The European Commission projects that at the current rate, it would take another half a century to achieve equality between women and men in the EU.
For liberals, that timeline is unacceptable. The adoption of the Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030 last week therefore marks an important moment for renewing the EU’s commitment to equality by presenting a long-term vision over five years.
The strategy addresses emerging threats like gender-based cyberviolence, anti-gender narratives and AI risks. It also tackles the gaps in pay and pensions, women’s political participation and healthcare. Importantly, the strategy intends to engage men and boys in promoting equality within society and globally.
Commissioner Lahbib commented on the importance of the strategy:
“Violence is widespread and still present in our societies, but there is also online violence which causes women to withdraw from social networks and weakens our democracy. Focusing on violence is the first objective of the new gender equality strategy.
“We need to consolidate, because we see today a backwards movement trying to stop progress. But we must fight against this movement to protect our achievements and go forward once more.”
Against this backdrop, liberal ministers met ahead of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) this week, focusing on gender equality following International Women’s Day.
EPSCO is a crucial platform for the liberal family to advance our priorities across the EU amidst democratic backsliding and growing threats to gender equality. The discussion provided an opportunity for liberals to coordinate ahead of the Council meeting.
The liberal ministers and commissioners attending the event were:
- Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management (MR, BE)
- Hans Vijlbrief, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (D66, NL)
- Karmen Joller, Minister of Social Affairs (Reformierakond, EE)
- Brigitte van den Berg MEP (D66, NL) as the meeting’s chair
Conversations covered a wide range of issues, including pay transparency, posted workers and skills. However, following the Commission’s adoption of the strategy, gender equality dominated discussions.
From the rise of sexually explicit deepfakes and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images to the lack of research on women’s health issues and the underdiagnosis of certain conditions, liberals highlighted several gendered gaps that still need to be addressed.
Liberals at the pre-EPSCO meeting highlighted both the progress made and the scale of the work still ahead to ensure that gender equality remains a central priority in European policymaking.
At a time when anti-gender movements and democratic backsliding are challenging decades of progress, liberals stressed that defending and advancing gender equality must remain a core political priority for the EU as equality is never guaranteed.
The Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030 is a step in that direction, but we cannot stop there. Equality cannot wait another fifty years.