There is a long way to go to break gender stereotypes in the business community, MEP Josianne Cutajar told CDpro.
The Socialists and Democrats MEP is shadow rapporteur to the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, which worked on addressing the female entreprenuerial gap.
“We should not only look at the long-term challenges and measures but should also understand the current situation and collectively work with the Member States and stakeholders to act upon effective policies and mechanisms that instil real change,” Cutajar said.
“We should start focusing more on measuring the actual results of policies and budget allocations when it comes to gender mainstreaming,” she added.
2021 is important because it is the first year of the new MultiAnnual Financial Framework programming period and the beginning of what the European Commission defined the Digital Decade.
“We have the formidable opportunity to shape the future of many sectors and empower women to lead this change,” Cutajar said.
“We should work to ensure bias-free hiring processes, to support female students to navigate the opportunities the STEM careers can offer, to invest massively in the actions of the European Skills Agenda that support girls and women to become scientists, engineers, mathematicians,” she noted.
Cutajar said that taking the gender dimension into account in the research, industrial and digital fields can represent a real driver for change. “This can enable women to be at the centre of the digital transition, giving them the role they deserve in the historical recovery phase that they will be soon experiencing,” she said.
“We should avoid that Artificial Intelligence and its algorithms will constitute a threat for women. Our Committee is currently working on the Digital Service Act and will soon work on several pieces of legislation to enable the Digital Decade,” she concluded.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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