Katja Lenzing, Deputy Head of Unit in the Gender Equality Unit in the European Commission’s Justice Directorate, presented the 2025 report on gender equality in the European Union to the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights on Wednesday 25 June.
While progress has been made, such as an increase in the number of women on the Boards of Directors of listed companies – 34%, compared with less than 8% in 2013 – there are still significant gaps, particularly in terms of employability and pay.
National disparities and disparities between age groups were also reported.
The Eurobarometer surveys published at the end of 2024 show a resurgence of sexist stereotypes, especially among 18–24 year-olds, noted Katja Lenzing.
Between 30% and 40% of men think it’s normal to control their female partner’s finances and 28% think its legitimate for women to suffer sexist reactions online.
On the left, like Mélissa Camara (Greens/EFA, French) and Elena Kountoura (The Left, Greek), MEPs criticised the lack of legislative proposals or binding measures.
On the right, some people, such as Laurence Trochu (ECR, French), have criticised what is perceived as an “ideological” approach to equality, and are defending the traditional role of women.
The European Commission representative pointed out that the Commission’s objective is to guarantee freedom of choice for all women. However, she acknowledged the rise in anti-feminist discourse, particularly on social networks.
Consultations are currently underway for the next strategy (see EUROPE 13643/23).
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/hla (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)