Equal Treatment for Men and Women
Equal Treatment for Men and Women : Article 141, TEC (former Article 119) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC) lays down the principle that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. Since 1975, a series of directives have broadened the principle to cover access to employment, training and career progression, the aim being to eliminate all forms of discrimination at work. Equal treatment was later extended to social security, statutory schemes and occupational schemes. In the 1980s, recognition of this principle led to the promotion of equal opportunities via multi-annual programmes. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999, seeks to supplement Article 141 (which is rather limited in scope, covering only equal pay) by including the promotion of equality between men and women as one of the tasks of the EC set out in Article 2, TEC. The Treaty explicitly provides that in all its activities the EC must aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women (Article 3.2, TEC). The new Article 141, TEC, lends greater support to equal treatment of men and women and to equal opportunities, whereas Article 119, as it was, was confined to issues of equal pay for the two sexes for the same work. The new provisions allow the European Council, after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and in accordance with the co- decision procedure, to take active measures to ensure that the principle of equal treatment is applied. Moreover, Member States may maintain or adopt measures providing for specific advantages in order to make it easier for the underrepresented sex to pursue a vocational activity, or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional careers. Such measures may not take the form of strict quotas, which were rejected by the European Court of Justice in its ruling in Kalanke in 1995 (the issue arose again in 1997 in the Marshall case). The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, adopted in December 2000, includes a chapter entitled "Equality", which sets out the principles of equality between men and women. Article 23 states that: "Equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay." In June 2000, the European Commission also adopted a Communication entitled Towards a Community Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-05). Its purpose is to establish a framework for action within which all EC activities can contribute to attaining the goal of eliminating inequalities and promoting equality between women and men. See: Equal opportunities; Equal treatment; other entries under "Equal" and "Equality"
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