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UNITED
NATIONS CEDAW
Distr.
GENERAL
CEDAW/C/LUX/2
8 April 1997
ORIGINAL: FRENCH
COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER
ARTICLE 18 OF THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL
FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Second periodic reports of States parties*
LUXEMBOURG**
* The present report is being issued as received, without formal
editing.
** For the initial report submitted by the Government of Luxembourg,
see CEDAW/C/LUX/1.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ......................................................... 3
Article 2: Elimination of discrimination ............................ 4
Article 3: National mechanisms for the protection of human rights.... 6
Article 4: Special temporary measures for the advancement of ........ 9
Article 5: Patterns of conduct ......................................10
Article 6: Prostitution and traffic in women ....................... 13
Article 7: Political and public life ............................... 14
Article 8: International representation ............................ 15
Article 9: Nationality ............................................. 16
Article 10 Education ............................................... 17
Article 11 Employment .............................................. 22
Article 12 Health .................................................. 27
Article 13 Economic and social life ................................ 28
Article 14 Rural women ............................................. 29
Article 15 Equality before the law ................................. 30
Article 16 Personal and family rights .............................. 31
INTRODUCTION
On 2 February 1989, Luxembourg ratified the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which had been
approved by means of the law of 15 December 1988. Pursuant to article 27,
paragraph 2, of the Convention, it entered into force in Luxembourg on 4 March
1989.
In January 1996 Luxembourg presented its initial report. This periodic
report covers the period from January 1996 to March 1997.
ARTICLE 2
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to
pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating
discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:
(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their
national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet
incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means,
the practical realization of this principle;
(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including
sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;
(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal
basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other
public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of
discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination
against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act
in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against
women by any person, organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify
or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute
discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute
discrimination against women.
Following the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at Beijing in
September 1995, the Minister for the Advancement of Women, Mrs. Marie-Josee
Jacobs, held meetings with the largest national women's organizations to
elicit their suggestions regarding the implementation of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action.
A hearing of women's organizations held by the Commission on the Family,
Social Solidarity and the Advancement of Women of the Chamber of Deputies, and
the subsequent public policy debate on equality in the Chamber of Deputies on
7 March 1996, were among the activities organized as a follow-up to the
Beijing Conference. The hearing gave women's organizations an opportunity to
air their grievances publicly and to present their proposals for improving the
status of women in Luxembourg.1/ It also enabled the officials responsible for
implementing the equality policy to draw on a tremendous store of practical
experience.
The reverberations of the policy debate in the national media helped to
focus attention on the question of equality between women and men and to
enlist public cooperation.
The topics of the debate were drawn from the various sections of the
Beijing Platform, namely, women and poverty, education and training of women,
violence against women, women and the economy, women in power and decision-
making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of
women and women and the media.
During the debate, Minister Jacobs outlined the actions which she
intended to undertake or propose in the legislative, social and cultural
fields as a follow-up to the Beijing Conference.
She reported that the Grand Duke had given his consent in principle to
the ministerial proposal to amend article 3 of the Constitution concerning the
hereditary transmission of the crown of the Grand Duchy.
A second hearing of women's organizations was held on 6 March 1997 on
the topic of women and employment. A policy debate on that issue will be
organized in June 1997.
Mrs. Jacobs instructed the Ministry for the Advancement of Women to draw
up a plan of action for implementing the Beijing Platform. The draft plan of
action 2000 was reviewed by the Interministerial Committee on Gender Equality
and will be submitted to the Council of State in the near future.
Special mention should be made here of the Development Aid Act of 6
January 1996 which, in accordance with chapter VI.C of the Beijing Platform,
specifically added the advancement of women to the sectors of intervention
towards which Luxembourg's development aid is targeted. With regard to the
activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the grand-ducal
regulation of 14 February 1997 concerning the co-financing of NGO projects by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Overseas Aid and Development
provides that "the threshold of intervention of 300 per cent may be granted to
any cooperation project or programme to be carried out by a non-governmental
organization in one of the sectors of intervention of the Development Aid Fund
provided for in article 4 of the Aid Act of 6 January 1996, in a country
receiving development aid from Luxembourg".
ARTICLE 3
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political,
social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including
legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the
purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.
The Interministerial Committee for the Advancement of Women, mentioned
in the initial report, was established informally in July 1995 as a
mainstreaming tool, but was given a regulatory framework in March 1996.2/ The
Government's intention was to strengthen this body by conferring on it a
mandate and clearly defined powers in pursuance of strategic objective H.1 of
chapter IV of the Beijing Platform. The Committee has since been named the
Interministerial Committee on Gender Equality.
Under article 4, paragraph 1, of the aforesaid grand-ducal regulation,
the Committee will "study all issues relating to equality between women and
men and transmit its advice, proposals or suggestions on this subject to the
Minister [for the Advancement of Women]".
Article 4, paragraph 2, provides that: "In the context of its mandate,
the Committee will be consulted with regard to all draft legislation likely to
have an impact on equality between women and men. It will analyse the
respective consequences of such legislation for women and men and ensure the
use of gender-neutral terminology."
In accordance with article 5 of the grand-ducal regulation, n the
members of the Committee will fulfil the function of equality ombudsmen
between the ministers of the departments to which they are attached and the
Committee. In this capacity, they will receive documents and information
relevant to the discharge of their mandate and will disseminate in their
ministries such information and suggestions as they deem useful for the
achievement of de facto equality between women and men."
By way of example, the Committee discussed: (i) the implementation of
the Beijing Platform for Action and the preliminary draft governmental
programme of action 1996-2000 for implementing the Platform prepared by the
Ministry for the Advancement of Women; (ii) mainstreaming the principle of
equality between the sexes; (iii) draft legislative and regulatory measures
relating to affirmative action in the civil service, prepared by the Ministry
for the Advancement of Women and transmitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs,
Civil Service and Administrative Reforms on 1 August 1996;3/ (iv) preliminary
draft bills prepared by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women;4/ (v) a
survey of homemakers organized by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women.
With regard to the draft plan of action for implementing the Beijing
Platform, the members of the Committee were requested to complete and/or
modify it and to submit it to their respective ministries for review.
The Committee decided to set up subgroups to consider the following
themes drawn from the Beijing Platform: poverty, economic structures and
policies, education, training and health, environment, violence and armed
conflict, decision-making and mechanisms for the advancement of women, and
basic human rights.
On 14 November and 5 December 1996, the full and alternate members of
the Committee were invited to participate in a seminar entitled "Equal
opportunity for women and men", organized on their behalf by the Ministry for
the Advancement of Women. The aim of this seminar was, on the one hand, to
further raise the participants' awareness of the existing discrimination
against women, and, on the other hand, to provide them with tools and
strategies for promoting an equal-opportunity policy in the civil service.
Mainstreaming, which means integrating the equality dimension into
general policies at all levels, is an important element of both the Beijing
Platform and the plan of action 2000. The Government of Luxembourg regards
mainstreaming, together with specific policies for the advancement of women,
as an essential tool for combating gender inequality.
The Ministry for the Advancement of Women participated in the seminar on
mainstreaming organized from 6 to 8 October 1996 by the Presidency of Ireland
in collaboration with the European Commission. The seminar participants
considered concrete mainstreaming mechanisms with specific reference to
employment policies and local initiatives. Practical examples of such
mechanisms in the European Union and its member States were given.
The initiative taken by the non-profit association Conseil National des
Femmes Luxembourgeoises (National Council of Women of Luxembourg) to promote a
communal policy of equal opportunity for women and men, as mentioned in the
initial report, has been strengthened. In the meantime, more than 50 communes
out of a total of 118 have designated an equality representative, and 6
communes have established a consultative committee. The Ministry for the
Advancement of Women partially subsidizes the activities of the Conseil
National des Femmes Luxembourgeoises, such as a training seminar for
representatives, a public speaking course, a computer training course,
biannual consultation meetings, and so on.
In the context of recurrent training courses for communal employees,
organized by the Ministry of the Interior, representatives of the Ministry for
the Advancement of Women organized four half-day sessions in 1996 to raise
awareness of the issue of gender equality and provide information on actions
and projects undertaken by the Ministry for the implementation of a plan of
action on equality at the communal level. Some 230 secretaries, editors and
clerks were informed about the implementation of an equality policy at the
national and communal levels.
Through this initiative, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women
sought to support the efforts of the equality representatives, who frequently
seek the assistance and cooperation of the administrative staff of their
commune.
ARTICLE 4
1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at
accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered
discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way
entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards;
these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of
opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures
contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity shall not
be considered discriminatory.
An initial compendium of proposals for affirmative action in the civil
service was submitted to the Council of State on 23 February 1996.
Several consultations were held with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Civil
Service and Administrative Reforms and the Union of Civil Servants and Public
Employees to discuss the proposals put forward by the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women for a change in the status of public employees as regards
part-time work, flexible working hours and the preparation of statistics
documenting the total number of decision-making posts in the civil service and
the share of such posts held by women.
ARTICLE 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and
women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary t
all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the
superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of
maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common
responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their
children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the
primordial consideration in all cases.
On 2 March 1996 a brochure was distributed to all of the country's
households. In addition to containing statistical data on women and men in
Luxembourg and texts aimed at raising awareness of equality issues, the
brochure called for public participation in the projects undertaken by the
Ministry for the Advancement of Women.
One hundred and ten persons expressed interest in participating actively
in discussion groups on the following four topics: women and the job market;
equal opportunity in education; child care; and combating violence.
Four regional discussion groups (Centre, East, South and West) were
established in October 1996 by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and
have been operating independently since then in close cooperation with the
Ministry. Their goals include discussing the status of women in the regions
and formulating ideas and proposals based on knowledge of the specific needs
of the country's different regions. Proposals will be transmitted to the
Ministry by the end of the first half of 1997.
In addition, a working group was assigned to prepare a guide to feminine
equivalents in the language of Luxembourg (Letzebuergesch) of the most common
names, titles, functions and trades. An initial proposal was submitted in
December 1996. The group will consult experts in Letzebuergesch with a view to
finalizing the draft.
In 1996, as stated in the initial report, the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women launched a survey of homemakers, i.e., women who do not
work for pay. The aim of this survey is to gather information on their
occupations, means of livelihood and aspirations, the obstacles which they
face in realizing their aspirations, and their skills and future plans.
This study will have both a qualitative and a quantitative dimension. A
German research institute, the Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund, has been
assigned to carry out the qualitative analysis. This will be followed by a
quantitative study in 1997-1998.
The Ministry has also completed the project mentioned in the initial
report to disseminate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women in the form of a textbook. In carrying out this
project, the Ministry collaborated with outside experts. The book will be used
as a supplementary civics text in twelfth-year classes in technical secondary
schools and in second-year classes in traditional high schools.
The main objective of this book is to raise young people's awareness of
the persisting inequalities in our society as they affect girls and women and
to promote the adoption of respectful and egalitarian behaviour towards girls.
A second objective is to teach girls about their rights.
In addition, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women has set up an
informal group of journalism graduates assigned to: (i) draw up a code of good
practices; (ii) analyse women's participation in the media; (iii) analyse
women's image in the media; (iv) propose selective intervention; and (v)
organize training courses on gender issues for journalists of both sexes.
This group has developed a questionnaire for female and male journalists
concerning women's participation and image in the media. Sixty completed
questionnaires (about 30 per cent) were returned and will be analysed by an
outside expert. The survey was conducted in December 1996 under the auspices
the Press Council.
In preparation for the publication of a code of ethics by the Luxembourg
Commission on Ethics in Advertising, the group prepared a draft text dealing
with the images of women and men in advertising.
The Ministry for the Advancement of Women signed an agreement with a
social and cultural organization known as the Thers Bode Centre for
Information and Documentation Concerning Women (CID). The Centre operates a
library whose current holdings comprise 4,400 books, 550 compact discs and 36
periodicals. An archive of articles that have appeared in the press concerning
the status of women in Luxembourg is available for on-site consultation. The
Centre organizes various activities (seminars, lectures, concerts, etc.) which
have as their main goal to promote women's creativity. In 1996, it established
a women's music forum, which acquires musical scores by female composers. CID
Info, a journal published at least six times a year, reports on cultural and
social activities relevant to women in Luxembourg and adjoining areas, and on
the development of European projects in the field of gender equality that are
being implemented in Luxembourg.
In 1996, the non-profit association Femmes en Detresse, with the support
the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, launched the Medercheshaus (Girls'
Home), a project having three facilities, namely, an information bureau, a
drop-in centre and a shelter. The Medercheshaus project is aimed at young
women from 12 to 21 years of age.
In order to launch the project, Femmes en Detresse organized, from 1 to
12 October 1996, the "Neen as Neen" campaign against the sexual abuse of
girls, under the auspices of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, with
support from the Ministry of the Family, the Ministry of National Education
and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Ministry of
Justice.
The campaign consisted of: (i) a press conference held at the
information bureau on 23 September 1996; (ii) a public round-table discussion
entitled "When girls are victims of abuse", held on 14 October 1996; (iii) a
training course for psychologists and social workers entitled l'Consultation
in cases of sexual abuse: crisis intervention", held on 24 October 1996; and
(iv) a lecture entitled "'No' is not enough: possibilities and limits of
gender-specific measures to prevent sexual abuse", held on 18 November 1996.
Throughout the campaign, the Medercheshaus staff organized workshops on
violence and sexual abuse. They visited 15 secondary schools, 3 primary
schools, the Higher Institute of Pedagogical Studies and Research and 3 youth
centres. The campaign was a great success; numerous organizations requested
the Medercheshaus to continue the workshops during 1997.
The objective of the seminars was to prevent violence and sexual abuse;
young men and women learned to verbalize their problems and to say no. They
were informed about existing outreach structures and assistance.
The Medercheshaus information bureau is open three half-days a week and
welcomes young girls who have family or academic problems or who are in
situations of physical or psychic distress. It also welcomes the persons whom
the girls trust (mothers, friends, relatives). The bureau received 255
telephone calls from January to September 1996.
The drop-in centre offers adolescent girls an opportunity to learn to
verbalize their fears, anxieties and other problems.
The shelter was opened in January 1997. A hostel and counselling centre,
it welcomes young girls in situations of distress day and night. The
counselling staff provides support to girls who are victims of psychic and
physical violence. The hostel can accommodate up to 10 residents. The average
stay is from three to six months. The Medercheshaus telephone hotline is
available 24 hours a day to young girls in crisis.
The pre-school pilot projects announced in the initial report were
launched in 1996, and constitute an aspect of the Luxembourg project
recognized by the European Commission under the fourth medium-term Union
action programme on equal opportunity for women and men (1996-2000).5/
ARTICLE 6
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of
women.
A conference on traffic in women organized by the European Commission
was held in Vienna on 10 and 11 June 1996. The recommendations made by the
various working groups at this conference were incorporated into the European
Commission memorandum of 20 November 1996 on traffic in women for purposes of
sexual exploitation.
The Presidency of the European Union Council of Ministers, which is held
by the Netherlands, took up the issue of traffic in women and prepared a draft
European code of conduct for preventing and combating traffic in women, which
could be adopted at the ministerial conference on this issue to be held at The
Hague from 24 to 26 April 1997. Luxembourg supports this initiative.
ARTICLE 7
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination
against women in the political and public life of the country and, in
particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right:
(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for
election to all publicly elected bodies;
(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the
implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public
functions at all levels of government;
(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations
concerned with the public and political life of the country.
Under the family compact of the house of Nassau of 30 June 1783, to
which article 3 of the Constitution refers, the crown passes to the oldest
male descendant in the direct line, to the exclusion of female descendants.
For this reason, upon ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Government entered the following
reservation:
"(a) The application of article 7 shall not affect the validity of the
article of our Constitution concerning the hereditary transmission of the
crown of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in accordance with the family compact
of the house of Nassau of 30 June 1783, maintained by article 71 of the Treaty
of Vienna of 9 June 1815 and expressly maintained by article 1 of the Treaty
of London of 11 May 1867."
The Grand Duke, however, gave his consent in principle to the
ministerial proposal to amend article 3 of the Constitution concerning the
hereditary transmission of the crown.
From 16 to 18 May 1996, a European conference entitled "Women for the
Renewal of Politics and Society" was held in Rome, organized by the
Commissione Nazionale per la Parita, Pari Opportunita tra Uomo e Donna, the
Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the European Commission,
Directorate-General V of the European Union "Unite pour l'Egalite des Chances"
and the European network Les Femmes dans la prise de decision. Various
workshops were organized on women in power and decision-making in the
following areas: European politics; finance; education; public health;
justice; social partners; and public administration.
Thirteen women ministers from States members of the European Union,
including Mrs. Marie-Josee Jacobs, attended the closing session on 18 May
1996, at which the Rome Charter entitled "Women for the Renewal of Politics
and Society" was signed. In the Charter, the ministers: (1) noted that not
everyone shared in the benefits of democracy; (2) called for a renewal of
politics and society; (3) declared their commitment to supporting equality
between women and men as a priority for the European Union; and (4) recognized
the need for concrete actions at all levels to promote equal participation by
women and men in decision-making in all spheres of society.
ARTICLE 8
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on
equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to
represent their Governments at the international level and to participate in
the work of international organizations.
ARTICLE 9
1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change
or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither
marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage
shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless
or force upon her the nationality of the husband.
2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the
nationality of their children.
ARTICLE 10
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men
in the field of education and in particular to ensurei on a basis of equality
of men and women:
(a) The same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for access
to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in educational establishments
of all categories in rural as well as in urban areas; this equality shall be
ensured in pre-school, general, technical, professional and higher technical
education, as well as in all types of vocational training;
(b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff
with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of
the same quality;
(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and
women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging co-education
and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in
particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the
adaptation of teaching methods;
(d) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study
grants;
(e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of continuing
education, including adult and functional literacy programmes, particularly
those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible time, any gap in education,
existing between men and women;
(f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization
of programmes for girls and women who have left school prematurely;
(g) The same opportunities to participate actively in sports and
physical education;
(h) Access to specific educational information to help to ensure the
health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family
planning.
In the context of the European year of lifelong education and learning,
the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, in collaboration with the Ministry
of National Education and Vocational Training, designed a project entitled
"Recurrent training: lifelong learning", which includes the dissemination of
a brochure. This brochure, entitled "Recurrent training: preparing for
lifelong learning", portrays women who have been involved in recurrent
training throughout their lives. The brochure lends itself to reading and
discussion of equal opportunity for girls.
As part of this project, a survey was conducted in a technical school in
the southern part of the country in order to measure the students' interest in
lifelong education and learning and to determine their life goals and
attitudes towards the sharing of household and child-care responsibilities
between the two sexes.
RESULTS OF THE SURVEY (extracts):
Total Men Women
Do you expect to practise the same occupation
throughout your working life?
Yes 292 166 126
No 110 43 67
How, in your view, should job, household and
childcare responsibilities be shared between
men and women?
- The woman works; the man takes care of
the household and the upbringing of the
children 15 11 4
- The man works; the woman takes care of
the household and the upbringing of the
children 102 70 32
- The man and the woman both work, but the
man also takes care of the household and
the upbringing of the children 41 22 19
- The man and the woman both work, but the
woman also takes care of the household
and the upbringing of the children 34 19 15
- The man and the woman both work and share
the household tasks and the upbringing of
the children 245 109 136
- The woman works full-time; the man works
part-time and takes care of the household
and the upbringing of the children 11 7 4
- The man works full-time; the woman works
part-time and takes care of the household
and the upbringing of the children 81 33 48
- A different model (specify) 1 1 0
- Marriage without children 2 2 0
- Not marrying 3 2 1
In 1996 the project FEM TRAINING NET (Leonardo da Vinci) was launched.
The main goal of this project is to establish and develop an educational and
training network for girls and women. It follows a bottom-up strategy in that
it seeks to establish a basic network of target-group expectations and needs
at the national level.
The development of the network is taking place at five levels: (1)
definition and follow-up of the needs of potential beneficiaries of the
network; (2) preparation and dissemination of information on projects,
concepts, meetings and texts relating to training and equal opportunity; (3)
lectures and workshops on training and equal opportunity; (4) promotion of
gender sensitivity in the training of teachers, trainers and consultants; (5)
dissemination of information via the Internet in order to promote access by
girls and women to new information technologies.
The FEM TRAINING NET project has contributed to the establishment of a
network on education and training of girls and women. The network has an
Internet address: http/www.men.lu/eu/FTN/.
In order to be more responsive to the needs of those working in the
field, the three national partners - the Ministry of National Education and
Vocational Training, the Ministry of Labour and Employment/Employment
Administration and the Ministry for the Advancement of Women - conducted a
survey of all persons with educational and training responsibilities who could
promote equality between women and men in their daily work. The results of the
survey were published during the first half of 1997.
The Centre for Information and Documentation concerning Women (CID
Femmes) presented the FEM TRAINING NET programme in a special edition of CID
Info (June 1996).
Project activities for 1997 include the holding of a seminar on the
Internet for women working in public and private institutions, an
informational seminar on European programmes to promote equal opportunity
between women and men and a seminar on gender sensitivity for teachers,
trainers, guides and counsellors.
In the context of the fourth medium-term Union action programme on equal
opportunity for women and men (1996-2000), the Ministry for the Advancement of
Women submitted a project entitled "Sharing equality". The project was one of
60 European projects selected from among 650 candidates. It has two
dimensions, education and training. The lead agency is the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women.
The joint partners for both dimensions are:
- The Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training and
the Vocational Training Service;
- Non-governmental organizations;
- The trade unions with the largest membership at the national
level;
- The "Medias" group; 6/
- The Gleichstellungsstelle der Landeshauptstadt Saarbrucken.
The specific partners for the educational dimension are:
- The communes of Beckerich, Hesperange, Kopstal and Steinsel;
- The Higher Institute of Pedagogical Studies and Research (ISERP).
Those participating solely in the "Equal opportunity training" dimension
- The ministries of labour and employment, economic affairs and
small business;
- The business chambers (the chambers of commerce, private-sector
employees, skilled trades and labour);
- A Belgian non-governmental organization (Christliche Frauenliga).
The project is aimed at promoting equal opportunity in two complementary
spheres, namely, education and vocational training and employment and working
life, through educational measures in pre-school classes and the development
and implementation of a training programme for training managers and/or human
resources development managers in the workplace.
The concept of equal opportunity should be instilled in all members of
our society at the earliest possible age and in children of both sexes, if we
wish to ensure that, later on, these men and women will find an equitable
environment at work. This project has a twofold aim; it operates at the
preventive level, by starting at the bottom, i.e., in pre-school, and seeks to
play a gradually increasing role through training activities geared to people
in the midst of their working lives.
In order to avoid endlessly propagating stereotyped images of the roles
of men and women in our society, the first dimension of the project seeks to
begin in a very specific way by imparting an education which embodies the
principles of equal opportunity.
The project is being carried out in 15 pre-school classes in four
communes. A multidisciplinary working group under the auspices of the Ministry
for the Advancement of Women is preparing teaching modules on the themes of
"Mothers' Day", "Fathers' Day", "Skilled trades and professions". A professor
at the University of Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, specializing in
gender-sensitive pedagogy, structured the project around conferences and
workshops. The first phase of this part of the project, in which teachers,
parents, trade unions, local equality committees, communal councils and local
associations are involved, consists of preparing modules and testing them in
pre-school classes in the above-mentioned communes, together with local
actions (class visits to enterprises, school festivals, book fairs, readings
with authors present), and an evaluation of the test results by an outside
agency.
The second dimension of the project is aimed at changing attitudes in a
specific area of particular importance: the workplace. An equal-opportunity
training programme has been prepared for training managers or persons who
simply play a key role in human resources management within a firm, a small or
medium-sized enterprise, or a large enterprise. Phase I is targeted
specifically towards employers and training managers of enterprises who
submitted their candidatures in the context of the female enterprise award of
1996. They were offered a chance to participate in free training. This phase
consists of preparing modules, testing them and having them evaluated by the
target sample.
The pursuit of this dual strategy is the crux of the programme of action
as defined by the policy for the advancement of women in Luxembourg;
education, training and the workplace are the focal points of this policy.
"Sharing equality" is the starting-point for mainstreaming equal
opportunity into both municipal policy and working life. Specifically, the
first dimension of the project begins with four communes, their communal
councils, local equal-opportunity committees and local associations, and is
targeted to girls and boys in pre-school. Through contact with their social
environment, these children will, in turn, produce a ripple effect. This
ripple effect will be further strengthened through the direct involvement of
parents at an early stage in the implementation of the project.
The second dimension of the project, based on the same philosophy, is
aimed initially at enterprises motivated by the trend towards equal
opportunity. These are enterprises concerned with conveying an image of
broad-mindedness, probably because their customers are mainly women. Providing
them with training in the area of equal opportunity between men and women will
also be aimed at proving to them that "quality" rhymes with "equality".
Among the principal methods to be utilized by the project are: (i)
preparation of teaching aids; (ii) preparation of training modules; (iii)
discussion groups; (iv) articles in specialized and general-interest
publications; (v) an informational newsletter; (vi) seminars; (vii)
progressive self-evaluation; and (viii) outside evaluation.
The transnational work envisaged with a Belgian non-governmental
organization (Christliche Frauenliga) and the Gleichstellungsstelle der
Landeshaupstadt Saarbrucken will have two aims: first, the exchange of
methodologies and teaching aids and their adaptation to national, regional and
local situations, and, secondly, the participation of students (future
teachers) and, possibly, experienced teachers in transnational training. In
the medium term, the idea is to achieve a transnational focus on the issue of
equal opportunity between men and women by utilizing the existing ties between
twin communes.
ARTICLE 11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure on
a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular:
(a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;
(b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the
application of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment;
(c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to
promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service and the
right to receive vocational training and retraining, including
apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent training;
(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal
treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment
in the evaluation of the quality of work;
(e) The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement,
unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work,
as well as the right to paid leave;
(f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working
conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction;
2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage
or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall
take appropriate measures:
(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on
the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in
dismissals on the basis of marital status;
(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social
benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances;
(c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social
services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work
responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through
promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care
facilities;
(d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of
work proved to be harmful to them.
3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be
reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological knowledge
and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary.
In 1996 the Ministry for the Advancement of Women published 10,000
copies of a brochure entitled "Putting equality into practice - working
together" with the aim of improving the dialogue between women and men in the
workplace. The brochure is addressed to all employees, female and male, in the
public and private sectors. It is a tool that can be used by anyone with an
interest in promoting balanced and harmonious personnel management.
The brochure is intended to make enterprise directors and personnel
managers aware of the need to hire women and to appreciate the skills of women
re-entering the job market after a period devoted to the upbringing of their
children. Women bring with them different skills, new approaches and another
type of expertise that can contribute to the growth of any enterprise. What is
needed is to recognize the differences and view them as complementary and
conducive to a good atmosphere within the enterprise and to its profitability.
The brochure provides an overview of the legal framework in the area of
equal pay and treatment for women and men and of the different regulations
concerning leave. In the last chapter, readers can find useful addresses for
obtaining legal information, job training and reintegration, and child care.
As mentioned in the initial report, a female enterprise award was
established in 1993 on the initiative of the Minister of Labour and
Employment, in order to encourage enterprises to take innovative steps towards
employing women.
The Ministry for the Advancement of Women decided to award the female
enterprise award of 1996, in the sum of 500,000 Luxembourg francs, to those
enterprises offering young girls the best opportunities for guidance, support,
information and infrastructure and, possibly, a promise of post-training
employment. In the context of the European year of lifelong education and
learning, one of the goals of which is to link schools and enterprises, the
Ministry for the Advancement of Women sought by this means to reward the
efforts of enterprises which offered young girls the possibility of an
apprenticeship or an internship in their workplaces.
Education and training have always been determinants of equal
opportunity. The educational systems have played a basic role, first in the
emancipation, and later in the social and professional advancement of women.
Educational efforts can and should contribute to the necessary equality
between men and women. It is especially necessary to make girls aware of the
importance of thorough training in order to facilitate their access to and
participation in the job market.
Apprenticeships and all alternate forms of training provide young people
with both the requisite knowledge and an experience of life and work in an
enterprise. By facilitating their first contact with the world of work, such
training gives them significant advantages when it comes to entering the job
market successfully, and encourages them to acquire new knowledge throughout
their lives.
The jury for the female enterprise award was composed of representatives
of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Ministry of National
Education and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the
Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Small Business, the Chamber of
Skilled Trades, the Chamber of Private-Sector Employees, the Chamber of
Commerce and the group Petra L7 "Technik fir Medercher" (technical training
for girls) of the Technical Lycee of Arts and Trades.
The award ceremony was held in early May 1996 in the context of the
Industry and Crafts Week, an exposition mounted by the Chamber of Skilled
Trades as part of the European year of lifelong education and learning.
The prize was awarded to two enterprises in the small- and medium-sized
sector. These enterprises had been particularly involved in training young
girls and women. They had encouraged many of them to open their own
businesses. The prizewinners were a hairdressing salon and a beauty institute.
The two prizewinners had been remarkably supportive of their apprentices
in their steps towards professional and personal independence. In awarding the
prize to two enterprises in fields regarded as typically female, the Ministry
for the Advancement of Women sought to highlight the training opportunities in
these sectors, which offer future-oriented vocational and personal prospects
to young girls and women. Both the hairdressing salon and the beauty institute
stated that they had invested 250,000 Luxembourg francs, respectively, in
training their apprentices.
On 21 November 1996, a draft bill establishing an equality
representative in enterprises of a certain size - that is to say, the draft
bill amending (1) the amended Act of 18 May 1979 constituting a reform of
staff committees, and (2) the amended Act of 6 May 1974 establishing joint
committees in private enterprises and organizing the representation of
employees of public companies, drawn up by the Ministry for the Advancement of
Women - was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies.
The main elements of this draft bill can be summarized as follows:
(a) The draft bill establishes an equality representative in enterprises
which employ at least 15 workers, whether of the same sex or of different
sexes, using the legal framework of the amended Act of 18 May 1979
constituting a reform of staff committees.
(b) The designation of the equality representative is entrusted to the
staff committee, which can choose one of its members, or, in the absence of a
candidate, one of the other workers in the firm. This procedure is modelled on
the one currently established by the Act of 18 May 1979 for the selection of
the safety representative.
(c) The equality representative is responsible for defending equality of
treatment for female and male employees within the enterprise in terms of
access to employment, job training and promotions, as well as pay and working
conditions.
(d) To this end, the equality representative is granted, within his or
her area of competence, powers, means and protection similar to those enjoyed
by the staff committee as a whole. These include the power to submit
individual and collective claims to the employer and to refer them, where
necessary, to the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines. The representative is
given paid time off from work, training leave, protection against dismissal,
and so on.
In addition, the equality representative is specifically authorized to
organize staff awareness-raising campaigns and to draw up an
affirmative-action plan to eliminate the de facto inequalities observed in the
enterprise.
Moreover, the amended Act of 6 May 1974 establishing joint committees in
private enterprises and organizing the representation of employees of public
companies has been amended to ensure respect for the principle of equality
between women and men with regard to decisions and views adopted by joint
enterprise committees.
The proposal has been made to insert in this Act a specific reference to
the principle of equality of treatment for women and men as regards access to
employment, job training, promotions, pay and working conditions, and to
stipulate therein the obligation for staff representatives on joint committees
to inform the equality representative of any decisions that are particularly
liable to have an impact on equal treatment, such as those establishing
general selection criteria with regard to hiring, promotion, transfer,
dismissal, and so on.
In early 1997, the post of women's affairs ombudsman was established
within the Employment Administration, with a mandate to address all matters
and problems arising within the Employment Administration which are of
particular concern to women.
On the initiative of the Minister for the Advancement of Women and the
Interministerial Committee on Gender Equality, an interministerial discussion
group on women and employment was launched in early 1997.
The goals of this group, whose work is part of the efforts to implement
the Beijing Platform, are to: (a) document women's participation in the job
market; (b) propose alternative methods of child care; (c) determine the needs
for initial and continuing training; (d) discuss an adjustment of working
hours; (e) propose strategies for integrating and reintegrating women into the
job market; and (f) determine the obstacles which women face in the workplace.
The primary task of this group is to gather and compile a very broad
range of statistics on female employment. What is needed is to determine the
ratio of women to men in various sectors of activity, the number of women and
men working part-time, the percentage of women earning the guaranteed minimum
wage, and so on. The group will submit strategies for the concrete
implementation of Chapter IV.F ("Women and the economy") of the Beijing
Platform.
With regard to the harmonization of personal and working lives, it
should be noted that negotiations over the application in Luxembourg of
European Council directive 96/34/CE concerning the framework agreement on
parental leave are taking place between the social partners at the national
level. As a reminder, this framework agreement recognizes the non-transferable
individual right of both the father and the mother to three months of parental
leave in order to care for a child up to a certain age.
Nevertheless, a draft bill concerning the establishment of family
leave,7/ drawn up by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, was submitted
to the Chamber of Deputies on 7 March 1996.
This draft bill seeks to authorize persons engaged in paid employment
and caring for a child under 12 years of age to take initial emergency
measures on the child's behalf in the event of sickness, accident or other
compelling circumstances involving the child's health or well-being. To this
end, the draft bill grants to such persons, under certain circumstances, a
period of special leave wholly financed by the State.
For a two-parent household in which both parents meet the requirements,
and for a single-parent household, the maximum period of special leave is 16
hours per household per year for families with one child, 24 hours for
families with two children and 32 hours for families with three or more
children. In a two-parent household, the leave is shared between the two
partners and may not be transferred from one to the other.
If the family leave beneficiary works part-time, the leave period will
be adjusted proportionally.
In situations of exceptionally serious threats to a child's health, the
Minister for the Advancement of Women may extend the period of special leave.
Family leave should normally be taken in four-hour segments. In order to
ensure accountability on the part of special leave beneficiaries, the draft
bill provides that a four-hour period of special leave should be followed by
an equal period of recreational leave, so that special leave and recreational
leave are taken alternately.
Moreover, the Government decided on 22 February 1997 to undertake a
survey of public employees' views and preferences with regard to an adjustment
of working hours. The results of this survey will guide the Government in
making new proposals concerning working hours in the context of affirmative
action and administrative reform measures in the civil service.
With regard to special protection for pregnant women in the workplace,
it should be noted that on 18 February 1997, the Minister for the Advancement
of Women submitted a draft bill aimed at implementing Council directive
92/85/CE of 19 November 1992 concerning measures to improve the workplace
safety and health of women during pregnancy, confinement and lactation .8/
ARTICLE 12
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure,
on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services,
including those related to family planning.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, States
Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with
pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where
necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.
In 1996 the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry for
the Advancement of Women, organized a broad awareness-raising campaign
concerning mammography as a means of early detection of breast cancer among
women aged 50 and older. In obtaining co-sponsorship of this campaign, the
Ministry for the Advancement of Women sought to make health issues an
important element of national and local policies on equality and to provide
women with the maximum amount of information about their health. Thus,
information meetings were organized in collaboration with local equality
representatives; they were highly successful, especially in the cities of
Differdange and Wiltz.
Information was provided on changes in the female body after menopause,
cancer risks, life before and after surgery, the national mammography
programme, daily personal care and nutrition.
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry for the Advancement of Women
prepared a framework programme applicable to all regions of the country. The
campaign extends from October 1996 to May 1997.
ARTICLE 13
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life in
order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in
particular:
(a) The right to family benefits;
(b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial
credit;
(c) The right to participate in recreational activities, sports and all
aspects of cultural life.
ARTICLE 14
1. States Parties shall take into account the particular problems faced by
rural women and the significant roles which rural women play in the economic
survival of their families, including their work in the non-monetized sectors
of the economy, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the
application of the provisions of this Convention to women in rural areas.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of
equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural
development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right:
(a) To participate in the elaboration and implementation of development
planning at all levels;
(b) To have access to adequate health care facilities, including
information, counselling and services in family planning;
(c) To benefit directly from social security programmes;
(d) To obtain all types of training and education, formal and
non-formal, including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter
alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order to
increase their technical proficiency;
(e) To organize self-help groups and cooperatives in order to obtain
equal access to economic opportunities through employment or self-employment;
(f) To participate in all community activities;
(g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing
facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian
reform as well as in land resettlement schemes;
(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to
housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and
communications.
ARTICLE 15
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law.
2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity
identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity.
In particular, they shall give women equal rights to conclude contracts and to
administer property and shall treat them equally in all stages of procedure in
courts and tribunals.
3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private instruments
of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at restricting the legal
capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.
4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to
the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their
residence and domicile.
ARTICLE 16
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family
relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and
women:
(a) The same right to enter into marriage;
(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage
only with their free and full consent;
(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its
dissolution;
(d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of
their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the
interests of the children shall be paramount;
(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and
spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and
means to enable them to exercise these rights;
(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship,
wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where
these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the interests of
the children shall be paramount;
(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to
choose a family name, a profession and an occupation;
(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership,
acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of
property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.
2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and
all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a
minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an
official registry compulsory.
Upon ratification of this Convention, Luxembourg entered a reservation
with regard to the choice of a child's family name. This reservation is not
expected to be withdrawn during the current legislative session.
DOCUMENTATION
Parliamentary paper No. 4121: Policy debate on equal opportunity
Parliamentary paper No. 4240: Draft bill amending (1) the amended Act of 18
May 1979 constituting a reform of staff committees, and (2) the amended Act of
6 May 1974 establishing joint committees in private enterprises and organizing
the representation of employees of public companies
Parliamentary paper No. 4142: Draft bill on the establishment of family leave
Draft bill constituting an amendment to (A) the Act of 3 July 1975 concerning:
(1) protection of the maternity of working women; (2) an amendment to article
13 of the Social Insurance Code, as amended by the Act of 2 May 1974, and (B)
article 25 of the Social Insurance Code
Development Aid Act of 6 January 1996
Grand-ducal regulation of 31 March 1996 establishing an interministerial
committee on gender equality
Fem-Training-Net: Analysis of replies to questionnaire
Brochure entitled "Fraen a Manner si glaich - Vivons l'egalite entre hommes et
femmes" (Putting equality into practice)
Fourth medium-term Union action programme on equal opportunity between women
and men (1996-2000): Luxembourg project entitled "Partageons l'egalite -
Glaichheet delen" (Sharing equality)
Brochure entitled "Formation? Continue! Bereet sin e Liewe laang ze leieren"
(Recurrent training: preparing for lifelong learning)
Brochure entitled "Vivons l'egalite, travaillons ensamble" (Putting equality
into practice: working together)
1/ See the report prepared by the Commission on the Family, Social
Solidarity and the Advancement of Women for the policy debate on equal
opportunity (parliamentary paper No. 4121).
2/ By the grand-ducal regulation of 31 March 1996 establishing an
interministerial committee on gender equality.
3/ See below under article 4.
4/ See below under article 11.
5/ See below under articles 8 to 10.
6/ See above under article 5.
7/ Draft bill No. 4142.
8/ See draft bill No. 4278 constituting an amendment to (A) the Act of 3
July 1975 concerning: (1) protection of the maternity of working women; (2) an
amendment to article 13 of the Social Insurance Code, as amended by the Act of
2 May 1974, and (B) article 25 of the Social Insurance Code.