Much too long!
Equality in the EU could take another three generations
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The current EU Gender Equality Index 2021 shows that women are not equal to men in any area. The race to catch up to more power, time and money is slow.
The corona pandemic has clearly shown how fragile the concept of equality still is. As soon as the country falls into a crisis, women fall into the role of helpers. During the pandemic, they took on the part of caring work again or even more and took off working hours on the job – the man continued to work because he usually brings the higher salary with him.
Gender equality is slow at EU level
Overall, things are not progressing particularly quickly when it comes to equality, even at EU level. In the Gender Equality Index 2021, the European Union achieved 68 out of a possible 100 points. This corresponds to an increase of 4.9 points compared to 2010. Compared to the previous year, there is an increase of 0.6 points.
With these data as a basis, it will take almost three generations before absolute gender parity is achieved, according to the report from the European Institute for Equality (EIGE). Germany is just above the EU average and scores 68.6 points. That’s six points more than in 2010.
The biggest difference between men and women is in the realm of power
The study examined different areas – including power, time and money. The biggest difference is in power (55 points). What is important here, however, is that this sector recorded a total increase of 13.1 points. According to the study, this is mainly due to the greater participation of women in decision-making positions in business and politics.
In the area of money, the EU has a total of 82.4 index points. With 62.7 points, the knowledge area only recorded an increase of 2.9 points compared to 2010. Compared to the previous year, even a minus of 0.1 is discernible. According to the study, the cause is the solidified inequality of opportunities for higher educational qualifications.
In the area of care work, a decline in equality can even be seen
The time sector relates to unpaid work for household, children and home care and actually shows a decrease to 64.9 points. The corona pandemic has played its part in equality even going backwards.
Overall, there are some differences in the overall index between the countries. While Sweden leads with 83.9 points, Greece is at the bottom with 52.5 points.
Sources used: Equal Opportunities Index 2021, eige.europa.eu, zeit.de