Equal opportunities

Male, white, working-age and with a high level job. It is the identikit of the average citizen represented in the pages of national newspapers in French language in Belgium. Women, foreigners, unemployed people, the lowest socio-professional categories and the disabled are almost absent. Who belongs to one of these groups [...]

A world where the majority of healthy heterosexual ignore, until to erase, the existence of homosexuality among disabled people is a painful, yet common, reality. While very little is known, until now, about the type of relationship between members of these minorities. Hence the importance and novelty of the results [...]

The wind of quotas blows again on the European Union. According to the data, in fact, this is the only way to achieve the discussed gender equality in both the political and economic spheres. After Norway, France, Spain and Italy, this time it is the turn of Belgium where in [...]

In Belgium, in 2010, of all the workers went on strike 1 out of 3 is a woman. This is the highest percentage in the last 6 years. The calculations were made on the basis of the National Social Security Office's (NSSO).

In Belgium, the number of women holding managerial positions in 10 years has more than doubled. In 2000, in fact, 57thousand high-top positions were covered by women, while today the number has risen to 118thousand. The figures were made known by SPF Economie that also notes that the majority works [...]

In Europe the 42,8% of the women on the media are showgirls. While just the 23% of them is invited to intervene thanks to her competence and professionalism. This was recently restated during a conference held in Rome last 29 Noember on the basis of the “Women and media in [...]

It is estimated that in the European Union there are about 10 thousand asylum applications by people from the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). Forced to flee from the motherland where they are persecuted because of their sexual orientation. These are predictions based only on data provided by Belgium, [...]

The Polish female members of the Parliament have certainly not overlooked the scam orchestrated against them. Despite the fact that in the last elections the so outraged gender quotas have finally been introduced, in reality, little has changed. Their presence is increased by only a weak 4%. For the simple [...]

While in Southern Europe machism is hard to die, in Sweden the number of dads who are happy to share with the loved ones 480 days of parental leave granted by law is increasing. A phenomenon that affects in particular the Swedes with a high level of education. With obvious [...]

Catholic Poland starts to move something on the front of the recognition of the LGBT community's rights. At least on television. Yesterday the Canal + network broadcasted a documentary about the coming out in the Eastern European country. A novelty which has not been particularly appreciated by most of [...]

The homoparental family goes to school. For the first time in France school texts officially report the same-sex parents among the possible type of families. Thanks to the Association des familles homoparentales and a group of teachers, the Ministry of Education has, in fact, taken steps to update the programs.

Of the 5 million French people who are part-time employed, 83% are women. Most of them have one or more children. France has thus solved the all female problem to reconcile family and work? Up to a point. The truth is that at night all cats are not black. After [...]

What’s to be done once you’ve accomplished the 20 year long, full time, mission of raising children? For bored, but well-off, French housewives the answer is to try reinventing one’s self with autonomous job placement. A choice motivated by mood rather than material need, is leading many fifty-year-old ladies from [...]

Hard line, at least in theory, against French entrepreneurships that don’t invest on man-woman equality. The French government has passed a decree that provides harsher sanctions for those who infringe the law of 9 November 2010 that aimed to reach professional and wage equality between the two sexes. Among other [...]

In 1994 Ms Agnès Klouvi sued her boss for sexual harassment. But not only benefited he from a non suit declaration by the court but in turn he sued her for libel. Finally Ms Klouvi was condemned to pay 12 thousands euro. But while DSK affaire still lasts the European [...]

The German strategy against unemployment it is so simple, yet effective: do-it-yourself. Over the past 20 years, the number of self-employed workers is, in fact, grew by more than 40%, to reach 4.3 million share in 2011. For the citizens of the federation, therefore, the current severe economic crisis is [...]

If the disparity in wages between men and women has long been on the political agenda of the German government, now Berlin faces a second problem: the disparity in pensions. A study by the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities, in fact, reveals that the German women receive a pension [...]

In Germany, equal opportunities reach 25 years. It was 14 November 1986, when the Helmut Kohl government established a proper ministry, renewing the existing one for family, youth and health. But the real female debut in politics dates back to 50 years ago, when the former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer appointed [...]

It took an army of undertaking women to solve the many social and economic problems that East Germany has inherited from the communist regime. Apparently, in fact, a growing group of young highly skilled workers has succeeded where the various federal governments during twenty years since the fall of the [...]

The German Government has given the green light to the measure that introduces a singular version of the gender quotas. From 2013 companies, both private and state-owned, will have the obligation to take a certain percentage of female workers. Too bad that the how and what will be decided independently [...]

In Ireland, over-55 homosexuals and lesbians face a double discrimination. As in the catholic island being old and homosexual is a double deadly sin. So much so that the majority of these citizens lives alone, without a partner and has many difficulties in integrating into the society. To an extent [...]

In Europe, fathers who are not married do not have the same rights as mothers towards their children. This is the case of Ireland for instance. The European Court of Justice confirmed this principle with a judgement issued on Monday 5 October, which recognizes the compatibility of the Irish regulation [...]

In Italy, 30% of mothers stopped working in order to take care of their family. Compared to 3% of fathers. Not to mention that there are about 800,000 women who said they were fired or obliged to resign because of pregnancy. These are some of the figures which were disclosed [...]

In Italy, in 2011, 16,000 loan applications were submitted by same-sex couples. The 65% of them in order to buy their first home. The amount of financing required exceeds € 190,000, representing 75% of the value desired, to return in about 25 years. Applicants are mainly men with a mean [...]

In Italy is not legally possible to establish a minimum height for the employees of administration offices. Moreover, fixing a minimum height limit both for women and man applying for administrative jobs is against the Constitution, as decided by the Italian Cassation Court after having examined the [...]

For Italian women, reaching top positions seems to be an impossible mission. The debate anticipating the approval by the Italian Parliament of the gender quota law (establishing that companies’ Boards of Directors have to include one-fifth women in 2012 and one-third within 2015) has much more in common with other [...]

In Italy, among all the initiatives adopted by entrepreneurships to promote family friendly arrangements, stand out the ones on working time flexibility (90%). Policies on income support such as baby-sitting, post school and grants are not taken so often. It is what comes out a survey on samples done in [...]

The Romanian government announced last week the main paths of the new strategy for the inclusion of Roma in the next 10 years. One of the main tactics of the strategy is offering support to Roma entrepreneurs for starting a business and helping them in obtaining the documents for the [...]

When we talk about the LGBT community often we tend to forget that there are also transsexuals. No coincidence that there are very few studies devoted to them. Of these, the most recent one was completed in Spain by the Lamba Collective who has recorded numbers and characteristics of the [...]

Even geographically gender violence in Spain is divided in two: the North is the top of the class while the South and partially the Centre are the tail lamp. Indeed, during the first quarter of 2011 Andalusia, the Canary and Balearic Islands as well as Valencia are the regions where [...]

In Spain, during the last year, gender pay gap decreased from 17% to 12% among managers and from 15% to 11% among employees. An apparently positive trend which, actually, was not determined by a higher professional consideration of women, but, instead, by a drop in wages of male workers. This [...]

59% of Spanish female workers cannot go to their children school at the end of their school day because they do not have the opportunity to leave his office before the closing of educational institutes. This is what emerges from data released by the Red Cross, which has launched a [...]

To fight effectively against gender-based violence means to have a clear and deep knowledge of the phenomenon and of all its shades. For this reason, the Catalan Government prepared a vademecum, mainly addressed to the social health workers of the region, which outlines the problem and tries to improve the [...]

Surprise! The transgressive and fashionable world of entertainment is not gay friendly. This was revealed by a recent English survey on many truths that many players even prefer to hide to their agents. Far from being a sincere relationship between those seeking employment and who will do anything to get [...]

The number of female professors in UK has finally faced a small but encouraging increase in the last year (+4%). However, the gender gap remains widespread, in fact, women are only 20% of the total number of teachers who hold a chair according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

In the United Kingdom, a female manager of 5 admits having verbally abused to an employee. Up to go to real acts of bullying. This was revealed by the British Association of Anger Management, noting also that the anxiety and stress problems associated with this type of work will increase [...]

What in many European countries is still a dream, in England is already a reality: gender equality in the workplace. In fact, to tell the truth, the lady across the Channel have already indicated, ready to overtake. So much so that in the age group 22-29 years old they earn [...]

In England, since the times of Henry VIII, religion wars have always broken out on couples matters. From December 5th 2011 homosexuals can say “yes” in places of worship. This is what the widening of Prime Minister Cameron' strongly desired Civil Union Act states. It is not said that the [...]

Iceland is the first country in the world as regards the quality of life, especially for women. Thus, it is interesting to understand the reasons lying behind such a social development. On this purpose, we would like to outline the economy of a country whose unemployment rate constantly drops (6.7%) [...]

Without women, democracy is incomplete; that is the implicit assumption of the report published on October 21 by the Inter-American Commission on Human rights (IACHR) which analyses women’s political participation in South-American countries. The IACHR points out significant examples of progress with regard to the political participation and representation of women [...]

The 2nd report "Women, Business and the Law", by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, has been published. It measures gender parity in 141 economies and it emerges that, even today, the obstacles faced by women are numerous.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted the consultative status for non-governmental organizations to International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). Thanks to this status the organization will be able to taking part, intervening as well as issuing statements during UN’s Conferences.

At long last the Moroccan Constitution came into force recently affirming the equality between men and women. The text submitted to referendum last 4th July passed with more than 95% with a popular participation of around 70%.