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Europadomstolen och kvinnorna, en historisk överblick på Europarättens syn på kvinnor i ljuset av likalönprincipen i praxis och andra rättsakter

Conta, Sunjatha LU (2010) JURM01 20101
Department of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Vid en historisk översikt av den Europeiska historien från 1900-talets början och framåt kan man se att kvinnor setts av det europeiska samhället som framförallt mödrar som skall ta hand om hemmet. Detta har visat sig genom samhällets, och Europadomstolens diskurs. Från det att kvinnor lämnade hemmet och började deltidsarbeta, och senare heltidsarbeta, så har denna syn succesivt förändrats.

Vid tiden för Defrenne-fallet, sågs det som en självklarhet att kvinnor skulle tjäna mindre än män. Det fanns de som resonerade så att män skulle tjäna mer eftersom att det var männen som var familjeförsörjare, det kom inte ens på tal att kvinnor även de var fullt kapabla att försörja familjen. Defrenne-fallet blev startskottet för utvecklingen... (More)
Vid en historisk översikt av den Europeiska historien från 1900-talets början och framåt kan man se att kvinnor setts av det europeiska samhället som framförallt mödrar som skall ta hand om hemmet. Detta har visat sig genom samhällets, och Europadomstolens diskurs. Från det att kvinnor lämnade hemmet och började deltidsarbeta, och senare heltidsarbeta, så har denna syn succesivt förändrats.

Vid tiden för Defrenne-fallet, sågs det som en självklarhet att kvinnor skulle tjäna mindre än män. Det fanns de som resonerade så att män skulle tjäna mer eftersom att det var männen som var familjeförsörjare, det kom inte ens på tal att kvinnor även de var fullt kapabla att försörja familjen. Defrenne-fallet blev startskottet för utvecklingen kring principen lika lön för lika arbete inom den Europeiska gemenskapen. Detta var första gången domstolen slog fast att det var ett brott mot EG-rätten att betala ut lägre lön till kvinnor än till män.

Kvinnor ansågs under en lång tid vara mest lämpade som deltidsarbetare. Skälet till detta var att det var vida ansett i Europa att det var kvinnor som skulle ta hand om barnen, mannen och hemmet. Allt annat än detta var något av ett misslyckande från kvinnans sida.

Långt in på den utveckling som skett i Europa underlättade domstolen för kvinnor som arbetade deltid. Detta kan även ses som ett exempel på hur domstolen, genom sin diskurs, befäste de roller som kvinnorna hade.
I takt med förändringar inom den Europeiska Unionen, så förändrades även domstolen syn på de avvägningar som sker mellan de ekonomiska och social värderingarna. De sociala värderingarna som likalönprincipen faller under, gavs större tyngd.

I lagtexten är kvinnor och män numera nästan jämlika, men det är bara en del av den stora bilden. Sanningen är den, att det krävs stora förändringar inom domstolens och de europeiska instutionerna för att de ska ha en möjlighet att nå jämställdhet mellan könen. Det är lätt att se i domstolens diskurs att det fortfarande finns områden där kvinnor behandlas på ett sätt och män behandlas på ett annat. Det är även tydligt att de inte helt kommit ifrån att det anses att det är kvinnor som skall ta hand om hemmet och barnen. Att en kvinna skulle välja arbetslivet framför familjelivet verkar enligt domstolen fortfarande inte vara helt naturligt. (Less)
Abstract
At an historical overview of the European history, from the start of the 20th century and onward, one can see that the European society’s view of women have been that of the mother and the homemaker. This has been shown through the discourse of the society and the European Court of Justice. Since women left their homes and started working part-time, and later full-time, this view has change bit by bit.

At the time of the Defrenne-case, it was seen as a matter of course that women should earn less than men. There were those who argued that men should earn more because they were the breadwinners of the family, it was not even mentioned that women are fully capable of providing for the family financially. The Defrenne-case was the... (More)
At an historical overview of the European history, from the start of the 20th century and onward, one can see that the European society’s view of women have been that of the mother and the homemaker. This has been shown through the discourse of the society and the European Court of Justice. Since women left their homes and started working part-time, and later full-time, this view has change bit by bit.

At the time of the Defrenne-case, it was seen as a matter of course that women should earn less than men. There were those who argued that men should earn more because they were the breadwinners of the family, it was not even mentioned that women are fully capable of providing for the family financially. The Defrenne-case was the starting point for the development of the equal pay principle within the European Community. This was the first time the Court found it to be a crime against Community law, to pay lower wages to women than to men.

For a long period of time women were thought to be best suited for part-time work. The reason for this was that it was widely thought, in Europe, that it was women who should take care of the children, their husband and the home. Anything but this was seen as a failure from the woman’s side.

During the course of the development in Europe, the Court made it easier for women to work part-time. This can be seen as one of the ways in which the Court, through its discourse, confirms the rolls that women already had to bear.
In tune with the change within the European Union, the Court’s view on the assessment of social values against economic values has also changed. The social values, which the equal-pay principle represent, have been given priority.

On paper, men and women are almost equal that is however only one part of the bigger picture. The truth is, there are changes to be made by the Court and the European institutions if they are to have a possibility of reaching equality between the sexes. In the Court’s discourse it is easy to see that there are still areas were women are treated like women and men are treated like men. It is also clear that they have not full heartedly left the view of women as the ones who are to care for the home and the children. That a woman could choose a work-career instead of family life seems to be unnatural to the Court. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Conta, Sunjatha LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM01 20101
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EG-rätt, Rättshistoria
language
Swedish
id
1686471
date added to LUP
2010-09-24 16:21:42
date last changed
2010-09-24 16:21:42
@misc{1686471,
  abstract     = {{At an historical overview of the European history, from the start of the 20th century and onward, one can see that the European society’s view of women have been that of the mother and the homemaker. This has been shown through the discourse of the society and the European Court of Justice. Since women left their homes and started working part-time, and later full-time, this view has change bit by bit.

 At the time of the Defrenne-case, it was seen as a matter of course that women should earn less than men. There were those who argued that men should earn more because they were the breadwinners of the family, it was not even mentioned that women are fully capable of providing for the family financially. The Defrenne-case was the starting point for the development of the equal pay principle within the European Community. This was the first time the Court found it to be a crime against Community law, to pay lower wages to women than to men.

 For a long period of time women were thought to be best suited for part-time work. The reason for this was that it was widely thought, in Europe, that it was women who should take care of the children, their husband and the home. Anything but this was seen as a failure from the woman’s side.

 During the course of the development in Europe, the Court made it easier for women to work part-time. This can be seen as one of the ways in which the Court, through its discourse, confirms the rolls that women already had to bear.
 In tune with the change within the European Union, the Court’s view on the assessment of social values against economic values has also changed. The social values, which the equal-pay principle represent, have been given priority.

 On paper, men and women are almost equal that is however only one part of the bigger picture. The truth is, there are changes to be made by the Court and the European institutions if they are to have a possibility of reaching equality between the sexes. In the Court’s discourse it is easy to see that there are still areas were women are treated like women and men are treated like men. It is also clear that they have not full heartedly left the view of women as the ones who are to care for the home and the children. That a woman could choose a work-career instead of family life seems to be unnatural to the Court.}},
  author       = {{Conta, Sunjatha}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Europadomstolen och kvinnorna, en historisk överblick på Europarättens syn på kvinnor i ljuset av likalönprincipen i praxis och andra rättsakter}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}