By Martin Banks - 22nd February 2007
Campaigners today launched a new drive to highlight the 'unacceptable' pay gap between men and women.
Calling for equal pay for the sexes, they lobbied employment commissioner Vladimir Spidla and EU ministers as they arrived in Brussels for an employment and social affairs council.
The Party of European Socialists (PES), which is behind the initiative, "Gender Pay Gap, Shut It!", distributed leaflets and posters and also launched an EU-wide email campaign aimed at garnering support.
Spidla also attended a debate on the issue at PES Brussels' headquarters with MEPs, trade unions and NGOs.
Among a list of demands handed to the commissioner and ministers is a request for them to do more to enable women to combine work and family commitments.
The party has also called for review of employment practices and government policies and an increase in pre-school childcare provision.
PES also wants governments to promote the introduction of gender equality rules in companies and set up a European network of national gender equality bodies.
Campaigners say that banning sex discrimination in pay has not banished the gender pay gap.
The party chose today to launch the campaign because it says women have to work until 22 February to earn what men earned last year.
On average across the EU, the gender pay gap is 15 per cent, meaning that to earn what the average man earns in a year the average woman has to work for 12 months, plus another 15 per cent of the year.
PES president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen described the situation as "unacceptable," adding that "equality between women and men is an important principle".
"It is about enabling today’s family to find their own way to earn enough money and take care of all their family members."
"Many families find themselves in the absurd position where the man is spending too much time in the workplace and the woman not enough."
Hungarian MEP Zita Gurmai, president of PES Women, said "the 15 per cent pay gap between men and women is an insult to women".
"How can Europe expect to attract more women into work when women are so under-valued?" she added.
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