Tradition Be Damned

The European Union's employment and social affairs directorate has proposed a sweeping rash of rules aimed at battling discrimination against women. The proposed laws would force insurance companies to give men and women the same rates for pension annuities and car insurance, overriding the actuarial data the companies use to calculate risk. The rules also would bar TV programs that depict sexual stereotypes and ban topless "Page Three" girls from the continent's newspapers.