CAREERS� Home advantage. Viviane Reding heads back to Luxembourg and gives the Spanish a piece of her mind. ENTRE NOUS 27
2510 June 2010
MOVERS & SHAKERSJOBS Equality
Finding new ways toclose the gender gap
At first, the prospect ofbecoming the firsthead of the European
Institute for Gender Equali-ty in Vilnius seemed like achange of direction for Vir-ginija Langbakk.
“The job was more on themanagement side, and I wasframing my career aroundgender-equality expertise, so I was a bit doubtful,” sherecalls. But now she thinksthe fit is a good one. “Genderexpertise should be our speciality, which makes myexperience relevant for thework I have to do.”
She had spent the previ-ous 16 years working as agender expert in the privateand public sectors. “Mostly Iwas exporting Swedish andScandinavian ‘best practice’for gender-equality work” to developing countries,among others, she says.
Her most recent previousposition was in the Swedishministry of foreign affairs,where she worked on inter-national co-operation proj-
ects. Working in the newlycreated EU agency meansdealing more closely withthe core issues of genderequality. “I’ll be able to focuson the area that I like most,”she says.
Raising awarenessThe institute’s role is to pro-vide technical support andgender expertise to EU andmember state policymakers.This ranges from collectingand analysing data on gen-der issues, to the develop-ment of methodologicaltools that will help integrategender considerations intoall policy areas.
More broadly, the insti-tute is charged with sup-porting networking, spread-ing best practice and raisingawareness of gender-equali-ty issues among EU citizens.
While this final point hasa campaigning air about it,in general the institute is notallowed to push too hard.
“We are not supposed todo advocacy or lobbying. We
have to be objective,” Lang-bakk says. It will mainlywork on the request of poli-cymakers, which she sees asan advantage since it sug-gests the results will be used.
“It’s not trying to push orpersuade,” she says. “Your interventions are not isolat-ed, but consolidated and co-ordinated. In that sense, it’sthe chance of a lifetime.”
Langbakk was appointedin April 2009, and much ofher time since then has beenspent learning the legal andadministrative demands ofestablishing an EU agency.But opening offices in Vil-nius has been made easierbecause she speaks the lan-
guage – born and raised inLithuania, she went to Swe-den to work after universityand now holds Swedish citi-zenship.
Since the institute formal-ly opened its doors in Vilniusin December, she has beenable to concentrate more onrecruitment and setting upthe expert working groupsthat will help the staff of 30in its work.
While other EU agenciescan count on recruiting fromthe European Commission,particularly when tasks suchas project management arebeing outsourced, the insti-tute has to look further afield.
“It is not typical for some-
one who is a gender expertto work in the Commission,”Langbakk says. “That meansthat we are trying to recruitfrom all the member states.”
Recruitment issuesIronically, achieving genderbalance is also a challenge.“Traditionally, gender-equal-ity issues have been more fo-cused on women’s rights,and that is why there aremore women – including me– who work with genderequality,” Langbakk says. “Sowe have to find measures torecruit more men.”
The few men alreadyworking in the field tend tobe career civil servants, unlikely to move abroad, soshe is placing her hopes on a
new generation. “It would begood to have the young ones,the ones who want to devel-op and create a career ingender equality.”
She thinks it is increasing-ly possible to think of genderequality as a career, not justan option in campaigninggroups or the civil service incountries where gender is apriority.
“When we start working,it will show that this is animportant area and you can-not just ignore it, saying that‘now we have to work withthe economy or the environ-ment, but we’ll deal withgender later’.”
Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.
Virginija Langbakk tells Ian Mundellabout the challenges of opening theEU’s gender-equality institute
� Pat Cox, Péter Balázs and Gilles Savary have been appointed asEuropean co-ordinators for the Trans-European Transport Network(TEN-T) by the European Commission. They took up their positionson 8 June; their terms run until 22 July, 2013. Cox, a former presidentof the European Parliament, will oversee the Berlin-Palermo railwayproject. He replaces former commissioner Karel van Miert, who diedin June 2009. Balázs, a former Hungarian foreign minister, will co-ordinate the Paris-Bratislava project and Savary, a former MEP, will be responsible for the Athens-Nuremburg/Dresden project.
� Nicolas Acker has joined Cabinet DN, a consultancy, as a direc-tor. He will work on environment, transport and energy policy. SaraWebber has also joined the company to work on public relations,events and media strategy.
� Luisa Todini started as president of the European ConstructionIndustry Federation (FIEC) on 28 May. She replaced Dirk Cordeel, aBelgian contractor. Todini, who heads an Italian construction compa-ny, had previously held the post of vice-president of FIEC. She willhold her new post for a two-year term.
� Sofia Valleley has been appointed communications manager for European projects at the European Food Information Council (EUFIC). She previously worked as communications manager at theEuropean Science Foundation in Strasbourg.
�Send details of Movers & Shakers to [email protected]
NEW CHALLENGE Virginija Langbakk.
CAREERS
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Please note that the final selection will be held in SeptemberFor further information, please visit our web site: www.aaf-eu.org.
Please send your CV to: [email protected]
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His/her clients will be active in a range of industries. It is the perfect stepping stone for an ambitious professional looking to launch or develop an international career in a respected group.
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Applications, including a full curriculum vitae and a covering letter, should be sent by24 June to Anne Marchadier, Operations Director, European Voice, rue de la Loi 155,Box 6, Brussels, 1040, Belgium; or to [email protected]. The intentionis to hold interviews in the last week of June and early July.
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