In the face of changing and challenging times in Europe, we need to protect our Union of Equality more than ever before. The Gender Equality Forum 2024 proved that no one in our community is settling or giving up.
This Chair Statement outlines the key learnings and outcomes from the inspiring sessions and workshops held during the two-day event, to keep our momentum going from now until we reconvene for the Gender Equality Forum 2026.
Forum facts
Two days
18 sessions
50+ youth participants
100+ delegates under 30
100+ speakers
362 in-person attendees
1000+ joining online
Introduction
For both the new year and the Chair Statement following my Agency’s Gender Equality Forum 2024 I want to begin by sharing my immense gratitude.
Gratitude for how the two-day event brought together a united front of hopes, fears, challenges, progress and the unknown for gender equality.
I believe passion should pair with pragmatism. It’s the most realistic form of optimism.
Gratitude towards the actors and advocates who showed up with depth of knowledge and committed action for gender equality.
The generosity of inter-generational and multi-sector exchange gave rich dimension to the conversations.
Gratitude for the trust put into my Agency’s work by decision-makers who rely on our evidence and tools to guide them towards a Europe that is designed for each and every citizen.
We are one of the smallest Agencies in the EU but are relied upon by our stakeholders to make significant impact in the EU.
The Gender Equality Forum 2024 played out exactly as I had imagined. It brought together a powerful and united community. It had the energy and vision of what our Union of Equality could be –as if we were already there.
But the reality is, our reveal of the Gender Equality Index 2024 results on the first day, showed progress remains slow.
Women carry the burden of unpaid care disproportionately. They still face discrimination and higher poverty risks.
Meanwhile, violence against women continues at an alarming rate. One in three experiences gender-based violence.
Think about these findings from Eurostat, FRA and EIGE’s EU Gender-based Violence Survey as you look at those around you: at work, in the street and at home.
The gaps between women and men, girls and boys are real, yet the inspiring youth delegates and speakers at our Forum saw these gaps as opportunities for change.
Like so many at the Forum, these young people spoke from the heart. That positive energy makes me believe that we can achieve gender equality together.
From left: Hadja Lahbib, Equality Commissioner and Carlien Scheele, EIGE Director
Before you dive into the highlights presented in this Chair Statement, I end with my deep gratitude for our new Equality Commissioner, Hadja Lahbib who, in her keynote address at the end of the first day, summed up the mood with the inspiring story of how she rose to the highest office, defying society’s limited expectations of her as a child.
Her rallying cry of “Here I am!” should inspire us all to have confidence that we can make a positive impact.
Much like Lahbib’s success story, I hope this Chair Statement encourages you to keep up the momentum towards a gender-equal Europe.
From here, I look forward to reconvening with you in 2026 to take stock of the progress we have made together.
Carlien Scheele, Chair of the Forum
“Every gap is a space waiting to be filled with equality, with opportunity and with hope.”—Rareș Voicu, President, The European Youth Forum
Responding to violence against women
The scale of gender-based violence is shocking. Violence against women is a fundamental rights violation taking place in our homes, our workplaces and our communities – both online and offline.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality called on all remaining Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention. Every day we wait is another day where many lives could have been saved.
We heard of the need for men and boys to be active allies to end violence against women, with speakers offering concrete ways to enable them to get on board.
Naturally, the digital landscape was also a point of critical reflection during the Forum.
EIGE research shows women are the primary target of online bullying, hate speech and cyberviolence. Yet only one in four report it.
Discussions pivoted on AI – which can be force for good – both in terms of risk prevention and content moderation – where new EU legislation serves as an important lever for a positive evolution in the digital world.
Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Chair, the European Parliament’s Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality
“We must hold perpetrators of gender-based violence accountable. No woman should live in fear.”—Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Chair, the European Parliament’s Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality
Navigating the future of gender equality
Innovation and investment are powering Europe towards a green and digital future, but how do we ensure that on that journey no one is left behind?
We need to always remember that gender equality is a critical enabler for greater EU competitiveness, productivity and social cohesion.
Empowering women and ensuring their full participation across all sectors can significantly enhance productivity and competitiveness.
Diverse leadership and gender-balanced teams are essential to drive innovation in high-growth sectors such as digital technology and the green transition industries.
Promoting inclusive digital and green transitions will strengthen the EU’s global standing and help deliver on commitments to social cohesion and sustainability – imperatives for safeguarding the EU’s prosperity.
From left: Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, Independent member of Committee to End Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Robert Biedron, MEP and Femi Oke, Master of Ceremonies
Moreover, addressing gender disparities in employment and education will unlock a broader talent pool, mitigating demographic pressures.
So, developing effective social, economic and environmental policies will contribute to our future growth.
Yet, the Forum was told of the “scandalous” underfunding of tech startups led by women. They get a smaller slice of the financial cake compared to those with male CEOs.
We heard how data shows that we are failing to deal with the fundamental structural issues that hold women back in business.
But, we also learned the EU is prioritising STEM education for women and girls, alongside workplace policies, reskilling and initiatives.
This is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
EIGE estimated that gender employment gaps cost the EU economy €370 billion per year.
Closing gender gaps in the labour force could create between 3.5 to 6 million new jobs by 2050 as a result of more women entering the labour force, potentially generating €1,490 billion increase in GDP at the same time.
In tandem, the care gap demands urgent attention. We see a better distribution of caring responsibilities between women and men. But outside the domestic space, we need external support. Affordable, reliable and high-quality care services can close this gap once and for all, and spill over to a positive outcome for active employment.
We need forward-looking policies to unlock all this untapped potential.
“Only 8% of CEOs are women…having real role models for young girls is going to create change.”—Diana Filip. Deputy CEO & Chief Development Officer, JA Europe
Empowering young people
The Gender Equality Forum 2024 youth participants
Both fears and hopes for the future of gender equality are the preserve of the youth who bring that all important passion mixed with pragmatism I mentioned earlier. We live in a time of shifting values and deepening divides threatened by pushback on progress.
Where gains have been hard fought, recent history tells us they are so easily undone. Young people have to deal with the rise of sexism and cyberviolence. While global economic shocks have disproportionately impacted them.
In our Forum, we heard the voices of young people with a migrant background, LGBTIQ and young women with disabilities, highlighting the need for an intersectional approach to all gender equality action – which starts from robust data collection to understand unique situations.
“Being a woman itself is a huge challenge, being a migrant woman, even more; being a non-EU migrant woman, makes it even more challenging. Being a migrant woman in Europe is not easy. EU countries can raise awareness about challenges that migrant women have.” – Mina Sadat, Active member of the Afghan Women's Organisation, Sweden
Today, most young people can only dream of financial independence. We learned how 45% are living at home with their parents, with little hope of finding a place of their own.
In response to this, Eurofound promised a detailed investigation of issues linked to youth housing.
Meanwhile, in each of the other sessions, the active involvement of more than 50 young delegates at the Forum provided inspiration and ideas for their fellow gender champions.
“It would be easy to give up and lose hope. But we’ll do the opposite. We will fight with heart and passion and keep hope for a world where all people are truly equal.”—Lena Schilling, youngest Member of the European Parliament
Promoting positive gender equality narratives
Progress towards equality must overcome the rising threats of conflict, authoritarianism and aggressive anti-gender movements.
But, one message that came across loud and clear at the Forum is that when others preach hate, we should respond with hope.
Participants mingling at The Gender Equality Forum 2024
We heard about the importance of evidence-based information and research to shut down misinformation and harmful stereotypes.
But, to deliver real, lasting change, we must also focus our messages and reach the right audiences. If we want to win hearts and minds, we must touch people emotionally.
Delegates learned about the power of stories, and their feedback at the Forum will inform EIGE’s future work on responding to anti-gender narratives including on how to respond to disinformation as well as broad audiences outside the policy bubble so that our messages resonate with their everyday concerns.
“I’m a hope-aholic. I believe that hope comes from action. There are opportunities here to galvanise power.”—Joanna Maycock, women’s rights campaigner
Conclusion
The EU’s new roadmap on women’s rights and its post-2025 Gender Equality Strategy will provide strong foundations for our future of equality.
But those foundations call for even stronger institutional mechanisms this time round. Our pathway to progress hinges on solid cross-cutting cooperation from national bodies through to civil society organisations. As Rareș Voicu, President of The European Youth Forum put it, “it takes a village”.
And while it is important to have strategies and legislation, they are written on paper. What matters is that commitment and action march forward to ensure implementation.
Our pathway to progress is strengthening effective structures for gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the EU
EIGE will continue to deliver robust and high-quality research, data and tools to advance gender equality. But we need your help to turn that into action.
Expertise is tantamount to resources. One cannot survive without the other. That’s why we need to give ourselves unapologetic permission to put pressure on decision-makers to lead by consistent example.
From left: Nicu Ștefănuță, MEP, Alexandra Silva, Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights, Marijke Weewauters, Senior advisor on national relations and strategic policy advisor and Femi Oke, Master of Ceremonies
“Monitoring is not evaluating. We should have more resources, more time to evaluate. We do gender budgeting: do we do enough? Do we do good governance for every citizen in the world? We have to serve ALL citizens" – Marijke Weewauters, Senior advisor on national relations and strategic policy advisor
With new allies we all gained from this Forum, we need you to share the information you have learned with your connections: family, friends and workmates.
To have deeper conversations to understand different views. To build collective power and new narratives by reaching out to new people.
And that includes actively engaging with the business community – where the role of the private sector is as important and meaningful as that of government.
Together we are stronger than ever.
When we reconvene in 2026, I look forward to hearing your inspiring stories. So we can all say, “Here I am…and here’s how I’ve helped further gender equality.”
“I wasn’t expected to go to university, to become a war reporter … Foreign Minister and now EU Commissioner. But here I am.”—Hadja Lahbib, Equality Commissioner
Carlien Scheele
EIGE Director
