Commissioner Wallström's Speech at International Women's Day Event

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking you all - staff, visitors, and our distinguished external speakers - for joining us to celebrate International Women's Day.

What are we celebrating today, in fact?

Certainly the progress that we have made towards equality between women and men.

We have come a long way since Beresford Hope famously opposed the entry of women into to the British Parliament in the 1870s with the argument that "Reason predominates in the man, emotion and sympathy in women". We have thankfully - in most societies at least - left that sort of discussion far behind us.

And we are celebrating our solidarity with women around the world in all countries. And as we do so, we must particularly remember those, living in conflict and in poverty, whose rights are violated daily.

But as we celebrate, we should also reflect on where we stand in the European Union, how far we have progressed and what we still need to do to achieve those rights and opportunities that are integral parts of our rights as citizens.

And that might make us wonder. Do we really have so much to celebrate?

The European Union is on the eve of a historic enlargement. We are about to become a Union of 450 million people, more than half of whom are women and girls. Yet we still cannot say that women in general enjoy the same status as men in European societies. Nor are they properly represented at national and international decision-making levels.

Women are increasingly well-educated. More and more, girls are out-performing boys in primary and secondary education. Yet these achievements are not reflected in professional life. The glass ceiling - and the sticky floor - continue to be realities for women all over the continent.

Women continue to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility for caring for children and elderly relatives. The reconciliation of work and family life, which we talk about so much, is still mainly regarded as a woman's problem.

And the impact of this difference in status and expectations of men and women is dramatic. Women are still paid on average 16% less than men - and the gap is much bigger in some countries - and they occupy three quarters of low-paid jobs. A recent study in France showed that women's pensions were on average 42% lower than men's.

We find similar differences if we look at the position of women in decision-making. Despite the progress of recent years, four of the current Member States still have women in less than 20% of the posts in their national governments. The presence of women in national governments is still far from being a natural state of affairs.

But I know, from my own experience, and particularly from my experience in parliament and government in Sweden, where a certain gender balance has resulted from clear political decisions, that the balanced presence of women and men makes a difference. Different decisions are made. And I believe they are better decisions.

They are better, because they reflect a wider range of concerns. Because they take account of the priorities of the whole of society, not just half of it. And because of that, it is more likely that the decisions will work in practice.

I believe this is especially important at European level. European citizens already feel estranged from politics in general and from the Union - and the intricacies of its processes and procedures - in particular. And if I look at Sweden, I see that the level of opposition to the Union is highest among women. They do not believe that their everyday interests are being promoted or defended. To a large extent, I believe that is because they see and hear very few women playing an active role in European politics.

So how do we compare at European level in terms of the balanced participation of men and women?

In the college of Commissioners, 25% of the posts are held by women. That figure will rise very slightly with the arrival of the Commissioners from the new Member States. I believe that the President of the new Commission should insist that the proportion rises even further in the new College.

In the European Parliament, the number of women in decision-making positions has increased - as a result of repeated campaigns at each election - to around 30%. But that figure hides wide variations in the national groupings - with only 11% of Italian MEPs being women, while the Belgian, Finnish and French delegations reach 44%.

The attitudes which lead to this situation are deeply entrenched. And they affect all parts of society, reaching even into the enlightened sanctuary of the European Commission.

Although 48 % of the overall staff of the Commission are women, the figure falls to 17 % when we look at senior and middle management.

When they enter the Commission, men and women start with the same qualifications. They go through the same competitions and have the same potential.

So what makes the difference?

Is it the way they are viewed? Do men enjoy almost automatic positive treatment while women have to prove - sometimes time and time again - that they can be trusted and relied on?

I think many of us instinctively know the answer to that question.

The barriers we face as women are complex and structural. So reforms have to be incremental. And they can seem painstakingly slow.

But perhaps we have an opportunity now, with the arrival of staff from the new Member States, to make a bigger shift. Combined with the reforms to promote career development and mobility, better reconciliation of work and family life and the review of recruitment procedures, we have a window of opportunity to give the slowly changing attitudes a bit of a push.

We should remind Directorates-General of the targets for employing and promoting women. We should concentrate particularly on the issue of gender balance in management posts, especially with services which have done less well to date. And we should remind them of the implications if they don't meet the targets.

And it is not only a question of numbers. Too often, when women are promoted into management jobs, they are pushed towards posts which are seen as "soft" and which don't carry the same esteem as the more political posts.

The same messages should be reinforced throughout the services. Managers should be evaluated on how well they are able to develop all of their staff, men and women. We should not raise our eyebrows if a man asks to use flexible working arrangements to take his share of family responsibilities. And, if a woman does the same, we should not assume that it is a sign that she is not committed to her career.

I believe that the success of the reform of the Commission should be judged on how well it uses its human resources and especially on how it overcomes its failure to use the full potential of its women.

Gender equality goes hand in hand with democracy, at all levels.

Women's rights are human rights. Freedom from discrimination, embodied in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, is the cornerstone of democracy.

But democracy requires more than an absence of discrimination. It needs governance. And good governance means sharing the power to make decisions - in politics, in economic and social life, in public administration and in the home.

Beresford Hope may be but a distant memory. But we should not forget that his ideas, however politically incorrect, still have some currency today.

So when we celebrate International Women's Day, our celebrations must remain sober. We need a clear head for this fight.

Thank you.

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• EP - Equal Opportunities - Women's Rights (10/3/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Commission on the Status of Women (1/3/2004)