Tools to help close the gender gap

17.02.2011 In its "Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015", the European Commission commits to supporting initiatives in the workplace which aim to encourage equal pay, such as the development of tools for employers to close unjustified gender pay gaps. These tools include instruments designed to help employers, managers and human resources personnel identify if a company has a pay gap between its male and female employees. Such tools have been developed in countries including Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The software calculates whether there is a gender pay gap and if this gender pay gap is due to objective factors or factors that cannot be explained and which, for the most part, it can be assumed are caused by pay discrimination.
If inequalities are found, advice and support is available to companies to help them develop solutions to close the gap.
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=967&furtherNews=yes

UNITED European-wide Action Week Against Racism

17.02.2011 Every year around 21 March, the UNITED Network coordinates the European-wide Action Week Against Racism and calls upon the international community to erase racism, discrimination and intolerance. We urge NGOs, independent and informal groups, schools, local councils and all manner of organisations and individuals to join forces and confront racism with direct action. Whether by organising activities, supporting others or spreading the message, we can tackle racism. http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/pages/InfoARW_11.htm

EDF welcomes EU ratification of UN disability convention

17.02.2011 EWL and its member organisation the European Disability Forum (EDF) celebrate a landmark victory in human rights battle as EU signs UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. The European Union has officially ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 23 December 2010, becoming the first intergovernmental group to sign on to any human rights treaty. The Convention aims to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy their rights on an equal basis with all other citizens. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty to be ratified by the EU as a whole. The Convention sets out minimum standards for protecting and safeguarding a full range of civil, political, social, and economic rights for people with disabilities. It reflects the EU's broader commitment to building a barrier-free Europe for the estimated 80 million people with disabilities in the EU by 2020, as set out in the European Commission's disability strategy.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/4&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Place of residence an additional obstacle to employment for youth from the French ‘banlieues’

17.02.2011 Discrimination on the basis of place of residence, which affects youth from disadvantaged neighbourhoods looking for a job, is widely acknowledged by associations and politicians, but is difficult to quantify and prove to courts. “Some young people hide their real address”, says Estelle Barthélémy, Development director at Mozaïk RH, a recruitment company specialised in diversity. “There is an accumulation of discriminatory factors - address, ethnic origin, lack of networks, etc”. Many reports confirm these comments. In 2008, the Economic and Social Committee noted that “discrimination on the basis of an applicant’s address is a reality”
French website: http://www.france24.com/fr/20110105-emploi-le-lieu-residence-ecueil-plus-jeunes-banlieue

The Village Where the Neo-Nazis Rule

17.02.2011 Hitler salutes in the street and firing practice in the forest: Neo-Nazis have taken over an entire village in Germany, and authorities appear to have given up efforts to combat the problem. Jamel is an example of the far-right problem that has plagued Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for years. The rural region, once part of communist East Germany, has a poor reputation in this regard the NPD, which glorifies the Third Reich, has been in the state parliament since 2006 and neo-Nazi crimes are part of daily life. In recent months, a series of attacks against politicians from all the democratic parties has shaken the state. Sometimes hardly a week goes by without an attack on another electoral district office, with paint bombs, right-wing graffiti and broken windows. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, has warned that the NPD is becoming increasingly influential in local municipalities and that the neo-Nazis are trying to entrench themselves in daily life.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,737471,00.html