gender equality

Namibia has the largest gender gap in Africa. This blog analyses the European Union's development policy focusing on the gender dimension. Critics argue that the European Union's focus on gender equality in development policy is superficial; the blog also examines whether this criticism remains valid. Simona Krammerová in her blog also highlights key issues facing women in Namibia.

Year 2024 is likely to be seen as a key year for women's leadership in the EU. Ursula von der Leyen will continue her role as President of the European Commission, Roberta Metsola will lead the European Parliament and Kaja Kallas will head the EU's diplomatic service. This signals a stronger commitment to addressing the gender imbalance across the EU and this momentum can be expected to drive further efforts to promote equality in the years to come. Kristina Gerová, an intern at EUROPEUM's Brussels office, writes in her blog.

Despite the fact that women make up half of the population, they are still not equally represented in the key institutions of the European Union, even in leadership positions. The European Parliament and the European Commission are taking a number of steps to improve gender equality, both internally and towards the public. Adéla Gajdošíková writes in her blog what the current representation in these institutions looks like and what concrete measures they are taking.

Ivana Uličná writes about the fact that even though some progress has been made towards gender equality in diplomacy, women remain underrepresented in ambassadorial positions worldwide. Quotas have been effective in boosting nominal representation of women but critiques focused on quotas being tokenistic and harming meritocracy place a double burden on women. However, even the current system is not meritocratic, as men benefit from a historical advantage and assumed competence, while women must justify their presence, prove their worth and disprove gender stereotypes.

Our research associate Katarína Svitková wrote an article for URBACT. In the text, she outlines where gender is an issue in urban planning and management and how this perspective can help build better cities for life.