On Thursday 27 September, PES Women will have its Annual Conference on combating young women’s unemployment. Engaged women and men from the political world, NGOs and trade-unions will discuss the obstacles and solutions for young women’s employment.

This event marks the highlight of the joint PES-PES Women-ECOSY campaign: “Your Future is My Future: a European Youth Guarantee now!”

With this campaign the European socialists have been urging to implement a European Youth Guarantee. This is a guarantee that ensures that every young person in Europe is offered a job, further education or work-focused training at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed.

PES Women has taken part in this campaign underlining the fact that women’s participation on the labour market is essential and this should be integrated in employment policies. PES Women has therefore been putting this issue at the core of its activities since 2012 International Women’s Day, underlining that women count on the labour market. Zita Gurmai, PES Women President, has also been taking part in a series of events in Brussels and in Member States to promote the campaign and its gender dimension.

At the PES Women Annual Conference, speakers will firstly look into the specific causes of young women’s unemployment, i.e.  gender-segregated education and gender segregated labour market. As highlighted throughout the year, these factors lead women to jobs which are less well paid, require fewer qualifications, are more precarious and provide lower chances of advancement as well as a lack of work-life balance.

Then, in the second panel, speakers will discuss the solutions to these obstacles, including gender budgeting, guaranteeing equal access to green jobs and reconciliation of private and professional life.

PES Women members are looking forward to welcoming you at this event and discuss the gender angle of the Youth Guarantee Campaign!

Keynote speakers include:

Nicolas Schmit, Luxembourgish Minister for Labour and co-chair of the PES Working Group on Youth Unemployment
Mercedes Bresso, Vice President of the Committee of the Regions
Sonja Lokar, President of the European Women’s Lobby

Programme - "Combating Young Women's Unemployment", PES Women Annual Conference