European Federation of Journalists

Parliament committees plan to address better work-life balance and gender equality


On May 24, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs as well as the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will discuss with the Commission a draft report on “Creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance”. The co-rapporteurs are Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D) and Tatjana Ždanoka (Greens/EFA).

This own initiative report is a reaction to the roadmap and public consultation published in 2015 titled “A new start to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working families”. The objective is to increase the participation of women in the labour market by modernising and adapting the current EU policy framework to today’s labour market in order to have a better balance family and work life, and to strengthen gender equality in the labour market.

The draft report calls on the European Commission to put in place policies favouring equal pay and equal careers between women and men, introducing family- and care-related types of leave, improving quality employment, as well as quality of life. It also calls on the Member States and social partners to “develop measures ensuring adequate wages for all workers, and to close the gender pay gap and it stresses the importance of quality of employment in particular relating to the increased amount of involuntary part-time work.

Credit: European Union 2016 – Source : EP