Bulgaria in EU Top 3 by women in high politics

The Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Committee in the European Parliament has recently discussed the suggestions of Bulgarian MEP Maria Nedelcheva on the 2011 progress report on equality between women and men in EU. Nedelcheva has been elected coordinator of the European People’s Party Group and has presented its stance.

This subject is more than a priority for the MEP, it is a cause for her. Suggestions she has made include giving more attention to the issue of women’s political representation, as well as to a range of sensitive topics such as child care and crèches, as an important point for better compatibility of women’s private and professional lives. Another topic is psychological and economic violence in families, as it too, robs women of chances to pursue political careers.

According to Maria Nedelcheva, more attention should be given to women’s participation in national parliaments. In some EU countries women account for just 15 percent of MPs, though their share in the general population is 50 percent. In 2011 statistics from the European Commission, women account for 60 percent of university graduates, however, few of them are managing board members in large companies. Even fewer women in Europe occupy high posts in political affairs. The good thing is that in this regard, Bulgaria is among the Top 3 in EU, Maria Nedelcheva said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria. Well, there is much more to be done about it, in both Bulgaria and Europe. What initiatives will the European Parliament take?
„Our first initiative is on 10 Feb. in Berlin. We will be there together with the EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding”, Mariana Nedelcheva explains. “In a joint effort with her we sent out letters to all Bulgarian media on 1 March 2011 to advise them about a very important issue, notably, that the representation of women in the boards of large companies in EU is about 3 percent. If however, we study demographic statistics, we shall have to admit that 3 percent in decision-making bodies is an insignificant representation of as much as 50 percent of Europe’s population. Therefore with Commissioner Reding we gave some large companies a term of one year to come up with ideas and ways that would secure stronger presence of women in decision-making. Companies and institutions were selected on a voluntary principle. This deadline will expire soon, and Mrs Reding is determined to move to the next step. That is where the big challenge is. I do not subscribe to punitive policies. We don’t have to fine companies for failure to perform certain female quotas on their boards. The system of quotas has been a reality in France since 2001, and many companies prefer to pay their fines, so women’s representation remains inadequate. What matters to me is creating greater sensitivity to this issue, and based on that we can work harder to make sure that women have stronger representation in decision-making bodies.”

What is the situation in Bulgaria?

“I think that Bulgarian women should have stronger self-confidence,” Maria Nedelcheva contends. “We have to be open with the old member countries and tell them about things they can learn from us. Fact is that Bulgaria is in the European Union’s Top 3 as per women on high positions. Bulgaria has a female EU commissioner, a female parliamentary speaker and a female mayor of the capital city. Unfortunately we are somewhat too shy to say this aloud. It is also a fact that in this respect we are among Europe’s leaders. We have achieved this and we have to let others know about this success.”

Are there other sensitive topics on women’s rights in EU and in Bulgaria?

Well, without doubt, the representation of women in managing bodies is paramount. In Bulgaria however we have some problems to fix concerning opportunities provided to women for greater compatibility of their private and professional lives. We have to link equality to topics such as flexible working hours, enough crèche openings, social security issues, training women during their maternity leave etc. This exactly means we have to oppose vocally the popular fallacy that women will be always faced with the choice of being either good mothers, or good professionals. Women in Bulgaria need more support from the European Commission for what they do every day.”

Maria Nedelcheva argues that emerging sectors such as ecology and new technologies will be creating even better conditions for equality of women. They do have a big potential for creating jobs with balanced representation of women and men including senior executive positions.

Author: Tatiana Obretenova; English Version: Daniela Konstantinova

Source: BNR