Ane Barcos-Aquí Europa
The European Institute for Gender Equality has published this Tuesday the results of the Gender Equality Index 2023, which reveals that Spain occupies for the first time the fourth place in the EU (76.4 points), only below Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark and eight places above the average of the countries of the Union.
This is an analysis that the European Institute for Gender Equality produces annually as an indicator of the status quo of gender equality in the EU. This year’s edition shows the biggest annual jump in the overall score in the history of the Index, placing the EU at 70.2 points out of 100.
Although countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark continue to top the list, Spain has moved into fourth place, overtaking countries such as Finland, which used to lead the index. Since 2010, Spain’s score has increased by ten points.
Irene Montero, acting Minister of Equality, has expressed on the social network X that “it is very good news for all women in our country and it is a source of pride that they recognize the work of the Ministry of Equality and a Government that has bet and has advanced in feminist rights with courage”.
On the other hand, the Member States with the lowest scores are the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, the latter being in twenty-seventh place.
The results of the index also point to other data, such as the fact that, although the gender gap in the provision of care is decreasing, unpaid care continues to show inequality between women and men.
Progress has also been observed on company boards of directors, but less so in national parliaments. For the first time in ten years, the number of women in parliaments and on boards of directors has reached 33%.
However, the results in terms of gender segregation in the labor market have not been positive, as the index shows that the labor market is still as gender segregated today as it was ten years ago. Although women are gradually making progress in STEM fields, they still have a smaller presence than the opposite gender. Meanwhile, the proportion of men in jobs related to education, health and welfare remains constant.
