The European Commission will address the issue of gender equality in a time of economic crisis during a conference in Brussels on 15 and 16 June 2009 . The two-day conference will bring together representatives from the European institutions, notably Vice-President Wallström and Commissioner  Špidla; representatives from national governments and equality bodies, European social partners and civil society to identify future priorities in the field of gender equality.

Margot Wallström, Vice President of the Commission, has assured that  one woman in three will be raped, beaten, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

"In today’s economic climate, gender equality is more important than ever," said Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. "We have made real progress but the current economic slowdown creates new challenges for the EU. The economic downturn has affected men more severely than women, reflecting the fact that many of the sectors hardest hit employ a predominantly male workforce. Now more than ever, we need to make the best use of all our human resources, both women and men."

The conference will also take stock of the achievements of the Commission's current Roadmap for equality between women and men, adopted in 2006  under the Progress Programme framework. Its objective is to identify future priorities in the field of gender equality to prepare the Commission's future strategy on equality between women and men. The conference will provide the opportunity to verify with all stakeholders if the objectives in the current roadmap are still valid and to what extent they will have to be complemented by new objectives and priorities.

Despite overall progress on gender equality, significant gaps still remain in several areas. Women represent 59% of all new university graduates. Nevertheless, across the EU economy, women earn on average 17% less than men.

More women (31.2%) work part-time than men (7.7%) and they predominate in sectors where wages are lower (more than 40% of women work in health, education and public administration – twice as many as men). Women occupy fewer positions of responsibility; they are highly under-represented in economic decision-making and in European politics, according to data from the 2009 annual report on equality between men and women, published by the Commission.