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Because inequalities between women and men persist in today\u2019s European societies, gender equality is one of the key areas in which to facilitate change in order to build a society that ensures equality of opportunities for all. \u00a0According to Amartya Sen\u2019s definition, equality of opportunity means that individuals have the \u201csubstantive freedom\u201d that allows them to do what they want with their lives. \u00a0Often people make choices that are constrained by cultural or other pressures: \u201csocial institutions and policies tend either to enhance or stunt the development of an individual\u2019s life chances (for example through education),\u201d as the Equalities Review published by the British government put it. \u00a0Thinking about gender equality in these terms allows us to address issues that go beyond the simple gender divide and to propose a vision of an equal society, building on diversity.<\/p>\n
Individuals tend to internalise obstacles (institutional, social, etc) when considering various life opportunities. But as such obstacles are structural in the society, surmounting them requires more than just individual willingness and action. \u00a0One often cited example of such a barrier is the glass ceiling<\/i>, a metaphor used to describe the invisible \u2018ceiling\u2019 that keeps women from moving up the career ladder as men are able to, into senior positions. \u00a0As a result, as Dominique de la Garanderie has mentioned, women are likely \u201cto engage in self-censure. \u00a0Knowing that a gender-based glass ceiling exists, women are less likely to aim for high-level positions, either curbing their ambitions or saying to themselves that attaining a high-powered position would expose them to a wide range of reactions and constraints, sapping their energy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Increasing the representation of women in the public sphere, by fighting for equal economic independence for women and men and equal representation in decision-making, is essential. \u00a0Women help enrich the public debate by expressing different views, formed by differing life experiences. \u00a0For instance, in business and politics, women are more likely to insist on the negotiation of a manageable work\/life balance as they are more often than not primary care givers in the private sphere. \u00a0In the arts, women artists represent and express sexuality in different ways, influenced by women\u2019s feelings and experiences, as does Buxey in Requiem<\/i> (2002), for example, when she films her face during sexual intercourse\u2014a point of view very rarely, if ever, explored in mainstream cinema.<\/p>\n
When institutional change is slower than social change, changes can be brought about in economic, political and artistic spheres, enforced by laws, and triggered through policies. The effects of such support are demonstrated in the increased proportion of women in political institutions, in corporate business boards, or the proportion of women artists artworks exhibited in museum.<\/p>\n
The main benefits of such a pragmatic, policy-led approach to change are recognised by a wide variety of actors. \u00a0The economic advantages of getting women into the labour market have been widely discussed and the management consultancy Mc Kinsey published a report in October 2007 demonstrating that companies with more women in top positions tend to outperform rivals. \u00a0Furthermore, social changes induced by the increasing participation of women in the public sphere can significantly benefit men as well. For example, the growing phenomenon of young fathers taking parental leave, and even in some cases choosing to stay at home to raise their children, has recently received wide press coverage. Their ability to enjoy the possibility of spending more time with their children is a direct result of what were mostly women\u2019s efforts to demand a better work-life balance<\/p>\n
Achieving the \u2018eradication of all forms of gender-based violence\u2019 and the \u2018elimination of gender stereotypes\u2019 is certainly as important as increasing the representation of women in the public sphere. \u00a0These objectives are more closely entangled with human rights issues and invoke respect for the other, and of difference. \u00a0On a symbolic level, the commoditisation of human bodies in publicity and media for commercial and\/or pornographic purposes can impact on real human relationships. \u00a0And passive acceptance of psychological or physical gender-based violence in society is an insult to human rights. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Achieving the \u2018eradication of all forms of gender-based violence\u2019 and the \u2018elimination of gender stereotypes\u2019 is certainly as important as increasing the representation of women in the public sphere. \u00a0These objectives are more closely entangled with human rights issues and invoke respect for the other, and of difference. \u00a0On a symbolic level, the commoditisation of human bodies in publicity and media for commercial and\/or pornographic purposes can impact on real human relationships. \u00a0And passive acceptance of psychological or physical gender-based violence in society is an insult to human rights.<\/p>\n
In the UK, this intertwining of equality and human rights issues was the ground for creating a new Equality and Human Rights Commission, merging the previous Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. \u00a0This is also the reason why groups mobilised for Gay, lesbian, bi and transsexual people (GLBT), disabled people, and minorities\u2019 rights, among many others, often fight hand-in-hand with human rights groups against discrimination. Respect and understanding of difference, and demanding equality of opportunity to all are ways in which to create a truly open and just society.<\/p>\n
Gender equality is key to building Europe upon sustainable grounds. \u00a0This is why it is necessary for European feminists to continue to demand that the EU continue to fight for equality of opportunities for all<\/i>. These discussions are particularly relevant at a time when Europe is increasingly diverse, but some discussions of gender equality invoke cultural determinism and tend to concentrate on gender equality issues in other regions of the world. \u00a0For instance, discussions on practices of Islamic veiling, inside and outside European societies, are an example of one complex challenge to discourses of equality and diversity.<\/p>\n
Pursuing feminist objectives in Europe means more than simply achieving gender equality. Promoting gender equality goes beyond gender issues \u2013 it is also about fighting for an open and inclusive society that builds on respect for all, and accepts differences as an asset instead of as a threat. \u00a0At a European level, an ongoing commitment to equal opportunities provides potential tools for this to happen; they now have to be fully activated and used.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Europe Union has, in its treaties, endorsed the mission of achieving gender equality. This is not insignificant, indeed striving for gender equality in Europe is one of the keystones in building an open and inclusive European society. Because inequalities between women and men persist in today\u2019s European societies, gender equality is one of the <\/p>\n
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