On the occasion of the International Women’s Day and within the scope of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Técnico hosted the debate “Professional mobility of women in Europe: opportunities and challenges”, this Tuesday, 8th March 2022.
The President of Técnico, professor Rogério Colaço, made a brief presentation of the Gender Balance@Técnico group and highlighted “the right of women to vote has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world, but not in all”.
The French Ambassador to Portugal, Florence Mangin, spoke about the progress towards gender equality: “European Union is not just a single market, but a set of values”. Florence Mangin listed a series of initiatives aimed at increasing women on company boards and equal remuneration. “One of the main goals of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the construction of a more egalitarian Europe”.
Marica Ferri, EMCDDA representative, shared her career path and her experience as a woman working in international institutions. Although it was not her case, Marica Ferri shared: “In most families, women give up their careers to the detriment of their husband’s”.
Professor Dominique Epiphane, sociologist and senior research officer at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, presented some conclusions of her study on successful women in Finance, carried out in France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. According to the researcher, “the period of compulsory maternity leave and parental leave should be the same” and “there should be gender quotas on board of directors”.
“Women in academia are overloaded due to the accumulation of work and housework”, shared Virgínia Ferreira, professor at Faculty of Economics – University of Coimbra, who has conducted research on the impact of COVID-19 on Education. The study also concluded that “the professional success of men still prevails in a relationship”, “a gap exists between men and women in top careers, in academia”. According to professor Virgínia Ferreira ““public policies should be implemented on this regard”, as well as “penalties for non-compliance”.
Professor Beatriz Silva, Técnico’s representative in the debate and co-coordinator of the Gender Balance@Técnico group, presented the work developed by the group, namely the Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Award and the exemption from teaching service after parental leave.
“This was a very interesting debate”, said the Head of European Commission’s Representation in Lisbon, Sofia Moreira de Sousa, at the end of the session. “I am proud to belong to the European Union (EU), a global leader in promoting women’s rights”. Sofia Moreira de Sousa also referred to gender equality policies in the EU and gender violence, “changing mindsets isn’t enough, it is crucial to understand which policies can be used to promote gender equality”.
