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MEPs approve rules to force companies to publish gender pay gap

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MEPs approve rules to force companies to publish gender pay gap

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday gave their closing approval to the pay transparency directive that may drive some employers to reveal common salaries damaged down by gender in a bid to shut the gender pay hole. 

“As we speak is a historic day. We have reached an enormous milestone in Europe for girls’s rights, for employees rights, and for the struggle towards pay discrimination,” Danish MEP Kira M. Peter-Hansen (Greens), one of many rapporteurs of the legislation, instructed journalists after the vote.

Beneath the brand new guidelines adopted by MEPs by 427 votes to 79 towards and 76 abstentions, employers will now should disclose a pay vary both on job adverts or earlier than an interview takes place. They can even be required to offer full info on particular person and common pay ranges, damaged down by gender, when requested by an worker.

Employers with a minimum of 100 staff can even should publish info on the pay hole between feminine and male employees each three years, with bigger employers requested to take action extra frequently.

If the pay hole they report is of a minimum of 5%, employers should perform a pay evaluation in cooperation with employees’ representatives.

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“To European corporations we are saying: present your true colors,” Dutch MEP Samira Rafaela (Renew), additionally a rapporteur on the legislation, instructed the post-vote press convention.

“We don’t enable pay secrecy anymore with this laws as a result of secrets and techniques are the easiest way to maintain inequality alive. And we would like individuals to ask and demand info and we would like the data to turn out to be public. That may occur so we are able to maintain corporations accountable.”

The directive additionally shifts the burden of proof on employers in case of a pay dispute and opens the door to compensation for employees who’ve suffered gender pay discrimination equivalent to pack pay, bonuses and different funds in form. 

EU international locations are in the meantime urged to ascertain particular penalties for infringements of the equal pay rule, together with fines.

The gender pay hole within the EU stood at almost 13% in 2021, which means ladies earn, on common, 13% much less per hour than males. Estonia, Austria and Germany have the very best pay gaps within the bloc with charges of 20.5%, 18.% and 17.6% respectively. Slovenia, Romania and Luxembourg (in flip 3.8%, 3.6% and -0.2%) have the bottom pay gaps. 

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Among the causes that specify the gender pay hole embody the overrepresentation of ladies in comparatively low-paying sectors together with care, well being and training, extra time spent on unpaid work equivalent to childcare and chores that may influence profession decisions, the so-called glass ceiling resulting from fewer ladies in managerial positions and pay discrimination.

Romanian MEP Dragoș Pîslaru (Renew), chair of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, instructed reporters this “hole has a long-term influence on ladies’s high quality of life, growing the chance of poverty and chronic pension pay hole that’s 33% these days”.

He referred to as on EU international locations to “totally and well timed implement this directive”.

Member states now should formally approve the settlement.

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Cambodia's prime minister bans musical horns on vehicles to curb dangerous street dancing

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Cambodia's prime minister bans musical horns on vehicles to curb dangerous street dancing
  • Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mane has issued a ban on musical horns after videos on social media depicted people dancing on roadsides.
  • Mane instructed the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and police nationwide to remove tune-playing horns from vehicles.
  • The ban has already been put into effect by provincial authorities, and Hun Manet voiced its nationwide enforcement.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mane has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes.

Hun Manet, who last year took over the wheel of government from his father, Hun Sen — who led Cambodia for 38 years — called on the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and police across the country to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type. 

He said the measure has already been implemented by provincial authorities, but he wanted to announce it publicly to make sure it was enforced nationwide.

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He commented on his Facebook page on Monday that recent social media posts had shown “inappropriate activity committed by some people, especially youth and children, dancing on the roadside to the musical sounds from trucks’ horns.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet greets garment workers on Aug. 29, 2023, at Prey Speu village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mane has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

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Hun Manet said such dancing affects public order and poses a traffic hazard that is a threat to life and limb, not least of all to the dancers themselves. 

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One video shows three young people dancing in the middle of a road while a large trailer truck coming their way lays down a beat.

For Cambodians, there will be no more dancing in the street.

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Biotech strategy launch, Newsletter

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Biotech strategy launch, Newsletter

Key diary dates

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Tuesday 19 March: European Parliament’s committee vote on the reform of EU pharmaceutical rules.

Wednesday 20 March: Presentation of the European Commission‘s first ‘EU Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative’.

Tuesday 19-Friday 22 March: European Commission organises Digital Markets Act workshops with gatekeepers.

In spotlight

This Wednesday (20 March) the European Commission is expected to unveil a new ‘EU Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative’ .

Despite half-hearted attempts at regulatory simplification in the sector in the past, life science technologies are increasingly drawing attention from policymakers.

Last month Euronews first reported on the health component of this initiative based on a leaked draft document that highlighted a focus on the vibrant biopharmaceutical sector – responsible for providing breakthrough messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules playing an essential role in COVID-19 vaccines.

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But biotech applications are not limited to the health sector, ranging from sustainable sourcing of advanced materials to climate-smart production and other components essential to a fossil-free and circular economy.

A ‘blue’ biotech is also emerging, with new research on aquatic organisms and microalgae fermentation ready for commercial exploitation – not to mention the potential of new genomic techniques (NGTs) for food production, already under discussion by EU lawmakers.

The main goals of this initiative will be to survey the status quo and track future challenges facing the biotech sector to orientate policy efforts in readiness for the next legislative mandate.

Some policy ideas are likely to be proffered, such as a one-stop shop to permit and authorise biotech manufacturing – while a controversial proposal for an R&I tax credit for biotech companies is rumoured to have been shelved for the moment.

This first dedicated attempt to address the sector won’t be the last, with economic security and strategic autonomy likely to be key buzzwords for the next commission.

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Biotech is expected to be a new beat to keep a close eye on and it has already been listed as a critical technology for the continent, together with semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The defence imperative dominating current commission thinking involves European independence from military aircraft to sourcing these critical new technologies.

Policy newsmakers

@Hahn                                                                                                                   @Wiewiórowski

Commission under data notice

The European Commission was ordered last week to bring its use of Microsoft 365 office programs in line with its own rulebook, after European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski found following an investigation that the commission breached EU rules on transfers of personal data outside the EU. The commission now needs to suspend all data flows resulting from its use of Microsoft 365 to Microsoft and to its affiliates and sub-processors located in countries outside the EU/EEA that are not covered by a data transfer agreement. The commissioner responsible for admin, Johannes Hahn, will have to demonstrate compliance with the orders by 9 December 2024.

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Subscribe here to see the results of last week’s poll and stay informed on the latest EU policy developments with our weekly newsletter, “The Policy Briefing”. Your weekly insight on European rulemaking, policy issues, key events, and data trends.

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Reuters Institute: Research shows women only make 24% of news top editors / FIP

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Reuters Institute: Research shows women only make 24% of news top editors / FIP

New research by the Reuters Institute analyses the gender representation of senior editors in major news outlets across five continents, recording that women fill only 24% of senior editorial roles in the markets surveyed. The findings highlight how gender inequalities can reinforce misperceptions, imbalances, and perceived differences both within journalism and as covered by journalists.

The research “Women and leadership in the news media 2024: Evidence from 12 markets” took examples from five continents, and analysed the gender breakdown of editorial leaders.  Two hundred and forty major online and offline news outlets provided data. 

According to the factsheet, among the 33 news top editors appointed across brands covered this year and last, 24% are women. In some of these countries, however, women outnumber men among working journalists.

Reuters contrasts its new findings with data from the past five years. The proportion of women among the top editors has increased by only 2% since 2020, going from 23% to 25% in 2024. The Institute’s analysis anticipates that, at this pace, gender parity will be reached in such positions only by the year 2074.

Change is not consistent throughout countries, however. If the percentage has increased relative to 2020 in six countries (name them all), it has decreased in Germany by 2% and it has highly decreased in South Africa, from 47% to 29%. 

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Reuters Institute makes clear that “top editorial leadership matters both in terms of how journalism is practised and how it appears in society,” insisting on  how top editors represent the wider public “in all its difference and diversity.”

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