Gender equality in Pensions

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Gender equality in Pensions

• Asees Ahuja

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A collective view on gender equality

• The Social Agenda
• Priorities Gender Equality
• remaining inequalities must be tackled with
  further action under the EU Roadmap on Gender
  Equality for Women and Men (2006-2010).
• Longer and healthier lives a gender perspective

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A collective view on gender equality

• The Lisbon Strategy for Growth and jobs
• Guidelines Gender Equality
• Promote a life-cycle approach to work - action to
  increase female participation and reduce gender
  gaps in employment, unemployment and pay
• Ensure employment-friendly labour cost
  developments and wage-setting mechanisms -
  encouraging social partners within their own
  areas of responsibility to set the right
  framework for wage bargaining in order to reflect
  productivity and labour market challenges at all
  relevant levels and to avoid gender pay gaps
• Active ageing strategies should be implemented by
  Member States
• Take measures to increase labour market
  participation and labour supply especially
  amongst women
• Implement employment policies aiming at achieving
  full employment - Policies should contribute to
  achieving an average employment rate for the
  European Union of 70 overall, of at least 60
  for women and of 50 for older workers (55 to
  64) by 2010, and to reduce unemployment and
  inactivity.

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A collective view on gender equality

• Social Protection and Social Inclusion commonly
  agreed objectives
• Overarching objectives
• social cohesion, equality between men and women
  and equal opportunities for all through adequate,
  accessible, financially sustainable, adaptable
  and efficient social protection systems and
  social inclusion policies
• Pension objectives
• adequate retirement incomes for all and access to
  pensions which allow people to maintain, to a
  reasonable degree, their living standard after
  retirement, in the spirit of solidarity and
  fairness between and within generations
• that pension systems are transparent, well
  adapted to the needs and aspirations of women and
  men and the requirements of modern societies,
  demographic ageing and structural change that
  people receive the information they need to plan
  their retirement and that reforms are conducted
  on the basis of the broadest possible consensus.

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The instruments used

• EU Legislation
• Open Method of Coordination
• Social Dialogue
• Partnership, dialogue and communication
• Ensuring that all EU policies promote
  opportunities, access and solidarity

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Gender inequality in old age Key issues

• Pension reform and gender inequality
• Womens poverty in old age, mainly due to labour
  market
• Avoiding gender traps
• Cohort effects
• Access to Minimum Income provision

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Future work on gender equality

• Develop new monitoring tools
• Gender mainstreaming
• Reconciliation of private and professional life
• Gender pay gap
• Gender gap in entrepreneurship
• Reducing at-risk-of-poverty rate for women

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Questions or Comments?

• Thank You!
• asees.ahuja_at_ec.europa.eu