“Choosing between career and family? That’s not true. I have 7 children and I am president of the European Commissio

“Too many of us were told we had to choosing between being a mother and making a career. How mother of seven children and how president of the European Commission, I dare to disagree. But I know the obstacles women face“Declared the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen on the occasion of the “W20 Women Rome Summit” explaining that “we must therefore strive to create the right conditions for all women to enjoy equal access to the labor market“.

The European Union aims at the reduction of the gender employment gap by 50% by 2030: “I will bring this commitment to the table of leaders at the G20 in October. But to achieve this, women need the right support. We need parental payments and parental leave for mothers and fathers. We need to offer one more and better childcare. We must strengthen assistance for the elderly ”, added the EU leader according to whom“ these policies require a cultural change, but also adequate resources ”.

Another issue on which to emphasize, according to the President of the European Commission, is that ofinstruction. “We must invest more in education – he said – because 11 million children could be forced intoschool dropout. At the G7 I announced that the Commission will increase the funds established for education by a third, reaching 100 million ”.

Von der Leyen also explained how it is “Sad to know that at the G20 I could be the only woman”, calling on leaders to seek better ideas at the political level to empower all women.