In the context of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, an informal meeting of ministers for employment and social policies will be held in Bucharest on April 10-11, 2019. The reunion will take place at the Parliament Palace.
The event will be chaired by the Romanian Minister of Labour and Social Justice, Marius Budăi. The meeting will be attended by Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Heinz Koller, Regional Manager for Europe and Central Asia of the International Labour Organization, Juan Menéndez-Valdés, Executive Director of European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Virginia Langbakk, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Aurelia-Gratiela Drăghici, State Secretary of the National Agency for Equal Opportunities, as well as other officials from European agencies.
The event will begin on the morning of April 10 2019, when the Employment and Social Policy Ministers of the Member States will meet at the Palace of the Parliament to discuss issues related to women’s participation in the labour market and management, to tackle the pay gap between women and men, and the integration of women with disabilities into the labour market.
DISCUSSIONS AGENDA:
Boosting women’s labour market participation
The Romanian Presidency will pursue the strengthening of cooperation and exchange of best practices between Member States on strengthening women’s economic independence and women’s participation in the labour market. At the meeting in Bucharest, there will be a presentation on women’s economic independence, as well as a debate on encouraging and supporting women in atypical work. Also, the discussions in Bucharest will address the issue of the gender pay gap and the situation of women with disabilities.
The European Union and its Member States have a strong mandate to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities and the legislation in this area covers specific aspects of their lives.
The European Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities comprises clear commitments to ensure an increased attention to the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities.
At EU level, about 27.5% of women aged over 16 declare an activity limitation, compared to 23.0% of men of the same age group. EU legislation provides protection against gender discrimination with regard to employment. Also, antidiscrimination legislation on the basis of disability exists in the area of employment.
Among the 20 principles contained in the European Pillar of Social Rights, some are particularly important to gender equality and women with disabilities: equal opportunities for women and men on the labour market, including the right to equal pay; equal treatment in relation to social protection, education and access to goods and services.
Nevertheless, persistent cultural, social, legal, physical and institutional barriers pose restrictions to the full inclusion of women with disabilities in society in all areas of private and public life, including education and employment.
For women with disabilities, low rates of access to education and technical and vocational training programmes, as well as the lack of opportunities to access the labour market result in a lack of skills and professional qualifications.
In addition, the stigma and discrimination that women with disabilities are facing, as well as inaccessible work environments, are restrictions to their participation on the labour market and they lead to less safe working conditions.
This can also be observed in existing statistics at European level, according to which, in 2016, persons with disabilities in the EU were more likely to face in-work poverty than the general population. In terms of gender, the employment rate of women with disabilities (45.9%) was slightly lower than that of men with disabilities (50.6%). Looking at the overall quality of life perceived by people with disabilities, Eurofound finds that the extent to which they feel left out of society varies considerably depending on whether they are employed or not. Those who have a job report far less often feeling left out of society than long-term unemployed respondents or those who are unable to work because of their disability.
Practical information:
- ACCREDITATION
- Journalists’ access to the event is exclusively based on the accreditation that can be done by accessing the website of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union, at the following link: https://accreditation.romania2019.eu/
- The deadline for the accreditation of the journalists was March 31, 2019;
- Accreditation cards can be issued only from the Palace of Parliament – Accreditation Centre for the Presidency of Romania at the Council of the European Union, located at entrance A3 / S2 (Bucharest, Izvor Street, 2-4);
- For issuance of accreditation badges, journalists must present valid accreditation and a valid identity card or passport.
- MEDIA CENTER
- During the meeting, the Media Centre will be operational at the Palace of the Parliament (2-4, Izvor Street, Bucharest), entrance A3 / S2;
- Images of the activities will be provided by the Romanian Television, the official broadcaster of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union;
- Journalists will have access to the Palace of the Parliament on April 10th for activities related to the segment on Stimulating women’s participation in the labour market, and respectively, on April 11th, for activities related to segment on Gender budgeting – a tool for achieving gender equality.
Download media guide:
https://www.romania2019.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/media-guide_en.pdf
- PRELIMINARY MEDIA PROGRAM
Wednesday, April 10th, 2019
Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Policy Ministers
08.45 – 09.30 Doorstep – official declarations
Handshake – official receipt, Palace of the Parliament
Tour de table (image opportunities for photo/video media only), Location: Brătianu Hall
09.30 – 09.50 Opening plenary – Boosting women’s labour market participation
09.50 – 10.20 Presentations
Women in leadership positions
Presentation of good practices on strengthening women’s economic independence and women’s labour market participation
10.50 – 12.15 Debate – Encouraging and supporting women in atypical work
12.15 – 12.40 Family Photo
14.30 – 16.00 Presentation
Tackling the gender pay gap: not without a better work-life balance.
Workshop 1: Women with disabilities in the world of work (half of delegations)
Chair: Mr. Marius Constantin Budăi, Minister of Labour and Social Justice
Workshop 2: Combating the gender pay gap as a follow up to the EU Action Plan 2017 – 2019
16.00 – 16.15 Reporting back from the workshops
16.15 – 16.25 Conclusions of the first day
Mrs. Marianne Thyssen, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility (tbc)
Mr. Marius Constantin Budăi, Minister of Labour and Social Justice
16.40 – 17.10 Press conference
Mr. Marius Constantin Budăi, Minister of Labour and Social Justice
Mrs. Marianne Thyssen, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility (tbc)
17.15 – 18.30 High level group
Thursday, 11th April 2019
09.00 – 09.30 Doorstep – official declarations
Tour de table (image opportunities for photo/video media only),
Location: Brătianu Hall
09.30 – 09.50 Opening plenary – Gender budgeting – a tool for achieving gender equality
Presentation
A strategy to achieve equality between women and men
09.50 – 11.15 Debate – Gender mainstreaming in the social dimension of the EU post 2020
11.15 – 11.30 Conclusions of the Informal EPSCO