Europe continues to make slow progress on gender equality, according to research published Thursday by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
Unfortunately, due to the corona pandemic, this will not change; for the time being, the Lithuania-based organization expects.
For example, women are overrepresented in health care and are at higher risk of infection, while corona-infected men are at higher risk of hospitalization. In addition, during the pandemic, inequalities in unpaid work, especially for household, children and home care, have increased: women have taken on these tasks to an even greater extent than before the pandemic.
But according to the study, the most significant gender inequality is still in leadership positions. For example, in politics and business, there are still significantly fewer women than men at the top. Progress is also slow in the other five areas studied – work, money, leisure, knowledge and health.
The European Union as a whole scored 68 out of a possible 100 points in the Gender Equality Index 2021, 0.6 points higher than last year. At this rate, it will yield nearly three generations to achieve full gender equality, the study said.
Sweden, with 83.9 points, and Denmark, with 77.8 points, remain at the forefront of gender equality within the EU. Greece is the worst with 52.5 points.