EU takes action to uphold gender equity

The European Commission has today referred Poland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to comply with EU rules on gender discrimination.

Despite a second warning, Poland had so far failed to inform the European Commission how its own national legislation has been brought into line with EU regulations which ban gender discrimination in access to and supply of goods and services.

"I regret that Poland has not yet informed the Commission of its national measures to give effect to this important legislation, which was agreed unanimously by Member States and adopted in 2004. Equal treatment is a fundamental right in the EU and this Directive is crucial to tackling discrimination on the basis of gender,” said Vladimír Špidla, EU Commissioner for Equal Opportunities.

This measure is supported by a recent WHO report on the social determinants of health, in which recommended action “includes ensuring that laws protect and promote gender equity and addressing gender biases in organisational structures and policies.”

So far, there have been 12 cases brought forward in relation to Member States failing to apply the relevant EU law (Directive 2004/113/EC), with six open cases yet to be concluded for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Poland and The United Kingdom.

The WHO report however goes on to say that establishing separate “gender equity” units in order to properly guard against sex discrimination.

The report recommends that “national governments and international institutions…set up a gender unit that supports the consideration of gender equity implications of policies, programmes and institutional arrangements across the organisation.”

“Acting now, to improve gender equity and empower women is critical for reducing the health gap in a generation,” the report adds.

You can read the EU press release on the European Commission website here.

You can find the WHO report on the social determinants of health on this website.