Glossary
Labour Market: The set of processes that facilitate the meeting of the supply of and demand for employment opportunities.
Family Leave: The right to leave for family reasons, which may or may not be shared between parents.
Maternity Leave: Leave to which a woman is entitled for a continuous period extending before and/or after childbirth, in accordance with national legislation and practice.
Paternity Leave: Leave of a specified duration, usually granted to the father of a child, which may be taken at the time of childbirth or during specific periods on an annual basis or within a defined timeframe, for reasons related to the father’s caregiving responsibilities towards the child.
Paid Work: Work that is remunerated in cash or in kind.
Direct Discrimination: Occurs when, for reasons related to one or more grounds of exclusion (e.g. gender, sexual orientation, etc.), a person or group is treated less favourably than another person or group is, has been, or would be treated in a comparable situation, or when a person or group suffers harm for reasons linked to one or more grounds of exclusion.
Competitiveness: The 1994 White Paper of the European Commission on growth, competitiveness and employment. It includes orientations for a comprehensive competitiveness policy encompassing four objectives:
- Facilitating the integration of European enterprises into a global and interdependent competitive environment.
- Exploiting competitive advantages linked to economic development.
- Promoting sustainable industrial development.
- Reducing the divergence between the rates of development of supply and demand.
Invisible Barriers: Attitudes and underlying traditional perceptions, patterns, rules and values that hinder the full and free participation of women (or men) in certain areas of social and economic life.
Parental Leave: The principally non-transferable individual right to leave granted to all workers, regardless of gender, following the birth or adoption of a child, in order to care for that child.
Glass Ceiling: The invisible barrier arising from a complex set of structures in male-dominated organisations/enterprises, which results in women being prevented from attaining senior positions.
Gender/Sex-Disaggregated Data: The collection and breakdown of statistical data and information by gender, enabling comparative and gender-based analysis.
Gender Mainstreaming: The systematic application of an action plan to integrate the gender dimension into an organisation’s culture and policy/action areas, thereby contributing to substantial organisational change.
Gender Audit: An audit that assesses the extent to which gender equality is effectively institutionalised in policies, programmes, organisational structures and processes (including decision-making processes) and in the corresponding budgets.
Indirect Discrimination: Occurs when an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons who are in a particular situation or who share a characteristic linked to one or more grounds of exclusion (including gender, sexual orientation, etc.) at a particular disadvantage compared with others, unless it is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
Gender Inequalities: Inequalities or disparities between women and men in any field with regard to levels of participation, access to resources, rights, pay or benefits.
Gender Differences: Social and cultural differences between women and men, as well as the different values attributed to the spheres of activity of women and men. Gender differences vary across societies and cultures and change over time.
Gender Segregation in the Labour Market: The concentration of women and men in different forms and levels of economic activity and employment, with women confined to a narrower range of occupations (horizontal segregation) and to lower-grade work (vertical segregation).
Gender Pay Gap: Existing differences between the earnings of men and women, resulting from occupational segregation and direct discrimination based on gender rather than on the value of work.
Gender Gap: The difference between women and men in any field with regard to participation, access to resources, rights, pay or benefits.
Empowerment: The process of gaining access to resources to develop an individual’s capacities, enabling active participation in shaping the conditions of one’s own life and that of the community, from an economic, social and political perspective.
Inclusion of the Gender Dimension: The systematic integration of the conditions, priorities and needs of women and men into all policies, with a view to promoting equality between women and men. This involves mobilising all general policies and measures, particularly aiming at equality, by actively and openly taking into account—at the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages—their effects on the living conditions of women and men, and reorganising and improving decision-making processes from a gender equality perspective across all policy areas and stakeholders.
Gender Training: 1)Designed, organised and/or delivered by public bodies,2) Aimed at training and raising awareness among their staff, and 3)Intended to facilitate the integration of the gender dimension into all policies and at all levels and stages of policymaking.
Gender-Sensitive: An approach or person that takes gender-related issues into account and actively addresses them.
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men: The absence of gender-based barriers to economic, political and social participation.
Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value: Equal remuneration for work of equal value, without discrimination based on gender or family status, with regard to all aspects of pay and working conditions.
Equality between Men and Women: A state in which women and men enjoy equal rights and opportunities, such that their behaviours, aspirations, wishes and needs are equally valued and favoured. According to the Council of Europe, equality between women and men means “equal visibility, empowerment, responsibility and participation of both sexes in all areas of public and private life. Equality between women and men is the opposite of inequality, not of difference.”
Equal Opportunities: A general principle whose two essential aspects are the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality and equality of pay between women and men. The aim is its application in all fields, particularly economic, social, cultural and family life. Article 13 was incorporated into the Treaty of Amsterdam to strengthen the principle of non-discrimination, allowing the Council to take necessary measures to combat discrimination based on nationality, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Gender Equality: The concept that all people are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the constraints imposed by rigid gender roles, and that the differing behaviours, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally considered, valued and favoured.
Division of Labour (by Gender): The allocation of paid and unpaid work between women and men in private and public life.
Sticky Floor: A metaphor describing a discriminatory employment pattern that keeps workers—primarily women—at the lowest levels of the occupational hierarchy, with limited mobility and invisible barriers to career advancement.
Unpaid / Unremunerated Work: Work for which no direct remuneration or other form of payment is received.
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): In the European Union, enterprises employing up to 250 persons under dependent employment relationships (permanent or seasonal), in relation to turnover (up to EUR 40 million annually) and ownership structure.
Gender Aspect: The examination and highlighting of gender-based differences that may exist in any activity or policy area.
Gender Neutral: A policy, programme or situation that has no differential positive or negative impact on gender relations or on equality between women and men.
Multiple Discrimination: Discrimination occurring on the basis of multiple grounds of exclusion. The term intersectional discrimination is often used to describe situations where several factors operate and interact simultaneously in an inseparable manner.
Quotas: The setting of a percentage or share of positions, seats or resources to be allocated to a specific group, generally according to defined rules or criteria, with the aim of correcting a prior inequality, often in decision-making positions or access to training or employment opportunities.
Gender Roles: A set of stereotypes regarding the actions and behaviour of women and men, maintained through what is described as the “Gender Social Contract.”
Gender Statistics: The collection and breakdown of data and statistical information by gender, enabling comparative analysis (also referred to as gender-disaggregated data).
Stereotype: A stereotype refers to perceptions formed as a result of prejudices towards individuals, groups or ideas—sets of beliefs about the personal characteristics of a group that do not always reflect reality. In relation to gender, gender stereotypes concern perceptions and attitudes regarding the identities of women and men. Stereotypes and prejudices significantly influence how we perceive the world and others, shape our judgments and behaviour, and can lead to discriminatory treatment.
Assisting Spouses: Spouses of individuals who carry out an economic activity, usually as self-employed or freelancers, to which the spouse contributes significantly without necessarily receiving direct remuneration or being entitled to social protection benefits.
Reconciliation of Work and Family/Private Life: The introduction of parental or family leave schemes, childcare and eldercare arrangements, and the development of workplace structures and organisation that facilitate the combination of professional responsibilities with private, family and household obligations for women and men.
Dependant Care: The provision of care to young, ill, elderly persons or persons with disabilities who depend on others.
Childcare: A broad concept encompassing the provision of services by public, private or collective bodies, or by individuals, to meet the needs of children and parents.abour Market:
The set of processes that facilitate the meeting of the supply of and demand for employment opportunities.