“Greece recently passed another reform for gender equality in the labor market, the 14th since 2019, confirming that the Greek Government supports women in practice,” said the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Domna Michaelidou, during the speech of the Summit of European Ministers of Labor, on the subject of equal access of the sexes to the labor market.
Referring to the Greek Government’s initiatives to bridge the gender gap in the labor market, the Greek Minister of Labor and Social Security referred to the measures adopted by Greece, which are as follows:
1. The maternity allowance is extended for 9 months to freelancers, self-employed and farmers.
2. Raising the income thresholds for a middle-income family to receive a subsidy for nurseries and daycare centers
3. Mothers are given the right to transfer up to 7 months, from the special maternity protection benefit, to the father, regardless of whether he is employed under private law or is self-employed or a farmer.
4. The birth allowance was increased from 2,400 euros to 3,500 euros and is given to new mothers to support the family, especially in the first period following the birth of a child, which involves inflexible expenses.
5. Increase by 1,000 euros of the tax-free allowance for families with children, to deal with the demographic problem.
6. The right to paid leave for women undergoing IVF.
7. The increase of paid paternity leave days from 2 to 14 which is more than the 10 days stipulated by the European directive.
8. The parental leave of 4 months for both parents. In fact, the two months are covered by the Public Employment Service with the minimum wage.
9. Carer’s leave for serious medical reasons of people under their care (5 days). Parents/guardians are also entitled to 2 days of paid leave due to force majeure.
10. Caregivers / parents of children up to 12 years of age are entitled to request flexible working arrangements from their employers, such as remote work, part-time work, flexible hours, provided they have been working for at least 6 months with the same employer.
11. Reducing the gender pay gap from an estimated 10% today to 5% in 2027, and below 3% in 2030.
12. The “neighborhood nannies” program for the certified care and custody of infants and toddlers up to 2.5 years old, where there is no density of nurseries.
13. The programs of the Recovery Fund through which more than 74,000 new jobs are expected to be created for people facing difficulties in accessing the labor market (mothers who have stayed out of the market to take care of their child, citizens with disabilities, etc. ).
14. Major equality and diversity training program for over 1.5 million public and private sector employers and employees.
The Minister of Labor and Social Security made a special reference to law 4706/2020 which mandates the adequate representation of women on the boards of directors of listed companies and its successful implementation. “As early as 2021, there is a steady annual increase in overall female representation on the boards of companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange from 25 to 28%,” he said.
Domna Michailidou, addressing her counterparts, noted that “despite the reforms that have been made in the EU, women still face obstacles for equal participation in the labor market, equal pay and pension security”. As he emphasized, “The statistics underline the need to accelerate our pace in order to achieve equality in the labor market as well.”
The Minister for Labor and Social Security has called on her European counterparts to implement bolder strategies to reduce gender gaps in employment, pay and pensions, laying the foundations for an inclusive Europe.
Domna Michailidou met today Monday with Esther Lynch, Secretary General of the ETUC (European Trade Union), with Oliver Roepke, president of the EESC (European Economic and Social Committee), with the Regional Director of Unicef for Europe and Asia Regina De Dominicis, Patrick Paquet Head of the National Monitoring Unit for Employment and Social Inclusion and ESF Operations for Greece and Cyprus and Barbara Kauffmann Director of Employment and Social Governance in the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
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