MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY COMMITTEE ON WOMENS’ RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY (FEMM)
Women in STEM: While some economic sectors are almost gender-equal, there is a large gender gap among scientists and engineers. This disparity manifests itself in some Member States and regions more than in others, for example, in Luxembourg women make up only 28% of all scientists and engineers. How can the EU tackle this inequality?
Submitted by: Irem Afacan, Felix Crawford, Rebecca Reuvekamp, Tommie Steenwinkel, Órla Stockmann, Liv Straat, Wouter Verheijen, (Ruben Rosaria, Chair NL)
The European Youth Parliament,
- Noting with deep regret that women make up only 30% of the information and communications technology (ICT) workforce and occupy less than 7% of tech positions in Europe,
- Contemplating the discrimination of women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sector with regard to:
- salary,
- opportunities,
- access to research funding,
- Bearing in mind that closing the STEM gap would lead to a EUR 610-820 billion boost of the EU’s total GDP by 2050,
STEM gap refers to the discrepancy between males and females working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. - Aware of the prevalence of gender biases and stereotypes in the STEM sector, which discourages women from pursuing a career in these fields,
- Concerned by the lack of encouragement, support, and practical experiences for girls in STEM subjects over the course of their education,
- Realising the lack of female role models in the STEM sector who might be able to encourage girls to pursue a career in this field,
- Observing the differences in STEM gender ratios across Member States;
- Asks UN Women to evaluate companies within the EU regarding their gender dynamics yearly;
- Calls upon the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) to create a certificate for companies that have at least 45% female employees;
- Encourages Member States to financially support companies with more than 45% female employees;
- Asks the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) to expand their services by:
- including an academic scholarship fund for women,
- expanding the accessibility of mentors for women in STEM;
- Seeks Member States to set minimum wages for employment;
- Calls upon Member States to mandate equal amounts of parental leave for men and women;
- Calls upon the EIGE to organise various informational campaigns, such as:
- seminars,
- videos,
- sending representatives to organisations and schools;
- Encourages media corporations to address the STEM gap by:
- devoting equal screen time to male and women,
- combating stereotypes in media;
- Calls upon the European Commission to create an annual conference for gender equality and women’s rights.