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Cross-platform cooperation to stop violence against women

An inclusive and equal EU remains distant and uncertain unless member states prioritise gender issues amid shifting political and economic agendas. Digital platforms should increase cross-platform cooperation to use AI responsibly and via partnerships fight cyber violence against women and girls, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) says in two new reports.

“The Gender Equality Index score for the EU is 71 out of 100, an improvement of 0.8 pts since 2023 (up 7.9 pts since 2010)”, the institute says warning against complacency against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty.

The 2024 Index shows significant variation across member states, with Sweden achieving the highest score at 82 and Romania the lowest at 57.5. 

Malta, Czechia, and Lithuania made the greatest gains this year, with respective increases of +2.3, +2.0, and +1.7 pts since 2023.

Eight of the 27 member states (Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) are falling further behind the rest of Europe on gender equality, the institute says.

Read Also:  EU parliament discussing cyberviolence against women

The 2024 Index shows progress is possible, but we’ll only maintain that with bold, sustained action,” says EIGE Director, Carlien Scheele.

“For policymakers and decision-makers in the EU it comes down to the following: to fully commit to gender equality or to let structural inequalities persist. Once and for all, we must realise that gender equality is a solution to our biggest societal challenges. For building stronger and more cohesive societies.”

The Index uses data across six dimensions: Work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.

Highlights:

  • 15 Member States are getting closer to the EU average, but eight countries are moving at a slower pace and falling further behind the rest.
  • The power domain is the main driver of change (+19.5 pts since 2010 and +2.3 since 2023), reflecting improved gender equality in decision-making.
  • But the proportion of women MEPs fell for the first time since 1979.
  • Progress on gender equality in health has been the slowest of all domains (+1.8 pts since 2010), with the health status of both women and men across the EU deteriorating.
  • Advances in the domain of work have stagnated, with gender gaps most extreme among couples with children.
  • In the domain of money, gender gaps are growing for those over 50, reflecting the lifelong burden on women of unpaid care responsibilities.
  • Progress in knowledge is driven by higher numbers of graduates, but entrenched segregation remains a bar to substantial progress.
  • Slow progress in the domain of time (+3.3 pts since 2010) reflects women taking on most unpaid care responsibilities, limiting opportunities for work, self-care, sports, culture, and leisure.
Read Also:  The gender gap in in power and politics

 

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