How can the European Union achieve true equality across its member states? The European Commission (2020) outlines its 2020–2025 strategy to eliminate gender-based violence, structural inequality, and persistent gaps in pay and power.
As the European Commission (2020) explains, promoting equality between women and men is required by EU Treaties, standing as a core value, a fundamental right, and a central principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Equal participation is also essential for a competitive, innovative, and thriving economy, bringing more jobs and higher productivity to help Europe navigate the green and digital transitions as well as demographic challenges. While the EU is a global leader in this area—holding 14 of the world’s top 20 spots for gender equality thanks to strong equal treatment laws and mainstreaming efforts—no member state has reached full equality. Progress remains slow, with the average EU Gender Equality Index score rising just 5.4 points from 2005 to reach 67.4 out of 100 in 2019.
The Commission emphasizes that advances in gender equality are neither inevitable nor permanent. While the gap in education is closing, deep divisions remain in employment, earnings, caregiving, political power, and pensions. In addition, gender-based violence, harassment, and sexist hate speech continue at alarming rates, alongside resistance to dismantling gender stereotypes.
To confront these issues, the 2020–2025 strategy outlines concrete policy goals and actions to build an EU where discrimination, violence, and structural barriers are removed, allowing women and men in all their diversity to have equal chances to lead and thrive.
Learn more about this policy strategy here:
European Commission. (2020). A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 (COM(2020) 152 final) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0152