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DRAFT
European Women’s Lobby
Work Programme 2013
October 2012
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The EWL Strategic Plan for the period 2010-2015 defines the strategic objectives, deliverables and key
actions for 2012-2015. The present Work Programme includes the Tasks for 2013.
Given the challenges that we are all facing both politically and financially, the EWL will have a general
theme in 2013 related to “Moving Forward with Women’s Rights!” to fight the current backlash.
PROPOSAL BY THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND: the proposed theme needs to be
stronger.
PROPOSAL BY THE DUTCH COORDINATION: the theme should be framed in a constructive and not
defensive way
Strategic Objective 1: Contribute to / Influence EU-level policies relating to equality
between women and men
PROPOSAL BY THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND AND WAGGGS: include young women in
the work on all priorities, including making young women aware of women’s human rights and
violations thereof.
i.
Policies on male violence against women:
The EWL will work towards the elimination of all forms of male violence against women (VAW) by
ensuring effective legislation, programmes and support measures in all Member States and at the EU level
and make the idea of zero tolerance for violence against women a widely accepted principle.
PROPOSAL BY WAGGGS, DEUTSCHER FRAUENRAT, and DUTCH COORDINATION: the work on violence
against women needs to address specific groups of women, including young and older women, migrant
women, women with disability or lesbians, transgender women for example.
Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Advocacy for a European Year and Strategy to end Violence against Women and monitoring of
EC activities in relation to all forms of violence against women - (HIGHLIGHTED BY DEUTSCHER
FRAUENRAT AND DUTCH COORDINATION)
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Organize a public awareness raising event on 14.02.2013 in Brussels in the framework of global
1 Billion Rising initiative.
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Continue work on prostitution and trafficking in women (small grant from the NoVo Foundation
continued in 2013) including the EWL campaign ‘Together for a Europe free from prostitution’;
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Publish a Barometer on rape together with EWL Observatory on VAW
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Adopt a revised position paper on women’s sexual health and rights, including lesbians’ rights PROPOSAL BY WAGGGS AND DUTCH COORDINATION: fully include issues of sexual education
and information for young women and girls and the involvement of girls in those in the
position paper.
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Support the work of the EWL Observatory on Violence including through opportunities for
members of the experts to meet (subject to funding) and ensure that the Observatory feeds into
the EWL policy work as appropriate.
 Work at international level:
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ii.
Lobby EU decision-makers and support the work of members in view of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women 2013 dedicated to VAW and attend CSW (subject
to funding) - ( CSW HIGHLIGHTED BY DEUTSCHER FRAUENRAT)
PROPOSAL BY BELGIAN COORDINATION: disseminate information to EWL members on
activities by Belgian members on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and
act on the anniversary day of the adoption of UNSCR 1325
Lobby for the EU and member states to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on
VAW
Link with relevant UN Rapporteurs as relevant for example on the issue of Due
Diligence.
Policies on women in decision-making:
The EWL will promote the equal participation of women and men in all areas and at all levels of decisionmaking, including through advocating measures to reach parity in political decision-making at EU and
national levels and through working towards the adoption of parity measures in the private sector across
Europe. Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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iii.
Develop the EWL 50/50 Campaign for Parity Democracy in view of the European elections and
renewal of the European Commission in 2014 with relevant activities (communication tools,
lobbying kits, meetings at the national and European level) and support partnerships with all
relevant actors (breadth of activities subject to funding) - PROPOSAL BY THE NATIONAL
WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND
AND WAGGGS: include young women in the work on
the 50/50 Campaign
Develop the EWL Mentoring Network with women members of the European Parliament and
women with migration background and from ethnic minorities in view of the European
elections;
Monitor and influence legal and policy developments at EU level in order to promote the equal
representation of women and men on corporate boards and in sectors where women are underrepresented (PROPOSAL BY THE DEUTSCHER FRAUENRAT: look in particular at the
situation of women in the “green economy”);
Monitor and make public the data and situation in relation to women in decision-making, in
particular at the European level (HIGHLIGHTED BY NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF
IRELAND);
Be involved in the activities for the European Year of Citizens 2013 - PROPOSAL BY THE
NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND: promote active citizenship for all women within
activities of EU Year on citizenship.
European gender equality and anti-discrimination policies and
legislation:
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The EWL will advocate for the continuation, improvement, transposition and implementation of Treaty
obligations, legislation and programmes in the field of gender equality, anti-discrimination. Specific tasks for
2013 include:
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Monitor and influence European gender equality and anti-discrimination policies to ensure
progress, including in relation to gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting and with regard
to the implementation of the European Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 20102015;
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Support strong and efficient European gender equality legislation including through promoting
strong legislative measures in relation to work-life balance, notably the adoption of the revised
European ‘Maternity Leave Directive’ and possible other measures in relation to parental,
paternity and carers’ leave as relevant;
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Monitor and influence the adoption process of the new European Financial Perspective 20142020 and related financial instruments and programmes from a gender equality perspective as
relevant;
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Organise a conference before the General assembly on “Moving Forward with Women’s Rights!”
to fight the current backlash;
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Work in partnership with European anti-discrimination networks for the adoption of the draft
directive on anti-discrimination outside employment on the grounds of religion/belief, sexual
orientation, age and disability that meets the demands of the EWL;
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Disseminate the EWL Position Paper on Roma Women and initiate advocacy actions as
appropriate;
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Link with the Irish and Lithuanian EU Presidencies, the European Institute for Gender Equality
and the Fundamental Rights Agency in order to promote women’s human rights – HIGHLIGHTED
BY THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND
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Support activities of the European Disability Forum on the implementation of the European
Disability Strategy and of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from a
women’s rights perspective;
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Advocate for better coherence between EU internal and external policies with regards to
commitments to equality between women and men, including by linking with the European
External Action Service as appropriate;
 PROPOSAL BY DUTCH COORDINATION: monitor European neighbourhood policies in relation to
women’s rights and gender equality;
 Link with UN Women as appropriate.
iv.
Regarding women’s economic independence and social policies:
The EWL will ensure the integration of a feminist perspective in EU economic, employment and social
issues and policies, in order to fight women’s poverty and social exclusion, to advance towards women’s
economic independence and address the gender pay gap. The EWL will promote quality work for all
women, equality in relation to pensions, paid and unpaid work, care and the integration of a gender
equality perspective in all debates related to economic and demographic issues - (PROPOSAL BY
WAGGGS: in the work on employment, put special emphasis on young women, especially in SouthernEurope and on their alarming situation due to the crisis).
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Specific tasks on women’s economic independence for 2013 include:
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Influence the EU 2020 Strategy:
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Annual growth survey
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National Reform Programmes
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Employment package
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Poverty target
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Organise a Board seminar on feminist economics and the “Beyond GDP” debate regarding
measuring progress and wellbeing;
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Organise, together with other NGOs an alternative Citizen’s Summit to discuss EU economic
governance and alternative models of economic and social development;
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Continue to work in partnership with other European NGOs on issues relating to women’s
economic independence as it constitutes a prerequisite for genuine equality of women and men and
plays a key role in preventing women from falling into the trap of/remaining in violent relationships.
Specific tasks on social policies for 2013 include:
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v.
Continue advocacy to highlight the needs of women in relation to policies for the fight against
poverty and social exclusion, especially in relation to responses to the social, economic and
financial crisis; (HIGHLIGHTED BY DEUTSCHER FRAUENRAT);
Promote progressive policies in relation to families and the reconciliation of work, family and
private life, including:
 better leave arrangements,
 stronger European targets on care for children and other dependants persons,
 efficient measures for the equal sharing of paid and unpaid work between women and
men and
 Improvements in pay and employment conditions in the care sector.
Transversal issues:
Policies on women and migration, integration and asylum. Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Organise screenings of the EWL documentary “This is my Home Now”;
Follow up activities on the integration of a strong gender equality perspective as well as specific
measures for women in immigration and integration policies and legislations;
Follow up activities related to gender-sensitive asylum policies - PROPOSAL BY BELGIAN
COORDINATION: link with existing local project on empowerment of women asylum seekers in
Belgium;
Continue to link and cooperate with migrant women’s organisations, in particular the European
Network of Migrant Women and ensure that their voices are heard by key stakeholders.
Regarding policies on women and media and gender stereotypes. Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Contribute to and follow up media polices as relevant;
Subject to funding, develop and implement a project for an Award highlighting outstanding
contributions to the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in advertising -ISSUE OF
GENDER STEREOTYPES UNDERLINED BY THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF IRELAND;
Strategic Objective 2: Effective alliances, networks and outreach
Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Actively engage with and participate in advocacy work /events / conferences / meetings as
appropriate with European decision-makers, in particular in the European Parliament, the
European Commission and Council of Ministers and with key stakeholders;
Continue to participate and contribute in consultative groups to which the EWL belongs,
including the European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities, the High-level Group on
Disabilities, the Committee for Rural Women and the European Institute for Gender Equality’s
Experts’ Forum;
Monitor the work of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and of the European Asylum Support
Office and cooperate with other European bodies such as the European Economic and Social
Committee and the European Committee of the Regions as relevant;
Continue cooperation with women’s groups at all levels, including with the European Network of
Migrant Women and with Roma women’s groups;
Work in coalitions concerning work-life balance, asylum issues, sexual rights, anti-discrimination
and other topics as relevant;
Be part of the Coalition of NGOs for the European Year on Citizenship 2013;
Lead the NGO Coalition for an EU Year to End Violence against Women;
Link with relevant United Nations bodies and create greater awareness of international
commitments on gender equality such as CEDAW, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, and the Millennium Development Goals;
Continue forging close working relations with organisations such as the European Disability
Forum, the European Anti-Poverty Network, the AGE Platform of Older People, the European
Network against Racism, the European Youth Forum, ILGA Europe, IPPF Europe, COFACE,
PICUM, Mental Health Europe, FEANTSA, Amnesty International, and any other networks
identified as relevant. This includes joint activities, lobbying or promotional work, giving
appropriate visibility to partners’ work in EWL informational productions and ensuring the
visibility of the EWL in partners’ productions;
Prepare, publish and widely disseminate an edition of the European Women’s Voice dedicated
to women and decision-making;
Engage strategically with new funders, individual supporters and partners, including through the
publication of the EWL Report 2012-2013: ‘Her Future: What’s it worth to you?’, meetings and
external presentations;
Disseminate the pilot edition of the EWL Report ‘Women’s Watch 2012’;
Produce and disseminate thematic publications as appropriate;
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Engage strategically with the press and other media and ensure the visibility of the EWL in
European media, by producing, publishing and widely disseminating press releases, strategically
engaging with press and media through EWL communications channels (including website and
social media), contributing articles, letters to the editor and opinion pieces as appropriate;
Maintain and improve the extensive electronic database of key contact persons in order to
support the policy, fundraising and outreach of the EWL;
Review regularly our information tools in order to integrate new technologies and to better fit
the needs of members and other interlocutors and to establish a user-friendly system of
information dissemination.
Strategic Objective 3: Strengthen the EWL Membership; develop and
harvest the talents and capacities of the membership base and encourage
networking among the members
Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Encourage active dialogue and communication as well as capacity building amongst EWL
Member Organisations;
Develop EWL informational tools promoting the active engagement of the EWL members,
allowing for effective internal exchanges and external visibility, including the EWL website,
weekly newsletter, EWL social media pages and publications;
Facilitate the work of the EWL Membership Committee;
Prepare a Report of Member Organisations’ Activities for the June 2013 EWL General Assembly;
Support the fundraising activities of Member Organisations;
Support the exchange of good practice between Member Organisations and increased
cooperation and joint activities by giving visibility to their priorities and actions (through EWL
‘Women’s Watch 2012’ report 2012, the European Women’s Voice, the EWL website and
newsletter, and EWL social media channels) and facilitating links as appropriate;
Participate in meetings organised at national level by Member Organisations as appropriate and
if funding is available;
Organise an Annual Conference for Member Organisations and the public prior to the 2013
General Assembly on “Moving Forward for Women’s Rights”;
Organise capacity-building / training activities for new Executive Committee and Board members
and other members as relevant;
Organise a thematic Seminar for the Board of Administration on new ways of measuring
progress and wellbeing from a feminist perspective;
Organise and follow up on the Issue Groups and Emergency motions processes for the General
Assembly 2013.
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Strategic Objective 4: Ensure best practices of governance based on
feminist principles
Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Continue the work on the revision of the EWL governance structures and adopt revised statutes
and internal rules (PROPOSAL BY NATIONAL WOMEN’S COUNCIL IN IRELAND: introduce a
quota system to ensure that membership of the different governance structures represent
and reflect the different grounds of discrimination, to ensure more diversity of women in the
organisation)
Follow up on the comprehensive Membership Review initiated in 2011;
Work with an external consultant on evaluation and organisational development;
Use and continue to develop evaluation mechanisms;
Organise Statutory Meetings as per the EWL Statutes and Internal Rules;
Ensure transparent annual reporting, including statutory reports and external reporting to
funders where required.
Strategic Objective 5: An autonomous and sustainable EWL
Specific tasks for 2013 include:
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Prepare a grant application to the European Commission and produce detailed and accountable
relevant monitoring narrative and financial reports;
Raise the necessary co-funding to match the core funding from the European Commission;
Implement a fundraising strategy for the EWL in order to ensure the future financial stability of
the organisation, including the establishment of relationships with funders and sponsors;
Develop the category of ‘Friends of the EWL’ as a means to attract financial support from
individuals;
Facilitate the work of the Working Group on Finances;
Develop the fundraising capacity of the EWL and its Member Organisations;
Ensure internal accounting systems that provide regular financial reports, in a consistent and
accessible format;
Provide regular and yearly income and expenditure statements for review by EWL decision
making bodies as appropriate;
Prepare and cooperate with the requirements of an External Audit;
Hold weekly staff meetings, regular policy meetings and two staff Strategic Planning Days;
Ensure training is available for the EWL Staff and organise a Performance Evaluation of the EWL
Staff;
Implement the internal staff employment guidelines;
Implement the EWL Internship Programme.
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