VIRAGE - Industrial Relations and Gender Equality| Report on National Case Study : Belgium

This national report for Belgium is part of the VIRAGE project on industrial relations, social dialogue and gender equality. VIRAGE aims to study how industrial relations and social dialogue can shape progress towards the achievement of gender equality in Europe. Funded by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, the project is coordinated by the Brussels-based think tank CEPS and implemented in partnership with HIVA-KU Leuven (Belgium), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Warsaw School of Economics (Poland) and Sapienza – University of Rome (Italy). This report presents an overview of the context, policies and legislation relevant to
gender equality in Belgium, taking into consideration the national, regional and community levels, and the scope of actions by industrial relations actors.

Why it's a good practice: The research conducted in this case study confirms that policymakers and social partners in Belgium view gender equality as an important topic. It is tackled at the national, sectoral and company levels, both in social dialogue and through social partners’ involvement in advisory and other councils, as well as through national legislation and regulation. All five dimensions of gender (in)equality are addressed in policy and social dialogue, often in collaboration between the government and social partners. A range of initiatives and measures taken by social partners and policymakers was identified.
Policymakers and social partners both recognise the essential role of social dialogue in addressing gender equality, with the sector level as the main level for negotiation. However, it does appear that gender equality is receiving somewhat less attention and resources than in the past.
Representatives from both policy and social partners pointed to the importance of measures, initiatives and actions aiming to improve gender equality at the European and international levels. Although the current government is ambitious as regards gender equality and has put forward a national action plan based on the principles of gender mainstreaming, EU-level initiatives, such as the proposal on pay transparency, the work-life balance directive, or the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, are essential to push for change.
In terms of the state of gender equality, Belgium tends to perform relatively well in comparison with the EU average for the five gender dimensions in focus, in particular when it comes to the gender pay gap, which, according to our analysis, might soon be reversed for younger cohorts. Nevertheless, mostpolicymakers and social partners that were interviewed for this case study indicated that, in their view, the gender pay gap is the highest priority issue, and this is also an area where both policymakers and social partners can exercise a lot of influence and are strongly involved in. Of the five dimensions, the poorest scores for Belgium are recorded for the gender care gap and work-life balance. At least part of
this issue seems to be driven by the focus on leaves, which the social partners believe exacerbate gender gaps. For this reason, the debate on how to reform this system of leaves is now on the table.
The social partners were also disappointed by the fact that three-quarters of the employees who used the Covid-19 parental leave were women. Women are still over-represented among part-time workers, which is linked to a lack of high-quality and affordable childcare services. What is striking from thecountry analysis is that there is relatively little attention paid to intersectionality.

Read the full analysis: https://www.ceps.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/VIRAGE_D3.1-Report-on-National-Study-Belgium.pdf