT community or being atheist as some of their identity characteristics.
Limits of the research
Finally, it is important to acknowledge the limits of this research. One of the most important
challenges has been gathering and systematising the information about the national appointment
processes of EESC members. The number of national organisations and Member States, as well
as the complexity of the procedures to nominate EESC members in each country are considerable.
This research collected information about national appointment procedures by asking
members in the survey and interviews, and therefore, official information from Member States,
governments or/and national organisations has been obtained through secondary sources. That
information has been complemented with the results of the mentioned previous academic works,
but these are not recent, and it is possible that some Member States have modified their
appointment processes since then. It was also difficult to access information about some national
appointment procedures because there were no responses from members from some Member
States.
In general, the lack of clarity together with the unsystematised information and the limited
literature on EESC national appointment processes have been obstacles for this research.
Collecting and systematising the information, as well as, working on further research on the
EESC’s nomination and appointment procedures would help to increase our understanding.
Moreover, even if significant efforts were made to include a wide range of voices, experiences
and opinions of EESC members and personnel, due to the resources available and the time-frame
of the research, it was not possible to consider them all.
procedure in which the responsibility accrues to one or few government departments, it is not the responsibility of the government as
a whole- ; 3) Government and specific departments – the procedure involves both the government and individual departments-; and
4) Corporatist bodies - a nomination procedure in which the responsibility has been delegated to the national corporatist bodies- .
According to Fonseca, the procedures of Finland, France, Poland, Portugal and Romania would fall into the category 1; Spain, Sweden,
UK, Greece, Estonia, Czech Republic, Denmark and Belgium into the category 2; Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and
Luxembourg into the category 3; and Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia into the category 4. Fonseca considers that Poland
and the Czech Republic are hybrid cases and that they could fit into category 4 too; and adds that there is not enough information
about the process in Hungary.
8 Therefore, this study refers to the findings of these authors to complete the information gathered from the surveys and interviews of
EESC members and delegates.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
3.
Conceptual framework
3.1 Presentation of the EESC
Legal Basis
The EESC has always been an integral part of the EU: it was set up in 1957 by the Treaty
of Rome. Its mission is set out in Article 13(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) which
states that "The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall be assisted by an
Economic and Social Committee…acting in an advisory capacity". Its functioning and
composition are regulated by Articles 301 to 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union (TFEU). The Committee describes itself as "the voice of organised civil society in Europe".
The Committee delivers opinions to the European Parliament, Council, and Commission
and ensures that civil society organisations have a say in Europe’s development (EESC, 2017).
In certain specifically mentioned areas the TFEU stipulates that a decision may be taken only
after the Council or Commission has consulted the Committee9. The European Parliament,
Council, and Commission may also consult the EESC in all cases in which they consider it
appropriate. The Committee also has the right to issue opinions on its own initiative ("own-
initiative opinions") in cases in which it considers such action appropriate.
Mission
The EESC’s mission is to contribute to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and
effectiveness of the European Union by enabling civil society organisations from the Member
States to express their views at European level (EESC, 2019). In this regard, the Committee fulfils
three key missions:
helping to ensure that European policies and legislation tie in better with economic,
social and civic circumstances on the ground;
promoting the development of a more participatory European Union, which is more
in touch with popular opinion;
and promoting the values on which European integration is founded and advancing,
in Europe and across the world, the cause of democracy and participatory
democracy, as well as the role of civil society organisations10.
Members
The EESC's 350 members are representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest
groups, representing employers, workers, and other various interests representative of civil
society, notably in socioeconomic, civic, professional and cultural areas. They come from all EU
Member States and the number of EESC members per Member State is proportional to its
population. The national governments nominate the members, who are then appointed by the
9 Some of these areas are: agricultural policy (Article 43); free movement of persons and services (Articles 46, 50 and 59); transport
policy (Articles 91, 95 and 100); harmonisation of indirect taxation (Article 113); approximation of laws on the internal market
(Articles 114 and 115); employment policy (Articles 148, 149 and 153); social policy, education, vocational training and youth
(Articles 156, 165 and 166); public health (Article 168); and more (European Parliament, 2017).
10 EESC’s three missions, in more detail, can be read a
t https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/about
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Council of the EU for a renewable five-year term of office. When sitting in the EESC, the
members are divided into three different groups of equal number: Group I – Employers, Group II
– Workers, and GRIII – Diversity Europe11. Members themselves choose which group they wish
to join.
Functioning
Internally, the EESC has six sections specialising in different policy areas:
Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT);
Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO);
Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN);
Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC);
Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT); and
External Relations (REX).
Most of the groundwork on opinions is carried out in the sections. Members participate in
the sections depending on their areas of expertise and interest. The EESC also has a Consultative
Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI), which monitors the EU industry’s ability to anticipate
and adapt to the impact of globalisation. The CCMI is composed of a mixture of EESC members
and external delegates, appointed by the EESC Groups from among sectoral associations
representing organised civil society at European level. The EESC has also established three
specialist observatories: Single Market Observatory (SMO), Labour Market Observatory (LMO)
and Sustainable Development Observatory (SDO). It also has a number of other special interest
bodies such as the European Semester Group, which focuses on growth and employment, and the
Fundamental rights and the Rule of Law Group, among other temporary and ad hoc groups
(EESC, 2018, 14).
Every two and a half years, the EESC elects a Bureau that includes a President, two Vice-
Presidents, the Presidents of the three groups and a variable number of members. Currently, the
Bureau has 39 members. The Bureau has the political responsibility for the general management
of the EESC and "shall ensure that the activities of the Committee, its bodies and its staff are in
keeping with its institutional aims" (Article 9.7, EESC Rules of Procedure, 2019). The President
represents the EESC in its relations with other institutions and bodies and directs all the work of
the EESC. The two Vice-Presidents are responsible for the budget and communication,
respectively (EESC, 2018, 14). The three posts of the 'presidency' are distributed among the three
Groups and are rotated every two and a half years.
Opinions
The main task of EESC members is to prepare opinions, which are adopted in the EESC
plenary. These are drafted in the sections by study groups. A study group generally has 6
members, drawn from the three groups in equal numbers. A rapporteur will be appointed with the
responsibility of drafting the opinion, also taking account of the contributions from the other study
11 Group III is made up of "other representatives and stakeholders of civil society, particularly in the economic, civic, professional and
cultural field” (EESC, 2019).
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
group members. The rapporteur will also, generally, be responsible for presenting the key findings
of the opinion and promoting it at the EU institutions, Member States and local level (EESC,
2018, 17),
The study groups generally meet twice, following which the draft opinion will be presented
at the relevant section or the CCMI, which will adopt the opinion following a debate among the
section members. Once adopted in the section, the draft opinion will then be presented for final
adoption at the plenary session, in which all 350 members can vote. On average, the EESC
delivers 170 advisory documents and opinions a year (of which about 15% are issued on its own
initiative). All opinions are forwarded to the EU's decision-making bodies and then published in
the EU's Official Journal.
The EESC’s Secretariat
EESC members are assisted by the EESC’s secretariat and personnel. Each of the three
Groups also has its own secretariat to support the work of the Group's President and the members
belonging to the Group. The EESC personnel is divided in different categories, mainly assistant,
administrator, and Head of Unit (HoU). Technically, HoUs are administrators in a management
position. The EESC also has an internship programme and the contribution of the interns is also
relevant to the Committee's work.
3.2 Gender balance, democracy and the EU
In the last decades, and more recently in the last years, we have witnessed an increased
interest in the EU’s democratic legitimacy in general and its representativity, notably regarding
gender balance. Different voices have been critical about the under representation of women in
European political decision-making and management positions.
Already in the 90s, the EU showed concern regarding the need to improve the
representation of women in political decision-making. In 1992, the
European Summit of Women
in Power organised by the Commission of the European Communities concluded with the
signature of the
Athens Declaration by 20 European women leaders (Eurogender, 2019). The
Athens Declaration pointed at the democratic deficit in the EU, stemming from the “profound
inequality in all public and political decision-making authorities” (Athens Declaration, 1992). In
1996, the European Council’s
Resolution on the Balanced Participation of Women and Men in
Decision-making acknowledged that “women are still under-represented in decision-making
bodies, in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres” and that “balanced participation of
women and men in the decision-making process is a requirement for democracy” (European
Council, 1996). The Council recommended that Member States should take positive actions to
improve gender-balanced representation. The European Commission and the European
Parliament (EP), have also acknowledged that the imbalanced gender representation in political
decision-making implies a democratic deficit that needs to be addressed (European Commission,
1999).
Concerns about improving female representation in EU decision-making persist and, in
2015, the European Council adopted
Conclusions on Equality Between Women and Men in the
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Field of Decision-making12. Most recently, the European Commission (EC) President elect Ursula
von der Leyen appointed a gender-balanced team of commissioners with 13 women (including
herself) and 14 men13.
The debate on gender balance goes beyond the political realm. In 2017, the European
Commission set an internal goal to have 40% of women middle and senior managers by 2019
(European Commission, 2017). The European Parliament publishes the data about the state of
gender balance among Members of the European Parliament (MEP) in each legislature. Beyond
that, in 2017 the EP published a report,
Women in the European Parliament, focusing on its
gender balance and broader gender equality issues, which provided the state of gender balance
among its personnel. It showed that, even if women make up almost 60% of the EP Secretariat,
gender balance was not reflected in management positions (European Parliament, 2017, 10).
There seems to be agreement that achieving gender balance, both at the representative and
political level, and at the personnel and managerial level within the EU’s secretariat itself, is
important for the EU’s functioning and for democracy.
The European Parliament and Commission have been vocal about gender balance in the
EU. As for the EESC, it is starting to work in the same direction by increasingly focusing on
gender balance and broader gender equality issues, including gender mainstreaming. The EESC’s
own-initiative opinion on
Gender Equality Issues addresses the question of “Women in power
and decision-making” and calls on “public institutions and civil society organisations across the
EU to promote gender equality with their policies and external actions and to introduce exemplary
internal measures, such as promoting women in decision-making and mainstreaming gender
equality in all of their policies and processes” (Vareikyte, 2019, 4). It also “calls on the Council
to review its guidelines for the appointment of EESC members and recommends that the Member
States put forward members on a gender parity basis” (Vareikyte, 2019, 4). The commissioning
of this study is also an example of the EESC’s efforts to improve gender parity, or at least balance,
and pay attention to broader gender equality issues.
Outside the EU institutions, several civil society organisations have called attention to the
unequal presence of women and men in EU decision-making bodies and positions. For example,
the
European Women’s Lobby has been campaigning for a 50/50 European Parliament and
gender-balanced EU institutions14.
Gender Five Plus, the first European feminist think tank, has
also called for a system of parity democracy in the EU as a way to ensure and strengthen the
European project and democracy15. According to these organisations, the EU's democratic deficit
does not only stem from its insufficiently democratic processes, but also from its systematic
unequal representation of women in decision-making. If half of the population is persistently
under-represented, the legitimacy and functioning of the democratic system are put into question.
Given that the EESC’s mission is linked to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and
effectiveness of the European Union, democracy and gender balance are matters of its concern16.
12 The inclusion of women in decision-making is also part of the Council’s European Pact for Gender Equality 2011-2020.
13
The
names
and
profiles
of
the
newly
designated
commissioners
can
be
consulted
at
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/interim/commissioners-designate 14 More about the European Women’s Lobby 50/50 campaigns can be seen a
t https://www.womenlobby.org/-European-Parliament-
50-50-Campaign-?lang=en
15 More about Gender Five Plus parity democracy project can be seen a
t https://www.genderfiveplus.eu/
16 The EESC mission statement reads as follows: “Committed to European integration, the EESC contributes to strengthening the
democratic legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Union by enabling civil society organisations from the Member States to
express their views at European level”. It can be consulted online at
https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/about
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
One interviewed EESC member highlighted the links between gender balance and the EESC's
missions:
“I think that the EESC should be the first institution that should follow gender balance
because we are civil society representatives. We teach national organisations what the
European values are, how to follow them, how not to undermine Europe’s idea […] It is
all linked, we should change our own gender balance”.
In addition, gender equality is a founding principle and an official goal of the EU which
must be followed and addressed by all EU institutions and Member States. In this line, an
interviewed member points out that:
“Gender balance is important for representation issues, the mission and values of the
EESC, but also it’s a matter of complying with the EU Treaties. The EU has a commitment
to gender equality, so balanced representation should be reflected in all bodies and
issues”.
Indeed, the EU is legally compelled to ensure equality between women and men. In fact,
although motivated by the fear of unfair competition among Members States, Article 119 of the
Treaty of Rome (1957) already established the principle of equal pay for men and women for
equal work or work of equivalent value, which spurred EU action on gender equality in the labour
market for years (Irigoien, 2018, 4). In a ruling of 197617, the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
explicitly recognized the principle of gender equality in its economic and social dimension to be
a "founding principle” of the now EU, which opened the way to spillovers beyond the workplace
(Irigoien, 2018, 5). The principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, and the
obligation to ensure full equality in practice between men and women in working life, is now
established in article 157 of the TFEU. Also, Article 8 of the TFEU establishes that “in all its
activities, the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men
and women” and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU) in its
Article 23 states that “equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas, including
employment, work and pay. The principle of equality shall not prevent the maintenance or
adoption of measures providing for specific advantages in favour of the under-represented sex”.
Article 21 of the CFREU also refers to the principle of non-discrimination.
3.3 Why gender balance benefits all
Not only is gender balance important for democracy and the EESC's mission, achieving
gender parity, or at least a gender-balanced institution, benefits all.
Achieving gender balance in the EESC would benefit the institution itself -and its members
in particular- because it would increase its legitimacy. One of the members interviewed points out
that improving gender balance would help the reputation and image of the EESC. The EESC's
role has been questioned, particularly since the debate on European governance and consequent
discussion on the representativeness of European civil society (Fonseca, 2007, 5). Its legitimacy
has been questioned on the basis of “its size, appointment methods, composition, structure and
17 Defrenne v. Societe Anonyme Belge de Navigation Aerienne, 1976, C-43/75 [ECR 455].
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
representative capability” (Fonseca, 2007, 6). Some of these issues have consequences on gender
balance and they will be addressed later.
Although engaging in the debate on representativeness and representation is not the purpose
of this study, it is evident that improving gender balance within the EESC could help counteract
some of the criticism18. Three of the members interviewed, both women and men, highlighted the
importance of gender balance with regards to representation:
“I think gender balance is important for the EESC and it is even more important among
the members because we’re supposed to represent civil society organisations in the EU”;
“I think that having gender balance it’s [sic] important in general. But if we are a
consultative body that is supposed to represent organised civil society, I would say that it
is even more important, because if women are half of the population… well, half
[the]members should be women too”; and
“If we are civil society representatives and we react to civil society’s needs, there is an
Eurobarometer survey that says that gender equality is an important issue for 90% of EU
citizens, so we shouldn’t ignore it and we need to work on it”.
Gender balance provides benefits for all. As women represent half of the population, they
also represent half of the talent, knowledge, skills, creativity, ideas, etc. Thus, not having an equal
presence of men and women in EESC’s composition means that the Committee is not effectively
using all the talent available in society. Having an equal presence of women and men can result
in better, more representative, opinions and better outcomes of the EESC’s activities in general.
Another interviewed member notes that:
“
We need to explain that gender balance is not something against men, but something good
for the Committee. It’s about including women and using all their talent, their knowledge
and making the most out of it”.
In addition, it has been proven that having a critical mass of women in decision-making is
necessary to introduce neglected or new issues of concern into the policy agenda19. Women as a
group have interests and needs related to their own experiences (e.g. reproductive rights) that do
not concern men to the same extent. The
European Women’s Lobby gives a good example of this:
because women have been the ones most affected by issues of reconciliation of work and private
life, and have not been present enough in decision-making, reconciliation has long been seen as
a private issue rather than a problem to be tackled by society (European Women’s Lobby, 2014,
20). This is currently changing thanks to the progressive access of women to political decision-
making.
Another important benefit of gender balance is that it is linked to the representation of the
diversity of EU citizens. Focusing on gender balance, should also mean that women and men in
all their diversity are considered and included. For example, women of colour, lesbian and trans
18 There is some research focusing on the issue of representation and representativeness of the EESC, for example the work of Perez-
Solorzano and Smismans, which can be found in this study’s bibliography.
19 Since Hanna Pitkin’s contributions on political representation, different research has focused on how women’s representation was
necessary to introduce diverse topics of utmost importance for women (i.e. domestic violence) in the agenda. - Pitkin, H., F. 1967.
The concept of representation. University of California Press.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
women, migrant women, those belonging to religious minorities, as well as women with
disabilities are to be rightfully represented20.
4.
The state of play: gender balance in the EESC
To improve gender balance and work towards greater gender equality, it is first necessary
to understand the current state of gender balance and the aspects which need to be addressed. This
part of the study analyses gender balance among EESC members and EESC personnel.
The issues that impact on the gender balance of each group - members and personnel- are
very different and cannot be explored jointly. Whereas the appointment of members – and thus
the responsibility for ensuring gender balance lies with the nominating organisations and
ultimately the Member States. As regards the EESC's personnel, however, assuring gender
balance falls within the responsibility of the EESC administration in its capacity as an employer.
The two categories are therefore explored in separate sections. This study focuses more on gender
balance among EESC members as this is closely linked to the abovementioned aspects of
democracy, legitimacy, and representation in its capacity as an EU advisory body. It is also where
we find greater gender imbalance in the EESC.
20 In this sense, it is very important to always adopt an intersectional view which helps the understanding and responding to how sex
and gender intersect with other personal characteristics and identities. For more information about intersectionality, see EIGE’s
contributions at
: https://eige.europa.eu/thesaurus/terms/1263
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
4.1 EESC members
4.1.1 Overall gender balance in the EESC
Unlike the European Parliament, for example, the EESC does not provide information
about the percentage of members that are women and men EESC21. To know the gender balance
among EESC members one needs to go to the
EESC Members Page and scroll down counting the
number of women and men. By doing so, we observe that currently, as of August 2019, 72% of
members are men, and 28% women22.
Figure 1: Overall Gender balance in the EESC (2015-2020)
28%
72%
Men
Women
4.1.2 Gender balance by Member State
The number of EESC members per Member State was established in the Treaty of Nice.
Table 1 below shows the number and percentage of female and male members by Member State.
21 The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) provides data on gender and the European Parliament :
https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs/indicator/wmidm_pol_parl__wmid_eurparl/bar. Additionally, the European Parliament
itself publishes the percentage of women and men MEPs by electoral term and member state. See for example the 2019 elections
results
at
https://election-results.eu/mep-gender-balance/2019-2024/
and
the
2014
elections
results
at
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2014-results/en/gender-balance.html
22 All the numerical data about the gender composition of the EESC members is based on data obtained from a search of the EESC's
Members Page carried out on 20 August 2019.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 1- Gender Balance by Member State
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Austria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Belgium
11
1
12
92%
8%
Bulgaria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Croatia
3
6
9
33%
67%
Cyprus
5
0
5
100%
0%
Czech
7
5
12
58%
42%
Republic
Denmark
5
4
9
56%
44%
Estonia
2
4
6
33%
67%
Finland
6
3
9
67%
33%
France
14
10
24
58%
42%
Germany
21
2
2323
91%
9%
Greece
9
2
1124
82%
18%
Hungary
6
6
12
50%
50%
Ireland
8
1
9
89%
11%
Italy
20
4
24
83%
17%
Latvia
4
3
7
57%
43%
Lithuania
5
4
9
56%
44%
Luxembourg
3
2
5
60%
40%
Malta
5
0
5
100%
0%
Netherlands
9
3
12
75%
25%
Poland
16
5
21
76%
24%
Portugal
12
0
12
100%
0%
Romania
14
1
15
93%
7%
Slovakia
6
3
9
67%
33%
Slovenia
6
1
7
86%
14%
Spain
16
5
21
76%
24%
Sweeden
5
7
12
42%
58%
United
14
10
24
58%
42%
Kingdom
Analysis of EESC members by Member State, reveals that there are some Member States
with no women members at all, some with a minority of women and some that have gender parity
among their members. Six Member States have less than 10% of women members: Belgium,
Cyprus, Germany, Malta, Portugal, and Romania. In addition to these, another four Member
States have less than 20% of women members: Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Slovenia. This means
that 10 Member States (36%) have less than 20% of women members among their national
23 Germany has a total of 24 seats allocated to however the total of German members when the data was consulted on the EESC
Members Page was 23.
24 The total seats allocated to Greece is 12. However, the total number of Greek members when the data was consulted on the
EESC
Members Page was 11.
14
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
delegations. Figure 2 shows the state of gender balance by Member State, with a red line where
the level of parity is.
Figure 2: Gender balance by Member State (2015-2020)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
a
l
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K
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N
et
z
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C
n
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Men
Women
Figure 2 shows that currently only Hungary has a national delegation with gender parity
and that the majority of the Member States are below the gender parity line. Table 2 categorises
Member States according to the level of gender balance in their national delegations.
Table 2- Levels of gender balance per Member State
Member State
Number of
Number of
Member States
seats
All-male
Cyprus, Malta, Portugal
3
22
Minority of women
Austria, Belgium,
14
197
Bulgaria, Finland,
Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy,
Netherlands, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain
Majority of women
Croatia, Estonia
2
15
Gender Balance
Czech Republic,
9
11425
Denmark, France,
Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Sweden, United
Kingdom
25 The total number of members is 348 as at the time the data was obtained the German and Greek delegations were each down by 1
member.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 2 shows that 3 Member States have an all-male delegation. In total, 13 Member States
have national delegations with either no women or with a minority of women members. Those
two categories constitute the majority (219) of the seats at the EESC. There are 2 delegations with
more women than men and they account for 15 seats. It is interesting to note that among the 9
Member States with a gender-balanced delegation, only Sweden has more women members than
men. The rest of the gender-balanced delegations all have a majority of male members.
It is also striking to note that many of the Member States that do not have gender-balanced
delegations have already adopted various gender balance requirements at national level to ensure
the equal or balanced representation of women and men in different power and decision-making
fields, such as in Parliaments and other representative bodies, in politics and political parties, in
market-listed companies, etc. These Member States include Spain, Italy, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Poland (Vareikyte, 2019, 13). However, gender balance
requirements do not seem to apply to all decision-making positions, to different civil society
organisations and the EESC.
4.1.3 Gender balance by EESC Groups
Figure 3 shows gender balance in each of the EESC's three Groups (Group I – Employers,
Group II – Workers, and Group III – Diversity Europe).
Figure 3: Gender balance by Group (2015-2020)
100%
90%
21%
29%
35%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
79%
71%
65%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Group I
Group II
Group III
Men
Women
Figure 3 shows that none of the Groups is gender-balanced. Group II shows a slightly better
gender balance than the others, and yet it is far from being balanced and even further from having
parity. Group I has the worst gender balance, with almost 80% of male members.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
4.1.4 Gender balance by EESC Sections
Figure 4 illustrates the gender balance of each section and the Consultative Commission
on Industrial Change (CCMI).
Figure 4: Gender balance by Sections and CCMI (2015-2020)
100%
90%
76%
78%
80%
75%
77%
75%
72%
70%
56%
60%
50%
44%
40%
28%
30%
24%
25%
23%
25%
22%
20%
10%
0%
INT
ECO
TEN
REX
NAT
SOC
CCMI
Men
Women
The section with the biggest share of women is the Section for Employment, Social Affairs
and Citizenship (SOC). It is also gender-balanced, with 56% of men and 44% of women. This is
not by chance, as social-related areas usually have a greater proportion of women than men. The
Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) has the lowest share of women with only
22% of women members. However, the other sections have similar percentages of women and
men members.
4.1.5 Gender balance in Presidencies and the Bureau
The EESC's political organisational chart 2018-2020 provides information on the number
of women and men members leading the EESC, its Groups and sections. Table 3 shows the gender
balance in the EESC's Presidencies and its Bureau.
Table 3- Gender balance in EESC Presidencies and in the Bureau
Number
Presidencies
Men
Women
Total
EESC President
1
0
1
Group Presidents
326
0
3
Sections, CCMI and Observatories
5
5
10
Questors
2
1
3
Bureau members
25
14
39
(64%)
(36%)
(100%)
Table 3 shows that there is a greater gender balance in top EESC positions than in the
overall total of EESC members. Since the last mid-term renewal of the EESC Presidency and
26 For the first half of the 2015-2020 mandate, the President of Group II was a woman.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Bureau (April 2018), the EESC’s leadership has more women in key roles. According to the
EESC’s 2018 Annual Activity Report, for the first time in its history, both EESC Vice-Presidents
are women. Parity has been achieved among the posts of Presidents of the Sections, CCMI and
Observatories (EESC, 2018, 14).
The EESC President and the Group Presidents, which constitute the 4 top positions within
the Committee, are currently all held by men. Table 4 shows the gender balance of EESC
Presidents since its establishment in 1958 until 2019 (EESC Media Library, 2019).
Table 4 – EESC Presidents from 1958 to 2019
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
EESC Presidents
28
4
32
88%
12%
Table 4 shows that there have only been 4 women leading the EESC in all its history. These
numbers are in line with other EU institution’s leadership positions, which have been held by
men. In 2019, for the first time, a woman was appointed as President of the European Commission
and the European Parliament has only had two women as Presidents since its establishment.
Table 5 shows the gender balance of EESC Group Presidents from 1982 until the current
mandate 2018-202027.
Table 5 – EESC Group Presidents from 1982 until 2020
Number
Men
Women
Group I
8
0
Group II
7
1
Group III
5
3
Total
20
4
Percentage
Total
83%
17%
Table 5 reveals that there have only been 4 women Group Presidents since 1982 and that
there have been none in Group I and only one in Group II. In total, only 17% of Group Presidents
have been women. Both Tables 4 and 5 show that the EESC’s key leadership positions have been
held by men through the years.
4.1.6 Gender balance among Rapporteurs
The rapporteur is responsible for drafting the opinion, taking on board the contributions
from the other members of the Study Group. Members put forward their request to become the
rapporteur of an opinion and the selection of the rapporteur is a process of negotiation among the
Group Presidents. In some cases, a co-Rapporteur is also appointed. The rapporteur/co-rapporteur
can select an expert of their choice to assist them with the preparation of the opinion.
27 Special thanks to Ms. Trojansky from Group II’s Secretariat who collected the data on EESC Groups Presidents.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 6 shows the gender balance among rapporteurs in 2018:
Table 6 - Gender Balance among rapporteurs in 2018
Number
Percentage
Plenary
Total
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men rap.
Women
Session
Opinions
(corap.)
(corap.)
rap.
531st
10
8
2
4
0
80%
20%
532nd
16
15
1
3
1
94%
6%
533rd
11
8
3
3
1
73%
27%
534th
17
13
4
5
2
76%
24%
535th
12
10
2
3
1
83%
17%
536th
22
19
3
2
1
86%
14%
537th
34
27
7
9
2
79%
21%
538th
49
42
7
6
3
86%
14%
539th
29
23
6
4
3
79%
21%
Total
200
165
35
39
14
83%
17%
The EESC produced a total of 215 opinions in 2018 (EESC, 2019, 20). However, the table
only shows the 200 opinions that had a rapporteur. The remaining 15 opinions were adopted in
different forms, such as simple letters to the requesting EU institution, signed by the EESC
President. The Table shows that 83% of rapporteurs were men, and only 17% were women. Given
that currently, the gender composition of EESC members is 72% men and 28% women, we
observe an even greater gender imbalance among rapporteurs. According to the members
interviewed, the benefits of being a rapporteur are the increased visibility, the greater control over
the content of the opinion, the ownership of the document and the opportunities to expand their
networks while promoting the opinion. However, members note that the biggest disadvantage is
that being a rapporteur is time consuming and it is unpaid28.
4.1.7 Gender balance in study groups, panels and other settings
Numerical data on the gender balance in the EESC’s study groups was not analysed in this
study. However, the decision-making processes to select the study group members and
rapporteurs were raised as an issue both in the interviews and in some of the survey responses.
Considering that the study groups are the day-to-day work of the EESC, it is relevant to look at
their gender composition in this study.
The usual procedure to assign members to study groups and designate rapporteurs starts
with the publication of the 'New Works' which lists the new opinions (referrals and own-initiative)
that the EESC will prepare, as well as other activities requiring the members' participation.
Members can then express their interest to their Group to be part of a particular study group, also
indicating if they wish to be the rapporteur or president of the study group. The Group Presidents
and Vice-Presidents will then select which of their members should be part of the study group, as
well as their Group's candidate for rapporteur or president. Each Group has its own specific rules
for selecting its study group members but often expertise and geographical balance will be taken
28 However, there is a monetary allowance for coming to the meetings in Brussels.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
into consideration. The final decision regarding the composition of the study groups, including
the rapporteur, co-rapporteur and president is made by the three GroupPresidents.
According to one interviewee, gender balance seems to be considered by Group II in the
selection of its study group members. As the EESC does not appear to compile data on the gender
balance of study groups or among the rapporteurs, the differences between the Groups and the
overall gender balance in study groups cannot be directly checked. In fact, some of the recurrent
issues raised by the members in the interviews and the survey were the need to increase the
transparency of all EESC procedures, including its internal procedures, as well as to monitor and
keep track of the gender balance of study groups and among rapporteurs. Some of the members
interviewed noted that it has been very important to display the reasons that members give when
they apply for a study group. Both the interview and survey responses suggest that setting clear
and transparent rules on the selection of rapporteurs and study group members is key, as well as
monitoring compliance with those rules and procedures. Of course, having more women members
in the first place would help to improve the gender balance among rapporteurs and in study
groups.
Besides the gender composition of the study groups, many of the members pointed out the
need to consider gender balance when organising panels and conferences and when inviting
external speakers. Some also mentioned that the work done by organisations such as
EU Panel
Watch29, and
The Brussels Binder30 has increased their awareness on the issue. In March 2018,
the EESC’s Bureau adopted a decision31 to support the campaign #NoWomenNoPanel initiated
by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society32. However, it
would appear that EESC members are not generally aware of this Bureau decision and it has not
been effectively implemented33 as the following quote of an interviewee illustrates:
“
We still have all-male panels in our Committee and also when we organise events in
Members States. This is even worse for me, because when you go to a Member State to talk
about European values you should lead by example and you shouldn’t be organising an
event where there are no women’s voices”.
Whilst a statistical analysis of the gender balance of EESC study groups has not been
possible, from the responses obtained from the members there appears to be a demand for greater
clarity and transparency in the EESC's decision-making processes, especially regarding the
selection of members and rapporteurs for study groups, as well as to have gender balance in
organised panels, conferences and also among the invited external speakers.
29 See EU Panel Watch
: https://www.eupanelwatch.com/
30 See The Brussels Binder
: https://brusselsbinder.org/
31 The Bureau Decision was taken at the 658th meeting of the EESC Bureau on 13 March 2018. The decision reads: “No women no
panel. The Bureau has decided that the EESC will participate at this initiative”.
32 According to the EC, “No Women No Panel is a campaign with a goal to raise awareness on having gender balance in panels and
public events. Commissioner Mariya Gabriel committed to ensuring that for every panel or public event she is invited to there should
be at least one other woman panellist” (EC, digital single market, 2018). More information about the campaign can be found at:
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commissioners-support-no-women-no-panel-campaign
33 In fact, after the decision, the 273rd meeting on 19 March 2018 of the Management Board, which was established to implement
the Bureau’s decisions, concluded that with regards to the “No women no panel" initiative, “more information was needed in order
to be able to implement this decision”.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
4.1.8 Gender balance comparison: 2013 and 2019
Although information regarding gender balance per EESC mandate is not publicly
available, this study has been able to make a comparison of the current state of gender balance
among EESC members with the situation in 2013. For that, the study analyses the information
found in the EESC's
Vademecum for 2013, a document available to all its members and personnel.
The
Vademecum lists the members by Group and Member State, shows the composition of
the Bureau, and the presidents of the Groups and Sections. The following tables and figures show
a comparison of the state of gender balance among EESC members in 2013 and 201934.
Figure 5: Comparison of the state of gender balance in the EESC in 2013 and in 2019
28%
2019
72%
25%
2013
75%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Women
Men
Figure 5 shows that there has been a very slight improvement on the overall gender balance
of the EESC since 2013. The percentage of women members has increased by 3%: from having
25% of women members in 2013, the EESC has 28% of women members in 2019.
34 Tables with the numerical information can be found in the Annex.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 7 compares gender balance among the EESC members by Member State in 2013 and
in 2019. Some Member States have maintained the same percentage of women and men members,
while others have moved towards more gender balance or increased gender disparities. Member
States that have improved the percentage of gender balance are coloured in green, whereas those
where the percentage of gender balance has worsened are coloured in red.
Table 7- Comparison of gender balance per Member State 2013- 2019
2013
2019
Men
Women
Men
Women
Austria
75%
25%
75%
25%
Belgium
92%
8%
92%
8%
Bulgaria
75%
25%
75%
25%
Croatia
33%
67%
33%
67%
Cyprus
100%
0%
100%
0%
Czech Republic
58%
42%
58%
42%
Denmark
33%
66%
56%
44%
Estonia
29%
71%
33%
67%
Finland
67%
33%
67%
33%
France
75%
25%
58%
42%
Germany
83%
17%
91%
9%
Greece
75%
25%
82%
18%
Hungary
83%
17%
50%
50%
Ireland
67%
33%
89%
11%
Italy
96%
4%
83%
17%
Latvia
71%
29%
57%
43%
Lithuania
56%
44%
56%
44%
Luxembourg
67%
33%
60%
40%
Malta
60%
40%
100%
0%
Netherlands
67%
33%
75%
25%
Poland
71%
29%
76%
24%
Portugal
100%
0%
100%
0%
Romania
93%
7%
93%
7%
Slovakia
100%
0%
67%
33%
Slovenia
100%
0%
86%
14%
Spain
76%
24%
76%
24%
Sweeden
58%
42%
42%
58%
United Kingdom
63%
27%
58%
42%
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 8 compares the different levels of gender balance by Member State in 2013 with that
in 2019. It shows that Germany, Greece, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland have
worsened the gender balance of their national delegations, by increasing the number of men in
their national delegations. On the contrary, some Member States improved the state of gender
balance from 2013 to 2019 (Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia
and the United Kingdom). However, some of these Member States still have highly gender
imbalanced delegations, such as Italy and Slovenia.
Table 8 - Comparison of the different levels of gender balance per Member State 2013-
2019
2013
2019
All-male
Cyprus, Portugal, Slovakia
Cyprus, Malta and Portugal
and Slovenia
Minority of women
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Denmark, Finland, France,
Finland, Germany, Greece,
Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,
Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg
Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Netherlands, Poland,
Slovenia, and Spain
Romania, Spain, and United
Kingdom
Majority of women
Croatia, Estonia
Croatia, Estonia
Gender Balance
Czech Republic, Hungary,
Czech Republic, Denmark,
Lithuania, Malta, and
France, Hungary, Latvia,
Sweden
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Sweden, and United
Kingdom
Tables 7 and 8 show that many Member States maintain the gendered composition of their
national delegations, which in many cases have a minority of women members. This is the case
for Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania and Spain which had a minority of women members from 2013 to 2019. They
also indicate that some Member States, specifically Cyprus and Portugal, maintained an all-male
national delegation through the analysed years. Finally, Malta did not have an all-male national
delegation in 2013, but it does in 2019.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Figure 6: Comparison of gender balance per Group 2013-2019
Men 2013
Men 2019
Women 2013
Women 2019
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Group I
Group II
Group III
Figure 6 shows that the gender balance among Group I members worsened slightly from
2013 to 2019. The percentage of women members decreased by 1%, from having 22% of women
members in 2013 to 21% in 2019. Gender balance improved slightly in both Groups II and III.
Group II increased the percentage of women members from 30% in 2013 to 35% in 2019 and
Group III increased the percentage of women member from 23% in 2013 to 29% in 2019.
Table 9- Comparison of gender balance in presidencies 2013- 2019
EESC President
Group Presidents
Sections and CCMI
Presidents
Man
Woman
Men
Women
Men
Women
2013
1
0
3
0
5
2
2019
1
0
3*
0
3
4
Table 9 shows the number of women and men in the EESC presidencies in 2013 and 2019.
It illustrates that the EESC President and Group Presidents continue to be all men, in 2013 and in
201935. There has been an improvement in gender balance among the Section/CCMI Presidencies.
In 2013, only two Sections/ CCMI were chaired by women, whereas in 2019, four are chaired by
women. In addition, it is important to note that since 2018, and for the first time in EESC’s history,
two EESC vice-presidents are women: Isabel Caño Aguilar from Group II and Milena Angelova
from Group I (EESC, 2018).
35 *Group II had a woman President from 2015 until the beginning of 2019 however, she was replaced by a man when she stood
down to pursue other professional interests.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Figure 7: Comparison of gender balance in the Bureau 2013-2019
100%
90%
25%
36%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
75%
64%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2013
2019
Men
Women
Figure 7 compares the state of gender balance in the Bureau in 2013 and in 2019 and
shows that there has been an improvement. The percentage of women members in the Bureau
was 25% in 2013 and reached 36% in 2019.
The analysis shows that the state of gender balance in the EESC has slightly improved since
2013, with a slight increase in the overall percentage of women members in the EESC, as well as
an increase in Groups II and III. Gender balance also increased in the Section/CCMI Presidencies
and in the Bureau. However, the state of gender balance in Group I decreased slightly. As regards
the Member States, there were some improvements in the gender balance of their national
delegations while in others, it worsened.
4.2 EESC personnel
The gender composition of the EESC’s personnel differs from that of its members. The
nature, selection mechanisms, and categories are completely different. It is important to note that
as regards the EESC personnel, there is an employer and employee relationship between the EESC
and its staff and that the staffing issues are also regulated by the Staff Regulations of the EU
institutions36. This study looks at the gender balance among the EESC personnel in the three
different categories: assistant, administrator and Head of Unit (HoU). Technically, HoU are
administrators in a management position.
Table 10- Gender balance among EESC personnel
Function
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Assistant
108
264
372
29%
71%
Administrator
112
173
285
39%
61%
Head of Unit
24
22
46
48%
52%
36 The Staff Regulations are accessible online at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031-
20190101
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 10 shows the gender balance among the EESC personnel as of January 201937. It
reveals that overall there is greater gender balance among the EESC personnel than among EESC
members. However, men make up only 29% of assistant positions, meaning that a greater number
and proportion of women are in lower and non-managerial positions. There is almost gender parity
among the EESC’s HoUs, although in Directorates B and C, which are in charge of the legislative
work of the EESC, 6 out of the 7 HoUs leading each Section’s Secretariat (REX, ECO, etc.) are
men. Also, the level of Director is the highest position in the EESC’s administrative ladder and
the EESC has 5 Directors, and 2 more additional Directors38 who work for the Joint Services with
the Committee of the Regions (CoR)39. 4 out of the 7 Directors are women40. However, two of
these women are acting
ad interim and, at the time of this study, they had not been permanently
confirmed in these posts.
When comparing it with the EU institutions’ personnel, the EESC is well-positioned with
regards to gender balance by personnel categories and in the management. For example, in
comparison to the gender composition of the European Parliament’s personnel, the EESC seems
to be doing better, although the available data for the European Parliament’s personnel is from
2017 and 201841. It would be interesting to see if the European Parliament has improved its gender
balance and has achieved the targets that its Bureau established for 2019 (European Parliament,
2017, 17). To give just some examples, at the end of 2017, only 15% of Directors-General, 30%
of Directors and 36% of HoU in the European Parliament Secretariat were women (Mlinar, 2018,
16).
In the European Commission, President Juncker set a target of having at least 40% of
women occupying the European Commission’s middle and senior managers positions by the end
of his mandate in 2019. As of 7 March 2019, the proportion of women managers reached 39% at
all levels, 37% at senior management level and 40% at middle management level (European
Commission, 2019). It would also be interesting to have an updated public study on the current
gender composition of the European Commission’s personnel42.
Many reasons could explain the greater gender balance among the EESC personnel
compared to the gender balance found in other EU bodies. The employees interviewed, including
a human resources employee, point to different factors. First, the fact that it is a small institution
with a big share of its personnel working or coming from the field of translation - a sector
traditionally occupied by women - impacts on the share of women among the personnel and in
the managerial ladder. In fact, out of the 703 EESC employees, 215 work in translation.
Translation is a “feminised” area, which means that the majority of translators are women43. The
field of translation is still “feminised” because it has been traditionally perceived as a passive task
37 The data on the EESC personnel was facilitated by the Human Resources and Finance Directorate. The efforts and transparency of
the Human Resources team in this regard are to be thanked and commended.
38 Of which one is a man and one is a woman.
39 The EESC and the CoR agreed to share some of their services at the request of the European Parliament and they operate jointly
the logistics and translation services.
40 As of July 2019.
41 Specific data on the gender balance among the European Parliament’s personnel are available in the two following documents,
completely referred in the bibliography:
Women in the European Parliament (2017) and
Report on gender mainstreaming in the
European Parliament (2018).
42 In 2013, the European Commission published a report showing the percentages of women and men in different administrative
positions. It would be interesting to make an updated report on this issue. The report is entitled
Women and men in leadership positions
in the European Union 2013 and it can be consulted at:
https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d585cda9-
7e08-43e8-8bda-487dba4651b5
43 Different work sectors, areas, professions or occupations are considered “feminised” or “masculinised” when there is a majority
and non-balanced presence of women or men.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
in comparison with the active work of writing, which has been traditionally done by men
(Fernández, 2014, 163). Therefore, translation has provided a back-door route for women to take
part in the literary field, to acquire the cultural capital that they were previously denied
(Fernández, 2014, 163). In the EESC, among the 215 employees working in translation, 154 are
women and 7 of them are in management positions.
While it is important to remember that the mechanisms governing the composition of the
EESC's members and its personnel are very different, it appears that the state of gender balance
among the personnel is better than that among its members Additionally, the EESC’s personnel
gender balance seems to be well-positioned in comparison to the EU institutions. There are more
women in the lower positions, such as assistants and administrators, and almost gender parity
among the HoU and higher management.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
5.
The processes behind
Many different factors contribute to the current composition of the members and personnel
of the EESC. This part differentiates between the appointment procedures of the EESC members
and the hiring and promotion of the EESC personnel due to its different processes and rationale
behind. Again, the focus is placed on the EESC members, due to its closer links to democracy,
legitimacy, and representation.
5.1 EESC members
5.1.1 Appointment procedures
According to Article 300(2) of the TFEU “The Economic and Social Committee shall
consist of representatives of organisations of employers, of the employed, and of other parties’
representative of civil society, notably in socio-economic, civic, professional and cultural areas”.
And Article 300(4) TFUE also notes that “The Members of the EESC […] shall not be bound by
any mandatory instructions. They shall be completely independent in the performance of their
duties, in the Union's general interest”. These articles are rather broad and do not mention any
aspect related to gender equality. However, as outlined above, gender equality is a founding
principle and an official goal of the EU. In this regard, although there are no direct references to
gender equality (nor balance) in the Articles regulating the EESC, the Committee is also bound
by the EU’s principle of gender equality.
Usually, national governments consult diverse national organisations of employers,
workers and other entities representative of civil society in the composition of the national
delegations. According to the interviewees, often, the organisations of employers and workers
which would belong to Group I and II in the EESC, respectively, are more easily identified than
the other entities representative of civil society which would belong to Group III. However, the
processes and actors involved vary greatly for each Member State. The Member States then send
their nominations to the Council which appoints the members by qualified majority.
Due to the complexity and diversity of the selection, nomination and appointment
procedures of EESC members, an entire study solely on this topic would be needed to address the
issue in detail44. This study focuses on the major aspects of the appointment procedures that
impact on gender balance. For that, it has used different sources of information; mainly, a
literature review and the information gathered through the survey and interviews.
The survey of EESC members and delegates developed for this study has provided new
information on the appointment processes of EESC members. This has provided the opportunity
not only to gather updated information on the national procedures, but also to gather information
on the role, functioning and selection criteria of concrete national organisations such as
confederations of workers or employers, trade unions, specific civil society groups/organisations,
etc. It has also provided information on whether gender balance is a requirement or is taken into
44 In fact, it would be advisable to develop a study solely on the topic of national nomination and appointment processes to becoming
a member of the EESC. The existing comprehensive studies on this topic are not updated and there might be a gap of knowledge in
this area.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
consideration at the level of Member States and at the level of the organisations that propose
candidates.
5.1.2 National appointment procedures: gender balance per Member
State
This part provides a brief explanation of the national appointment procedures in each
Member State and focuses on the consideration given to gender balance and/or the existence of
gender balance criteria, as well as consideration given to other diversity elements, when there are
any.
Austria: In Austria, the pre-established civil society organisations select their candidates and the
Federal Government formally nominates. The Social Partners (organisations) are asked by the
Federal Chancellery to nominate members. The Chancellery must inform the National and Federal
Councils, who approve the list (Fonseca, 2017, 18-19). Respondents in Group I note that there
are no concrete or formal criteria to become a member, except for having some knowledge of EU
matters. They note that there are no formal criteria of gender balance. A respondent notes that
gender balance is not considered when presenting their candidates; however, another respondent
of Group I points out that “gender balance and age are taken into account”. With regards to Group
II, the respondent notes that gender balance is considered, usually mirroring the share of their
members as established in the status. The criteria of mirroring the gender share of an organisation
might cause problems to achieving gender balance because many organisations, such as trade
unions, are still very masculinised (Colgan and Ledwith, 2007)45. The respondent further notes
that there is the “intention” to build a list considering diversity, although acknowledges that more
attention is put to gender balance. There is no specific information on the procedures and criteria
for Group III. Only 3 out of 12 Austrian members are women.
Belgium: the candidates are selected jointly by the Central Economic Council and the National
Labour Council, which are both advisory bodies that contribute to elaborate positions and
proposal related to economic life, welfare, competitiveness and labour relations (Fonseca, 2007,
19). Then, the Ministers of Labour and Economy approve them (Fonseca, 2007, 19). The known
selection criteria are to be members of the organisations belonging to the mentioned Councils, be
legitimate, active and with influence in their socio-economic field (Fonseca, 2007, 19). A
respondent from Group III notes that he was appointed due to his “expertise, experience and time
allocation” and that gender balance is considered “as much as possible” because the available
expertise and the vacancies need to be considered. Only 1 out of 12 Belgium members is a woman.
Bulgaria: according to a respondent from Group III, it is the Council of Ministries and the Prime
Minister who select the EESC members by nomination. It seems that for the other groups, the
Economic and Social Councils of Bulgaria submit the candidates' names to the Government,
which officially nominates them (Fonseca, 2007, 20). There is no criteria regarding gender
balance. However, according to one respondent, her organisation has set in its statutes and its
internal rules that gender proportions need to be respected. The Economic and Social Councils of
Bulgaria have set other criteria for nomination as an EESC candidate, such as, previous
experience in other committees, commissions or diverse organisations of cooperation,
membership in the Councils of Bulgaria, experience of social dialogue, awareness of the EESC
45 One should question and reflect upon on why there are still many organisations whose members are mainly men. However, due to
time and resources limits this report cannot analyse this issue.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
procedures and practices, and good command of English and French (Fonseca, 2007, 20). Only 3
out of 12 Bulgarian members are women.
Croatia: the respondents note that the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Decision
on the procedure for appointing members to the EESC. The Decision defines which organizations
can nominate candidates at the invitation of the Ministry of Labour and the Pension System, which
is responsible for coordinating the nomination and appointment process. For Groups I and II only
representative associations have the right to nominate candidates to the EESC, while for other
civil society organizations, the Government Council for Civil Society Development issued a
public invitation/call on its website to apply to become an EESC member. It seems that for Group
III, a Committee composed of representatives of the Civil Society Development Council, the
Office for Associations and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs reviewed the
applications, interviewed the candidates and selected them. It is not clear if there was a review
and interview of candidates for members of Group I and II. It seems that the organisations
identified in the Decision would propose their candidates46. No gender balance criteria are
mentioned. As some organisations have only one EESC member, they note that gender balance
cannot be considered. A respondent in Group II notes that although there are provisions regarding
gender equality within her trade union, gender balance is not a requirement to be on the list of
candidates. Candidates of Group II must meet the following criteria: experience in the field of
EESC scope, professional experience, personal motivation, knowledge of a foreign language and
communication skills, availability to participate in meetings, knowledge of EU institutions and
decision-making practices in the EU, and respecting the principle of gender equality. The current
Croatian delegation is exceptional in the EESC as it has 6 women out of 9 members.
Cyprus: there were no respondents from Cyprus. According to Fonseca, in Cyprus, there is a long
tradition of tripartite cooperation and major decisions on labour and social issues are taken after
consultations with the Labour Advisory Body - a high-level Committee chaired by the Minister
of Labour and composed of representatives of employers' and workers' organisations. Each
organisation nominates its candidate and sends its proposition to the Minister who formally
appoints them (Fonseca, 2007, 20)47. The criteria mentioned are the suitability of the members
and their ability to constructively contribute to the EESC. No gender balance criteria are
mentioned. The Cypriot delegation is composed only of men, none of the 5 members is a woman.
Czech Republic: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for the proposals of the workers' and
employers' representative organisations which are present at the National Economic and Social
Council (Fonseca, 2007, 21). According to respondents, the nomination for members of Group
III is slightly different, different Ministries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consult big NGOs
networks for candidates. For nominations in the current term, the governmental Council for NGOs
made a public call, gathered applications and organized a hearing of candidates and a voting
session. There does not seem to be any specific and written criteria for the selection of candidates,
and thus, there are no gender balance criteria either. Respondents in Group II note that candidates
need to have certain skills such as language knowledge, expertise in certain issues and
46 The organisations that have been identified by the respondents are: for Group I: 1) Croatian Employers Organisation; 2) Croatian
Chamber of Commerce; and 3) Croatian Chamber of Trade and Crafts. For Group II, representatives of the three strongest Union
Confederations.
47 According to Fonseca the Cypriot organisations that would be represented are: for Group I: The Cyprus Employers and Industrialists
Federation (OEB) and Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEBE); for Group II.: Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK) and
Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO); and for Group III: Cyprus Farmers Association (EKA) and Cyprus Consumers Association
(KSK).
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
communication skills. Although there is no written rule on gender balance, respondents in Group
II note that “gender balance and regional balance are considered”. Some respondents point out
that different diversity criteria are not considered. 5 out of 12 Czech members are women.
Denmark: the government decided on the organisations to be represented in the Danish
delegation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks civil society organisations to nominate
representatives. There does not seem to be any requirement on gender balance (Fonseca, 2007,
22), and respondents acknowledged that they weren’t sure about any specific requirement,
including gender balance. Some of the organisations nominate one candidate and no gender
balance aspect is considered. 4 out of 9 Danish members are women.
Estonia: The Ministry of Social Affairs though a Working Group chooses the representative
organisations and asks them to nominate their candidates (Fonseca, 2007, 22). According to
respondents in Group II, civil society organisations are always consulted. A respondent in Group
III notes that there was a public competition for civil society organisations organised by the
Ministry of Social Affairs, where their applications were evaluated. Some of the required criteria
mentioned are: be a member of a representative organisation, have experience for highly relevant
matters for Estonia, motivation, competence, and ability to participate at the EESC. Estonia and
Croatia are the only two delegations that have a majority of women members, although the
number of seats that they have is relatively small. Some respondents note that they have more
women members because the staff of the national organisations is composed of mostly women.
4 out of the 6 members of the Estonian delegation are women.
Finland: the government asks key employers', workers' and civil society organisations to
nominate their candidates. According to respondents, civil society organisations are asked to
suggest candidates and alternatives, which need to be men and women, to the government. Some
organisations nominate just one member and they note that gender balance is not possible.
According to the respondents and Fonseca’s findings, gender balance is legally required when
civil society organisations nominate their candidates. However, the current gender composition
of the Finnish delegation is not gender-balanced, only 3 out of the 9 members are women.
France: respondents mention different institutional bodies which would be involved in the
appointment process in France. With regards to members of Groups I and II, the Committee on
the European and International Social Dialogue, part of the Labour Ministry, and the General
Secretariat for European Affairs, an inter-ministerial structure, are mentioned. Trade unions and
employers organisations that are members of the mentioned Committee, which are considered
representative, are asked to propose candidates. For Group III, different ministries collect
candidatures by consulting civil society organisations (Fonseca, 2007, 23). Respondents note that
gender balance is considered and some of the respondents in Group II note that their organisations
have established a gender parity rule and that they give special attention to inclusion and diversity
aspects. 10 out of the 24 French members are women.
Germany: The Federal Ministry of Economics coordinates the process, although different
ministries are also involved. Federal Ministries ask organisations to submit their candidates and
the final approval is made by the Federal Cabinet (Fonseca, 2007, 24). According to respondents
in Groups I and II there is no gender balance criteria. However, a respondent from Group I
acknowledges that having regional and intersectional representation is one of the criteria used.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
They mention that skills, readiness, competence and trust are considered in order to be nominated
by the organisations. Only 2 sout of the current 23 German members are women.
Greece: The Ministry of Economy and Finance asks the representative civil society organisations
(employers' organisations for Group I, trade unions for Group II and professional, farmers, SMEs,
consumer and other organisations for Group III) to put forward their candidates (Fonseca, 2007,
24). The selection criteria mentioned are expertise and language knowledge and the position that
members have within their national organisations is also considered. Respondents in Group I and
II note that there are no rules with regards to gender balance and that gender balance is not
considered. A respondent notes that diversity is not considered either. Only 2 out of the current
11 Greek members are women.
Hungary: The Ministry of Social Affairs asks civil society organisations to nominate
representatives. For members from Groups I and II there is a Hungarian forum where trade
unionists and employers meet to form opinions and members are chosen from this forum48.
According to Fonseca, members of Group III are chosen through a public call for Hungarian
NGOs (Fonseca, 2007, 25). There were no survey respondents from Group III. All respondents
note that gender balance is not considered and that only capabilities, talent and skills are
considered. 6 out of the 12 Hungarian members are women.
Ireland: in Ireland, the “Social Partnership” is composed of four pillars: Employers, Trade
Unions, Agriculture, and Community & Voluntary. The Department responsible for connecting
the Government and the Social Partners, invites each pillar to nominate three representatives
(Fonseca, 2007, 26). According to the respondent each organisation has its own selection criteria,
and organisations tend to choose candidates who are on the boards or have had important positions
beforehand, which for historical and structural reasons tend to be men. As Fonseca explains, the
Government’s memorandum on the EESC nominations has a clause (art. 4) on gender balance
and the inclusion of a member from Northern Ireland. In 2006, two out of the four pillars did not
respect gender balance claiming that the selected persons were “the most appropriate
representatives with more experience, knowledge and time to contribute most effectively to the
work of the EESC” (Fonseca, 2007, 26). Currently, only 1 out of the 8 Irish members is a woman.
This means that Ireland is not currently respecting its own gender balance rules either.
Italy: The Minister of Economy for Group I, the Minister of Labour and Social affairs for Group
II, and other Ministers for Group III, identify the representative civil society organisations and
ask them to provide their candidates. Language knowledge, professional experience and
suitability for the function are considered for the appointments. Some respondents note that the
most important requirement is to have knowledge of EU affairs and some note that the political
role of the member is considered. A respondent from Group II notes that: “The Ministry of Labour
for the first time three years ago asked to consider gender balance in the nomination of
representatives for the EESC. This was very important, but our trade union was the only one that
respected this “invitation” from the Government”. The respondent further notes that her trade
union can nominate two members. Other Italian respondents note that their organisations do not
discriminate and that they embrace the principle of gender equality. However, only 4 out of the
20 Italian members are women.
48 According to Fonseca, this “forum” would be the
National Council for the Reconciliation of Interests.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Latvia: According to a respondent of Group II, the Ministry of Economy approved the received
nominations by the different representative civil society organisations and informed the Cabinet
of Ministers; afterwards, the Parliament approved the appointments. However, the respondent
notes that the process might change soon as it will be the State Chancellery which will coordinate
it. It seems that there are not strictly established criteria (Fonseca, 2007, 27), but EU and language
knowledge and work experience are considered. There are no requirements with regards to gender
balance. 3 out of the 7 Latvian members are women.
Lithuania: The Ministry of Economy coordinates the process and it asks selected representative
civil society organisations to put forward their nominations. According to a respondent in Group
II, the selection consists of three stages: evaluation of the administrative compliance of the
proposals and the suitability of the organization; organization scoring; and the face to face
interviews with candidates49. The Ministry of Economy then submits the list of selected
candidates for approval by the Government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs the EU
Council about the representatives of Lithuanian organizations proposed by the candidates. A
respondent in Group II notes that gender balance is considered when nominating members.
According to Fonseca, there are no rules with regards to gender balance (Fonseca, 2007, 28). 4
out of the 9 Lithuanian members are women.
Luxembourg: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacts the relevant employers’ and labour
organisations asking them to submit their respective candidate and the government confirms the
list of candidates50. The respondent notes that given that each organisation has the right to only
one seat, the question of gender is not discussed and that there are no written rules on the overall
gender balance. 2 out of the 5 Luxembourgian members are women.
Malta: For Group III,
there is an independent Civil Society Committee (CSC), which is divided
into 12 sectors, within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. The elections
for appointment on EESC for Civil Society take place through a secret vote by CSC members.
The names of the candidates with the highest number of votes and the runner-up are submitted to
the Minister for European Affairs for confirmation and approval. A respondent notes that most of
the CSC representatives are men and they lobby for male representatives, and thus, it can be very
difficult for women to get a high number of votes. For Groups I and Group II, candidates are
chosen by reaching an agreement between various Employers' representative organisations and
various Workers' representative organisations. There is no criteria regarding gender balance. The
Maltese delegation is composed only of men. Out of the 5 Maltese members, none is a woman.
Netherlands: The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands, the institution where social
partners meet, coordinates the process. It asks the representative trade unions, employers'
organisations and various groups to nominate their candidates. Respondents note that neither
gender balance nor diversity are taken into consideration for the appointments. A respondent
points out that their organisation looks for a candidate who is a good lobbyist and knows EU and
Dutch politics. Another respondents notes that the (Dutch) Social and Economic Council wants
49 According to Fonseca the specific Ministries and bodies that are involved in the process are the Tripartite Council, the Ministry of
Social Security and Labour, the Ministry of Justice, the National Consumer Rights Protection Board under the Ministry of Justice,
and the European Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
50 According to Fonseca these organisations are the Chamber of Trade, the biggest trade unions - OGB-L, CGFP and LCGB, the Crafts
Chamber and the Farmers’ Association. They represent the largest organisations taking part in the National Economic and Social
Committee.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
the Dutch delegation to be, as far as possible, a good reflection of civil society. However, only 3
out of 12 Dutch members are women.
Poland: According to the respondents, members of Group I are II are selected by the organisations
that are part of the Council for Social Dialogue and members of Group III by organisations that
applied and were selected by the Council for Public Interest. According to Fonseca, the
established selection criteria are fluent knowledge of Polish, proven advanced knowledge of at
least one foreign language (English, French or German), higher education degree, and at least 2
years’ experience within the representative organisations (Fonseca, 2007, 30). There are no
gender balance requirements. One of the respondents in Group III notes that her organisation has
gender balance rules, such as keeping gender balance within its board and that while they focus
on competence for the nominations, gender is also considered. For another respondent in Group
I, there would be no need for any gender balance requirement because the process works very
well, and it is transparent. Only 5 out of the 21 Polish members are women.
Portugal: The selection and nomination process is coordinated by the EU Department of the
Prime Minister’s Office together with the EU Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Civil
society organisations may be invited to present their candidates. The National Economic and
Social Committee, where the majority of the invited organisations sit, is consulted and involved
in the process too. The final decision on the selected candidates is taken directly by the Prime
Minister (Fonseca, 2007, 30). Respondents note that only knowledge of EU affairs and languages
are considered, and that gender balance is not one of the requirements to present their candidates.
A respondent from Group II notes that gender balance is considered and that his organisations
takes part in activities related to gender equality. The National Portuguese delegation is composed
of only men members. None of the 12 Portuguese members is a woman.
Romania: The Government asks the Economic and Social Council to submit its proposals for the
candidates for Groups I and II. Within the Economic and Social Council, representatives of the
trade unions and employers’ confederations present their candidates. None of the Romanian
members of Group III responded to the survey and thus, it is not possible to know whether the
Government directly appointed the representatives of Group III, or if they are appointed through
the Economic and Social Council or other procedure (Fonseca, 2007, 31)51. Respondents
acknowledge that no gender balance criteria is applied. They mention professional experience in
international affairs as the criterion considered for selecting the candidates. Only 1 out of the 14
Romanian members is a woman.
Slovakia: The Government asks the following two bodies - the
Triparta (composed of
Government’s, employees’ and employers’ representatives) and the Economic and Social Council
of Slovakia - to put forward their proposals. Each institution sends its proposal to the Minister of
Social Affairs who submits the final list to the Government (Fonseca, 2007, 32). There are no
specific selection criteria, having a fair representation of the three socio-economic groups and the
51 According to Fonseca, “The representatives of the third group were directly appointed by the Government who also took the final
decision on the complete list of candidates. In the future terms, the Economic and Social Council will make proposals for the Romanian
candidates for the 3rd group and will have a consultative role”. Fonseca adds that with regards to Group III, social partners
recommended that the candidates represent 5 out of the 6 fields approved at the Economic and Social Council: academic and
professional associations, consumer protection, human rights, health, social services, environment and rural middle-sized
organisations.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
competence of the candidates are considered (Fonseca, 2007, 32). There were no respondents
from Slovakia. Only 3 out of the 9 Slovakian members are women.
Slovenia: The Government’s Office for European Affairs coordinates the procedure and the
Government makes the official nomination. The Slovenian Economic and Social Council submits
candidates for Group I and II and the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry and the Centre of non-
governmental organisations each submit one candidate for Group III (Fonseca, 2007, 32).
According to the available information, gender balance is not considered in the appointment
process (Fonseca, 2007, 32). Only 1 out of the 7 Slovenian members is a woman.
Spain: The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs asks the representative national and regional
trade unions and employers’ organisations to designate their candidates. For Group III candidates,
the Ministry directly contacts different organisations, such as consumer and disabled people’s
organisations, and turns to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for contacting the
representative organisations within its scope of action (Fonseca, 2007, 33). A respondent from
Group I notes that the main sectors in Spain must be represented among the appointed members
of their Group, but that gender balance is not considered. Respondents in Group II note that within
their organisations, in addition to analysing the technical profile of the candidate, gender balance
is considered because at least one of the three members that they nominate, needs to be a woman.
A respondent from Group II notes that gender balance is considered in the nominations of their
organisation but that there is no established rule. Only 5 out of the 21 Spanish members are
women.
Sweden: Different Ministries identify the organisations to be invited to send their proposals for
candidates. For Group II, the Ministry of Employment was in charge of the appointments. For
Group III, the same Ministry opened a public call where interested organisations were encouraged
to apply. According to the respondents, the Ministry of Employment asked the organisations to
submit both male and female candidates and gender balance was specifically requested. The
general selection criterion was to have knowledge of EU affairs. A respondent in Group II notes
that diversity in general is also considered, as it is within their organisation, they try to have
members of different backgrounds and ages. 7 out of the 12 Swedish members are women.
United Kingdom: The Foreign Secretary has overall responsibility for the selection and
nomination process. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives and reviews the
applications for members of Group III and the Department for Trade and Industry for Groups I
and II members. There are some guidelines for the application process which all organisations
need to consider. The guidelines state that candidates must have relevant experience on EESC
areas, professional qualifications, motivation, research or communication skills, time availability
for preparing and attending the meetings, familiarity with EU institution and decision-making and
with basic IT applications. Guidelines state that candidates should be representative of the UK
population, in what regards gender, ethnicity and disability (Fonseca, 2007, 34)52. For Group II,
the Trade Union Confederation (TUC) puts forward the nominations. According to a respondent
in Group II diversity is also considered. 10 out of the 24 English members are women.
52 Some of the criteria are mentioned by s from the United Kingdom and others are referred by Fonseca.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
5.1.3 National appointment procedures: gender Balance, diversity and
other selection criteria
This section further analyses the selection criteria used in national appointment procedures,
focusing on gender balance and diversity aspects. The analysis shows that the majority of Member
States, the governmental institutions or bodies, and national organisations involved in the
appointment processes for the EESC members do not consider gender balance. In fact, according
to the available information, only 5 Member States (Sweden, Finland, France, United Kingdom
and Ireland) specifically ask the nominating organisations to take gender equity, parity or balance
into consideration in their proposals. However, how they consider gender balance and the
outcomes regarding the gender composition of their national delegation differs. For example,
although Finland and Ireland have rules on gender balance, their delegations are not gender-
balanced. On the other hand, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom do have gender-balanced
delegations. Survey respondents from these Member States note that their organisations were
asked to consider gender parity or balance and to present both female and male candidates.
Table 11 below provides an overview of the appointment processes described above and
shows whether gender balance, diversity and/or other criteria are considered. It reflects the two
levels where gender balance criteria can be established: at the level of national delegations,
through governmental requirements on having a gender-balanced national delegation, and at the
level of the national organisations responsible for submitting candidates. The term “government”
refers to that first level: it is intended to include all the governmental, institutional or official
bodies that are responsible for the final appointment of EESC members at the Member State level,
such as the Prime Minister, a Minister, the Ministries or other bodies, etc. The term “rule” refers
to the rules and/or guidelines that are used by Member States or the organisations to nominate
and appoint a gender-balanced delegation. Finally, the term “consider” is used when respondents
indicated that their government or organisation considers gender balance when making up the list
of proposed EESC members/candidates.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 11- Appointment Procedures and Gender Balance, Diversity and other selection
criteria
Member
Government
National Orgs.
National Orgs.
National Orgs.
States
Group I
Group II
Group III
Rule Consider Rule Consider Rule Consider Rule Consider
Austria
●
●
Belgium
●
Bulgaria
●
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech
●●
Republic
Estonia
Finland
●
France
●
●
●
Germany
●
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
●
Italy
●
Latvia
Lithuania
●
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
●
Portugal
●
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
●
●●
Sweden
●
●●
UK
●●
●●
● Gender Balance
● Diversity
● Other: regional and sectorial balance
Within the 3 Groups (Employer, Workers, Diversity Europe), some organisations have
established rules to ensure gender balance and others “consider” gender balance when nominating
members. These are mainly organisations falling within Groups II and III. However, the fact that
some respondents state that their organisations do “consider” gender balance, does not guarantee
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
that the final composition of the members they nominate and the members per group are gender-
balanced53.
Some respondents from Group II state that diversity criteria, such as age, different
background or origin are also considered. Only two respondents mentioned that their
organisations have formally established gender parity or gender balance criteria in the nomination
process: a French respondent from Group II and a Bulgarian respondent from Group III. It is
interesting to note that some German respondents from Group I note that their organisations have
a rule on regional and sectorial balance and Spanish respondents of the same Group that they
consider sectorial balance. Some members of Group II in Spain also note that they consider
sectorial balance. This suggests that having a balance in certain aspects is a concern for some
organisations, however, Table 10 demonstrates that gender balance is not normally considered.
Some respondents indicate that as their organisations have the right to only one seat, they
do not consider the gender of the candidate. What current statistics show is that in the majority of
cases, that one seat is given to a man, and among those that have the right to 3 seats and therefore,
nominate 3 members, they often propose 2 men and 1 woman. When scaling these to the level of
the whole Committee, the result is a notable gender imbalance. In addition, according to the
findings in some interviews and survey responses, many of the national organisations have a fewer
number of women members or affiliates and male-dominance within the organisations would
often result in a lower level of commitment towards gender balance and broader gender equality
issues.
5.2 EESC personnel
Different factors explain the existing gender balance among the EESC personnel. As
explained, the fact that it is a small institution with a large proportion of employees in translation
and that it is of consultative nature, impacts on gender balance. In addition, some of the processes
behind the hiring and promotion in the EESC might have helped the current state of gender
balance.
The hiring and promotion of the personnel is regulated differently, taking into account
competence and years in service respectively. With regards to hiring, competence is the first and
most important criteria. Only when the level of competence is equal, will the underrepresented
gender in the category have priority in the hiring. This applies to both men and women. As has
been seen, there are categories where men are the underrepresented gender and therefore, when
equal competence is shown, they are prioritised. Also, a person from Human Resources is always
present in the interview and for every vacancy gender inclusive language is used.
For promotion within the same category, the main factor considered is the years in service.
According to the personnel interviewed, there are two ways to pass from the assistant category to
administrator: one is through a competition procedure and the other is through an internal
procedure called “certification”. To prepare for the “certification” process and tests, the employee
needs to have the approval of the HoU. One interviewee noted that, given the wide discretion of
HoUs on deciding if a person is “up to certification” or not, biased evaluations can occur and ,
better mechanisms to avoid bias would, therefore, be beneficial. With regards to Directors, some
53 For example, this is the case of the Austrian members of Group I. Although a respondent note that gender balance is considered in
the nomination process of the organisation, only 1 out of the 4 Austrian members of Group I is a woman.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
of the interviewees note that having a solid career experience and good contacts are important to
achieve that position.
One of the aspects that might need to be addressed relates to horizontal gender segregation,
an issue raised by some interviewees . Horizontal gender segregation inside the EESC can be
understood as the fact that women’s presence is predominant in some specific areas, traditionally
seen as “feminine”, and on the contrary, that men’s presence is predominant in other specific
areas, traditionally seen as “masculine”, such as logistics and legislative work. For example, when
looking at the presence of women and men per area of assignment in the EESC, we observe that
there are more men in management in the areas of logistics and legislative work and more women
in communication and translation54. Horizontal gender segregation is a reality that persists in all
the Member States and across diverse institutions, bodies and public and private organisations. It
is widely recognized as problematic because of its impact on perpetuating unequal gender power
relations (EIGE, 2018). In this sense, future work lines might be focused on improving the process
behind the hiring and promotion to help tackle horizontal gender segregation.
54 As of January 2019, and according to the data provided by the Human Resources and Finance Directorate, there are 15 administrators
in management positions in the Directorate of Legislative Work and out of those, 10 are men and 5 women. In the Translation
Directorate, there are 3 administrators in management positions and out of these, 3 are women and 1 is a man.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
6.
Beyond gender balance
Moving beyond gender parity and balance, this section constitutes a preliminary approach
to broader issues related to gender equality in the EESC. It addresses gender equality issues with
regards to EESC members and personnel. With regards to EESC members, it first focuses on
diverse gender equality issues in national organisations involved in the nomination processes for
EESC members, second on the EESC itself, and third on gender mainstreaming.
6.1 EESC members
6.1.1 Gender equality in national organisations
The majority of the survey respondents acknowledged that gender balance and other
diversity criteria are not considered in the nomination processes of their national organisations.
But behind the concrete aspect of gender parity, balance and diversity, when asked about other
aspects broader than gender balance, such as the gender perspective of members, survey
respondents and interviewees noted that these are not generally considered within their national
organisations either.
However, a small number of survey respondents mentioned that gender equality is one of
the principles to which their national organisations are attached to, for example, some of them
have formally established the principle of gender equality in their organisations’ statutes. Some
respondents from Group I mentioned that their organisations often organise conferences or events
related to issues such as women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment. Some respondents of
Groups II and III mentioned that specific training on gender equality, gender mainstreaming and
other related issues are organised by their national organisations. A few mentioned that their
organisations have anti-discrimination and sexual harassment policies in place. Two respondents
noted that their national organisations actively encourage women and ethnic minority candidates
to apply to become an EESC member. One respondent from Sweden notes that the decisions of
the Executive and Steering Committees of her national organisation always have a gender equality
analysis in the annex. Conversely, some members mentioned that although their national
organisation claims to be in favour of gender equality, there is little real commitment to implement
changes within their organisations and in their external work.
Additionally, one interviewee suggested that there should be more representatives coming
from women’s and feminist organisations in Group III.
Given the central role of national organisations in the composition of the EESC and the
impact that it has in the final functioning of the EESC, further research and actions can be targeted
at national organisations’ role in the appointment of EESC members and their commitment to
gender equality. The next section focuses on different issues related to gender equality in the
EESC.
6.1.2 Gender equality in the EESC
This section focuses on broader aspects related to gender equality in the EESC raised by
the members interviewed: sexism, training on gender, and work-life balance.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Sexism
Following the European Parliament’s new
Rules of Procedure, particularly in relation to
preventing and combating all forms of harassment, in March 2019 the EESC adopted in a
Code
of Conduct to ensure strict adherence to ethical standards, non-discrimination, equal opportunities
and dignity in the workplace (EESC, 2019). The adoption of a
Code of Conduct can be seen as a
positive step because it tries to address inadequate behaviours, such as harassment or sexist
attitudes, which still prevail in our societies, including in the workplace and in the EU institutions
themselves55. During the in-depth interviews some of the members talked about cases and
experiences of sexist attitudes in the EESC, for example:
“It was just me and another colleague from X and the rest, 12-14 were men. She was the
rapporteur at that time, and no one left her speaking. It was difficult for us to take the word,
to speak, they wouldn’t let us. I wouldn’t believe it if someone would have told me this
story, but now I know that these situations can happen, because it happened to me”.
A male member noted that:
“we should work on those subtle things. They come from attitudes that I would say, the
people that have them might not want to consciously undermine the other, but they’re doing
it because of their whole cultural background. There are definitely sexist attitudes towards
women in the Committee, and that should be addressed”.
Another quote reads as follows:
“in Group X we can see sexist behaviours. However, that doesn’t mean that all members
respect and understand those behaviours. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean that
those members have the power to change things either, and this is why it is so important to
have clear rules that actually promote gender equality.”
Training on gender
According to the interviewees, there is no training for members on diverse gender equality
issues. Some members pointed out that:
“this needs education, awareness, consciousness. A smartly developed training might help,
and broad policy which states that these attitudes are not acceptable”.
In fact, in the line with the broader structural elements that impact on different aspects of
gender equality, one of the members interviewed said that:
“I think this is a deep structural problem, a deep cultural problem. We all underline that
we respect gender equality and currently in our President’s cabinet there are more women,
but when we look deeper into the Committee’s structures, we see that it is all very male-
dominated, like culturally, when it comes to dividing tasks, with the way of doing things,
the approach…”.
55 See for example the experiences harassment, sexism and other, of many staff in the European Parliament in the MeTooEP
website
: https://metooep.com/
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Work-life balance
The issue of work-life balance was also raised by the members in the interviews. It seems
to be difficult to have good work-life balance while being a member of the EESC. Some note that:
“In this institution, something like work-life balance doesn’t exist. I do not know if that’s
even possible to make, because it requires you to travel to Brussels. I always try to do work
also from home. I use technologies, like Skype or other, and I do as many things as I can
without travelling to Brussels”.
And another says,
“I think if we had more modern, flexible procedures to work, it would allow greater
equality, especially gender equality. For example, some years ago I was trying to have full
custody of my children, I almost got it. If I had them with me in my house, I would have had
to leave this, to quit. I would resign. That’s normally the dilemma faced by women, because
they are expected to take care of the children. The archaic rules insist on flying here
physically, to be here, instead of being able to participate and being flexible. We should
reimburse members for participating, for Skyping into a meeting and not for buying flights
and room hotels. It would be like a fraction of the costs.”
The EESC and many of its members are aware of the prevailing inequalities and seem
willing to work on gender equality in the EESC. At the time of writing this report, some EESC
women members are working to come up with innovative solutions that would help gender
equality in the EESC.
Externally, the EESC is also increasingly contributing to the cause of gender equality. In
the last years, apart from the mentioned own-initiative opinion on
Gender Equality Issues, the
EESC has issued other opinions tackling different aspects of gender equality, such as the
exploratory opinion on
The situation of women with disabilities requested by the European
Parliament and the exploratory opinion on
Women and Transport requested by the European
Commission. Besides this, EESC’s Civil Society Prize for 2019 has focused on the empowerment
of women and the fight for gender equality, by honouring innovative initiatives and projects,
which aim to fight for equal opportunities for women and men and their equal treatment in all
spheres of economic and social life (EESC, 2019).
6.1.3 Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming involves the integration of a gender perspective into the preparation,
design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures and spending
programmes, with a view to promoting equality between women and men, and combating
discrimination (EIGE, 2019). It is the EU’s official policy approach regarding gender equality
since the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and it has its current legal basis in Article 8 of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union (Shreeves, 2019)56. Despite the ongoing discussions
around the (in)effective implementation of the principle of gender mainstreaming by EU
56 According to the author of the report, Shreeves: “Gender mainstreaming was established internationally as the major global strategy
for gender equality at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, where the concept was promoted
by the EU. It became the official policy approach in the European Union and its Member States in the Amsterdam Treaty (1997), and
the legal basis was strengthened in Article 8 TFEU.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
institutions and Member States, it is important to note that the principle of gender mainstreaming
must be implemented by all EU institutions, including the EESC57.
The incorporation of the gender perspective in the EESC's opinions and the implementation
of the principle of gender mainstreaming in all the Committee's work was also raised during the
interviews. The interviewees have mentioned that the implementation of gender mainstreaming
is not systematised in the work and Opinions of the EESC, its application depends greatly on the
gender sensitivity and knowledge of the rapporteurs. As one of the interviewed has noted:
“this depends very much on the rapporteur and the study groups and in the end the
plenary. […] We haven’t had, for the moment, any structure or process for this, it depends
on the members. I think that there is the intention to work on this, to make specific proposals
on issues like how to incorporate better the gender mainstreaming in the opinions, that
would be perfect”.
Another interviewee also said that:
“we have no procedures, we have some dedicated chairs, mostly women, that try to ensure
that gender equality is considered in our work” and added: “I really hope that we try to
implement this [gender mainstreaming] better, that we share the gender dimension when
we prepare documents, when we discuss policies, to assure that include gender not only
inside our institution but also when we speak about the solutions”.
An example that might indicate this inefficient implementation of the principle of gender
mainstreaming and lack of the gender perspective among rapporteurs is that from the 215 opinions
and resolutions adopted in 2018 in the EESC, only 33 mention “gender”58. Some of the
interviewed members pointed to the lack of knowledge around gender issues:
“I feel like it is mentioned as a topic but without any education on what it means or how to
address it. I would say that there is a huge lack of expertise about it. There’s never a
discussion about how to create equality and seeing it as a positive thing. I see gender
equality discussions being framed as superficial equality outcomes”.
6.2 EESC personnel
Beyond gender balance, there are different issues connected to gender equality among the
EESC personnel.
Discussing the reasons behind the better gender balance overall among the EESC
personnel, some of the factors that interviewed personnel mentioned are that the EESC is a good
place to work, with many effective work-life balance measures and reasonable and flexible
working hours. Although it depends on the Section in which the personnel are located,
interviewees stated that often, they work from 9 to 5 and they have flexible starting and leaving
schedules, as well as the possibility of teleworking when the tasks allow it. The European
Commission offers interinstitutional programmes and courses on women’s leadership and
empowerment and the EESC’s personnel is informed about the possibility to apply.
57 It is not the purpose of this research to address the debates around the implementation of the principle of gender mainstreaming.
58 The number of opinions and resolutions of 2018 and mentioning “gender” have been found using the EESC document search at:
https://dmsearch.eesc.europa.eu/search/opinion
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
In 2017, an
Action Plan for Equal Opportunities and Diversity was approved, where 25
measures were suggested, and the dimension of equal opportunities, diversity and an inclusive
working environment was confirmed as a core value of the EESC and embedded in all HR
processes (Directorate E- EESC, 2017, 7). In addition, there are formal procedures in place to
tackle conflict and harassment, such as the network of confidential counsellors who are available
to staff in the event of conflicts at work, including harassment (Directorate E- EESC, 2017, 7).
The role of the confidential counsellors is to listen, provide information and support colleagues
in complete confidentiality (Directorate E- EESC, 2018, 28). According to one of the interviewed
personnel, given that different rules apply to personnel and members, controlling working
conflicts between these two groups might be complex: adopting the
Code of Conduct for EESC
members was the first step in trying to ensure respectful relations in this regard. Another
interviewee noted that greater protection should be provided to the victims of harassment, that
harassment should be condemned, and harassers penalised. Diverse awareness-raising campaigns
have been developed in the EESC with the view to promoting respectful workplace relations
(Directorate E- EESC, 2018, 28).
7.
Best Practices
This section outlines some of the best practices found in the EESC itself, with regards to its
members and personnel, respectively. It also gives some of the best practices found in the EU
institutions and elsewhere.
7.1 EESC Members
While there are areas in which the EESC can improve with regards to gender balance and
gender equality, there are some best practices that the EESC has implemented internally that are
worth mentioning. One good practice relates to an internal working procedure, precisely, to
making public the reasons that each member provides when he/she applies to be a member or a
rapporteur in a study group. Making this public increases the transparency of the procedure and
enables greater monitoring of the correct implementation of the processes. Another good practice
relates to the adoption of the
Code of Conduct, which was an important step for the EESC to start
developing mechanisms to try to prevent or address inadequate behaviours.
7.2 EESC Personnel
With regards to EESC’s personnel, some of the best practices relate to different HR
procedures, which have had a proven positive impact on gender balance and equality in the EESC.
Some of these are, for example, to always have an HR personnel, trained on gender issues, in the
interviews, to use inclusive language and encourage both male and female candidates to apply, to
formally establish and apply the rule that says that with the same level of competence, skills, and
knowledge, the underrepresented gender in that category is prioritised, and general work-life
balance measures.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
7.3 EU institutions and others
We can find other best practices in the EU institutions, other organisations and some
Member States. Some organisations also provide tools that could be useful to the EESC. In
addition, EIGE collects and shows many different good practices found across the EU on various
gender equality issues. The following bullet points provide a list of best practices found in the EU
institutions, Member States and different bodies and organisations.
Collect, systematise and publicise data on gender balance: The European Parliament
collects and systematises information on the gender of the MEPs for each term. It makes
publicly available the historical gender composition of the Parliament through easy and
accessible graphs, information sheets and reports59.
Set clear targets to move towards gender parity: the European Commission sets clear
targets and has worked towards having at least 40% of women as middle and senior
managers by the end of President Juncker’s mandate in 2019. Establishing targets can
help the gender balance with regards to EESC members, in its internal structures and
procedures, and with regards to its personnel.
Establish parity in leadership positions: European Commission President Ursula von
der Leyen has established a team of commissioners which has almost reached gender
parity, with 13 women (including herself) and 14 men.
Sweden’s gender balance requirements: Sweden has experience on active gender
equality policies and with regards to the appointment of EESC members, it requires
national organisations to always provide female and male candidates and assures that the
national delegation is gender-balanced. Other Member States can learn from the Swedish
best practice in this regard.
Participatory and open procedures: for the election of EESC members belonging to
Group III - Diversity Europe - some Member States (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary
and Sweden) opened a public call for applications where specific requirements and
criteria were established. Although an open call is not the only solution to choose
members for Group III, the participatory spirit, transparent process and formally
established criteria can help to improve the national appointment procedures and the
gender-balanced composition of members.
Encourage diversity: according to a survey respondent, the UK’s
Trade Union Congress
(TUC) actively seeks to nominate members who are diverse and tries to nominate one
member coming from an ethnic minority and an equal number of women and men.
Say no to all-male panels: The European Commission’s Directorate-General Connect
(DG Connect), already committed itself in 2015 to always include women speakers in the
events that they organise, to refuse invitations to speak in all-male panels or conferences,
and to try to ensure diversity and a better representation of women in events organised by
59 Besides the data on gender and the European Parliament provided by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) which can
be consulted at
https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs/indicator/wmidm_pol_parl__wmid_eurparl/bar; the European Parliament
itself makes public its percentage of women and men MEPs by electoral term and member state. See for example the 2019 elections
results
at
https://election-results.eu/mep-gender-balance/2019-2024/
and
the
2014
elections
results
at
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2014-results/en/gender-balance.html
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
others outside the EU60.
The Brussels Binder’s
Toolkit might also be helpful as a practical
guide to improving gender balance at conferences61.
Tackle harassment:
o
Develop policies, rules and guidance documents on harassment: The
European Parliament has adopted internal rules on harassment (European
Parliament, 2014), and has also written a guide for members of the European
Parliament on
Zero Harassment in the Workplace62.
o
Adopt an EESC resolution and specific anti-harassment commitments: the
European Parliament has adopted a Resolution on
Combating sexual harassment
and abuse in the EU: European Parliament, which condemns all forms of sexual
violence and physical or psychological harassment63.
o
Training on anti-harassment: the European Parliament proposed mandatory
anti-harassment training for members of Parliament and although it was not
approved by the plenary, the training has been developed and some members
have applied to participate (De la Baume, 2019).
Training on gender: EIGE has collected some best practices on gender training provided
by diverse institutions, Member States, and national and local governments across the
European Union which can serve as inspiration for the EESC. Some of the training relates
to understanding gender equality, gender mainstreaming, gender impact assessments and
gender budgeting64.
8.
Conclusions
This study has tried to address the knowledge gap regarding gender balance in the EESC.
Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, it has provided new and updated
information on the state of gender balance among the EESC’s members and its personnel, and the
different factors that impact on the final gender composition of the EESC.
The research indicates a systemic and persistent gender imbalance, notably among the
EESC members currently only 28% of whom are female. The majority (14) of national
delegations are composed of less than 40% of women members and in three delegations there are
no women at all. The gender composition differs between the three Groups, however, none of the
Groups achieves neither gender parity nor balance. Group II has the highest proportion of female
members (35%), followed by Group III (29%) and then Group I (21%). With regards to the EESC'
Sections, in which most of the Committee's work is carried out, SOC (Section for Employment,
Social Affairs and Citizenship) has, by far, the biggest share of women (44%), followed by REX
(Section for External Relations) - (28%). The CCMI (Consultative Commission on Industrial
Change) has the lowest share of women (22%), closely followed by TEN (Section for Transport,
Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society) (23%). With regards to the gender
composition in Presidencies and the Bureau, although there is gender parity among the Presidents
of the Sections, CCMI and the Observatories P, there is no gender balance among Group
60 See DG Connect’s pledge on
: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/blog/all-male-panels-tech-we-say-no
61 The Brussels Binder’s Toolkit is a practical guide to improving gender balance at conferences and it is accessible online at:
https://brusselsbinder.org/toolkit/
62 The guide is accessible online at
: https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/brochure-mep-0-harassment_en3.pdf
63 The European Parliament Resolution of 26 October 2017 on Combating sexual harassment and abuse in the EU (2017/2897(RSP))
is accessible online at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2017-0417_EN.html?redirect
64 EIGE’s best practices on gender equality training can be found at
: https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/good-practices
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Presidents and in the Bureau. Finally, by analysing the gender balance among the rapporteurs in
the last year (2018), we observe that only 17% of them were women.
A comparison of the current state of gender balance among EESC members with that of
2013, shows that it has slightly improved as the percentage of women members has increased
from 25% to 28%. Although gender balance has increased in Groups II and III, as well as in
Section Presidencies and in the Bureau, it has slightly worsened in Group I. The same is true of
the Member States - some have improved the gender balance of their national delegations while
in others, it has deteriorated.
As regards the administrative (personnel) level, the state of gender balance in the EESC is
different. The presence of women and men varies per personnel category: 71% of “Assistants”,
61% of "Administrators" and 52% of “Heads of Unit (HoU)” are women. Men make up only 29%
of Assistant positions, meaning that a greater number and proportion of women are in lower and
non-managerial positions. There is almost gender parity among the EESC’s HoUs, although in
Directorates B and C, which are in charge of the EESC's legislative work, 6 out of the 7 HoUs of
the Section’s Secretariat are men. At the senior management level, 4 out of the 7 Directors are
women65. However, two of these women are acting
ad interim and, at the time of this study, they
had not been permanently confirmed in these posts.
Various, but different, factors help to explain the state of gender balance among the EESC's
members and its personnel. As regards the members, these factors are linked, to a large extent but
not only, to the processes behind the national nomination and appointment of EESC members.
The main factors that lead to the gender imbalance at the EESC’s political level can be
summarised as:
No Council recommendation to the Member States on gender parity/gender balanced lists
of proposed EESC members;
Lack of formally established gender parity or, at least, gender-balanced requirements by
the majority of Member States and national organisations. Even when gender
parity/balance requirements are formally established by Member States and national
organisations, often these are not respected in practice.
Lack of transparent procedures and criteria in some Member States and national
organisations for the nomination and appointment of EESC members.
National organisations that can only nominate one member often propose a man, and
those that can nominate 3 often propose 2 men and 1 woman. When scaling these to the
level of the whole Committee, the result is a notable gender imbalance. Information
obtained from some interviews and survey responses, suggests that many of the national
organisations have a fewer number of women members or affiliates and that male-
dominance within the organisations would often result in a lower level of commitment
towards gender balance and broader gender equality issues.
Some interview and survey responses also pointed to a general lack of commitment
towards gender equality by governments/Member States and national organisations.
The fact that gender stereotypes persist and that women continue to have the
disproportionate responsibility for caring and domestic responsibilities, might hamper
65 As of July 2019. 5 Directors are of the EESC and 2 are of the Joint Services with the CoR (translation and logistics).
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
their access to the circles of power and influence. In the EESC, some members have
suggested that better rules governing the functioning of EESC members’ work could
facilitate work-life balance.
The study also shows that national organisations involved in the nomination of EESC
members have different approaches towards gender equality. Some have developed broad gender
equality and anti-harassment or non-discrimination policies, provide gender training to their
members or organise conferences on the issue, among different actions. Other national
organisations are not actively involved in advancing gender equality.
The study finds that the state of gender balance among the EESC personnel is better than
that among its members and several factors could explain this. It is important to note that unlike
the selection processes for the members, the EESC staff are covered by an employment
relationship and corresponding recruitment procedures which can foster gender equality. For
example, a person from Human Resources, trained on gender issues, is always present in
recruitment interviews and every vacancy is written with gender inclusive language. Additionally,
when the level of competence, skills and knowledge is equal, the underrepresented gender in the
category is given priority in the hiring process.
Finally, as regards some broader gender equality considerations the study finds that there
are no procedures in place to effectively implement gender mainstreaming or take account of the
gender perspective in the EESC's internal work. Members are not systematically provided with
training on gender equality or diversity in general and on how to use more inclusive language.
This therefore relies on the individual awareness and willingness to consider such matters by
some of its members. However, the Committee recently adopted a
Code of Conduct for its
members and some female members are taking the lead in fostering a dialogue on broader gender
equality and diversity aspects within the EESC.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
9.
Recommendations
This final section sets out key recommendations to achieve a more gender balanced EESC
in the future and improve its commitment towards advancing on broader gender equality issues.
9.1 EESC members
Table 12 summarizes the main recommendations with regards to EESC members and the
actors which should implement them.
Table 12- Recommendations regarding EESC members
Recommendations
Actors involved
1. Establish gender parity/balance
Member States; national organisations
requirements
2. Recommend gender parity/balanced
Council of the European Union; EESC;
national delegations
EESC’s President; Group Presidents
3. Collect, systematise and make public the
EESC; Member States; national
data on gender
organisations
4. Monitor and ensure accountability
EESC; European Parliament
5. Establish clear, transparent and
Member States; national organisations;
participatory national nomination and
EESC; Council of the European Union
appointment processes
6. Adopt gender equality and diversity
EESC; national organisations
policies
7. Implement gender mainstreaming
EESC
1. Establish gender parity/balance requirements
-
Member States and national organisations should provide a gender parity or at least, a
gender-balanced, list of proposed EESC members and alternates. For that, establishing
and implementing gender parity/balance requirements or quotas is key. Where an
organisation can only nominate one member, they should encourage the member to
nominate an alternate of the opposite sex. They should also ensure that other diversity
criteria are considered in the list of proposed members.
2. Recommend gender parity/balanced national delegations
-
The Council of the EU should recommend that Member States/national delegations
should provide a gender-balanced, and where possible gender parity, list of proposed
members. It should also recommend that other diversity criteria are considered.
-
The Council of the EU should not accept all-male lists of proposed members.
-
The EESC President and the Group Presidents should ask the Council of the EU to
recommend that Member States/national delegations provide a gender parity or at least,
a gender-balanced, list of proposed members.
-
The EESC President and Group Presidents should actively encourage national
organisations to make gender balanced, and where possible gender parity, nominations.
They should also encourage national organisation to consider diversity in the list of
proposed members.
-
Existing EESC members should also actively encourage and advocate for a gender
parity/balanced list of proposed members by their national organisations.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
-
National organisations should actively encourage applications from women to become
EESC members, including applications from a diverse range of women, such as women
of ethnic and religious minorities, with a disability, LGBT, etc.
3. Collect, systematise and make public the data on gender
-
The EESC should collect and systematise information about the gender composition of
its members (overall, by Member States, Groups, Sections, Presidents and other key
positions in the Committee, etc.) This information should be publicly available in an easy,
clear and accessible way, for example in a report published on its website.
-
The EESC should systematically carry out a survey of all new members in order to gather
information about gender and diversity among its members.
-
The EESC should continue to publish studies and other documents that contribute to the
advancement of gender equality. Initiatives in line with its 2019 Civil Society Prize
focusing on women’s empowerment should also be encouraged and continuously
implemented.
4. Monitor and ensure accountability
-
National organisations should review their selection and nomination processes to ensure
equal opportunities for women and men.
-
National organisations whose membership is mostly male should review their processes
and actions to understand the under-representation of women in their organisations and
explore ways of achieving a more representative and gender-balanced composition of
members.
-
As the European Parliament is responsible for monitoring and approving the EESC's
budget implementation (the “discharge procedure”), it should monitor and review the
Committee's progress on gender balance and other gender equality aspects, such as
harassment and sexism in the EESC. The European Parliament’s Committee on
Budgetary Control's 2018 "Questionnaire to the European Economic and Social
Committee” had very few questions on gender balance and equality.
-
The EESC should also internally monitor its progress on gender balance and adopt
mechanisms to also monitor broader gender equality aspects.
5. Establish clear, transparent and participatory national nomination and appointment
processes
-
Member States’ governments should establish clear and transparent procedures for the
nomination of EESC members and should inform the EESC about their national
appointment procedures. The requirements that potential EESC members should meet
should be formally established, be clear, accessible and publicly available.
-
National organisations should also establish clear and, as far as possible, transparent
procedures for the nomination of national EESC members.
-
The EESC should develop guidelines on the recommended criteria, such as the desired
competences and skills of EESC members so that national delegations and organisations
have clear guidance on what it is needed and expected to effectively carry out their
functions in the Committee.
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The EESC should establish participatory and transparent mechanisms for its internal and
day-to-day functioning. A fair and transparent process for the composition of study
groups and on the selection of rapporteurs and co-rapporteurs should be ensured through
formally established rules and democratic attitudes which assure its compliance.
-
Considering the high age average and the poor state of diversity and gender balance
among the EESC members, the Council of the EU should consider establishing a limit of
the number of EESC mandates in order to ensure a reasonable turnover of EESC members
and that younger generations can contribute to shaping the future of the European Union
and its policies.
6. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
-
The EESC should adopt a policy to ensure the gender-balanced representation and
participation in events, conferences and panels. EESC members should also refuse to
participate in all-male events, conferences or panels.
-
The EESC should develop and implement a comprehensive gender equality policy which
addresses gender stereotypes, sexism, sexual harassment and any kind of violence against
women (including digital violence), horizontal and vertical segregation, work-life
balance, and other issues, in addition to gender parity and balance in the EESC.
-
The EESC should provide training on gender equality, intersectionality and the gendered
aspects of different policy areas (i.e. energy and gender, taxation and gender, etc.) for
members and personnel and develop awareness-raising campaigns.
-
The EESC should adopt a 'zero-tolerance' policy against harassment. Where there is a
breach or suspected breach of the
Code of Conduct, the EESC President should apply the
procedures and sanctions established in the Code in a timely and effectively manner in
order to ensure the protection of the members and personnel.
-
The EESC should strengthen and provide the necessary resources to support internal
groups or persons working on the advancement of gender balance, gender equality and
other related issues, in the Committee.
-
The EESC should review its ways of working, rules and procedures and establish
mechanisms to allow for work-life balance. Allow and encourage the use of technologies,
such as Skype or other means, to assist online to the meetings.
-
National organisations should commit to the principle of gender equality and,
consequently, adopt all the necessary measures to assure gender parity or at least gender
balance in their organisations, as well as, other measures intended to advance gender
equality within their organisations and in their work.
7. Implement gender and diversity mainstreaming
-
The EESC should ensure that gender mainstreaming and an intersectional approach is
effectively implemented in all EESC opinions, decisions and other documents. It should
also create mechanisms to monitor progress in this regard.
-
The EESC should use an inclusive language in its opinions and communications and
provide training to members and staff on how to use the inclusive language.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
9.2 EESC personnel
Table 13 summarizes the main recommendations with regards to EESC personnel.
Table 13- Recommendations regarding EESC personnel
1. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
2. Tackle gender segregation and ensure non-biased evaluations
3. Promote and implement work-life balance
4. Provide information and training on gender equality for all staff
1. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
-
Adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and ensure that the mechanisms to
prevent and react against harassment of any kind at work, including sexual harassment,
protect the EESC’s personnel effectively and in a timely manner. Monitor and review if
the mechanisms in place function effectively.
-
Increase awareness about the benefits of creating diverse teams, with men and women,
of different nationalities, ages, backgrounds, origins and with different attributes, among
the EESC personnel.
-
Implement participatory mechanisms to listen to the different needs among the EESC
personnel.
2. Tackle gender segregation and ensure non-biased evaluations
-
Tackle vertical and horizontal gender segregation by
focusing on increasing the number
of men in 'Assistant' positions and the number of permanent women Directors and on
having a gender parity and balanced composition of the personnel within all areas of
work.
-
Ensure that the process of accessing the internal promotion mechanism, the
“certification”, is non-biased and based on objective and fair criteria.
3. Promote and implement work-life balance
-
Keep providing good work-life balance measures and continuously improve the tools,
ways of working and mechanisms that facilitate the joint responsibility for caring and
domestic work by female and male personnel.
-
Establish measures to facilitate the caring for elderly relatives/dependents, especially
considering that the majority of EESC personnel are "expats" and their caring obligations
might have some particularities.
4. Provide training and information on gender equality for all staff
-
Train EESC personnel in management and non-management positions, on different
gender and intersectionality related issues, to increase the understanding and awareness
of gender issues and other inequalities within and beyond the EESC.
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
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Include information on gender equality, such as the EESC’s commitments to gender
equality, and tools to implement gender mainstreaming in the members’ work in the
information package provided to all new members.
53
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
10.
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Perez-Solorzano, N. and Smismans, S. 2012. “Representativeness: A Tool to Structure
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European Commission. 2019. “International Women's Day 2019: more equality, but
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European Commission. 2013.
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September
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at
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European Economic and Social Committee. 2019. “The EESC adopts more stringent
Rules of Procedure and a new Code of Conduct for its members.”
Press Release.
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European Economic and Social Committee. 2019. “The EESC dedicates its flagship Civil
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Shreeves, R. 2019. “Gender mainstreaming in the EU: State of play”. European
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Anča, G., European Economic and Social Committee. 2018.
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-
Bureau of the European Parliament. 2014.
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European Council. 2015.
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Mlinar, A., European Parliament. 2018.
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Vareikyte, I.; European Economic and Social Committee. 2019.
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Equality Issues. SOC/610.
56
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.
Annexes
11.1 Annex 1: Tables of the state of gender balance in the EESC
Table - Overall Gender Balance at the EESC
Number
Percentage
Men
250
72%
Women
98
28%
Total
34866
100%
Table - Gender Balance by Member State
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Austria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Belgium
11
1
12
92%
8%
Bulgaria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Croatia
3
6
9
33%
67%
Cyprus
5
0
5
100%
0%
Czech
7
5
12
58%
42%
Republic
Denmark
5
4
9
56%
44%
Estonia
2
4
6
33%
67%
Finland
6
3
9
67%
33%
France
14
10
24
58%
42%
Germany
21
2
2367
91%
9%
Greece
9
2
1168
82%
18%
Hungary
6
6
12
50%
50%
Ireland
8
1
9
89%
11%
Italy
20
4
24
83%
17%
Latvia
4
3
7
57%
43%
Lithuania
5
4
9
56%
44%
Luxembourg
3
2
5
60%
40%
Malta
5
0
5
100%
0%
Netherlands
9
3
12
75%
25%
Poland
16
5
21
76%
24%
Portugal
12
0
12
100%
0%
Romania
14
1
15
93%
7%
Slovakia
6
3
9
67%
33%
66 On 20 August 2019 the total number of members found in the
EESC Members Page was of 348 as indicated in the page: “found
348”.
67 The total seats allocated to Germany according to the European Parliament
’s Fact Sheets on the European Union- The European
Economic and Social Committee referred in the bibliography, is 24. However, the total of German members when the data is consulted
in the EESC Members Page is 23.
68 The total seats allocated to Greece is 12. However, the total of Greek members when the data is consulted in the
EESC Members
Page is 11.
57
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Slovenia
6
1
7
86%
14%
Spain
16
5
21
76%
24%
Sweeden
5
7
12
42%
58%
United
14
10
24
58%
42%
Kingdom
Table - Levels of gender balance per Member State
Member State
Number of
Number of
Member States
seats
All-male
Cyprus, Malta and
3
22
Portugal
Minority of women
Austria, Belgium,
13
197
Bulgaria, Finland,
Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy,
Netherlands, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain
Majority of women
Croatia, Estonia
2
15
Gender Balance
Czech Republic,
9
114
Denmark, France,
Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Sweden, United
Kingdom
Table - Gender balance by section and other bodies
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
INT
105
34
139
76%
24%
ECO
95
32
127
75%
25%
TEN
99
29
128
77%
23%
REX
98
38
136
72%
28%
NAT
73
24
97
75%
25%
SOC
61
77
138
56%
44%
CCMI
40
11
51
78%
22%
Table - Gender balance by Group
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total69
Men
Women
Group I
93
24
117
79%
21%
Group II
77
42
119
65%
35%
69 Again, these are the total numbers per Group that appear as “found” in the EESC Members Page on 20 August 2019.
58
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Group III
79
32
111
71%
29%
Table - Gender balance in Presidencies and in the Bureau
Number
Presidencies
Men
Women
Total
EESC President
1
0
1
Group Presidents
3
0
3
Sections, CCMI and Observatories Presidents
5
5
10
Questors
2
1
3
Bureau members
25
14
39
(64%)
(36%)
(100%)
Table – EESC Presidents from 1958 to 2019
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
EESC Presidents
28
4
32
88%
12%
Table – EESC Group Presidents from 1982 until 2020
Number
Men
Women
Group I
8
0
Group II
7
1
Group III
5
3
Total
20
4
Percentage
Total
83%
17%
Table - Gender Balance among rapporteurs in 2018
Number
Percentage
Session
Total
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men rap.
Women
Opinions
(corap.)
(corap.)
rap.
531st
10
8
2
4
0
80%
20%
532nd
16
15
1
3
1
94%
6%
533rd
11
8
3
3
1
73%
27%
534th
17
13
4
5
2
76%
24%
535th
12
10
2
3
1
83%
17%
536th
22
19
3
2
1
86%
14%
537th
34
27
7
9
2
79%
21%
538th
49
42
7
6
3
86%
14%
539th
29
23
6
4
3
79%
21%
Total
200
165
35
39
14
83%
17%
59
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table - Gender balance among EESC personnel
Function
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Assistant
108
264
372
29%
71%
Administrator 112
173
285
39%
61%
Head of Unit
24
22
46
48%
52%
Table - Appointment Procedures and Gender Balance, Diversity and other selection
criteria
Member
Government
National Orgs.
National Orgs.
National Orgs.
States
Group I
Group II
Group III
Rule Consider Rule Consider Rule Consider Rule Consider
Austria
●
●
Belgium
●
Bulgaria
●
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech
●●
Republic
Estonia
Finland
●
France
●
●
●
Germany
●
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
●
Italy
●
Latvia
Lithuania
●
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
●
Portugal
●
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
●
●●
Sweden
●
●●
UK
●●
●●
● Gender Balance
● Diversity
● Other: regional and sectorial balance
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On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.2 Annex 2: Tables of the state of gender balance in the EESC in 2013
Table - Overall Gender Balance in the EESC in 2013
Number
Percentage
Men
262
75%
Women
88
25%
Total
350
100%
Table - Gender balance by Group in 2013
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Group I
91
26
117
78%
22%
Group II
86
36
122
70%
30%
Group III
85
26
111
77%
23%
Table - Gender Balance in Presidencies and the Bureau in 2013
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Presidencies
EESC President
1
0
1
-
-
Group Presidents
3
0
3
100%
0%
Sections and CCMI Presidents
5
2
7
71%
29%
Bureau
Bureau members
30
10
40
75%
25%
Table - Gender Balance by Member State in 2013
Number
Percentage
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Austria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Belgium
11
1
12
92%
8%
Bulgaria
9
3
12
75%
25%
Croatia
3
6
9
33%
67%
Cyprus
6
0
5
100%
0%
Czech
7
5
12
58%
42%
Republic
Denmark
3
6
9
33%
66%
Estonia
2
5
7
29%
71%
Finland
6
3
9
67%
33%
France
18
6
24
75%
25%
Germany
20
4
24
83%
17%
Greece
9
3
12
75%
25%
Hungary
10
2
12
83%
17%
61
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Ireland
6
3
9
67%
33%
Italy
23
1
24
96%
4%
Latvia
5
2
7
71%
29%
Lithuania
5
4
9
56%
44%
Luxembourg
4
2
6
67%
33%
Malta
3
2
5
60%
40%
Netherlands
8
4
12
67%
33%
Poland
15
6
21
71%
29%
Portugal
12
0
12
100%
0%
Romania
14
1
15
93%
7%
Slovakia
9
0
9
100%
0%
Slovenia
7
0
7
100%
0%
Spain
16
5
21
76%
24%
Sweeden
7
5
12
58%
42%
United
15
9
24
63%
37%
Kingdom
62
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.3 Annex 3: Comparison Tables of the state of gender balance in the EESC in 2013
and 2019
Table - Comparison of the state of gender balance in the EESC 2013- 2019
Men
Women
2013
75%
25%
2019
72%
28%
Table - Comparison of gender balance per Group 2013-2019
Group I
Group II
Group III
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
2013
78%
22%
70%
30%
77%
23%
2019
79%
21%
65%
35%
71%
29%
Table - Comparison of gender balance in the Bureau 2013-2019
Men
Women
2013
75%
25%
2019
64%
36%
Table - Comparison of gender balance per Member State 2013- 2019
2013
2019
Men
Women
Men
Women
Austria
75%
25%
75%
25%
Belgium
92%
8%
92%
8%
Bulgaria
75%
25%
75%
25%
Croatia
33%
67%
33%
67%
Cyprus
100%
0%
100%
0%
Czech Republic
58%
42%
58%
42%
Denmark
33%
66%
56%
44%
Estonia
29%
71%
33%
67%
Finland
67%
33%
67%
33%
France
75%
25%
58%
42%
Germany
83%
17%
91%
9%
Greece
75%
25%
82%
18%
Hungary
83%
17%
50%
50%
Ireland
67%
33%
89%
11%
Italy
96%
4%
83%
17%
Latvia
71%
29%
57%
43%
Lithuania
56%
44%
56%
44%
Luxembourg
67%
33%
60%
40%
Malta
60%
40%
100%
0%
Netherlands
67%
33%
75%
25%
63
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Poland
71%
29%
76%
24%
Portugal
100%
0%
100%
0%
Romania
93%
7%
93%
7%
Slovakia
100%
0%
67%
33%
Slovenia
100%
0%
86%
14%
Spain
76%
24%
76%
24%
Sweeden
58%
42%
42%
58%
United Kingdom
63%
37%
58%
42%
Table - Comparison of the different levels of gender balance per Member State 2013-
2019
2013
2019
All-male
Cyprus, Portugal, Slovakia
Cyprus, Malta and Portugal
and Slovenia
Minority of women
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Denmark, Finland, France,
Finland, Germany, Greece,
Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,
Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg
Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Netherlands, Poland,
Slovenia, and Spain
Romania, Spain, and United
Kingdom
Majority of women
Croatia, Estonia
Croatia, Estonia
Gender Balance
Czech Republic, Hungary,
Czech Republic, Denmark,
Lithuania, Malta, and
France, Hungary, Latvia,
Sweden
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Sweden, and United
Kingdom
Table - Comparison of gender balance in presidencies 2013- 2019
EESC President
Group Presidents
Sections and CCMI
Presidents
Man
Woman
Men
Women
Men
Women
2013
1
0
3
0
5
2
2019
1
0
3
0
3
4
64
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.4 Annex 4: Survey questions
English Survey:
Information about the respondent:
Gender: male; female; other
Age range: 18-30; 30-45; 45-60; 60-75; 75+
Group I / Group II / Group III
Member State
Number of mandates at the EESC
Other identity attributes that you want to highlight (origin, age, disability, sexual
orientation, religion, or any other identity attributes)
Block I - Appointment process
1. Could you describe your country’s procedure for selecting its representatives at the EESC?
What are the institutions involved and what is their role in the process?
2. How did your own organisation manage to have representatives at the EESC?
Block II – Selection criteria and gender balance
3. What are the selection criteria to be appointed as a representative? Are the criteria formally
established (concrete policy, rule…)?
4. Does your organisation take into account gender balance building the list of representatives?
If yes, how? Is the requirement of gender balance formally established (concrete policy,
rule…)?
5. Does your organisation take into account diversity building the list of representatives? (i.e.
origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other identity attributes)? If yes, how?
Is the requirement of diversity formally established (concrete policy, rule…)?
Block III- Beyond gender balance
6. Beyond gender balance, does your organisation consider that representatives are gender-
sensitive? (i.e. be trained on gender issues, experience with gender in their area of expertise) If
yes, how? Is it formally established (concrete policy, rule…)?
7. Do you have any other comments on the members appointment procedures?
8. Do you have any other comments on gender balance and gender equality in the EESC?
French survey:
Information sur le/la répondant.e :
Genre : masculin ; féminin ; autre
Age : 18-30 ; 30-45 ; 45-60 ; 60-75 ; 75+
Groupe I / Groupe II / Groupe III
Etat membre
Nombre de mandats au CESE
Autres attributs d'identité que vous souhaitez mettre en évidence (origine, âge,
handicap, orientation sexuelle, religion ou tout autre attribut d'identité)
65
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Bloc I - Processus de nomination
1. Pourriez-vous décrire la procédure de votre pays pour la sélection de ses représentant.es au
CESE ? Quelles sont les institutions impliquées et quel est leur rôle dans le processus ?
2. Comment votre propre organisation a-t-elle réussi à avoir des représentant.es au CESE ?
Bloc II - Critères de sélection et équilibre entre les sexes
3. Quels sont les critères de sélection pour être nommé membre ? Les critères sont-ils
formellement établis (politique concrète, règle…) ?
4. Votre organisation prend-elle en compte la parité hommes-femmes en établissant la liste des
membres ? Si oui, comment ? L'exigence d'équilibre entre les sexes est-elle formellement
établie (politique concrète, règle…) ?
5. Votre organisation prend-elle en compte la diversité en établissant la liste des membres ?
(origine, âge, handicap, orientation sexuelle, religion ou tout autre attribut d'identité) ? Si oui
comment ? L'exigence de diversité est-elle formellement établie (politique concrète, règle…)?
Bloc III - Au-delà de la parité hommes-femmes
6. Au-delà de la parité hommes-femmes, votre organisation considère-t-elle que les membres
soient sensibles au genre ? (C’est-à-dire, être formé.es aux questions de genre, expérience de la
problématique hommes-femmes dans leur domaine de compétence) Si oui, comment ? Est-il
formellement établi (politique concrète, règle…) ?
7. Avez-vous d'autres commentaires sur les procédures de nomination des membres ?
8. Avez-vous d'autres commentaires sur l'équilibre entre les sexes et l'égalité des sexes au sein
du CESE ?
66
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.5 Annex 5: Tables with survey results per Member State and recommendations
Table - Number of survey responses per Member State
Austria
3
Belgium
1
Czech Republic
3
Denmark
2
France
9
Germany
2
Greece
2
Hungary
4
Netherlands
2
Portugal
3
Romania
2
Spain
4
Sweeden
4
UK
4
Italy
5
Latvia
1
Bulgaria
1
Croatia
3
Cyprus
-
Malta
2
Luxembourg
1
Finland
2
Estonia
3
Ireland
-
Slovakia
-
Slovenia
-
Poland
3
Lithuania
1
No valid answers
2
Total
69
Table - Recommendations for EESC members
Recommendations
Actors involved
1. Establish gender parity/balance
Member States; national organisations
requirements
2. Recommend gender parity/balanced
Council of the European Union; EESC;
national delegations
EESC’s President; Group Presidents
3. Collect, systematise and make public the
EESC; Member States; national
data on gender
organisations
4. Monitor and ensure accountability
EESC; European Parliament
5. Establish clear, transparent and
Member States; national organisations;
participatory national nomination and
EESC; Council of the European Union
appointment processes
6. Adopt gender equality and diversity
EESC; national organisations
policies
7. Implement gender mainstreaming
EESC
67
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Table 12- Recommendations for EESC personnel
1. Adopt gender equality and diversity policies
2. Tackle gender segregation and assure non-biased evaluations
3. Promote and implement work-life balance
4. Provide information and training on gender equality for all staff
68
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
11.6 Annex 6: Figures
Figure 1: Overall Gender balance in the EESC (2015-2020)
28%
72%
Men
Women
Figure 2: Gender balance by Member State (2015-2020)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
a
l
i
a
a
s
c
k
a
d
e
y
e
y
d
y
a
a
g
a
s
d
a
a
a
n
n
r
m
i
i
u
i
r
i
c
c
r
l
i
i
r
t
d
a
i
i
i
i
m
t
u
r
t
r
l
a
n
n
n
a
n
a
v
n
l
n
g
n
k
n
a
e
o
s
i
a
a
p
b
o
al
n
e
u
n
a
a
e
g
al
t
t
a
a
a
al
u
a
a
e
p
d
d
u
g
I
o
e
l
gl
or
y
u
m
t
a
t
p
s
ni
r
m
r
n
er
u
b
M
lr
o
r
m
v
v
S
e
g
A
e
u
C
C
n
r
e
e
F
e
G
u
I
L
ht
e
P
o
o
ol
ol
n
B
E
B
F
m
w
i
R
i
h
P
D
G
H
L
e
t
R
S
S
S
K
h
x
e
c
u
d
e
L
N
et
z
i
C
n
U
Men
Women
69
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Figure 3: Gender balance by Group (2015-2020)
100%
90%
21%
29%
35%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
79%
71%
65%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Group I
Group II
Group III
Men
Women
Figure 4: Gender balance by Sections and other bodies (2015-2020)
100%
90%
76%
78%
80%
75%
77%
75%
72%
70%
56%
60%
50%
44%
40%
28%
30%
24%
25%
23%
25%
22%
20%
10%
0%
INT
ECO
TEN
REX
NAT
SOC
CCMI
Men
Women
Figure 5: Comparison of the state of gender balance in the EESC 2013-2019
28%
2019
72%
25%
2013
75%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Women
Men
70
On the road to gender equality: gender balance in the European Economic and Social Committee
Figure 6: comparison of gender balance per Group 2013-2019
Men 2013
Men 2019
Women 2013
Women 2019
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Group I
Group II
Group III
Figure 7: comparison of gender balance in the Bureau 2013-2019
100%
90%
25%
36%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
75%
64%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2013
2019
Men
Women
71
European Economic
and Social Committee
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Published by: “Visits and Publications” Unit
EESC-2019-105-EN
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© European Union, 2020
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
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Print
QE-04-19-809-EN-C
ISBN 978-92-830-4680-6
doi:10.2864/019787
Online
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QE-04-19-809-EN-N
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REG.NO. BE - BXL - 27
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