Gender equality is a moral and a legal imperative. It has also become an economic necessity as the world transitions through socio-demographic, economic and climate changes. This report – Gender Equality in a Changing World – presents a comprehensive analysis of gender equality in EU and OECD countries, and suggests paths forward to a more inclusive and prosperous future.
This report calls on governments, social partners, civil society and the private sector to renew their commitments to gender equality and advance on implementation of important legislation – such as EU Directives on work‑life balance, pay transparency, gender balance in corporate leadership and combating violence against women – and to embrace innovative policy combinations that integrate gender considerations through all stages of policy design, implementation and evaluation.
While women have made remarkable gains over recent decades in education, labour markets and political representation, longstanding barriers and emerging challenges demand a renewed approach. In education, equitable access to quality learning is fundamental to empowering girls and boys and fostering a skilled workforce. Gender equality in the labour market demands policies that address inequalities in paid employment and foster the reconciliation between work and private life, including by ending inequalities in the often‑overlooked realm of unpaid labour, including care – which is still disproportionately borne by women. In leadership, low numbers of women in public and private sector decision-making roles remain a barrier to achieving representative governance and management.
Health and gender-based violence (GBV) are equally central to the discussion. Ensuring that health systems are responsive to the unique needs of women and men in both prevention and care is vital, as is the development of effective strategies to combat GBV – a pervasive and transversal issue that undermines the safety, dignity and potential of at least one in three women throughout EU and OECD countries. GBV hinders gender equality in every single policy area.
As the world navigates the challenges and opportunities of the green transition and the digital transformation, this report also explores the degree to which existing indicators enable a gender lens and how a well-coordinated gender angle can support better and more effective policies moving forward. Considering emerging issues through gender-disaggregated data is crucial to ensure that economies and societies drive innovation by leveraging the diverse talents, perspectives and experiences of all people.
To overcome these challenges, the report proposes:
Effective gender mainstreaming, strong institutional mechanisms and robust gender-disaggregated data. This entails embedding a gender lens into every policy field – from health to environment to social protection and beyond – to anticipate and address needs and outcomes, as well as strengthening bodies responsible for gender equality with clear mandates, co-ordination mechanisms, dedicated funding, and systematic monitoring to ensure accountability. The collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data are particularly critical to understanding gender gaps and assessing policy effectiveness.
Policy combinations to advance gender equality. Governments must move beyond isolated interventions to “bundles” of complementary measures, ensuring that different policies are horizontally and vertically co-ordinated across ministries, agencies and levels of government. For example, the provision and take-up of childcare will likely be more effective if it is accompanied by parental leave reforms and public awareness campaigns that help shift the (unequal) division of unpaid care practices. These actions, in turn, would cumulatively help women’s labour market outcomes.
Multi‑stakeholder engagement to improve processes and outcomes. The production of this report itself illustrates the importance of leveraging the insights and capacities of all actors –national and local governments, employers, trade unions, academia, civil society and women’s organisations – to design and implement concrete actions that reinforce one another.
Extensive issue-specific policy recommendations to support better gender equality outcomes in paid and unpaid work, education, leadership, health, gender-based violence, the digital transition and the green transition.
To support policy makers in transforming gender equality goals and data into outcomes, Gender Equality in a Changing World also provides a novel conceptual framework to guide the consideration of gender in policy combinations. The framework supports policy makers with tools and methods to evaluate the impact of their decisions on women and men across sectors, policy areas and phases of the policy cycle.
Of course, policy innovation must not overlook existing institutions and achievements. The EU’s legislative acquis – including the Work‑Life Balance Directive, the Pay Transparency Directive, the Directive on Gender Balance in Corporate Boards, the Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, accession to the Istanbul Convention and other steps – and corresponding measures in OECD countries provide an important foundation for gender equality progress. Yet their real‑world impact hinges on tailored implementation, continuous evaluation and adaptation to emerging and evolving issues. This report – and the OECD more broadly – will support the EU and national governments in overcoming these challenges in the years ahead.