In a world striving for greater justice and equality, the European Union’s 2025 Gender Equality Report offers a powerful reflection on both the progress made and the challenges that remain. Published by the European Commission, this comprehensive report highlights the most significant legislative, institutional, and civil society initiatives carried out in EU Member States between March 2024 and February 2025. While acknowledging key advances, the report presents a sobering forecast: at the current pace, full gender equality may still be sixty years away.
Violence, Stereotypes, and Systemic Gaps: A Persistent Reality
At the heart of the report lies a troubling issue: gender-based violence (GBV) remains widespread and deeply rooted. According to a 2024 EU-wide survey, one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence in adulthood, and one in five has suffered domestic abuse. In response, the EU adopted the Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, a historic legislative milestone establishing unified criminal standards across Member States. This includes cyberviolence, coercion, and a reinforced emphasis on consent as a core element of sexual relationships.
The EU’s approach also embraces intersectionality, recognising that age, ethnicity, disability and socio-economic status intensify gender-based discrimination. Nevertheless, cultural beliefs remain a stubborn obstacle. Eurobarometer surveys reveal that nearly a quarter of EU respondents still find it unattractive when women express strong opinions in public, with a clear generational divide: young men are more likely than young women to support outdated gender norms.
Gender and the Economy: Persistent Inequalities
There is also hopeful news – 2023 was the first year in which the female employment rate in the EU surpassed 70%. However, a gender employment gap of 10.2 percentage points persists, especially among mothers and in Southern and Eastern Europe. Unpaid care work continues to disproportionately affect women, pushing nearly one-third of working mothers into part-time roles, compared to only 5% of fathers.
Migrant women face even greater barriers. In 2023, women from non-EU countries had employment rates 20 percentage points lower than their EU-born peers, and 43% of highly qualified women from third countries were working in positions below their level of education. To address these disparities, the EU has implemented subsidised childcare, more equitable parental leave, and job-retention programmes. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), closing the gender employment gap could raise the EU’s overall employment rate to 80% by 2050.
Equal Leadership: Representation in Politics and Business
Despite making up over half of the EU population, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles. Only one-third of national parliamentarians are women, and the same imbalance exists in corporate management. The Women on Boards Directive is now being implemented to enforce gender quotas in large companies, backed by mentorship programmes, entrepreneurship initiatives, and targeted support for women in STEM fields.
Gender Mainstreaming: From Policy to Practice
The EU’s strategy of integrating gender equality across all areas of policy—gender mainstreaming—has grown more robust. Key developments include:
- The AI Act, which bans manipulative AI systems that could facilitate gender-based violence and requires transparency in synthetic content such as deepfakes.
- The Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges online platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including cyberbullying, stalking, and the non-consensual sharing of images.
Online violence, especially against women in public roles, remains a growing concern. Major adult content platforms have been designated Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), requiring them to report their content moderation practices and risk mitigation strategies. Furthermore, EIGE is developing measurement frameworks to track cyberviolence consistently across Member States, providing essential tools for policy design and accountability.
A Global Perspective: The EU’s External Gender Commitment
Beyond its borders, the EU actively promotes gender equality through diplomatic efforts, development aid, and humanitarian assistance, with a particular focus on women and children in conflict zones. The EU’s commitment to the Istanbul Convention and its participation in global partnerships demonstrate its determination to combat trafficking, violence, and economic exclusion worldwide.
GEDIS: Bringing Gender Equality into the Classroom
While the European Commission’s 2025 Gender Equality Report outlines ambitious strategies, projects such as GEDIS – Gender Diversity in Information Science bring those policies to life. In the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) – often overlooked in gender policy debates – GEDIS actively integrates gender perspectives into education, research, and professional practice.
By aligning its objectives with the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025, GEDIS serves as a microcosm of policy implementation. It reminds us that achieving gender equality is not only a matter of legislation – it requires transforming mindsets, training future leaders, and engaging all sectors of society. Through education, GEDIS addresses the root causes of gender inequality and functions as a living lab for the EU’s vision of equality. It prepares the next generation of information professionals and redefines what a gender-inclusive academic space should look like in the 21st century.
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