To mark the European Parliament's Gender Equality Week, the EESC adopted two opinions making recommendations on promoting women's empowerment and supporting family caregivers. The Committee also supported the Parliament's initiative with a series of events linked to gender mainstreaming and intersectionality.

Opening the debate, EESC President Christa Schweng said: "The current gender employment gap is unacceptable and represents significant economic and social damage for the EU. We must put in place a more favourable environment for women entrepreneurs, break down barriers and stereotypes, and find more role models for young girls and women."

European Parliament Vice-President Evelyn Regner stressed the need for gender mainstreaming and binding measures: "Progress has been slower than in previous years. But where binding measures are in place, we are still able to make some headway. We need to change the culture to fight against bias, but we also need binding measures. And we need to work together – EP and EESC, women and men, young and old."

Ozlem Yildirim, rapporteur for the EESC opinion on Improving equality in the EU, called for "effective anti-discrimination policy at EU level, complete with truly dissuasive sanctions".

The co-rapporteur, Cristian Pîrvulescu, explained that "the opinion calls for the next generation of measures to promote equality in Europe to be developed, based on recognition of the principle of equality and of obligations to enforce it."

The Committee also adopted an opinion on the role of family members caring for people with disabilities and older persons. The rapporteur for the opinion, Pietro Vittorio Barbieri, explained that "European welfare is based on family caregivers, who are often left out of the system. The vast majority of these are women who are forced to choose between providing care or continuing to work. We urge European and national institutions to investigate this phenomenon for the sake of caregivers and those being cared for." (gb)