Gender Equality Strategy: Striving for a Union of Equality
The EU Commission released it's Gender Equality Strategy, outlining actions for the next five years.
‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’, launched by the European Commission (March 2020), highlights that although progress on gender equality has occurred in Europe, it has been slow, and such progress is not inevitable. Gender gaps in employment, pay, care, power, and pensions persist. These gaps are linked to expectations based on gender stereotypes, which are often combined with stereotypes based on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age and religion; traditional working arrangements; the undervaluation of carework; and insufficient access to quality and affordable care services. The implementation of the 2020-2025 Strategy is based on a dual approach of
- targeted measures to achieve gender equality; and,
- strengthening gender mainstreaming by systematically including a gender perspective in all stages of policy design in all EU policy areas.
The strategy takes an intersectional approach to implementation whereby intersectionality is defined as the way in which gender or sex intersect with other characteristics, producing different experiences of discrimination that require specific responses. It details funding actions for measures to support women, men, girls, and boys in all their diversity to live free from violence and stereotypes; to inhabit a gender-equal economy that enables a healthy work-life balance for all; and to have equal opportunities to lead in politics and business. For a further overview click here.