Actions for gender equality

The European Commission has put forward a range of initiatives and proposals to help pave the way to a society in which all people can truly say they are able to live and thrive with equal opportunity. Most recently, it set out a long-term vision to advance women’s rights in a new Roadmap.

Gender-based violence

More than 3,000 women are killed each year in Europe by partners or family members, and countless more are harmed and harassed.

Violence against women takes many forms, including physical, sexual, or psychological violence, as well as economic abuse and exploitation. It has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by post-pandemic effects, conflicts, and climate change.

^{Sources: UN Women, Eurostat, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)}

Types of violence against women include: 

• intimate partner violence 
• sexual violence
• femicide  
• human trafficking 
• female genital mutilation 
• online or technology-facilitated violence 
• child, forced marriages 

In 2022, the Commission proposed new legislation to ensure a minimum level of protection against these forms of violence across the EU, regardless of whether they happened online or offline. The European Parliament and the Member States reached a political agreement on the Commission's proposal on 6 February 2024.

In addition, the EU completed the ratification procedure of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the ‘Istanbul Convention’.

The Istanbul Convention for the EU entered into force on 1 October 2023. This means that the EU is now bound by ambitious and comprehensive standards to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.

See what the EU is doing to end gender-based violence

Inequalities in the labour market

Women continue to be over-represented in low paid jobs and under-represented in decision-making positions. In addition, women in the EU are still earning less than men, and as they get older, this gender pay gap increases even more. 

Statistics show that certain jobs are mostly held by women. 

• In the EU, 95% of domestic cleaners and helpers are women  

• Women account for the majority of the teaching (72%) and healthcare workforce (78%)  

^{Sources: EIGE, Eurostat (teaching stats, healthcare force figures)}

Gender stereotypes are deeply engrained in our culture and are a root cause of gender inequalities.   

^{Sources: Eurostat, European Institute for Gender Equality (2023)}

See what the EU is doing to close the pay gap 

Promoting equality in employment 

Work-life balance

Research shows that at home, women continue to carry the brunt of caring and domestic responsibilities compared to men.

The unequal division of caring responsibilities and household tasks can reduce women’s opportunities to be in employment, or prompt women to seek part-time jobs that allow more time flexibility, at the expense of lower wages. According to Eurostat, at the end of 2022, 48% of women in elementary occupations were part-time workers compared to 19% of men.

To tackle this, the EU has adopted a range of directives that introduce minimum rights of citizens to combine work and private life, promoting a better share of caring responsibilities between women and men.

See EU legislation on work-life balance 

EU actions to promote work-life balance

Towards achieving full gender equality

The EU has not yet achieved full gender equality, but progress has been made, as shown by the 2024 Gender Equality Index. The EU achieved 71 points (out of 100). The aim is to reach a score of 100, which would mean the EU has reached full equality between women and men.

Discover the Gender Equality Index 2024

The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025

To make significant progress towards a gender-equal Europe, the Commission adopted the Gender Equality Strategy in 2020.

The strategy strives to:

• end gender-based violence
• challenge gender stereotypes
• close gender gaps in the labour market
• achieve equal participation across different sectors of the economy
• achieve gender balance in economic and political decision-making

This strategy sets out a vision, policy objectives, and actions to make concrete progress on gender equality in Europe. Every year the Commission puts out a report on gender equality in the EU which reviews where the EU and its Member States stand on gender equality, highlighting the EU’s achievements in these five key areas.

So far, under this strategy, the EU has:

• adopted binding pay transparency measures
• adopted a directive on gender balance in corporate boards
• acceded to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
• proposed a European Care Strategy and new targets on early childhood education and care to enhance women’s labour market participation.

The Commission has also:

• put forward a proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence
• established a network on the prevention of gender-based and domestic violence
• carried out a campaign to challenge gender stereotypes

Fostering progress

The latest report on gender equality highlights the important developments reached during the previous mandate of the Commission in equal pay, gender-balanced company boards, work-life balance and combating violence against women. The report also states that the EU is heading in the right direction, but progress varies among EU countries.

Coordinated common efforts are now needed to ensure that the corresponding pieces of legislation are properly implemented, so that the rights and dignity of women and girls will finally and consistently be enforced, protected and promoted. Striving for equality for all and equality in all of its senses will continue to be central to the Commission’s work.

The Commission is also investing in a gender equal future. Gender equality-related projects are supported and funded through several EU programmes, such as the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) and EU cohesion funding programmes. 

EU countries are required to comply with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights when implementing EU law. Fundamental rights are also usually protected by your country’s constitution. If you feel that your equality rights are being breached, see how you can file a complaint at national level.