Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality Åsa Regnér hosted a conference on how gender equality can contribute to fair jobs and growth on 8 November in Gothenburg, Sweden’s 2nd biggest city.

Gender equality ministers from the upcoming EU presidencies took part and discussed gender equality in relation to the labour market and overall progress in the area of gender equality in the EU based on the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).

The conference was held ahead of the Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth, which will take place on 17 November, and be hosted by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfvén.

The conference brought together ministers responsible for gender equality in several EU Member States, representatives of the EU institutions, the social partners, and civil society, as well as researchers working in this field.

“A truly social Europe cannot be achieved without gender equality. Not only because gender equality is a fundamental right, but also because it is a prerequisite for economic growth, a well-functioning labour market and efficient social security systems,” said Minister for Gender Equality Åsa Regnér when she opened the conference.

Each session opened with a speech, followed by a panel discussion that included ministers, experts, and representatives of the social partners and civil society.

• Session 1: Gender equality – a key to growth

• Session 2: Gender equality – a key to fair jobs

• Session 3: Work balance – a key to gender equality

• Concluding remarks: Integrating gender equality in the Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth.

Link to programme, background documents and list of participants

“After hearing your thoughts and ideas during our discussions, it is even clearer to me that gender equality must be placed at the highest level of the EU political agenda. The outcome of these discussions will provide valuable input and a strong message to the Social Summit and to our heads of state and government on how gender equality can contribute to fair jobs and growth,” said Ms Regnér in her concluding remarks.

The hashtags used for the meeting were #equalityworks17 and #socialsummit17.

Swedish Government