EU - Towards a More Gender Equal World: EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025
TOWARDS A GENDER-EQUAL EUROPE
“In all its activities, the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women.”
Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
“We should not be shy about being proud of where we are or ambitious about where we want to go.”
- President Ursula von der Leyen
Political Guidelines
The promotion of equality between women and men is a task for the Union, in all its activities, required by the Treaties. Gender equality is a core value of the EU, a fundamental right 1 and key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights 2 . It is a reflection of who we are. It is also an essential condition for an innovative, competitive and thriving European economy. In business, politics and society as a whole, we can only reach our full potential if we use all of our talent and diversity. Gender equality brings more jobs and higher productivity 3 – a potential which needs to be realised as we embrace the green and digital transitions and face up to our demographic challenges.
The European Union is a global leader in gender equality: 14 of the top 20 countries worldwide on gender equality are EU Member States 4 . Thanks to robust equal treatment legislation and jurisprudence 5 , efforts to mainstream the gender 6 perspective into different policy areas, and laws to address particular inequalities, the EU has made significant progress in gender equality in the last decades.
However, no Member State has achieved full gender equality and progress is slow. Member States on average scored 67.4 out of 100 in the EU Gender Equality Index 2019 7 , a score which has improved by just 5.4 points since 2005.
Unfortunately progress with regard to gender equality is neither inevitable nor irreversible. We therefore need to give a new impetus to gender equality. While the gender gap in education is being closed, gender gaps in employment, pay, care, power and pensions persist. Too many people still violate the principle of gender equality through sexist hate speech and by blocking action against gender-based violence and gender stereotypes. Gender-based violence and harassment continue at alarming levels. The #MeToo movement has demonstrated the extent of sexism and abuse that women and girls continue to face. At the same time, it has empowered women across the globe to now come forward with their experiences and bring cases to court.
This Gender Equality Strategy frames the European Commission’s work on gender equality and sets out the policy objectives and key actions for the 2020-2025 period 8 . It aims at achieving a gender equal Europe where gender-based violence, sex discrimination and structural inequality between women and men are a thing of the past. A Europe where women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity 9 , are equal. Where they are free to pursue their chosen path in life, where they have equal opportunities to thrive, and where they can equally participate in and lead our European society.
The implementation of this strategy will be based on the dual approach of targeted measures to achieve gender equality, combined with strengthened gender mainstreaming. The Commission will enhance gender mainstreaming by systematically including a gender perspective in all stages of policy design in all EU policy areas, internal and external. The strategy will be implemented using intersectionality 10 – the combination of gender with other personal characteristics or identities, and how these intersections contribute to unique experiences of discrimination – as a cross-cutting principle.
In this year of 2020, which marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 11 – the first universal commitment and action plan to advance on equality between women and men – this strategy is the EU’s contribution to shaping a better world for women and men, girls and boys. It delivers on the gender equality Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5), gender equality as a cross-cutting priority of all SDGs 12 , and on the EU’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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IMMC.COM%282020%29152%20final.ENG.xhtml.1_EN_ACT_part1_v11.docx (europa.eu)
Multiple EU Language Translations of Text: EUR-Lex - 52020DC0152 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
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Извор: WUNRN – 22.01.2021
