Visions for Gender Equality

As the European Commission’s current work programme for gender equality - outlined in its Strategy for equality between men and women - draws to a close and the EU considers the way forward for gender equality policies, this publication offers a range of perspectives on what has been achieved to date, the challenges that lie ahead, and possible priorities for policy action to stimulate change and accelerate progress in key areas. It is designed to feed into the development of a new strategic and comprehensive vision to guide action at EU level post-2015, as the new EU leadership which took office in 2014 looks to the future and seeks to identify priorities for action at European level in the wake of the worst economic crisis for generations.

The editors of this collection of essays asked the authors to reflect on what future gender equality policies should look like, in the light of achievements and gaps in past policies. The resulting essays by leading experts on gender equality, published under the auspices of the European Network of Experts on Gender Equality (ENEGE), address key questions such as: how important will a continued focus on gender equality be for Europe’s economy and society in future? How is the context in which gender equality policies operate likely to evolve? What should the key overarching priorities for the future be? What role should the EU play in this? And what implications does all of this have for the future gender equality policy agenda?

This publication is divided into three parts:

The first chapter, New Frontiers, outlines visions for the future of gender equality policies, considering where the focus should be in the next generation of policies and how to accelerate progress to achieve genuine gender equality for all.

The second chapter, Achievements and Challenges, assesses the remaining challenges in the priority areas identified in the European Commission’s strategy for 2010- 2015 and the gaps that need to be addressed.

The third chapter, Governance and Communication , considers how best EU can meet the challenges identified in the previous sections and highlights the key crosscutting issues that need to be addressed in relation to governance and tools, communication, stakeholder mobilisation, etc.