EIGE: How will you contribute to the future of gender equality?

In the run-up to International Women’s Day, on March 8, Director Carlien Scheele of the European Institute for Gender Equality set out a vision of what gender equality could look like in 2030—one where women and men, girls and boys have the same opportunities to a sustainable future.

“Change is in your hands,” Carlien told gender equality ministers at their recent meeting. “The paths chosen now will shape and strengthen our near future.”

And indeed, Europe is set to turn the page on a new chapter for gender equality.

A New Chapter For Gender Equality

Elections for the European Parliament this June will define the political landscape for the next five years.

And, whether you actively campaign, or simply cast your vote, your influence will be felt.

Here are perspectives from two experts who believe you have the power to shape how Europe’s gender equality story develops.

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) calls on politicians to commit to gender equality ahead of the polls.

“The focus is putting women and girls at the centre of European policy. Our rights are not given. They’re fragile and they can always be taken back,” says EWL’s Stef Piccialli.

“We are calling on EU decision-makers to never forget about women and girls when it comes to our rights within the EU.

As part of the campaign, Stef explains that EWL is also encouraging more women to cast their vote in June.

The 28-year-old says: “One of the core goals is to get women to vote and to understand how important their vote is. Your voices need to be heard.

“We wouldn’t have the victories that we have had if we didn’t speak up. And voting is one way we can speak up. It’s a way you can chip away at the inequalities all around us.”

“We can either go backwards, or we can drive ourselves into the future and recognise the importance of women’s and girls’ rights in Europe.”

Building Communities, Uniting Broad Coalitions

For social justice activist and intersectional storyteller Gail Rego, the elections are only part of a complex path towards true gender equality.

Navigating it will involve asking challenging questions and facing difficult realities where we recognise existing inequalities and face up to the prejudices, we all have.

“People don’t want to believe us when we talk about oppression because they don’t want to feel uncomfortable. Yet discomfort is a critical part of change,” she says.

“As a society, we do not know how to deal with discomfort. And if you don’t know how to deal with discomfort, how on Earth are we going to have these hard conversations?”

Gail believes that hope for the future lies in building communities that unite broad coalitions and demand change. “We are powerful,” she explains.

“Community gives hope. Community helps us feel connected to other human beings. It helps us feel other people believe what we believe. And this can change something.

“Any chances we get to reinforce, reinstate, and come together as a community; are important opportunities.

“If we keep getting more and more polarised, we’re never going to be able to be part of a community where everyone is heard, valued and supported in the ways that each individual needs.”

Gail believes it’s important that people from all backgrounds have meaningful involvement in the political decisions that will shape their future.

“You need to involve us in a way that matters,” she says.

“We need to understand that women’s issues are something that needs to be brought into the middle of play.

“Things are not going to change because we keep seeing it as their issue…Don’t make decisions, don’t make laws, don’t talk about us without us.”

EU gender equality reaches new milestone: is progress accelerating?

Seizing the Opportunity for Progress

Carlien Scheele: “In 2023, we conducted strategic foresight sessions with our Management Board members and Experts Forum members to bring a meaningful gender dimension to strategic foresight exercises and reflect on the future of gender equality. The Agency will continue to bring evidence and share best practices to help move forward the debate around gender equality.”

For example, the Agency will publish a study in early May that shines a light on this cross-section between financial independence and gender equality. We see that men are more likely to take strategic decisions about spending saving, borrowing and debt.

“In the EU, across couples, 21% of women had no employment, with the partner being a single earner in the family. Whereas only 6% of men were in the respective situation.”

“Let’s break these stereotypes and ensure that moving to 2030 will bring more equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market.”

This year, the Agency will also publish its Gender-responsive (GREENA) toolkit and share good practices to help policymakers see the benefits of adding gender and intersectional perspectives to their Green Deal policies and projects.

“Our research clearly shows that we need to step up the use of gender mainstreaming in the EU to design policies that benefit both women and men in all their diversity,” Carlien said.

“We will continue to provide practical tools and guidance to support Member States on their way to more gender-sensitive policymaking.”

The opportunity to make meaningful change is in our hands today. And together we can make gender inequalities history by 2030.

“And if I look beyond 2030 and land in 2050 – our evidence shows that by improving gender equality, we can foresee the EU’s Gross Domestic Product at €3.15 trillion, which is an almost 10% increase from where we are now,” Carlien concluded.

More information: European Institute for Gender Equality