On Thursday 5 March, the European Commission published its new strategy for equality between women and men for the period 2026-2030. In the run-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, the aim is to consolidate them within the European Union, both in the face of new issues - online violence and the biases induced by the exponential use of artificial intelligence - and more traditional challenges, such as inequalities in the labour market, which are not sufficiently diminished.
As the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has pointed out, it would still take almost fifty years to achieve full equality at the current rate of progress, despite the legislative advances made in recent years - notably on pay transparency, work-life balance and combating violence against women.
The new strategy, published one year after the ‘roadmap’ for women’s rights (see EUROPE 13595/1), sets out measures for the next five years, through specific actions and the systematic integration of the gender dimension into all European policies.
Cyber-violence, health and economic equality. The strategy makes the fight against gender-based violence - and especially cyber-violence, which disproportionately affects women and girls - a priority.
With this in mind, the Commission should step up its regulatory dialogue with the major digital platforms to combat the dissemination of content such as pornographic deepfakes, of which women are the main victims.
Also, for the first time, there is a section on health. The Commission should lead a joint initiative with the World Health Organization to improve access and quality of care for women, as well as work on integrating a more gender-sensitive approach into medical research and medicines evaluation.
In addition, the Commission has expressed its desire to reduce the pay and pension gap - women still earn on average 12% less per hour than men in the EU - and to facilitate access to finance for women entrepreneurs. An action plan to boost the presence of women in research, innovation and start-ups is also planned.
Men’s consent and involvement. Asked about the possibility of a European legislative initiative enshrining the principle that all sexual intercourse without consent constitutes rape - a request that MEPs recently reiterated (see EUROPE 13816/22) - Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said that the Commission was working on a mapping of national legislation in order to assess a future legislative proposal.
In addition, the strategy aims to get men and boys more involved in promoting equality. The Commission is particularly concerned about the spread of anti-feminist discourse online and the influence of communities such as the ‘incels’ (‘involuntary celibate’) on certain young people.
A study on digital networks and stories aimed at boys and awareness-raising initiatives have therefore been announced to counter these phenomena.
Strategy: https://aeur.eu/f/l1c (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)