Why a Task Force?
Acknowledging that adult participation in training is essential to improve overall employability and to address the skills gap in the European labour market, the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan (EPSR) has indicated that 60% of adults should participate in training every year by 2030. While the EPSR indicates a universal goal to achieve, the upskilling of EU citizens requires a gender-sensitive approach in line with the current inequalities in employment, training and education.
As it stands:
- There is an inequality in the EU in the number of working citizens, with the rate of working men in 2019 (79.0%) being 11.7% higher than that of women (67.3%)[1]
- There is a gender inequality in enrolments in general education programmes, with female upper secondary students more likely to enrol than men[2]
- There is an inequality in the share of early leavers from education and training in the EU, with dropout rates higher among young men (11.4 %) than among young women (7.9 %)[3]
- There is an inequality in the number of enrolments of men and women in vocational programmes, following upper secondary VET, with women (41.6%) less likely to enrol than men (54.9%)[4]
- Gender segregation in tertiary and VET depends on the subject of education and training. In most EU countries for example, women dominate among education, health and work graduates, while they only constitute 13% of graduates in STEM VET[5]
- According to a number of studies, women participate in adult education in Europe, especially informal provisions, at a higher rate than men[6]
With the inequalities painted above in the labour, education and training opportunities of EU citizens according to their gender, EARLALL, EfVET and EAEA have launched this Gender Task Force. This group aims to gather interested members from the three organisations to launch a series of initiatives that encourage discussion on EU policies and strategies related to gender equality in lifelong learning. The Force will share best practices in dedicated roundtables, seminars and other events, to open a dialogue around gender inequalities with relevant stakeholders, and to translate the discussions into actionable items where possible.
What are the goals of the Task Force?
This group aims to gather interested members from the three organisations to launch a series of initiatives that encourage discussion on EU policies and strategies related to gender equality in lifelong learning. The Force will share best practices in dedicated roundtables, seminars and other events, to open a dialogue around gender inequalities with relevant stakeholders, and to translate the discussions into actionable items where possible.
Pictured: Òscar Palazón, Sylvia Liutu, Gina Ebner (EAEA Deputy-Secretary General), Isabel Ladrón Arroyo, Policy Officer, European Commission, Liisa Metsola, Angeliki Giannakopoulou, EAEA Policy and Project Coordinator at a Gender Equality Task Force event, 2023.
Interested in joining?
The joint initiative is promoted by EfVET, EARLALL and EAEA. For more information from EAEA, you can contact charlotte.ede(at)eaea.org. To join the general mailing list for the initiative, please email gendertforce(at)gmail.com
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