E/C.12/SWE/CO/5 page 4 It is also concerned that the lack of accessibility to public places is not covered as a ground of discrimination in the new Anti-Discrimination Act. (art. 2.2) The Committee urges the State party to ensure the effective implementation of the initiatives and legal measures already taken to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities and to take positive steps towards ensuring that all persons with disabilities enjoy the same economic, social, and cultural rights as the rest of the population, including accessibility to public places. It also encourages the State party to consider ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol. 18. The Committee, notes with concern that despite the State party’s efforts with regard to gender equality, the wage gap between men and women persists. It is also concerned about the low percentage of women in high-ranking positions in many professional fields. The Committee also regrets that women are overrepresented in part-time work arrangements, even though they may prefer to work full-time. (arts. 3, 6, and 7) The Committee calls upon the State party to continue strengthening its efforts to enhance equality between men and women in the workplace, in particular those initiatives aimed at implementing the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, and at increasing the percentage of women in managerial positions. It also encourages the State party to continue strengthening the right to full-time work for women by developing further pro-active measures. It invites the State party to provide information on the strategy aimed at increasing the number of women in high-ranking posts to be presented in spring 2009 and its effectiveness, as well as to include statistical data on the participation of women in the workforce, disaggregated by age, wage, and part-time/full-time work and national origin, in its next periodic report. 19. The Committee notes with concern the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities is still higher than the average unemployment rate. (arts. 6 and 2.2) The Committee, in line with its General Comment No. 5 (1994) on persons with disabilities, urges the State party to evaluate and to review its measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment, as well as their implementation. The Committee requests the State party to provide information in the next periodic report on progress made with regard to measures taken within the framework of the national action plan “From patient to citizen”. 20. The Committee is concerned that, despite the various measures taken including the ‛step-in-jobs’ initiative of July 2007, the unemployment rate among foreign-born persons continues to be higher than for Swedish-born persons and that it has increased for foreign-born women in particular. (arts. 6 and 2.2) The Committee encourages the State party to intensify its efforts to reduce unemployment rates, especially that of foreign-born women, including by awareness-rising campaigns about the programmes. It recommends the State party