This is sought through a gender mainstreaming approach across all pillars, reducing gender gaps in unemployment and employment rates, tackling gender segregation and pay gaps, and promoting policies oriented at reconciling work and family life, including the provision of childcare services.

However, most of the policies are presented in gender neutral terms while, for instance, there are likely to be significant differences by gender in the distribution of hidden labour, and as far as the old age employment rate is concerned, women in old age are again likely to face different problems with respect to old men who have been active for most of their life.

J. whereas sex-selective practices disrupt gender balance in societies, cause skewed population sex ratios and have economic and social impacts; whereas gender imbalance in the form of ‘excess men’ affects long-term social stability, leading to an overall increase in criminality, frustration, violence, trafficking, sex slavery, exploitation, prostitution and rape;

J. whereas sex-selective practices disrupt gender balance in societies, cause skewed population sex ratios and have economic and social impacts; whereas gender imbalance in the form of "excess men" affects long-term social stability, leading to an overall increase in criminality, frustration, violence, trafficking, sex slavery, exploitation, prostitution and rape;

In 2002 the Commission carried out an evaluation of the European Employment Strategy which revealed that more emphasis is being put on the gender equality issue, even in the Member States that were "lagging behind", and the gap between the sexes has narrowed in terms of employment and unemployment rates.

As stated in the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities, to which we contributed proposals, that were approved, antagonism clearly exists between the objectives for employment rates that have been laid down by the Council and the minimal importance that the majority of the Member States attach to integrating sensitivity to gender issues in their employment policies. This failure to integrate such sensitivity in Member State policies can be seen in the lack of national objectives for reducing the various disparities between the genders in the labour market, whether these be a lack in adequate childcare services, or the limited initiatives for reducing wage disparities between the ...[+++]sexes, for example.