On Thursday 5 December, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published a report entitled ‘Futures of Gender Equality: A How-to Guide’, designed as a toolkit. This document is part of a forward-looking approach aimed at anticipating future gender equality issues and proposing appropriate strategic solutions.
In a context where equality between women and men in the European Union remains a distant goal, the EIGE is focusing on work relating to “alternative futures”.
This methodology makes it possible to design ambitious and inclusive trajectories to guide current decisions.
And with good reason: according to current estimates, it would still take more than 60 years to achieve gender equality in the EU, even in the most optimistic scenarios.
The guide offers a structured approach to organising foresight workshops.
These enable participants - experts, decision-makers or activists - to identify major trends and assess their impact on gender equality. Thematic maps, developed on the basis of work by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), serve as a starting point for prioritising issues.
The guide also offers tools for exploring the implications of trends and imagining breakthrough scenarios in order to develop relevant strategies.
Some of the megatrends identified have a significant impact on gender equality. For example, digital transformation is changing the dynamics of the labour market, creating both opportunities and challenges for women.
Similarly, climate change and energy transitions have gender-differentiated repercussions, which means that greater attention needs to be paid to ensuring a fair and equitable transition.
The EIGE recommends working with a time horizon of 10 years, slightly beyond the usual planning frameworks, in order to examine potential developments while limiting the uncertainty associated with very long-term projections.
The publication comes ahead of the Gender Equality Forum 2024, on 10 and 11 December in Brussels, where the guide will be tested in practical workshops and a masterclass. The event will bring together experts, decision-makers and activists to debate current and future issues, including gender equality beyond 2025 and the fight against gender-based violence.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ep5 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)