Sittings · Document
Follow-up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the Gender Equality Strategy 2025
Rapporteur: Marko VEŠLIGAJ (S&D / HR)
References: 2024/2125(INI) / A10-0210/2025 / P10_TA(2025)0278
Date of adoption of the resolution: 13 November 2025
Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)
Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it: In its report, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to present an ambitious 2026-2030 Gender Equality Strategy with concrete measures of a legislative, non-legislative and funding nature in the following areas: gender-based violence, comprehensive gender-responsive healthcare, gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work, female poverty, women’s rights and gender equality in education, training and the digital sphere, reconciliation of private and professional life and addressing gender inequalities in care provision, climate, environment and gender equality, protecting civil society and women’s rights organisations and countering anti-gender movements, cross-cutting means of achieving gender equality, and institutional environment for achieving gender equality.
Response to requests and overview of actions taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:
The Commission welcomed the European Parliament valuable contribution, which will serve as an essential input in developing the next Gender Equality Strategy. As indicated by Commissioner Lahbib in the European Parliament plenary debate, the forthcoming strategy will be structured according to the Roadmap for Women’s Rights adopted in March 2025. The Roadmap presents a long-term vision with key principles and policy goals to realise gender equality. The Roadmap was endorsed by all Member States, the European Parliament, other EU institutions and multiple stakeholders on 16 October 2025. The preparation of the post-2025 Gender Equality Strategy focusses on identifying concrete actions, measures and initiatives to deliver on the ambitions outlined in the Roadmap, within the competences conferred on the Union by the treaties.
In response to the European’s Parliament’s demand for measures in the area of gender-based violence, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 1, which aims to ensure freedom from gender-based violence. The Roadmap for Women’s Rights affirms that every woman and girl has the right to security and to be treated with dignity, both online and offline, in public and private life. Existing legislation that underscores this principle includes the Violence Against Women Directive, of which the Commission will prioritise full and timely transposition and implementation. Regarding the demand to adopt a consent-based criminalisation of rape, the Commission recalls that this was in the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. The Commission further points out that a harmonised definition of rape based on lack of consent is under negotiations in the recast directive on combating child sexual abuse. While this would only cover rape of children over the age of sexual consent, but below 18, it would already be a very important step forward towards establishing the principle that ‘only yes means yes,’ in the EU.
Regarding the European Parliament's call for measures in the area of comprehensive gender-responsive healthcare, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 2, which aims to ensure the highest standards of health. The Roadmap affirms that every woman is entitled to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health. While fully respecting the competences of Member States in this area, the Commission considers measures supporting Member States action in the field of health to promote the physical and mental health of women and girls, including by improving access to evidence-based information on women’s health and sexuality. As regards the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) “My Voice, My Choice” for safe and accessible abortion, the Commission will provide a reply by 2 March 2025 in accordance with ECI Regulation 2019/788.
In response to the European Parliament’s call for measures related to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work, as well as addressing female poverty, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 3, which aims to ensure equal pay and economic empowerment. The Roadmap affirms that every woman has the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and to be economically independent. In this context, the Commission will support the timely and effective transposition and implementation of the existing legislation including the Pay Transparency Directive. Additionally, the Commission is considering further measures to close the gender pay gap and gender pension gap and address the undervaluation of jobs predominantly performed by women.
Furthermore, the Commission is considering measures to realise Roadmap Principle 5, which aims to ensure equal employment opportunities and adequate working conditions. In this context, the Commission is monitoring full transposition and implementation of the Directive on gender balance on corporate boards, which sets targets for large EU-listed companies to be met by June 2026.
With regard to the European Parliament’s demand for measures related to women’s rights and gender equality in education, training and the digital sphere, the Commission is considering measures to realise Roadmap Principle 6, which aims to ensure quality and inclusive education. The Roadmap affirms that every girl and woman has the right to high quality and inclusive education and training, free from discrimination. While fully respecting the competences of Member States in this area, this may include measures that foster a gender-balanced perspective in education. Moreover, the Commission will continue to support measures that encourage girls and women in STEM fields, such as the “Girls Go STEM” project which provides training for schoolgirls. The Commission plans to also adopt in the second quarter of 2026 an Action Plan for women in research, innovation and start-ups. The call for evidence has been launched on 23 January 2026 and will be closed on 23 February 2026.
Reflecting the European Parliament’s demand for measures related to the reconciliation of private and professional life and addressing gender inequalities in care provision, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 4, which aims to ensure work-life balance and care. The Roadmap affirms that every woman has the right to balance her professional and private life. Existing legislation supporting this principle includes the Work-Life Balance Directive. Additionally, the Commission will continue to encourage Member States to increase the uptake of parental leave by fathers, thereby promoting shared responsibility in caregiving.
Regarding the European Parliament’s demands for measures in the area of climate, environment and gender equality; protecting civil society and women’s rights organisations and countering anti-gender movements, and cross-cutting means of achieving gender equality, as well the institutional environment for achieving gender equality, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 8, which aims to ensure institutional mechanisms that deliver on women’s rights. The Roadmap affirms that advancing women’s rights requires effective gender mainstreaming, financing and institutional infrastructure, as well a gender-sensitive research, data collection, design, and planning that address women’s needs with an intersectional approach. In this context, the Commission would like to point out that in the context of its proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), it has proposed a Regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities (COM/2025/545 final) (the “Performance Regulation”). This entails a harmonised gender mainstreaming methodology across the EU budget, including a single system for tracking EU expenditure and results through a list of performance indicators, most of which are disaggregated by gender. If that proposal is adopted as such by the co-legislators, the Commission intends to prepare the necessary guidance on the application of that methodology. The Commission also remains fully committed to providing funding to advance gender equality and fight gender-based violence, including through women's rights organisations. This is part of the current Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, as well as the proposal for the AgoraEU instrument. The Commission envisages to continue funding research on tackling inequalities, including gender equality issues, and the integration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content, under the next Horizon Europe programme.
Furthermore, the Commission is considering measures to implement Roadmap Principle 7, which aims to ensure political participation and equal representation. The Roadmap affirms that every woman, including women in rural and remote areas, has the right to actively and safely participate in public life. The Commission has already reached gender balance in its own administration at middle management level and is close to reaching such balance in its senior management; it remains committed to maintain and where necessary strengthen these efforts.