Freeway - Equality in Europe

Equality in Europe

In spite of all equality laws and comprehensive improvements we are still far from a society that bear the stamp of total equal rights between men and women. To change a society that for thousands of years have been based on the male norm is very difficult, but somehow we have to try. It is a long-term work that - except knowledge - demands will, patience, and engagement.

The History of Women
The modern Europe arised originally from three different cultures, which during the Middle Ages met and came together. These three cultures were the Greek Roman, the Jewish Christian and the Germanic. Even though there were big differences between these cultures, women always had the responsibility for other persons, above all, the children. Women's history in Europe bore the stamp of this role that women had. Even if women's rights were raised or bound, the role of being responsible for the children, the society's future, always stayed intact. Women try over and over again to enter typical "male" districts like politics, economy, religion and culture.

They want to educate themselves, and fight for the right to vote in elections. But men, compered to women, never struggle for being able to stay at home and take care of their parents, children or younger brothers and sisters. If a man died, who was the father of a family, his wife generally in some incomprehensible way made the family stick together. Even though she had no political, juridical or economic rights and lived a very poor life. But if the mother in a family died, the father didn't take his wife's role in raising and supporting the family. The family was split up.

Since old days it has been this way, women have always taken care of other people and kept the family going. This still exists today. Women have now careers, jobs, professional responsibilities, but continue to be in large part responsible for their children and household chores. Why? The phrase: "It has always been so…" feels hackneyed. The questions we have to ask ourselves are why it always has been this way, and what we can do to change it!

Women in Europe Today

Even though there have been a lot of changes and the equality has improved, there are still breaches between men and women today. Here are some statistics of women's situation today from EWL (a project called Mobilising Young Women for Equality in Europe).

Relationships

Men who take parental leave are the exception: seven men per 100 women in Denmark in 1995 and one man per 100 women in France in 1992.
Women perform 80% of household tasks (except in Nordic countries), they spend nearly twice as much time as men in child care (41 hours/week compared with 21)
The employment rate of women with at least 1 child is 53% and women without children is 68%.

Education

Only 4% of university chairs are occupied by women in Austria, compared to 10% in Italy, 12,8% in Finland and 13% in France.
Women by far out-perform men at school and university, but they still have more difficulty finding a job; in the European Union, 21% of young women are unemployed as opposed to 18,2% of young men.

Media

The media often exploits the image of women as sex objects, thereby helping to reinforce damaging stereotypes.

Equality in the European Union

30 years ago equality between men and women was not a head subject in the European countries. Women's salary were 40-50 percent lower than the men's, and men had the power in both politics and economy. But during these three decades a lot has changed. The European Union has now equality between men and women as a fundamental goal, and politics in this topic have grown stronger in. The countries in the European Union have been through positive changes that have favoured women's position. The member-countries have changed their taxes, and social- and family politics. They have also developed the child welfare and the care of old people, to raise women's possibilities to work outside the home. The European Union has adopted laws to deal with inequalities between men and women on the labour-market. In short, these are a few of the rules and regulations that the European Union works for:

Equal pay for equal work
Men and women should have the same salary for the same job
Equal rights to social safety
Men and women should have the same social security when it comes to health, disability, old age, unemployment and accidents in the home.
Prohibition of all kinds of discrimination
If an employee feels discriminated he/she should have the right to turn to a court, without fear for loosing his/hers job.

Sweden is one of the world's most equal countries. But still the differences of salary for equal work between men and women is raising. I have made an opinion poll in my school and 20 girls and 20 boys between the ages 16 and 19 participated. No one thought that an total equality is existing in Sweden today, but almost no one knew how to change it either. I think that to improve the equality-work we need more instruction and education on the subject. We know far too little about it. Why don't we have equality scheduled in school? As I said before, it's very difficult to change this old tradition of ours, but perhaps this is one way to improve women's situation today.

How is it in your country? Does equality exist between men and women?

Sources:
Internet: www.youngwomen.womenlobby.org
Literature: Utrikesdepartementet: Fakta Europa
Picture: Private