- Conference
- 2009 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 23 October 2008
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that European Union law provides protection against employment discrimination on all equality grounds, but there is currently no protection in EU law against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, age, disability and religion or belief in social protection, goods and services, health care and education.
Discrimination on the grounds of race and gender are covered by stronger protection in EU law:
1)The Race Equality Directive protects against discrimination based on race and ethnic origin in all areas
2)Sex discrimination is prohibited in employment and in access to goods and services, but not in areas such as education.
Conference notes that some individual states do have laws giving protection in goods and services on all grounds, but such protections are not available across the EU on a consistent basis.
Conference therefore welcomes the European Commission’s proposal, announced in July 2008, for a cross cutting directive on discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief in areas other than employment.
It welcomes the fact that the scope of the proposed directive is identical to the scope of the EU directive protecting against discrimination on the grounds of race, but is concerned that it leaves out protection against differential treatment on the basis of marital/family status and in the area of reproductive rights. It is also concerned that gender will become the ground that is the least protected from discrimination in EU legislation.
Conference recognises that there is much work to be done as the directive needs to be adopted by unanimity by the 27 member states in order to become EU law.
Therefore Conference instructs the national women’s committee to work with the National Executive Council, other SOG committees, Labour Link, ILGA-Europe, the European Women’s Lobby and other relevant bodies to campaign for:
a) the adoption of the Directive, while seeking to address the flaws within the current text
b) a commitment to level up and complement the existing EU gender legislation by 2010 at the latest, in order to ensure protection against sex discrimination does not fall behind other forms of discrimination in the EU.
Conference further calls on regional women’s groups and branches to support campaigning initiatives, including encouraging members to contact their MEPs.