The European Union continues to advance, although not at the pace required to talk about full parity. This is confirmed by new data European Gender Equality IndexWhich indicates the situation in which the Community Bloc countries find themselves and highlights the progress they have achieved and the continuing challenges in this regard.
The average EU score is at 63.4 points out of 100. In the past 15 years, the region has grown by 10.5 points, and according to the trends and conclusions of the same report, at the current rate, it will be necessary At least 50 years to close the gaps between women and men.
The index, developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), paints a detailed picture of inequality in six key areas: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. On that map, Spain appears with a score of 70.9 points, 7.5 above average European It is among the countries that achieved the best results in the bloc.
In the historical series reconstructed since 2010, the country It is characterized by the pace of improvement. In 15 years it has added 15.4 points and only 5.2 of them since 2020. The EIGE places the country among the member states that have made the most progress in the past decade, alongside Ireland and Malta. There are only three more: Sweden (73.4), France (73.4) And Denmark (71.8).
Where it stands out more in the index Control of powerWhich measures women’s presence in the areas of political, economic and social decision-making. Spain arrives here 66.6 points It is among the top three results in the European Union in this area, compared to a European average of 40.5 points.
Both in this section and in the time section—which measures the distribution of care, household tasks, and leisure time—national scores are above the community average. Finally, there is a note 74.1 pointsless Denmark (81.1), Belgium (76.3), countries Bass (74.8) f Estonia (74.8). No country reaches the premium mark.
The report links this to the claim that The “care gap” remains one of the main causes of inequality: Women still handle the majority of intensive care, which limits their work opportunities, training, and social participation.
Spain’s best result comes in health: 86.2 pointsIt is the same as the EU average score in this area, although 14 countries received more generous scores. In this sense, Ireland (93.8), Sweden (91.2) f countries Bass (89.1) are the three countries that closed the gap the most in this section.
Outstanding topics focus on Money and knowledge. In both, Spain is below the European average. In the economic sphere, the European picture shows that women earn 77% of men’s annual income, and among married couples they earn about 30% less, a gap that extends to pensions.
According to a report Eig, hThere is a wide distance between Spain (73.3) and the countries with the most equal income and economic resources, and they are in descending order: Slovenia (86.2), Bulgaria (83.8) and Slovakia (83.6). The European average is 73.9 points.
The field of knowledge is the only area in which the country declines compared to 2020: it loses 3.6 points. The report measures participation and educational level here, as well as segregation by areas of study. Spain reproduces a paradox that can be discovered throughout the European Union.
More women than men complete higher education, but their academic success does not translate into the same job opportunities or salary. The explanation lies in division by major, combined with gender stereotypes that determine educational choices, which can hold back progress in employment and salary equality for years.