This year’s measurement of the Gender Equality Index in the European Union shows that progress in achieving gender equality is extremely slow. The EU score of Gender Equality Index is 66.2, which is in line with new methodology increase of only 4 points in past ten years. The top performing country is Sweden with a score of 82.6, while Greece moved to the bottom with 50 points. The most improved country goes to Italy, which made a big leap and gained 12.9 points to place itself at rank 14 on the ladder.
Gender Equality Index 2017 of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) was presented at a conference in Brussels on October 11.
Virginija Langbakk, Director of European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) pointed out that in all European country there is room for improvement. “In some areas, the gender gap is higher than it was ten years ago, and the Gender Equality Index clearly shows whether the policies meet the needs of women and men and whether they work or not”, said Langbakk.
The biggest boost for gender equality over the last ten years has been in the area of decision-making, especially in the private sector. However, a comprehensive picture of power relations still shows that the representation of women in high positions is still far lower than men.
In the EU it is particularly visible in the media, research and sport:
• 22% of board presidents of public broadcasters in the EU are women
• 27 % of the heads of research funding organizations are women
• 14% of top positions in the sports federations across the EU are women
Progress has slipped backwards in 12 countries when it comes to the time use of women and men. Only every third man engages daily in cooking and housework, compared to 79% of women. On the other hand, they spend much more time on sports, cultural and entertainment activities than women.
The Gender Equality Index this year for the first time measures the gender gap within specific groups. For example, it indicates that single mothers have much more difficult access to health services than couples with children.
The conference “Gender Equality Index 2017” was attended by Marija Babovic, SeConS director of program, who is also the author of the first Gender Equality Report for the Republic of Serbia published in 2016.
More information on the Gender Equality Index 2017 is available at the following link: http://eige.europa.eu/
