Striving for a Union of Equality means a Union where all women and men, girls and boys in all their diversity – are equal. This is a joint undertaking by all stakeholders. The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 sets out a vision, policy objectives and actions to make concrete progress on gender equality in Europe and towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Achievements in gender equality
Although inequalities still exist, the EU has made significant progress in gender equality over the last decades. This is the result of
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- equal treatment legislation
- gender mainstreaming, integration of the gender perspective into all other policies
- specific measures for the advancement of women
Encouraging trends are the higher number of women in the labour market and their progress in securing better education and training.
However, gender gaps remain and in the labour market women are still over-represented in lower paid sectors and under-represented in decision-making positions.
Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025
The EU Gender Equality Strategy delivers on the von der Leyen Commission’s commitment to achieving a Union of Equality. The Strategy presents policy objectives and actions to make significant progress by 2025 towards a gender-equal Europe. The goal is a Union where women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity, are free to pursue their chosen path in life, have equal opportunities to thrive, and can equally participate in and lead our European society.
The key objectives are ending gender-based violence; challenging gender stereotypes; closing gender gaps in the labour market; achieving equal participation across different sectors of the economy; addressing the gender pay and pension gaps; closing the gender care gap and achieving gender balance in decision-making and in politics. The Strategy pursues a dual approach of gender mainstreaming combined with targeted actions, and intersectionality is a horizontal principle for its implementation. While the Strategy focuses on actions within the EU, it is coherent with the EU’s external policy on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Links:
More information here.