On 16 March 2016 Arina Angerman attended the Conference eSkills for Jobs 2016 in The Hague (Photo). Marietje Schaake,
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and eSkills for Jobs Ambassador, told
us “We have to have a leadership that knows why
eSkills are important.” Her key
recommendation: “Invest in the eSkills of politicians and policy makers”.
EP resolution on gender
equality and empowering women in the digital age
On 28 April 2016 the European Parliament (EP) adopted a very important resolution on gender
equality and empowering women in the digital age. The resolution of 19 pages was developed by MEP and Rapporteur Terry Reintke with help of many others. Arina selected three points of context and some recommendations to inform you:
- “the study by European Parliament Policy Department C entitled ‘Study on Empowering women on the Internet’, published in 2015,
- the Council of
Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and
domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),
- the report of
the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the opinion of the
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
C. whereas only 9 % of
developers in Europe are women, only 19 % of bosses in the ICT and
communications sectors are female (compared with 45 % in other service
sectors) and women represent just 19 % of entrepreneurs (compared with
54 % in other service sectors);
H. whereas improving
digital skills and IT literacy presents a unique opportunity for increasing the
inclusion in the labour market of women and girls, but also of people with
special needs, such as people with disabilities; whereas increasing the number
of women in the ICT sector, which is one of the highest paying sectors, could
contribute to their financial empowerment and independence, resulting in the
reduction of the total gender pay gap;
N. whereas women
aged 55 and over are at a particular risk of unemployment and labour market
inactivity, with the average EU employment rate for women aged 55-64 being only
42 %, compared with 58 % for men; whereas a low level of IT literacy
and e-skills further amplifies this risk; whereas improving and investing in
digital competences of women aged 55 and over would boost their employment
opportunities and offer a level of protection against exclusion from the labour
market;
3. Calls on the
Commission to exploit and better target the Digital Agenda and the Digital
Single Market Strategy with a view to addressing the severe gender gap within
the ICT sector and fostering the full integration of women into the sector,
particularly in relation to technical and telecommunication professions, to
foster education and training of women and girls in ICT and other STEM
subjects, to increase the visibility of women in the digital arena, to enhance
gender equality and participation of women through better access to funding, to
systematically implement gender impact assessments and gender budgeting in its
work on the Digital Agenda and the Digital Single Market Strategy so that the
fundamental European principle of equality between women and men can be duly
incorporated and to support civil society and women’s organisations in making
an inclusive internet a reality;
5. Urges
the Commission to include in the upcoming Strategy for equality between women
and men 2016-2020 specific actions to support the integration and participation
of women in the information society and to strongly promote women’s networks
online as they are the manifestation of a self-organised, bottom-up approach to
female empowerment and should receive all the support necessary for them to
become long-term;
Conclusion
In the summer of 2015 Arina Angerman wrote ‘’Equal education
of women and girls’’ in the IAW Newsletter August 2015 about results of the GenderEquality Index research by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). Most
(extended board) members of IAW and their member associations are digital
migrants. My conclusion still is a valid opinion: lifelong learning of new
eSkills by women or feminists of all generations has to improve in order to
remain agents of change / policy-makers!!!
Arina Angerman (55plus) represents International Alliance of Women (IAW) on the Board of the European
Women’s Lobby. Content of this blog is her contribution to digital IAW Newsletter - June 2016 (page 4-5).
Arina is an Activist, Blogger and Consultant. Please read additional information at Social Media 4 Boomers website (in Dutch).
Arina is an Activist, Blogger and Consultant. Please read additional information at Social Media 4 Boomers website (in Dutch).
