European Union

Structural disadvantages and the waste of female talent have been diagnosed for all states in the European Community by several studies of the European Commission. Women are still faced with a so called glass ceiling which hinders them to get into high positions. This phenomenon is often also described as a "leaky pipeline" as with every step in the scientific career the proportion of women decreases dramatically. Even though women nowadays constitute half of the students or sometimes even more, they do not have a strong voice in decision making processes and curriculum development. This applies for countries with significantly different historical backgrounds or in cases with comparably high numbers of highly qualified women. Additionally, while the proportion of researchers of the total labour force has been increasing, the gender gap regarding work conditions and salaries is widening. Female scientists often work in much more precarious working conditions than men. The proportion of temporary employments in scientific organisations has a clear effect on the proportion of women working in these organisations: the more temporary jobs in the institutions, the higher the proportion of women.

The European Union plays a major role in leading the promotion of gender equality, women's human rights and the empowerment of women in development policies of the international donor community.Since the adoption of the Monterrey Consensus (2002) and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005), the EC and Member States have reflected their commitment to gender equality in a number of crucial documents--such as the 2005 EU Consensus on Development and the 2007 EC Communication on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Development Cooperation-that commit EU donors to ensure the effective implementation of strategies and practices that genuinely contribute to the achievement of gender equality and women's rights worldwide.

This is the speech made by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media about "Social Networking in Europe: success and challenges", at the Safer Internet Forum in Luxembourg, on 26th September 2008.