Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-16-Speech-3-220"
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"en.20010516.9.3-220"2
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"Mr President, I would like to start by thanking the rapporteur for a well-balanced report.
Ideally there would be no need for the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities to make any particular comments from a gender perspective on the design of pension systems – if only we were living in an ideal world where equal opportunities were guaranteed.
That is not how things stand, however. The injustices which women suffer throughout their lives continue when they get older. I am pleased to say that the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has taken on board the majority of the comments made by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities.
Someone once said that if it had been men who consistently fell foul of the pension systems, the basic principles would have been fundamentally overhauled long ago. The committee recalls the goals of the Lisbon Process, as does Mr Cercas. Women’s right to their own income and so to financial independence is extremely important. Today the employment rate for women ranges from 38 to 71 percent in Europe.
Generally speaking, women must have the opportunity to take on paid employment. Women and men should also be able to choose freely between paid employment and a career break to take care of family members. Joint taxation in many Member States and a lack of childcare and care for the elderly are a couple of reasons why many women are unable to enter or stay in the labour market.
One important principle is that care of children and dependants should be compensated for in the pension system. A more equal Europe is a fairer Europe, a Europe which manages both employment and future pensions.
Better equality can only be achieved through a change in fundamental attitudes and in partnership between men and women. A more even division of responsibility for the home and family could lay the foundation for more equality in the workplace and a labour market of equal opportunities and equal pay for equal work. In the end this will also produce a fairer pension system."@en1
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