PRESS RELEASE: WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE PATRONISED BY QUOTAS

PRESS RELEASE

WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE PATRONISED BY BUSINESS BOARD QUOTAS SAYS WEST MIDLANDS MEP

Issue Date: 6^th March

The European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship has this week announced a 3 month public consultation on the issue of the numbers of women on company boards. It is widely expected that this will lead to legislative action.

Viviane Reding has called previously for companies to take voluntary steps to increase numbers of women on the boards of their companies to 30% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. So far, there has been very little uptake of this and Ms Reding wants to take further action to ensure that this happens.

Currently 13.7% of the board members of the top European firms are women.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP, Independent MEP for the West Midlands is very vocal in her objection to such proposals which work on the basis of positive discrimination, something which she is very much against.

Nikki has spoken out on the week of International Women’s day (Thursday 8^th March) to slam planned legislation which will see quotas on numbers of women on company boards.

“How can it be right that women have to be patronised by quotas to be placed in these high positions, and even that men could miss out on a role that they have worked their whole lives for?

What the European Union fails to see is when you use positive discrimination in ideas such as these, that you always create victims.

Women are very much so capable to get into these important positions on company boards, and in the UK we have examples of very strong women in business who have got into their positions through merit alone”.

Nikki believes that it is other factors that should be focussed on in the debate on women and business, and the main one being childcare. Britain is ranked 15th in the world for female employment, whilst other European countries rank higher, including Denmark who are 5th in the world. The West Midlands MEP believes a different culture and attitude towards childcare is responsible for this greater female workforce,

“With a greater focus on affordable childcare for women, countries like Denmark manage to maintain an increased female workforce without the need for unnecessary quotas.

If anything, this proves that legislation should not be coming from the European Union at all. This is a member state issue which needs to be tackled by the UK government rather than faceless bureaucrats in Brussels”.

ENDS

Continuing to highlight unfair car insurance caused by the EU

I am continuing to highlight how the European Union will affect all car drivers with its ruling that insurers can not give cheaper car insurance based upon gender. This could mean premiums for some drivers could increase by a whopping 30%.

By sending letters to the press, I am trying to keep  this issue in the spotlight, as I feel it is a fantastic example of how the European Union causes disruption normal people.

This is my latest letter to the media:

Dear Sir,

The UK insurance sector is one that is consistently growing against a backdrop of economic difficulty. Indeed, the financial sector dominates the City of London, and brings employment and wealth to the country as a whole.

The insurance sector is now under threat.

The EU wants to bring in legislation that will determine which factors can be taken into account when determining insurance premiums. Gender, age, and disability are amongst those factors used by actuaries to determine premiums. From December 21st 2012, following a ruling from the European Court of Justice, they will no longer be able to do this.

UK industry is reeling under the weight of red-tape and over regulation from Brussels. Despite making occasional mumblings of discontent, Her Majesty's Government does nothing to stem this flow, and now a great many of us will see our insurance premiums rise despite the wishes of the insurer themselves.

As a British Member of the European Parliament I constantly vote against such damaging interference. Sadly, even amongst my fellow Britons, I am in a minority.

Last year I took the chance to talk about this issue on international women's day, slamming the EU on creating legislation that makes women's lives more difficult.

I have also spoken about this issue during the women's committee

 

My previous posts on this issue:


HUMAN RIGHTS FOR DRUNK DRIVERS NEXT, ASKS MEP NIKKI SINCLAIRE?
My anti positive discrimination message hits Spain