Conclusion
In 2022, gender equality has repeatedly made it to the headlines, often highlighting that women’s rights were put at risk. Beyond the EU’s borders, the developments in Iran and Afghanistan shocked the world. In the United States, the reversal of the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court in June and the subsequent adoption of legislation prohibiting abortion in about half of the US states, sparked strong criticism and concerns about women’s rights.
The 2022 Global Gender Index estimated that at the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity and close the overall gender gap on a global scale. The 2022 Gender Equality Index, which the European Institute for Gender Equality presented in October 2022, also painted a grim picture based on 2020 data: For the first year since its inception in 2013, the index would have shown a negative trend had it not been for the small progress made in the area of leadership. In the next years, the impact of the ongoing crisis on gender equality – the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the related economic and energy crisis – will be reflected in these indices. Unless decisive measures are taken, there is a serious risk of regression in gender equality in the coming years.
But there have also been positive news on gender equality. The adoption of European legislation on gender-balance on company boards turns a page after ten long years of stalemate. It shows that Europe is serious about gender diversity in decision-making. The political agreement on a pay transparency directive paves the way for swift formal adoption of this milestone legislation, which will have an effect on the culture of the workplace of millions of workers.
With the Recommendation on the Barcelona targets 2030, the European Union supports women who wish to pursue their professional development by setting ambitious benchmarks and standards for early childhood education and care. Looking at the challenges ahead, in order to ensure that both men and women benefit from the opportunities of the green and digital transitions, a gender equality perspective needs to be integrated at all stages of the policy cycle.
At present, women and girls are largely left out of the opportunities presented by this twin transition – mainly due to deeply rooted gender stereotypes, which disincentivize women to choose a career in the science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) fields or prevent them from taking on leadership positions in these sectors.
In 2024, the elections of the European Parliament will take place. The equal presence of women in legislatures, their leadership and their perspective is essential for democracy because it reflects a more accurate representation of society. The current European parliament is more gender-balanced than the previous one, with a positive trend from 15 % in 1979 to 39 % in 2019. However, Europe can and must do better. In order to reach a genuine gender balance, it will be crucial to promote the participation of women as candidates in the upcoming elections. This requires multidimensional efforts to overcome the current obstacles, which prevent women from entering or staying in politics.