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The EU Commission has just unveiled its long-term political vision to maintain its commitment to gender equality, but some argue it lacks detailed solutions to long-standing challenges.
ADVERTISEMENTAmid a global backlash against women’s rights, the EU Commission presented on Friday its long-term political vision for achieving a gender-equal society, known as the ‘roadmap on women’s rights’, but detractors were disappointed with its lack of substance. “We have felt this pushback coming from across the Atlantic, but we have this roadmap exactly to be sure that we are not going to be on the wrong side of the progress,” EU Commissioner for Equality, Crisis Management, and Preparedness Hadja Lahbib told reporters in Brussels. Lahbib outlined a series of challenges in the areas of health, work, education, money, power, and violence, effectively laying out a wish list for advancing gender equality—yet without concrete details on how to address these longstanding issues. “Following the disappointment of seeing equality relegated to a sub-portfolio, this eagerly awaited initiative unfortunately falls short of what is at stake,” MEP Mélissa Camara (France/Greens) said after the roadmap’s launch. According to a new UN report, one in four countries worldwide reported a backlash against women’s rights in 2024. The EU has not been spared from the rise of anti-gender movements and persistently high levels of sexual and physical violence at home, work, and in public spaces, as several EU agencies have warned. Around 50 million women across the bloc still experience gender-based violence, and between 2014 and 2024, the percentage of women aged 18-74 who have faced such violence has barely changed (31.4% vs. 30.7%). “In 2025, progress is not just slowing—it is under attack,” MEP Lina Galvez (S&D/Spain), chair of the European Parliament’s committee on women’s rights (FEMM), said. “The roadmap presented by the Commission must be evaluated positively because it implies first and foremost a commitment to gender equality and women’s rights at a time when they are being attacked all over the world and also within Europe,” she told Euronews. The document lays the foundation for the next EU Gender Equality Strategy (2026-30) and has been welcomed by various stakeholders as a step in the right direction. However, it includes no binding proposals to strengthen women’s rights and gender equality. “Words must now be followed by actions,” said Iliana Balabanova, president of the European Women’s Lobby. “We need bold policies, firm commitments, and strong leadership to turn this vision into reality,” Balabanova added. ‘Timid progress’ on sexual and reproductive rightsThe elephant in the room of the Commission’s communication is the issue of safe access to abortion and sexual health. Sexual health and reproductive rights (SRHR) now fall under Lahbib’s remit rather than that of Health Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi, after the Parliament raised concerns over his lack of commitment to the topic. The roadmap only briefly mentions the need to support women’s health by reinforcing and complementing member states’ actions on SRHR access. ADVERTISEMENT”Despite our requests to Hadja Lahbib, the Commissioner for Equality, for a clear commitment to sexual and reproductive rights, we have seen only timid progress,” said Camara. She added that failing to address the right to abortion in the roadmap “is particularly regrettable.” Safe access to abortion in the EU has been a widely debated issue across European institutions, with the Parliament long advocating for its inclusion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The roadmap also acknowledges the need to improve access to affordable menstrual hygiene products and contraception but does not outline specific measures to achieve this. ADVERTISEMENTEU GDP could increase by €1.2 trillion through improved gender equalityImproving women’s rights is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic investment, the EU Commission said. The bloc’s GDP could increase from €1.95 trillion to €3.15 trillion by 2050 through greater empowerment of women in the workforce and decision-making processes, according to projections by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). “The gender gap in employment remains a major issue in the region, along with the fact that care responsibilities and unpaid work still fall disproportionately on women,” Belén Sanz, regional director of UN Women Europe and Central Asia, told Euronews in an interview. In 2023, at the EU level, the employment rate for women aged 25-54 with children was 74.9%, compared to 91.9% for men with children. ADVERTISEMENTEIGE’s findings also indicate that without reinforced action, achieving full gender equality in the EU could take another 60 years. MEP Heléne Fritzon (Sweden/S&D) has called on the EU and its member states to address the root causes of the persistent gender pay gap—which stands at 13%—and female poverty. “This requires tackling horizontal pay and labour market segregation, as well as the systematic undervaluation of work in female-dominated sectors, such as care, which is essential to our societies,” Fritzon argued. Over the past five years, the EU has approved several initiatives to enhance pay transparency and work-life balance. However, implementing a directive aimed at improving gender balance on EU-listed company boards has faced challenges, and efforts to combat violence against women were weakened, as the final text excluded references to rape. ADVERTISEMENTDespite progress and achievements, “it is clear that we need to do much more,” reads the EU Commission’s 2024 report on Gender Equality. Looking ahead, the upcoming Gender Equality Strategy must further advance “transversality,” Galvez said, referring to the integration of equality principles into all EU policies. “Now what we have to do is turn [the roadmap] into concrete and cross-cutting actions across all policies and throughout the political cycle, with special attention to budgeting and evaluating policies and laws to see if they are really having that transformative character and improving equality,” the Spanish socialist concluded.
