Women’s History Month: Gender Equality in Europe

Picture by Unsplash

Gender equality has evolved over the past decades, but there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in the job market where women are mostly seen in lower-paid jobs than in decision-making positions.

The European Commission has recently adopted an ambitious Gender Equality Strategy, which aims to make significant progress in achieving a gender-equal Europe by 2025. But is this enough when women still earn on average 16% less than men with substantial differences between countries and are often victims of gender-based racism and violence?

“I think the progress has been too slow lately compared to what could've been achieved, and even though it’s a good thing that women’s rights are also acknowledged on a political level, I can’t see that we would solve these issues by 2025. It would need significant changes in our societies and the way we think and live, so it’s definitely a long process,” says Anna Werner, who works for UN Women Germany.

Picture by Unsplash

Even though women are more likely to have a degree in higher education, they remain under-represented in fields such as engineering and science. According to the EU Gender Equality Strategy, only 7.7% of CEOs and 7.5% of leading positions in politics, economics, science and research are women. EU committed to the principle of equal pay for women in 1975, but still today, women are making 83p on every £1 a man makes.

“Some countries have female-dominated leading positions, and I think it's quite evident that it's working well. We need more new views on how to make this world a better place, and that's exactly why we would need both women and men in these positions,” Werner continues.

33% percent of women living in Europe have experienced physical and sexual violence. In 2021, Parliament called for measures to protect women’s rights and ensure they are protected against domestic violence during and after the pandemic.

“The violence against women has gotten worse during Covid. We can't see the full picture yet, but there has been a lot more cases, and it tells a lot about our society. And it's not just about Covid - it's also in general. Women feel unsafe when they are walking on the streets, and it's just not right," says Amy Evans, who works for Refuge.

Even though there is still a long way to achieve gender equality, attitudes amongst people in different countries are changing between both men and women. According to Pew Research Centre, there is near unanimity in each country that women must have the same rights as men. Also, at least half of each surveyed country say that a marriage where both work and equally take care of the household is essential.

“It all starts from home and how we raise the next generation, so it's really important that we trash all the gender roles so that our children can see that women are not supposed to do all the housework and men don’t have to be the main provider. Each family is different. The people who are in it will determine the dynamics," Evans continues.

Scan and listen!