EU Social and Gender Policy beyond Brexit: Towards the European Pillar of Social Rights

Abstract

The analysis of EU level social and gender policies highlights uneven developments and concerns over the EU as not (always) beneficial to social progress and gender equality. The EU, although primarily market driven, has developed a range of social policies, with gender equality enjoying a long-standing status as EU's founding value, dating back to the 1957 principle of equal pay for equal work. Yet, sixty years later, social justice objectives and equality between women and men remain to be realised. Social and gender themes have been revived by the proposal to develop the European Pillar of Social Rights, the shaping and implementing of which post-Brexit UK will not take part in. This initiative entails some meaningful developments for social and gender progress. However, its current form and content represents an adjustment to, rather than a transformation of, the unequal European economy and society.

Fish Fingers and Measles? Assessing Complex Gender Equality in the Scenarios for the Future of Europe

“…Such an institution could have a positive effect on gender equality if gender mainstreaming becomes an obligation for the new authority, while ensuring effective and consistent prudential regulation and supervision of labour conditions across the EU, as the European banking authority does for banking – presuming it would have the power to combat discrimination, gendered pay differences, unequal treatment in paternity, maternity and pension schemes and similar issues. Juncker also emphasizes the need to combat social fragmentation and social dumping in Europe by strengthening the European pillar of social rights through agreements on European social standards – a hopeful connection, because the social pillar includes a number of gender equality aspects (Plomien, ).…”

“…Leaving aside the question of how this could be institutionalized, considering the role of the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice, upgrading would offer promising options for promoting gender equality if a ‘coalition of the willing' (European Commission, , p. 20) agreed on common, new and high social standards. This might include harmonizing parental leave, maternity leave, quota laws, marriage equality or social rights for domestic workers at an advanced level but also it could also include effectively tackling gender gaps in pay, pensions and leisure time (Plomien, ). Given the increased divergence in the EU since the economic and financial crisis, it might indeed be easier to find common ground with a small groups of like‐minded member states.…”

“…Begg () expects the EU to play much‐reduced role in employment and social policy, because the scenario suggests excluding domains ‘such as regional development, public health, or parts of employment and social policy not directly related to the functioning of the single market' (European Commission, , p. 22). Narrowing the focus of EU activities bodes ill for existing gendered inequalities in the EU between and within states, because common standards will likely be set at a minimum level and different salaries and social legislation will continue to vary significantly across Europe (Plomien, ). Over the decades, the reduction of EU gender equality policies to single market corrections was much criticized, for instance, for restricting the fight against gender‐based violence to non‐binding recommendations, while the only binding instrument was on sexual harassment in the workplace and could be motivated only by the argument that a harassed worker is less productive (Elman, ).…”

Walking into the Footprint of EU Law: Unpacking the Gendered Consequences of Brexit

“…Equality is one of its fundamental values, but there is a growing gulf between rhetoric and reality (MacRae, 2010). The kind of equality agenda produced has been largely driven by economic imperatives (see Fagan and Rubery, 2017 and Plomien, 2018). Nevertheless, it has produced a body of legislation that normalised the idea of gender equality in the labour market.…”

Assessing the Past and Future Development of EU and UK Social Policy

“…Brexit could provide further momentum to the concept of a multi-speed or variable geometry EU. For Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission (2017a), the time had come to establish his ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’, structured around equal opportunities and the labour market access, fair working conditions, and social protection and inclusion (see Plomien, 2018). Conceding that not all member states would want to pursue his objectives at the same pace, two of his five scenarios referred to ‘social’ standards or policy, proposing that ‘Those who want more do more .…”