Assessment and evaluation of the conclusions of the Union for the
Mediterranean conference in Marrakesh: The need to continue
Strengthening the role of women in society
At the Alexandria conference on 18 and 19 October 2009, the ESC of Monaco was asked to chair the
working group on Follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations of the Union for the
Mediterranean Conference on strengthening the role of women in society. The working group,
made up of various Mediterranean ESCs, conducted a debate, under the guidance of the EESC and
within the Euromed framework, culminating in the preparation of the present report.
The working group brought together the following economic and social councils:
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the European Economic and Social Committee,
the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France,
the National Economic and Labour Council of Italy,
the Economic and Social Council of Luxembourg,
the Economic and Social Council of Malta,
the Economic and Social Council of Tunisia,
the Economic and Social Council of Monaco.
1. The recommendations from
Mediterranean conference are:
the
Marrakesh
Union
for
the
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The first conference, in 2006 in Istanbul, put in place a Common Framework of Action
2006-2011.
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The second Union for the Mediterranean conference, held in Marrakesh in 2009, set out to
evaluate the development of this yardstick.
Since the first conference in 2006, the world has of course been confronted with an unprecedented
crisis that has already led, firstly, to increased inequality and poverty, chiefly affecting women and,
secondly, much tighter budgets, tending to curtail the resources allocated to initiatives dealing with
this type of issue.
This period has also witnessed an upsurge of political and armed conflicts, in which women are
particularly vulnerable. In view of this, we can only support the peace efforts undertaken by various
governments, as only they can bring about a world in which women can secure a stronger role.
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EN
-2The working group's objectives are as follows: after identifying the obstacles to changing ways of
thinking, measures will need to be defined for implementation in conjunction with the
recommendations to be applied by different bodies, including the economic and social councils
themselves, and follow-up of the proposed measures will need to be ensured.
Having been pleased to note the progress made, and having urged the partners to keep up their efforts,
the ministers recognised that important challenges remained, hampering the full and equal enjoyment
of human rights by women, notably:
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2.
persistent inequalities between women and men on the labour market, which hinder women from
reaching economic independence and that increase the risk for women to fall into poverty and
social exclusion,
under-representation of women in the political, public and economic decision-making processes,
conciliation of work and family life,
the persistent phenomenon of violence against women, in all its forms and manifestations,
including domestic violence, violence in work places, and in particular women victims of armed
conflicts, and situations of foreign occupation.
The applicable proposals by the Economic and Social Councils
It may be helpful to group the seven proposals under three headings:
1.
Bodies
1- The Union for the Mediterranean has raised major hopes for cooperation and peace
between peoples; the women’s group calls for efforts to relaunch this process to continue,
and for the strengthening of the role of women to become the core objective of such
cooperation.
2- The decision-making authorities of the member states are strongly urged to encourage the
integration of women into economic and social life where they live, by any incentive
measures they may consider useful:
a. quotas, following the example of Tunisia which has imposed a 35% female presence
in decision-making bodies, or France, where the rate has been set at 50% ;
b. positive discrimination, etc.
3- Each Economic and Social Council is asked to:
a. to set out the priorities of the European Union’s 2020 strategy (or of any other
international instrument such as the International Labour Organization’s Decent
Work agenda, or the European Economic and Social Committee's social agenda;
b. influence the policy implemented by its country’s authorities;
c. propose incentives that can be rolled out at all levels of society by the social partners;
d. monitor their application.
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2.
Policies to be pursued
4- Training and school education, respect for women, evolution of mentalities
A major effort must be made to change the way women are seen by society. A profound
change in our mentalities is needed in order to ensure greater gender equality and, in the
longer term, to strengthen the role of women in our societies.
The younger generations in particular are increasingly confronted, via the media that they use
intensively, with a degraded image of women. In practice, this leads to them having a
devalued view of women and their role in societies which, once they are adult, can have more
serious consequences in terms of discrimination or violence.
Care should be taken over the education, particularly in the school setting, of boys and girls
from the earliest age, in order to effectively transfer the values of equal dignity between men
and women to them.
Such an initiative, geared to the young people of our societies, fits in perfectly with the
International Year of Youth, declared by the UN for 2011, focusing on dialogue and mutual
understanding.
5- Reconciling work and family life should be given an important place. To achieve this,
appropriate infrastructure must be developed (crèches, child-minding, learning support,
school buses, etc.). Similarly, employers should be encouraged to get involved in arranging
private sector workplaces (harmonisation of working hours, etc.).
6- This reconciliation could produce a different division of family responsibilities, enabling
women to get more involved in independent work, and could foster the development of
women’s entrepreneurship (reference to Article 5 of the Women’s Charter).
3.
Follow-up
7- The women’s group proposes that a standing commission on strengthening the role of
women be set up in preparation for the 2011 meeting, tasked with providing an annual
follow-up report on the development of the situation of women in the Euro-Mediterranean
region (to which the Ministers committed themselves in point 38 of the Marrakesh
declaration).
Women are today fully-fledged players and perform an essential economic role, especially in the
following areas:
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Law on the environment and sustainable development, for their urging of greater
environmental awareness
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3.
Respect for migrant and refugee women, for respect and recognition of the enrichment
they bring
Better use of existing aid, for innovation in aid systems.
The concerns of the participating ESCs
We welcome the broad participation, which has highlighted the richness of this working theme. The
main issues identified are:
1- The EESC has addressed numerous aspects of an economic and social nature and concerning
entrepreneurship,
2- Tunisia on education and schools,
3- France on the development of women’s entrepreneurship,
4- Malta on reducing inequalities in the 2020 strategy,
5- Italy on the introduction of gender-specific statistics,
6- Luxembourg on mainstreaming the gender dimension into all policies,
7- Monaco on the evolution of mentalities.
The following main aspects emerged from our work.
1 – EESC:
* Links between gender equality, economic growth and employment rates1
The document points out that the issue of inequality between men and women, which has existed for
centuries, is a recurrent one, and these inequalities have only been tackled over the last 50 years. It is,
in a sense, a struggle against mindsets. The EESC opinion sets three objectives: 1) organisation of
time, 2) recognition of qualifications in jobs providing services to individuals, and 3) gender balance.
The opinion establishes that female employment is a factor for growth, but that women still face
difficulties such as the gender pay gap, discrimination or type of work (most often atypical or parttime – approximately 30% of women compared with 7.7% of men). "Between 2000 and 2006
employment in EU-27 grew by nearly 12 million", the report points out. This shows that a real
problem of distribution of power exists between men and women.
The opinion specifies that it cannot deal with the entire subject of gender inequality, therefore limiting
itself to the links with jobs and growth.
Women accessed jobs in large numbers in the 1970s, and this entry created needs stimulating
economic growth, and hence further jobs for women. Moreover, women's independence (both legal
and financial) gave a new boost to consumption of goods and services. The opinion also argues that
1
CESE 1472/2009.
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-5other ways of measuring GDP should be devised, such as HDI, the Human Development Index, or
GEM, an indicator of women's involvement in economic and political life.
"Combating gender inequality is not just a moral issue: it is also a matter of better managing human
resources" the report argues. The EESC holds that equality between men and women on the
employment market will allow women's pay to rise and so create purchasing power; to increase the
employment rate and consequently create more needs. A question however remains: why is a gender
balance so difficult to establish on the employment market? Stereotypes advocate strictly divided
male and female occupations; with this outlook, equality will never be achieved. The question of
sharing of family responsibilities is also tackled: in particular, fathers are encouraged to take parental
leave and play a more important role with their children.
Women sometimes feel "less strong" than men, despite the fact that with the same levels of education
and training, qualifications are the same. That is why women must be encouraged to develop
entrepreneurship. Lastly, the role of the social partners is mentioned, together with the four key points
of their 2005 work programme: addressing gender roles, promoting women in decision-making
processes, supporting work/life balance, and lastly reducing the pay gap.
* Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of
the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of the principle of equal treatment
between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity and repealing Directive
86/613/EEC2
The recommendations regarding the treatment of men and women engaged in an activity in a selfemployed capacity are set out in a number of points.
a) Concerning the general recommendations:
The EESC welcomes the Commission's initiative to support and encourage female self-employment.
It also emphasises the fact that self-employed status should not be considered in the same way as
employed status.
In this regard, the EESC highlights the need to take measures enabling legislation to be better applied,
ensuring compliance with equality between self-employed men and women.
b) Concerning the recommendations relating to self-employed and entrepreneurs:
The EESC notes that maternity provision is a decisive factor in female self-employment. However, no
proposals are made in this regard.
2
CESE 631/2009.
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-6c) Recommendations relating to assisting spouses:
The EESC is aware that no recognition of assisting spouses has been established, but however the
opinion recommends conducting research in order to bring in these workers.
Background
The opinion presents women as playing an active economic part in society, although without
widespread recognition of their status. To this end, their role must be strengthened by focusing on the
Lisbon strategy and the role it gives to them. In practical terms, they should be encouraged to set up
new businesses. The following measures are proposed:
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improving protection in the event of maternity;
providing leave to care for family members;
recognising the contribution of assisting spouses by providing social protection equivalent to
their self-employed partners;
Giving equality bodies competence in the field.
General comments
The opinion addresses the draft directive's shortcomings: it proposes three types of separate measures
in a single document. The directive needs to be clarified if it is to be applied. In order to increase the
number of female entrepreneurs, the values of those wanting to set up their own businesses must be
considered. In the words of the opinion, "A change in culture is required to make a significant
change".
The opinion provides a picture of social protection in this field, pointing out that given the differences
between national social protection systems in the EU, it is difficult to draw up a minimum directive on
this subject.
Specific comments
The Commission has made a comprehensive impact assessment on this directive consulting with
many stakeholders. Following the review of the impact assessment the EESC considers that there are
too many unanswered questions, particularly relating to true effectiveness, clarity and implementation
of the proposed recast. The EESC recommends leaving the self-employed, and especially women, a
free choice on maternity leave, so as not to affect the smooth running of their businesses. Furthermore
Member States should not only consider an allowance payment, but also the provision of assistance in
form of a temporary replacement. In addition the level of adequate allowance should be decided at
national level taking into account the objective difference between self-employed and assisting
spouses.
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-7The hours worked by the self-employed in general tends to exceed that of those in an employed status
adding childcare issues to the concerns of self-employed women. Here also the Commission makes
not recommendations towards childcare provisions, or indeed care responsibilities of the selfemployed. All Member States should improve accessible and affordable, high quality childcare to
contribute to improving reconciliation measures for self-employed and assisting spouses in the same
way it is done for workers. 18 out of the 27 member states already offer assisting spouses and the selfemployed the facility to make voluntary contributions towards maternity benefits. This measure must
be extended in all member states, ensuring that social security can be provided where the woman
wants to participate in the scheme.
* EESC opinion on the Roadmap for equality between women and men (2006-2010) and follow-up
strategy3
Equality between women and men is one of the objectives to be met in achieving growth, employment
and social cohesion. It also ensures better protection for women: financial independence, personalised
social protection, and autonomy. "Given the persistence of gender-based violence and human
trafficking, the Committee is of the view that current legislation should be enforced and national
action plans should be drawn up, coordinated by a global European strategy, and that specific
programmes in the field should be boosted"'. The EESC recommends that use should be made of the
EU's foreign and development policy to promote women's rights on the international stage, improving
their skills and empowerment. The European Union has indeed signed up to the major international
initiatives: the Millennium Development Goals, the Beijing declaration, and the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The opinion points
out, however, that none of the six priority areas set out in the roadmap for equality between women
and men (2006-2010) has proved satisfactory. The evaluation of the roadmap is nevertheless being
carried out at a time of economic crisis, and men and women have been affected differently.
Priority areas for action on gender equality
The first part of the plan sets out six priority areas for political action, with their corresponding
indicators:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Achieving equal economic independence for women and men
Reconciling work with private and family life
Promoting equal participation of women and men in decision-making
Eradicating all forms of gender-based violence
Eliminating sexist stereotypes
Promoting gender equality in external and development policies.
The Lisbon strategy calls for a female employment rate of 60%. The current rate stands at 58.8%, as
against 70.9% for men. The pay gap between women and men is 17.4%, rising to 30% for women
3
CESE 448/2010.
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-8over 50. There are also problems in the distribution of family tasks. Moreover, the pay gap can be
explained in structural terms: women are employed in unskilled, part-time or atypical jobs. For these
reasons, there is a need for women to be encouraged to develop and pursue entrepreneurship.
The European Union has declared 2010 to be the Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.
To do this, it should set a minimum income in order to guarantee social protection, particularly for
elderly women, widows and women heads of household.
Special attention should be paid to migrant women, who are more exposed to inequality. Female
migration is due to specific demand in the domestic and care work sectors. However, if gender
equality is to be achieved, there is an apparent need not only to promote education, but also to
regularise the employment of these women.
The work/life balance is also an EU 2020 priority. "Where women's employment is concerned, the
targets set in the Lisbon Strategy have been reached"; however, to achieve this balance, it is essential
to build the necessary infrastructure. Women for example are mostly employed in part-time jobs so
that they can reconcile work and private life. With this in mind, the EESC urges that maternity leave
be set at a minimum of 18 weeks. It also calls for full gender equality regarding parental leave.
The EESC recalls that full equality between men and women must be achieved in management posts
and decision-making bodies. "Ensuring men and women are on an equal footing in politics should be
a cornerstone for building Europe". In practice, June 2009, women held 35% of seats in the European
Parliament, 24% of seats in national parliaments and 25% of ministerial portfolios in national
governments. The EESC has 23.6% women members and 76.4% men.
The Committee is concerned at the violence suffered by women, and in particular violence arising
from tradition or culture. To bring this to an end, uniform social, legal and economic measures must
be taken across the EU.
It proposes the following actions:
-promoting entrepreneurship,
-promoting the presence of women in scientific and technological sectors,
-educating children in non-sexist behaviour,
-eradicating stereotypes from the media,
-increasing the presence of women in decision-making.
These steps represent a commitment that is to be followed up.
2 – TUNISIA: The role of women in society
Tunisia is one of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area that has already been committed for
some time to promoting women and equality of opportunity with men.
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The Personal Status Code (CSP-13 August 1956) represents no less than a real social constitution
within the country. It constitutes "the act of independence of Tunisian women". Tunisian law is
effectively geared to ensuring equal opportunities between all citizens, without discrimination on the
basis of gender, religion or political opinion.
Among the advances made by the country, access to education is a key area. School education
provides equal opportunity to all, both to continue studies at university level and a free choice of
occupation for each individual.
The guideline law on education and schooling (Law no. 2002-80 of 23 July 2002) recalls that
education is a guaranteed fundamental right. The progress made can be illustrated by some figures: at
the age of six, 99% of children (girls and boys) were at school in 2007. The proportion of girls in
secondary education rises to 59.2%, and 59.4% in higher education.
Firstly, legislation has enabled women to access education; and secondly, they have shown their real
determination to achieve financial and social independence.
Article 5 of the Personal Status Code specifies that the legal age for women to marry is 18, and that
women have complete freedom in choosing their future spouse. Similarly, Article 23 revokes the
subordination of women to their husbands. The law now also protects women property holders, under
Article 24 of the Personal Status Code.
However, although only the courts can decide on divorce, women must fulfil certain conditions in
order to secure, or not to lose, alimony payments.
Turning to women's involvement in decision-making bodies, the President of the Republic has
decided to make the inclusion of women compulsory in regional bodies, in order to consolidate their
inclusion in the public sphere. Women are present on regional councils at a rate of 32%.
Regarding employment, the principle of equality is based on Article 11 of the framework collective
agreement of 20 March 1973. Law no 93-66 of 5 July 1993 explicitly forbids all gender
discrimination. Virtual equality between men and women has virtually been achieved in terms of
primary and secondary school education. Imbalances persist however elsewhere within the public
sector. In 2000, women comprised only 15% of the public workforce. Equality is progressing overall,
slowly but surely. The percentage of women in the research field has reached 45%.
Some problems, however, remain, especially the under-representation of women in engineering.
Women engineers are still subjected to discrimination. Similarly, the distribution of working time is
not the same for men and women. According to a recent study, paid women in the public and private
sectors carry out 4 hours 48 minutes and 3 hours 32 minutes of household tasks respectively. For men,
the figures are 48 minutes and 33 minutes respectively. Women must therefore leave employment
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- 10 given the absence of childcare infrastructure. Lastly, discrimination exists with regard to management
posts.
The results of women's progress to different professional levels are less substantial than expected.
Women still have little access to the new technologies, with 40% stating they have never used
Internet.
The place of women in Tunisia has changed, their statute guarantees them positive discrimination, but
in certain sectors they still fall victim to discrimination (particularly in management jobs and pay
differences).
3 – FRANCE: Promoting women's entrepreneurship in the Euromed region
The need to build up entrepreneurship, and even to bring it into national action plans so that women
can take part in them has been emphasised. This is the best area for promoting women within the
labour market: it therefore requires closer attention. On this occasion, the Economic, Social and
Environmental Council (ESEC) welcomes the creation of an ad hoc committee on women's rights
within Euromed, and also of a network of associations working on gender issues.
The aim therefore is to promote women's entrepreneurship in order to create a dynamic
economy geared for globalisation. Emphasis was placed on the need to set up a platform to better
communicate information on business, and ensure that women can access it. Making it easier for
women to access the new technologies will allow them to engage with globalisation more rapidly.
Euromed also fosters investment in infrastructure and access strategies in this field. It also proposes
developing partnerships with the banks in order to facilitate loans to women who want to set up their
own businesses. The ESEC warns, however, that care must be taken regarding the media, as they
influence women's decisions heavily.
A link is established between women's rights and their role in economic development. This link must
not be denied, and in consequence taboo questions about culture and tradition must be raised in order
to achieve gender equality, in terms of education, access to the labour market, pay and tasks
performed. For example, the female illiteracy rate in the Middle East and Africa stands at 42%,
compared to 21% for men. Even if employment opportunities for women have increased, they remain
subject to discrimination. And while countries have signed the Millennium Declaration on
development, the status of women remains an obstacle to be overcome. Targeted programmes should
be implemented in rural areas (personal empowerment, vocational training, business management
training, etc.), especially in the agricultural sector where the contribution of women is very large.
A key point is highlighted: "Without economic growth and improvement in the rate of employment,
women will continue to suffer discrimination in an unfair competition with men". Franchising might
then offer a short-term solution, being a tool that is already known and functions satisfactorily.
Nevertheless, risk-taking and better quality teaching are indicated as factors for economic growth.
Everything is indeed linked: if the education system is optimised, vocational training will be better
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- 11 and gender equality in employment will be greater – as a result, women will be more motivated to
seek training and build up their own businesses.
Lastly, it is pointed out that a Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise was adopted by nine
Mediterranean partner countries at the Fifth Euro-Mediterranean Conference held in Caserta, Italy, in
2004. The budget allocation for Mediterranean Partners in the ENP for 2007-2013 increased by 32%
but without giving more attention to the promotion of women. The accent is placed on the crucial role
of civil society and of Euromed in strengthening their contribution to this project, alongside publicprivate partnerships.
Women have a role to play in economic life, and the main Euro-Mediterranean institutions are dutybound to support programmes to promote women. They must also strive for better-quality education,
gender equality and the development of entrepreneurship and networks in order to encourage women
to enter the market.
4 – MALTA: presentation of progress made under the 2020 strategy
The documents presented show the range of initiatives taken by the state or by other Maltese bodies,
focusing in particular on the presence of women in key administrative posts, the image of women
given by advertising and the media in general, and on the work/life balance.
Regarding female representation, European figures show that on average, the percentage of women in
national parliaments is only 9%, and that women represent barely 22% of the highest level civil
servants, and 16% of company heads (SMEs). For this reason the National Commission for the
Promotion of Equality (NCPE) is currently implementing the "ESF 3.47 – Unlocking the female
potential" project. The purpose of this project, co-funded by the European Union, is to identify the
reasons for the "glass ceiling" blocking women's professional advancement, and to introduce an
"Equality Mark" certifying companies that promote their employees to managerial positions on the
basis of merit free of gender bias.
The document on the media specifies the various educational actions contributing to children's
intellectual development (school, family, the media) and the messages conveyed: young people in
particular are initially vulnerable to television programmes and identify themselves with some of the
characters portrayed. Later, they are affected by society and more specifically the gender differences
and forms of discrimination that can influence their behaviour.
With respect to the work/life balance, it should be noted that in Europe, the employment rate of
women who have children remains considerably lower than that of men who have children (65%
compared to 92%). The National Council of Women is therefore working for more equal rules that
would encourage both maternal and paternal leave, and also cover independent workers, who do not
always have access to the social protection they need to stop work during maternity.
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- 12 5 – ITALY: the importance of taking practical measures to ensure women are represented in
statistics
Presentation of the draft legislation initiated by the CNEL regarding provisions on gender-specific
statistics
Gender-specific data means all the various statistical data concerning women and men, compiled and
presented separately.
A draft law regarding provisions on gender-specific statistics was drawn up and then adopted by the
CNEL (Italian ESC) assembly on 20 December 2006.
This draft legislation was then forwarded to the lower house of the Italian Parliament where it was
officially lodged on 28 July 2008.
-Applying the methodology advocated by specialist United Nations and European Union institutions,
Article 1 of the draft law stipulates that statistics prepared by official or private bodies must now be
compiled, processed and analysed separately by gender.
-Article 2 provides that the official statistical body (L'Istituto nazionale di statistica : ISTAT) in
charge of the national statistical system (SISTAN) should be responsible for carrying out regular
surveys, applying a gender-specific approach in the following fields :
a) life-long training, use of new technologies and access to culture;
b) work/life balance, assistance networks,
c) social and political participation;
d) presence of women and men in decision-making bodies;
e) living and health conditions;
f) fertility and childbirth,
g) crime;
h) income and poverty;
i) living conditions of immigrants, by origin.
-Article 3 establishes and defines the membership of a new official body, attached to the Presidency
of the Council (Prime Minister's office), the Consultative Committee on Gender-defined Statistics
which will be tasked with preparing proposals to harmonise gender-specific indicators. It will also be
required to produce an annual report on its activities, together with recommendations for the
following year.
-Article 4 defines the body's relations with the other ministries.
-Article 5 provides for the funding of the measures introduced under the draft law.
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- 13 Arising from the awareness of the close link between general economic policies and equality issues,
the CNEL has published a document on women's work in Italy (21.07.2010), which takes a close look
at policies supporting female employment and the importance of strengthening the role of women in
Italian economic and social life.
6 – LUXEMBOURG: Towards mainstreaming the gender dimension in all policies
The Luxembourg ESC has not drawn up a specific opinion on the issue of strengthening the role of
women in society. In its annual report on economic, social and financial trends in the country, it has
repeatedly encouraged targeted anti-discrimination measures regarding women, and upheld initiatives
for equal treatment of men and women.
There are three women among its 39 full members.
With government support, businesses and trade unions have launched a number of initiatives to
promote gender equality. Positive actions promoting equal opportunities are supported by the Ministry
for Equal Opportunities, with a particular view to changing ways of thinking.
On 3 February 2006 the Luxembourg government adopted a national gender equality action plan. An
interim assessment has identified shortcomings in putting structural measures in place to ensure that
gender mainstreaming effectively takes place.
In order to attain the objectives of the national gender equality action plan, the Council has adopted a
raft of measures:
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to make gender awareness training compulsory for public employees responsible for
implementing the action plan's measures;
to reinvigorate the establishment of specific measures by each ministry under the action plan;
to propose that the judiciary provide training on the UN Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);
to urge the University of Luxembourg to include the CEDAW in its curricula;
legal training;
additional courses in Luxembourg law;
courses in social and educational sciences;
to strengthen measures to remove horizontal and vertical occupational segregation, especially
the pay gap;
to step up actions to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls;
The national gender equality action plan (PAN, Equality) was extended until 2014.
The government maintains a dual approach to achieving the objective of gender equality; its consists
of progressing simultaneously towards mainstreaming the gender dimension in specific policy
measures for one or the other gender that are still needed to eliminate persistent inequalities.
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- 14 Local initiatives are especially important. Conferences on gender equality in local development have
been held at municipal level, and municipal gender equality action and best practice plans have been
prepared.
In 2010, the Ministry for Equal Opportunities launched a new campaign to sensitise young people
aged 12 to 20 to gender equality issues, which has commenced in secondary schools.
7- MONACO: Feminine values and societal progress
"Women hold up half the sky" said Mao Tse-Tung.
Tradition states that "woman is one of the poles of humanity, man is the other". Comment: this is the
Yin and Yang principle, passivity and movement, the cornerstone of Chinese Taoist thinking
developed by Lao Tse (6th-6th centuries B.C.) in the Tao Te Ching.
Our world will only achieve real harmony by having the courage and determination to associate the
two poles of humanity. We still have a long way to go. But it is clear that our societies are
increasingly unsatisfied with "only half the sky", and are ever-more concerned with uniting it with the
other half.
Economic values can no longer be the only ones on which to build our world. The role of human,
moral and spiritual values is fundamental. However, today's prevailing values divide more than
they unite. The main components of economic and social development based on competition no
longer suffice in building the next stage in human development.
The transformation that humankind is currently undergoing – a phase of post-industrial, or bioecological, information society and communication-related adjustment – requires us to turn back to
feminine values such as solidarity, complementarity, and a balance of humanity's values of survival.
It would be simplistic to place masculine and feminine values always in opposition to each other, but
it is interesting to view them in terms of mutual complementarity. Since the dawn of humanity,
masculine behaviour has been displayed in hunting, warfare, and the conquest or defence of territory;
female behaviour has been reflected in home-building and management, and handing on life and
knowledge. Today, the environmental crisis, the dangerous powers of biology and educational issues
have put the spotlight on the influence of feminine values in the debate on the major challenges
facing society. This desire to bring values to the forefront does relate only to the development of
"feminism" (alone), or women taking up senior posts in industry or politics, the necessary rebalancing of power. Rather, it is a new way of seeing the world and shaping it, based on cooperation
instead of competition. This vision is now shared by a growing number of men.
Masculine values are preferred in a technical universe of competition and conquest, the typical model
for growing industrial societies. But the shift to a "symbiotic" society relies on biological, ecological,
communication, cross-cutting and network-based concepts; it reveals the need for new feminine
values. The growing influence across the world of reflection and of the role of women in tomorrow's
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- 15 great challenges for the world is evidence for this (in the field of biology, the environment, education
and health). From bioethics commissions to ecologist movements, from consumers' groups to school
parents' associations, and to assistance for the elderly or infirm, pacifist movements, women's action
seeks alternative paths to symbiotic models of societal organisation. The emergence of these new, socalled feminine values is crucial if the world is to advance towards greater solidarity, justice, balance
and peace. These values represent a different way of looking at nature and society, other ways of
acting, monitoring or transmitting their own knowledge to patterns of behaviour, ways of thinking and
the action of women.
Bringing feminine values to bear on a world of power and conflict created by men can effectively help
to radically renew the political imagination. These values are indeed essential to building tomorrow's
society and safeguarding the planet's future.
Feminine values help to guide political leadership to liberate itself from all manifestations of its
authority, as they bring a new logic and a new culture for preparing the future.
Can we alert society to the need (for its own sake) to develop its feminine side, as we must all (men
and women) development our "other side" of masculine values for women and feminine values for
men?
Can "men" and "women" succeed in completing one another instead of confronting each other?
This is a powerful challenge that we all face, as these "feminine values" that we need to bring to the
fore must not remain only "ideas". We must embed them in society.
After identifying the objectives of the European Union's 2020 strategy and the specific concerns of
the national ESCs in line with their own environments, a list of proposals has been drawn up that
could serve as a common platform providing practical support.
We wish to thank all the Economic and Social Councils who took part in the working group for their
valuable contributions.
12.10.2010
*
*
*
.../...
- 16 -
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE EUROMED MEETING
21 SEPTEMBER 2010

Representing the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France :
Ms Chantal LEBATARD, Member and Vice-President of the section for external relations,
members of the delegation for the European Union
*****

Representing the Italian National Economic and Labour Council:
-Ms Francesca SANTORO, Member, President of the section for international relations
-Ms Martina SALVADORI, press officer
*****

Representing the Economic and Social Council of Luxembourg:
Ms Marianne NATI-STOFFEL, Secretary-General
*****

Representing the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the National
Council for Economic and Social Development of Malta:
Ms Grace ATTARD, EESC Member, President of the Malta National Council of Women &
Commission for the Promotion of Equality
*****

Representing the Economic and Social Council of Tunisia:
Ms Amel Chérif ABBES, Member
*****

Representing the Economic and Social Council of Monaco:
- Ms Béatrice BOISSON, on behalf of President GARINO,
- Ms Alberte ESCANDE, Member
- Ms Marie-Odile JORIS, Member
- Mr Christian BARILARO, Member
- Mr José GIANNOTTI , Member
- Mr Jacques WOLZOK, Member
.../...
- 17 
Secretariat (Monaco ESC) :
- Ms Fabienne GUIEN, Secretary-General
- Mr Fabrice BLANCHI, Administrator
- Ms Justine AMBROSINI, Administrator,
- Ms Séverine DUPOUEY, Intern presenting a thesis on the role of women in the world for
her Master II.
LIST OF APPENDICES

Ministerial conclusions on strengthening the role of women in society – Istanbul,

Conclusions of the Union for the Mediterranean, Second Ministerial Conference on
Strengthening the Role of Women in Society - Marrakesh, 11 and 12 November 2009,

Euromed Partnership – Strengthening the role of women in society – Report 2007-2008,
published in 2010,

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Strategy for equality
between women and men (2010-2015),

New Commission strategy for equality between women and men,

The EESC: A bridge between Europe and organised civil society,

Contribution from the Italian CNEL,

The Anna Lindh Platform,

Letter from Ms Eva Jimeno Sicilia (ETF) concerning an invitation to a meeting on
"Strengthening the role of women in society" in Monaco on 21/09/2010,

The Director-General of UNESCO congratulates Michelle BACHELET on her appointment
as head of UN Women,

Union pour la Méditerranée, fin de l’Histoire ? (Union for the Mediterranean, the end of the
story?"),

Forum in the Forum: Women in Public Life –Crans Montana Forum in Monaco – Friday
27 June 2008,
.../...
- 18 
Status of Women, working document presented to the 49th session of the Commission on the
condition of women, chaired by Ms Santoro, Vice-President of the Italian CNEL,
***




A Strengthened Commitment to Equality between Women and Men “A Women’s Charter”,
Framework Document,
Gender Equality in the Euro-Mediterranean Region: From Plan of Action to Action? –
Shadow Report on the Implementation of the Istanbul Plan of Action – August 2009,
Conclusions of the Union for the Mediterranean, Second Ministerial Conference on
Strengthening the Role of Women in Society – Marrakesh, 11 and 12 November 2009,