Resolution 1719 (2010)1 Women
and the economic and financial crisis
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes that, in
a world in which women own 1% of the world’s wealth, have a
10% share of global income, and occupy 14% of leadership
positions in the public and private sector, but account for
70% of the poor, the current economic and financial crisis is
bound to have a different impact on women and men.
2. Women are first among the groups which
suffer disproportionately, having fewer and less effective
forms of protection against economic hardship. The Assembly
regrets that the specific, nefarious impact of the crisis on
women is not reflected in the media reporting on the crisis.
While women have, in the past decades, slowly been making
gains in the world of work – joining the workforce, starting
their own businesses and, on occasion, breaking through the
“glass ceiling” – even these modest gains risk being wiped out
by the crisis. The gender wage gap, the unequal sharing of
household and care responsibilities, the barriers to
full-time, well-paid, secure and formal employment for women,
and the lack of women in political, financial and economic
decision making have stubbornly persisted in most
countries.
3. The financial crisis which triggered the
economic crisis was literally “man made”. Male decision makers
in the financial services sector are widely blamed for
starting the financial crisis, but politicians, supervisors,
regulators and even imprudent households and businesses share
some of the blame. Overconfidence, irresponsible risk-taking,
lack of consideration of all stakeholders, greed and
preference for short-term, individual benefits brought about
the worldwide financial crisis. Very few women were involved
in the decision-making processes which led to the financial
crisis, because very few women held decision-making positions.
Therefore, there is ample reason to question the lack of
women’s participation in the decisions which led to the crisis
and to involve them more in future decision making.
4. Most experts agree that the financial
crisis could have been avoided if there had been more women in
decision-making positions. Studies have shown that women take
risks more responsibly, take a more holistic approach and have
a more long-term view in their
financial decision making.
5. To avoid the risk of history repeating
itself, and for a healthy growth of the global economy, it is thus necessary to institute
measures with regard to ensuring a balanced number of men and
women (gender balancing) in the boardrooms and top leadership
and decision-making positions. Diversity in the boardrooms
will produce healthier approaches to problem solving, and
promote healthier, long-term, strategic decision making.
Therefore, immediate action should be taken to ensure gender
balancing when reforming the financial institutions and
regulatory and oversight mechanisms.
6. Unfortunately, the state response to the
economic and financial crisis risks further exacerbating the
negative impact of the crisis itself on women, since bail-out
programmes for banks and insurance companies, coupled with
investments in particular in infrastructure projects and
support for the automotive industry, where men constitute the
majority of the workforce,
overwhelmingly benefit men. This skewed emphasis on
male-dominated sectors may lead to the shelving of badly
needed investments in areas which would mainly benefit women,
for example, in the care and education sector, not to mention
projects aimed at empowering women.
7. A holistic approach is required if
sustainable gains are to be achieved in addressing this crisis
and preventing further crises. The gender perspective should
be taken into account in all policies to increase the number
of women in decision-making bodies, to support work-life
balance, to close the gender wage gap and to stimulate
entrepreneurship. Women should have an equal voice with men in
all discussions on rescue and recovery packages, both
regarding their design and in assessing their success. The
Assembly recognises that equality between women and men cannot
be a luxury to be addressed only in times of economic growth:
it is a legal and moral obligation, and makes economic sense.
8. The Assembly thus recommends that Council
of Europe member states:
8.1. recognise that the “man-made” financial
and economic crisis has had and continues to have a specific,
nefarious impact on women, both in Europe and in the whole
world;
8.2. gender mainstream their rescue and
recovery packages, give women an equal voice in their design
and in assessing their success, and make sure women’s needs
are covered in the packages;
8.3. use tools such as sex-disaggregated
statistics and gender budgeting to evaluate the impact of the
crisis itself and of such packages;
8.4. take measures to ensure that gender
balancing − in particular, with
regard to more gender equality in decision making − is taken
into account when reforming and redesigning the system of
financial institutions and regulatory and oversight mechanisms
to avoid future crises;
8.5. make reaching de facto gender equality a
priority, from sharing household and care responsibilities, to
closing the gender wage gap, to ensuring equal access to
decision-making positions in finance, the economy and in
politics.
9. The Assembly recommends that the
parliaments of Council of Europe member states:
9.1. apply the recommendations contained in
Resolution 1706 (2010) on increasing women’s
representation in politics through the electoral system, and
Resolution 1715 (2010) on the wage gap between women and
men;
9.2. monitor the gender-sensitivity of the
governments’ response to the financial and economic crisis, as
well as of the de facto implementation.
1. Assembly debate on 27
April 2010 (13th Sitting) (see Doc.
12195, report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for
Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Memecan). Text adopted by
the Assembly on 27 April 2010 (13th Sitting). See also
Recommendation 1911 (2010). |