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GENDER EQUALITY in a green and digital future

Resolution adopted by the EPP Political Assembly on 18 November 2022
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- Acknowledging that during the second half of the mandate of the EC 2019-2024, the world is being challenged by disruptive developments such as climate change, Russian aggression towards Ukraine, causing a global energy and food crisis, rapid digitalisation and demographic transformation of our societies due to migration and ageing; - having regard to the keynote speeches of EPPW Vice-Presidents and European Commissioners Mariya Gabriel and Dubravka Šuica on the above issues at the EPPW Autumn Academy on ‘Gender Equality in a Green and Digital Future’ on 14 and 15 October 2022 in Cluj, and having regard to the discussions held at this event with over forty leading political women of our EPPW member organisations; The EPPW calls on the next prerequisites and policy action points to be urgently addressed by the EC in 2023-2024:  
  1. Prerequisites to reach gender equality in a green and digital future
  2. Crucial to achieving gender equality is the collection of gender-disaggregated data in all related policy areas, including health care. EPPW therefore calls on EIGE, Eurobarometer and Eurostat to intensify their efforts to collect gender and age disaggregated data in all areas through the Gender Equality Strategy;
  3. Whereas women remain underrepresented in positions of power in digital as well as green sectors in all 28 EU Member States, EPPW urges the Member States as well as the Candidate Member States to implement the Women on Boards Directive and the EC to develop a next level program which effectively addresses the issue of women in economic and political decision making positions;
  4. EPPW calls upon the EC and the Member and Candidate Member States to empower women in the digital and green sector by supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and access to credit for women in cities as well as in the rural areas;
 
  1. Action points on gender equality in the EU Climate Law, the ‘Fit-for-55’ package
  2. EPPW highly welcomes the Fit-for-55’ legislative package, the first ever European Climate Law which will set the 2050 targets into law; we urge the EC that one of the targets must be to actively rectify social and gender inequalities to allow women who suffer from energy poverty to better manage the climate crisis; the EU’s Social Climate Fund is a suitable means for this;
  3. EPPW calls upon the EC to ensure food security for all by promoting fair prices for farmers and fair incomes for consumers;
  4. EPPW in particular calls upon the EC to institutionalise gender balanced representation in all decision making in the climate-relevant sectors of transport, energy, agriculture and building, by setting quotas;
  5. Whereas research shows that women are more likely to use public transport (especially buses); whereas men are more likely to use private modes such as car, motorcycle, bicycle; and whereas women still perform the lion’s share of care work, which influences how they move; urges the EC to expand the public transport sector with fair, affordable, safe, and accessible mobility services that benefit all, with particular attention to women, children and disabled people;
 
  1. Action points on the gender digital gap in STEM, ICT and AI
  2. Whereas women’s access to the ICT sector is essential for the competitiveness of the European economy, and whereas the potential impact of gender biases in technology deprives the EU from talent, resources and wealth but is also a threat to innovation;
 
  1. Calls upon the EC to invest massively in digital education and skills, and address the gender gap in STEM, ICT and AI by a multi-level approach with stakeholders, inter alia including networking and mentoring programs, reflection on the social impact of a digital career and showcasing the potential in STEM careers to work with people instead of objects;
  2. Urges the EC to eliminate the gender pay gap in the ICT and finance sectors, where EU figures show a f/m pay gap of respectively 38% and 44%, and to make further proposals and improvements to tackle pay discrimination across the EU;
  3. Calls upon the EC to ensure full transposition and implementation of the Work-Life Balance   Directive, and to prepare updated guidelines that supplement this Directive, notably to take account of the digital transition;
  4. Calls upon the EC to prepare a comprehensive strategy addressing cyber violence against women, children as well as men on digital platforms and in social media in all its forms of abuse, such as sexual harassment, image-based sexual abuse, grooming or sexist hate speech;
  5. Urges the EC to put a clear focus on women in the digital sector as a key priority for action within the next Multiannual Financial Framework, aimed at fully including women in the digital transformation of our economy and our society;
  6. Demographic trends, gender and the green and digital transitions
  7. Welcomes the EC’s focus on the importance demographic trends have on our economies, and on the green and digital transitions; calls on the EC to ensure that appropriate resources are dedicated to this fundamental area of policy and to align on actions on tackling demographic transitions inside the EU and globally, including to encourage a debate on these matters in the Member States and Candidate Member States as well as in the multilateral fora;
  8. Welcomes the European Care Strategy and its focus on empowering women and men in care;
  9. Recognizing the importance of youth in tackling the green and digital transitions, welcomes the EC’s global outreach on youth engagement and women empowerment through the Youth Action Plan in external action[i] and its ‘Youth and Women in Democracy’ Initiative;
  10. Welcomes the EC’s work on Brain Drain and Harnessing European Talent, and calls for more research on the impact of demographic trends and digital and green transitions both inside the EU and globally;
  11. Welcomes the importance of intergenerational elements in the European Year of Skills and calls for stronger gender equality in the actions associated with this;
  12. Welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to enhance citizen engagement and to embed deliberative processes in its policy-making and calls upon it to continue ensuring gender equality in the next generation of European Citizen Panels and all other citizen engagement tools being developed;
  Urges the EPP member parties and the EPPW national organizations in the EU Member States as well as in the Candidate Member States to advocate within their national governments, parliamentary groups and political parties for the realization of the above listed political priorities for the next two years. [i] The Youth Action Plan is the EU's operational roadmap for engaging young people in EU external action. It will improve the way we work for and with young people worldwide. Young people are driving change for a sustainable future. They are increasingly concerned, as their future is put at risk by inequalities, climate change and a conflict-ridden world. They legitimately demand swifter and more courageous solutions to global challenges and want to be heard and involved in decision-making processes.


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