"Groundbreaking" vote for gender equality

5.50.43pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 30th Mar 2004

"Real equality means equality everywhere" said London LibDem Euro-MP Baroness Sarah Ludford today after MEPs adopted a report on equality for men and women in access to goods and services.

Commenting after the adoption of the vote in the European Parliament Baroness Ludford said:

"Today's vote is groundbreaking because it is the first piece of European legislation aimed at achieving gender equality outside employment. Equality isn't just about what we get paid, it's also about what we pay, for insurance and any other goods or services. Where gender alone is used to justify differential treatment for services like insurance, neither men nor women get a fair deal."

"When this legislation enters into force women and men will have to be treated as individuals by European banks and insurance providers. In many areas, such as health and motor insurance, insurers use sex as a proxy when calculating risk. Factors such as where you live, your employment, if you smoke or your diet are as - if not more - important. We should insure people as individuals, not on the basis of gender stereotypes."

"The report Parliament adopted today gives the industries concerned a long transition period to adapt their practices and draw up new actuarial tables for their risk assessments. Industry should aim to work with the EU in a constructive partnership."