European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
MEPs sympathetic to quotas for women in business leadership

Posted on 27 May 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 24 May 2011] Only 10% of the board members of the EU’s top 10 listed companies are women and Parliament vice-president Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou wants to introduce legally binding quotas to improve gender balance in boardrooms. Parliament’s Women’s Committee will vote 25 May on proposals to impose quotas, allowing competent women access to top jobs.
The introduction of legal requirements at national level has helped in some EU countries, but statistics show (...) Read more
European & International News
WHO issues plan to improve maternal & child health through Better Nutrition

Posted on 27 May 2011 |

[New York, UN, 23 May 2011] The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has drafted a plan committing Member States and development partners to implement priority nutrition interventions and policies on health care, education and agriculture to improve the health of mothers and their children.
The measures, which will be included in a WHO report to be entitled Maternal, infant and young child nutrition: implementation plan, were discussed today at WHO’s ongoing 64th World Health (...) Read more
European & International News
Moroccan government soon to ratify CEDAW’s Optional Protocol

Posted on 27 May 2011 |

[WLP, Bethesda, 25 May 2011] Women’s Learning Partnership has good news from the Equality Without Reservation Campaign! This coalition of women’s rights organizations works for full ratification and implementation of CEDAW, the international women’s treaty, in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. Supported by WLP, the campaign includes WLP Morocco/Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM) and WLP Lebanon/Collective for Research & Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A). (...) Read more
European & International News
The share of women in decision-making continues to reflect the gender imbalance in society

Posted on 27 May 2011 |

[European Commission, Brussels, 24 May 2011] An update of the European Commission’s database on women and men in decision-making points out that the gender imbalance has remained unchanged. Across the EU the share of women in political decision-making positions at European, national and regional level has hardly changed since 2004 and in some cases has even declined.
The update of the European Commission’s database includes a quarterly update of data on political decision-making at European, (...) Read more
European & International News
The public discourse around the Strauss-Kahn affair: perpetuating violence against women

Posted on 19 May 2011 |

[Brussels, 20 May 2011] Since hitting the headlines last Saturday, European media has not been able to get enough of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair. The (now former) head of the International Monetary Fund was arrested in New York on charges of attempted rape, sexual abuse, a criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching in an alleged attack on a woman who works as a hotel cleaner. The long list of charges, combined with his top function and future political ambitions, (...) Read more
European & International News
Women as rewards for top employees: how the business world helps maintain the sexual exploitation of women

Posted on 19 May 2011 |

[Brussels, 20 May 2011] As reported by the German Handelsblatt and the BBC, in 2007, a major German insurance company ‘rewarded’ its top 100 salesmen with a party organised in a thermal bath in Budapest, Hungary, for which they also ‘ordered’ at least 20 prostitutes. This means that each woman was expected to be ‘used’, on average, by at least five men over the course of a few hours.
The prostitutes were labeled – like goods in a shop – with colour-coded wristbands to designate for what and by (...) Read more
European & International News
UN chief urges family-friendly policies & notes family diversity

Posted on 19 May 2011 |

[UN, New York, 15 May 2011] Governments should adopt policies to ensure that all types of families, particularly the most vulnerable, have access to the necessary services so they can provide a better future for their children, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
In a message marking the International Day of Families, observed every year on 15 May, Mr. Ban said too many families endure “chronic, punishing hardship” or neglect that can leave them with life-long scars and an inability to (...) Read more
European & International News
The situation of gender equality in Poland is "very encouraging", says Eva-Britt Svensson

Posted on 19 May 2011 |

[FEMM Committee, European Parliament, Brussels, 19 May 2011] On 17-18 May a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality visited Warsaw in the context of the forthcoming Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The aim of the visit was to learn about gender equality policies in Poland and exchange views about the priorities of the Presidency Programme in the field of gender equality.
At the conclusion of the visit, the Chair of the (...) Read more
European & International News
EP adopts resolution on the draft ILO Convention and Recommendations on Domestic Workers

Posted on 17 May 2011 |

[Brussels, 17 May 2011] In an important development for legal recognition and against violations and abuses, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the draft ILO Convention and Recommendation on Domestic Workers on 12 May 2011. In significant part, the resolution states: "The European Parliament supports the adoption of a new ILO Convention supplemented by a Recommendation on decent work for domestic workers. The Parliament calls upon the 27 EU Member States to quickly ratify and (...) Read more
European & International News
Women more prone to disability than men, and particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence

Posted on 17 May 2011 |

[Brussels, 17 May 2011] USAID have compiled a collection of statistics on the gender dimension of disability. The numbers of disabled women are higher than those of disabled men; they make up as many as 3/4 of disabled persons in low and middle income countries. According to the ILO, this is due to neglect in health care, poor workforce conditions, and/or gender-based violence. These women are particularly vulnerable, both economically and physically. In the EU, 44% of women with (...) Read more