Positive Action in EU Law

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1 Positive Action in EU Law ERA Academy of European Law October 2013 Thessaloniki Dr Panos Kapotas University of Portsmouth

2 Presentation Overview Part A Definitions Theoretical Background Typology Part B Normative framework EU policies CJEU case-law Part C Statistical data and critical reflections

3 Part A DEFINITIONS, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, TYPOLOGY

4 POSITIVE ACTION IN EU LAW: KEY POINTS Permissible not compulsory Legislation Case-law Policies Employment law (public decision making bodies?) POSITIVE ACTION IN EU LAW Quotas (as our principal focus) Inequalities (underrepresentation or disadvantage as a trigger) Gender (permissible on other grounds as well)

5 What is positive action: Working definition Definition Positive action is an umbrella term that accounts for a wide range of measures aimed at redressing inequalities stemming from past or present discrimination. It denotes the deliberate use of gender-conscious criteria for the specific purpose of benefiting a group that has previously been disadvantaged or excluded from important areas of the public sphere on the grounds of gender. Key elements Some form of preferential treatment allocated to members of under-represented / disadvantaged (underprivileged) group(s) group approach Conceptual (and normative) link to discrimination group disadvantage / under-representation (or exclusion) stems from discrimination (past or present).

6 Theoretical Background: Conceptions of Equality and Positive Action Conceptions of equality (classical conceptual framework) approach to positive action Formal equality treating likes alike NO to any form of positive action Equal opportunities levelling the playing field YES only to soft forms of positive action Substantive equality de facto equality - outcomes matter YES to positive action either conditionally (flexible result q.) or unconditionally (strict q.) NB: One of the key questions in the positive action discourse is whether there has been a paradigm shift in EU law and in the CJEU case-law from formal to substantive equality.

7 Positive action typology [I] Monitoring (composition of workforce) Strict quotas (no interpersonal comparison of qualifications) Redefining (selection criteria merit) Flexible quotas (tie-break) Outreach measures (general +individual)

Positive action typology (II) Soft Strict Identify

competing in the labour market on equal terms Remove

underrepresentation by favouring individual members of

mechanisms and inclusive definitions of merit) or

targeted training) Use quotas to achieve results in the

8 Positive action typology (II) Soft Strict Identify under-represented groups and improve their chances of competing in the labour market on equal terms Remove existing inequalities and reduce visible underrepresentation by favouring individual members of underrepresented groups Abstract-general (monitoring mechanisms and inclusive definitions of merit) or concrete-individual (active encouragement to apply; targeted training) Use quotas to achieve results in the short term, either flexible (tie-break between equally qualified candidates) or nonflexible (no interpersonal comparison of merit)

9 Part B NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK, EU POLICIES, CJEU CASE-LAW

10 EU Normative Framework: Positive Action Article 157 (4) TFEU (ex Article EC): With a view to ensuring full equality in practice between men and women in working life, the principle of equal treatment shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or adopting measures providing for specific advantages in order to make it easier for the under-represented sex to pursue a vocational activity or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional careers. Article 3 Directive 2006/54/EC: Member States may maintain or adopt measures within the meaning of Article of the Treaty [now Art TFEU] with a view to ensuring full equality in practice between men and women in working life. Article 23 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Equality between women and men must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay. The principle of equality shall not prevent the maintenance or adoption of measures providing for specific advantages in favour of the under-represented sex.

11 EU policy initiatives: Recent developments on the Board Pledge for Europe (Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission and EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, March 2011) call on publicly listed companies in Europe to sign a voluntary commitment to increase women s presence on their corporate boards to 30 % by 2015 and 40 % by 2020 November 2012 Commission proposed a Directive setting a 40% objective of the under-represented sex in non-executive board-member positions in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises.

12 CJEU Positive Action Case-Law [I]: Formal equality? Commission v. France (1988) French law permitting collective agreements to include provisions granting special rights to women found to be incompatible with the ETD due to its generality and the absence of an appropriate mechanism to review the special rights periodically. Para 14: [s]ome of the special rights preserved relate to the protection of women in their capacity as older workers or parents - categories to which both men and women may equally belong. Kalanke (1995) German regional law with a tie-break clause in favour of equally qualified female candidates in sectors where women were underrepresented was found to go beyond equality of opportunities, due to automatic preference to the female candidate amounting to unjustifiable reverse discrimination. Para 16: A national rule that, where men and women who are candidates for the same promotion are equally qualified, women are automatically to be given priority in sectors where they are underrepresented, involves discrimination on grounds of sex.

13 CJEU Positive Action Case-Law [II]: Substantive equality? Marschall (1997) German regional law provided for preferential treatment to equally qualified female candidates in career brackets where women were under-represented, unless reasons specific to an individual [male] candidate tilt the balance in his favour. Badeck (1999) German public service rules gave priority to women in promotions, access to training and recruitment in sectors of the public service where women were underrepresented, when the female candidate was equally qualified to her male counterpart and only if no reasons of greater legal weight did not tilt the balance in favour of the male candidate. CJEU found that the scheme was compatible with EU Law because the saving clause ensured that the selection process permitted for an ad hoc consideration of the candidates individual circumstances. CJEU found that the scheme was compatible with ex Art. 141 (4) EC (now Art. 157 TFEU).

14 CJEU Positive Action Case-Law [III]: Limits of substantive equality Abrahamsson (2000) Swedish regulation for appointments to teaching posts in higher education institutions provided for preference to sufficiently qualified candidates of the under-represented sex, even when less qualified, under the proviso that the difference in qualifications is not so great that application of the rule would be contrary to the requirement of objectivity in the making of appointments. Para 52: [T]he legislation at issue in the main proceedings automatically grants preference to candidates belonging to the under represented sex, provided that they are sufficiently qualified, subject only to the proviso that the difference between the [ ] is not so great as to result in a breach of the requirement of objectivity in making appointments. Para 55: [I]t cannot be inferred from [Article 157 (4) TFEU] that it allows a selection method of the kind at issue in the main proceedings which appears, on any view, to be disproportionate to the aim pursued.

15 CJEU Positive Action Case-Law [IV]: Conditions of legitimacy Flexible result quota Operate as a tie-breaker between equally qualified candidates. Saving clause Proviso that allows for an ad hoc interpersonal comparison of individual situations. Sunset clause Temporally limited application / periodic review.

16 CJEU Positive Action Case-Law [V]: Beyond quotas in employment Griesmar (2001) French Civil and Military Retirement Pensions Code provided that female civil servants with children were entitled to a service credit added to their pension for each of their children, biological or adopted. CJEU found that the legitimacy of the scheme depends on whether the system is designed to offset occupational disadvantages that stem from childbirth, which is a uniquely female condition, or occupational disadvantages related to the upbringing of children, which is not. Lommers (2002) Dutch public sector scheme whereby a limited number of subsidised nursery places were reserved for female employees; male employees could, as a matter of exception, take advantage of the scheme in emergency situations. CJEU held that the difference in treatment on grounds of gender was legitimate under the ETD, insofar as it satisfied the standard criteria of legality. Briheche (2004) French law exempted certain categories of women, including widows who have not remarried, from the maximum age limit of 45 years for obtaining access to public sector employment. Para 27: [The scheme in question] automatically and unconditionally gives priority to the candidatures of certain categories of women [...] excluding widowers who have not remarried who are in the same situation.

17 Part C STATISTICAL DATA AND CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

18 GENDER EQUALITY IN THE EU: THE STATUS QUO IN FIGURES DO WE REALLY NEED GENDER QUOTAS?

19 Gender balance in decision-making bodies [I]: National institutions Central Banks Quoted Companies 80% Members 20% 0% 100% Heads 4% 96% Presidents 86% Members 14% Supreme Courts (national) President Members 80% 20% 68% 32%

Gender balance in decision-making bodies [II]: European institutions European Courts European Courts Members European Financial Institutions 0%

20 Gender balance in decision-making bodies [II]: European institutions European Courts European Courts Members European Financial Institutions 0% 100% 72% 28% President / Chairman 0% 100% 95% Members 5% 83% European Institutions (Council, Commission, EP) Level 1 Admin 17% 69% Level 2 Admin 31%

21 Critical Reflections Paradigm shift in EU Law and CJEU case-law from formal to substantive equality? Can female candidates ever be given preference over more qualified male candidates? Under-representation v. disadvantage? Group approach v. individual beneficiaries? Positive action v. special treatment / reasonable accommodation?

22 Dr Panos Kapotas

Positive Action and Gender Quotas in EU Law

Positive Action and Gender Quotas in EU Law ERA Academy of European Law September 2015 Trier Dr Panos Kapotas Senior Lecturer University of Portsmouth Presentation Overview Part A Definitions Theoretical