Perspectives on gender equality at EU level

On November 5, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Romania, together with the A.R.T. Fusion association, organized a debate on the situation of gender equality in Romania and the European Union, in the context of European efforts to develop the future EU Strategy for Gender Equality 2026–2030.

The following speakers took the floor at the event:
●      Gianina Dimitrescu, National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES)
●      Victoria Stoiciu, senator, Social Democratic Party
●      Florina Presadă, politician, SENS party
●      Oana Băluță, Associate Professor, SNSPA
●      Antonia Pîslariu, activist, A.R.T. Fusion & FEM Network

The large turnout, with over 100 people present in the conference room of the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest, confirms the interest in this topic, especially among young people.

In the first part of the discussion, the guests analyzed how the EU Strategy for Gender Equality (2020–2025) has been implemented in Romania. Although some progress has been made, problems persist in areas such as violence against women, access to healthcare and the labor market, education for gender equality, and the representation of women in decision-making positions. In fact, Romania has ranked last in the European Gender Equality Index in recent years (2023 and 2024), a ranking that assesses several indicators—from work, money, and education to leisure time and access to decision-making power.

In the second part, discussions focused on various proposals for improving the future EU Strategy. The need for clearer implementation mechanisms, including sanctions for non-compliance with objectives, was emphasized. Emphasis was placed on the role of education in promoting gender equality and on introducing concepts in schools that would help prevent violence against girls and women. At the same time, it was noted that the Ministry of Education's support for such initiatives had been insufficient in recent years, despite a cooperation protocol signed with A.N.E.S.. The importance of a more intersectional approach in the future strategy was also highlighted, taking into account the needs of different categories of women, as well as the need to include women in rural areas, affected by poverty, limited access to education and health services, and exposed to marginalization.

The guests pointed out that progress in gender equality is threatened by the rise of conservative and far-right political forces seeking to restrict the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people and to overturn initiatives such as the Istanbul Convention, as recently happened in Latvia. These attacks by conservatives risk jeopardizing the progress made so far and future courses of action.

In order to make the future strategy more effective, the value of the expertise offered by transnational networks such as the FEM Network, of which the A.R.T. Fusion association is a member, was mentioned. Through an extensive advocacy campaign, it collected the opinions of over 900 women and non-binary people from Romania, Portugal, Iceland, Lithuania, and Poland, thus contributing to the development of concrete proposals for the future EU Strategy, which can complement the proposals collected by the European Commission during the consultation process.

The perspectives presented during the event and the genuine interest shown by participants indicate that gender equality remains an achievable goal, but that greater cooperation, involvement, and, last but not least, resources allocated to the objectives set out in the various strategies are needed in order to turn the agreed objectives into reality.