Progress in equality and law for women: the glass is half full
Following 40 years of research into the legal equality principle, Emeritus Professor Titia Loenen gave her valedictory lecture in which she took stock of the progress that has been achieved. She focused on equal rights for women and is cautiously optimistic, despite the current rise in conservatism and populism.
Titia Loenen started out as an Assistant Professor in Leiden University’s Women and Law department in the 1980s, when quality and anti-discrimination were top priorities. Direct discrimination in law had been largely eliminated, including in terms of family and property law. Professor Loenen explains: ‘The mentality around equality has changed and rights have been aligned. Nowadays, you very seldom hear someone say that a woman’s place is in the kitchen.’
Positive outcomes
In her valedictory lecture on Friday 27 September, Professor Loenen highlighted the importance of looking at the positive outcomes at a time of rising conservatism and pressure on fundamental rights. She says: ‘The glass if half full – much has been achieved in terms of equal opportunities for women.’
At the same time, equal treatment of men and women by no means always results equality in practice. Take, for example, the gender pay gap and part-time work due to the unequal distribution of work and care responsibilities. ‘If you really want to tackle that, you have to examine the underlying societal structure,’ she explains.
Unconscious processes
Professor Loenen gives a poignant example: the latest Women Professors Monitor, which showed that three-quarters of professors are male, while only one third are female. This while more women are pursuing a university education than men – and it’s been the case for years now. Somewhere in the chain, the flow of female students to the role of professor is stagnating.’ Unconscious processes play a role in this, says Professor Loenen. It may involve social mechanisms, with men always opting for positions with high prestige or a high salary.
When it comes to professorial appointments, research has shown that in recruitment and selection procedures, people choose to work with people who are very similar to themselves. Women are also less likely to be hired if they have taken career breaks to have children; they publish fewer articles, while the number of publications you have contributed to is a criterion for assessing appointments. Professor Loenen continues: ‘These are sociological and psychological processes that make change difficult. You also notice that some things cannot be solved by changing the laws and regulations.’
The law simply cannot function on its own
One example is something Professor Loenen observed as a visiting lecturer in South Africa, just after the abolition of apartheid. ‘At the stroke of a pen almost, a new constitution including equal rights for all came into being. But in reality, there was a lot of progress to be made. So you should always look at what equal treatment means in practical terms. What’s the actual outcome? And if that turns out to be very unequal, you have to try to achieve a more equal outcome in a different way.’
Threats from conservative circles
Professor Loenen has observed a positive shift over her forty-year career. Reflecting, she says that a noticeably more inclusive approach to equality and non-discrimination in theory has also been implemented more in practice. ‘The judicial system has contributed significantly to that. However, at the same time there are threats to equal rights from conservative, reactionary circles. For the first time, I find myself questioning whether women's equality will always be embedded in law.’
Throughout her years of research and teaching, Professor Loenen has encountered the limits of the potential impact of law on the intended outcome. She adds: ‘The law simply cannot function on its own.’ Changing the entrenched foundations of society is a lengthy process, although law does play an important role in this.
Looking to the future
Going forward, Professor Loenen considers the increasing focus on the role of poverty and socioeconomic inequality for all groups facing structural discrimination to be a positive development. ‘Combatting poverty is essential and could be an alternative to more controversial policy instruments such as preference policies for specific target groups,’ she explains.
Professor Titia Loenen is not out of the picture yet. Her book entitled ‘The Conceptualization of Equality and Non-Discrimination as Legal Standards’, set to be published this year, explores the shaping of equality as a legal principle.
Jan-Willem Oomen