Diplomacy & Crisis News

The European Parliament plays an important role in advancing gender equality in the European Union. Through resolutions, legislative work and political scrutiny, it has called for stronger action in areas including violence against women, equal pay, online abuse, representation in decision-making, and women’s rights in conflict settings.

In its November 2025 resolution, Parliament called on the Commission to propose adding gender-based violence to the list of EU crimes.

Parliament urged action to prevent online gender-based violence across EU digital policies and to hold platforms accountable for propagating sexist content (November 2025, February 2023). Parliament called for misogyny to be explicitly included in the definition of hate speech and hate crime at EU level (January 2024).

Parliament has also called on the Commission to address AI-related threats through education, digital literacy and research into online misogyny and radicalisation (November 2025). Ahead of the 70th UN Commission on the Status of Women, it also highlighted the need for a deeper understanding of anti-gender movements, the ‘incel’ phenomenon and the ‘manosphere’, and for more active policies to counter these narratives (February 2026).

On employment, Parliament has called for the timely implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive, the Women on Boards Directive and the Work-Life Balance Directive. It demanded measures to reduce the gender employment gap and urged the Commission to promote women’s entry to, and retention within, the labour market (November 2025).

In March 2026, Parliament called on the Commission to present an action plan to eliminate gender pay and pension gaps, with a focus on fair pay and working conditions in sectors dominated by women, such as healthcare and education. Parliament also called for investments under the next EU long-term budget to strengthen work-life balance for women and ensure a reliable care sector.

Parliament has addressed gender equality in sport and culture. In an October 2025 resolution on the European sport model, it called on all stakeholders to advance gender equality in sport, combat violence, discrimination and harassment, and address the under-representation of women in sports governing bodies.

Within its own institution, Parliament has also taken steps on gender equality. In November 2025, Parliament initiated the legislative process to amend the EU Electoral Act. Under the proposed rules, a Member of the European Parliament who is pregnant or has recently given birth may delegate her plenary vote to another Member for up to three months before the estimated date of birth and six months after childbirth. This change requires the agreement of all EU countries in the Council before it can enter into force.

Furthermore, the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) organises an annual gender equality week and various events to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Parliament has repeatedly called for women’s full participation in peace and security decision-making and for consistent EU financing of initiatives that promote women in leadership roles and combat sexual violence in conflict settings (April 2025, May 2025, July 2025). It repeatedly condemned rape and sexual violence in Russia’s attack on Ukraine (February 2023, February 2026) and drew attention to widespread sexual violence and child rape in the conflict in Sudan (March 2025).

Parliament has called for a new gender action plan post-2027 with a gender-sensitive approach to humanitarian aid (January 2026). It also stated that EU defence policies should reflect gender equality and diversity, promoting inclusive military environments with equal opportunities regardless of gender or background (April 2025).

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