The ETUC welcomes the Commission Report on Gender Equality to the Spring Council (COM 2004/115 final) as a first step in the right direction and an important signal that the issue is being taken seriously at the highest political level. It is indeed the first time that the topic of equality between women and men is on the agenda of a European Summit.

Many of the recommendations made in this report are essential to make progress in the field of gender equality both at Member State level and at EU level, including decisive commitments and efforts in the fields of employment policies, social inclusion policies, policies ensuring equality in decision-making, and implementing and improving equal treatment legislation.

However, the promotion of women’s participation in the labour market and real efforts to reduce gender gaps, dismantle gender segregation at work, reconcile work and family life and put gender mainstreaming into practice are still areas where progress is urgently needed.

For the ETUC a number of critical issues still remain outstanding and its demands vis-à-vis the European Employment Strategy are the following:

 Reinforced policies for increased provision of child and elder care under a new social welfare architecture model, combined with a guaranteed replacement income and the preservation of social security rights while on parental leave

 New approaches to work organisation and working time for men and women in an attempt to tackle the long work hours culture and enable a better balance between private and professional life

 Renewed focus on the quality of women’s work, in order to ensure decent working conditions for women as part of the EU’s bid to attain the Lisbon objectives. This means further efforts in tackling issues such as atypical contracts and precarious jobs and ensuring that women can avail of training and life long learning opportunities

 Increase actions to eliminate the pay gap, including reinforcing legislation in this area, dismantling gender segregation at work and revaluing the work typically done by women

 Promote the balanced participation of women and men in decision-making

 Implement and improve existing equal treatment legislation across the EU 25.