Men can play a substantial role in fighting inequality by accepting women as their equal in the professional life and by undertaking more family responsibilities, said Justice and Public Order Minister Doros Theodorou on Thursday.
Addressing a European programme entitled “Gender Equality-Responsibility of both sexes” undertaken by the National Machinery For Women’s Rights of the Justice Ministry, Theodorou said that this way men can help raise the number of women in the labour force and economic, political and public life.
“In this way men not only support women but also enrich their personal lives and contribute to a stronger economy and a more prosperous and balanced society”, he added.
In a speech on “The Council of Europe Action to promote the participation of men in the achievement of gender equality”, Marta Requena, head of Equality Division of the Department for Minorities, Media and Equality of the DG II – Human rights at the Council of Europe, emphasized that equality can only be achieved by men and women together.
Stressing the significance of the role of education but also of men in changing the traditional way of handling the roles, Requana said men have a major role to play in societies where they are the decision makers.
She said the need for a greater participation of men in this effort has developed from research and conferences, noting that for this reason the Council of Europe no longer considers the equality issue a women’s issue.
Justice Minister Theodorou stressed that despite the important progress as far as women’s position is concerned, “the continued under-representation in all sectors of the economy, politics and public life and in decision making centres, proves a fundamental democratic inadequacy and prevents economic development”.
The equality of sexes and the principle of full and equal participation, independent of gender, in all sectors of the economic, social and political life, is a fundamental EU principle but also a primary aim of the international community, he added.
In addition, Theodorou said that in order to build a society based on the principle of equality and to able to develop and prosper, “we must change the current balance of powers between the two genders in a way to allow and ease the increased participation of women in the labour force and decision making centres”, said Theodorou.
However, he stressed that the fundamental prerequisite is the “pacification of professional and family life, since it has repeatedly been proven through research that this is the most significant factor preventing the participation of women in the labour force and their evolution in various sectors of the economy and political life”.
The programme is being funded by the European Commission – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, within the framework of a wider European policy to promote equality and the change of stereotype perceptions regarding the role of the two genders at all aspects of the economic, social and political life.
