Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Strengthening women’s rights and gender equality in the EU: A local and regional perspective
Date: 2025-10-14
Institutions: Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture, European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU action, equal pay, female work, gender equality, participation of women, position of women, sexual discrimination, sexual violence, women's rights, work-life balance








C_202506319EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/6319


3.12.2025






Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Strengthening women’s rights and gender equality in the EU: A local and regional perspective
(C/2025/6319)














Rapporteur



:


Carina OHLSSON (SE/PES), Member of Municipal Council, Lidköping Municipality





Reference document



:


Communication from the European Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Roadmap for Women’s Rights
COM(2025) 97 final









POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (COR)








1.


stresses that gender equality is a fundamental right and a core democratic value; during the previous legislative period, the EU made important strides towards greater gender equality, notably through directives and policy initiatives on work-life balance, gender balance on corporate boards, access to care, pay transparency, equality bodies and protection from violence against women and domestic violence; the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention further reinforces its commitment to combating gender-based violence;












2.


endorses the European Commission’s Roadmap for Women’s Rights and the Declaration of Principles for a Gender-Equal Society (1), considering them a strong foundation for shaping the new EU Gender Equality Strategy and achieving tangible progress in advancing gender equality across the EU and beyond;












3.


draws attention to the fact that, while the Roadmap rightly acknowledges the importance of robust institutional mechanisms at all levels, it fails to sufficiently recognise the pivotal role that local and regional authorities play in implementing gender equality policies on the ground;












4.


calls for local and regional authorities – in light of their competences and vital role – to be recognised as strategic partners in the design, implementation and monitoring of the Roadmap and the forthcoming EU Gender Equality Strategy; this partnership must be backed by adequate financial resources, strengthening of local and regional equality bodies and closer cooperation with civil society. In this context, the principle of subsidiarity is key: decisions and measures should be taken as close as possible to citizens, where gender equality challenges and opportunities are most tangible;












5.


furthermore, calls for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to systematically mainstream the principle of gender equality and a gender-sensitive perspective across all EU programmes, ensuring consistency between gender budgeting and other key priorities, including the green and digital transitions, competitiveness, and social resilience; in line with the commitments made under the previous legislature, the existing gender mainstreaming methodology should be reviewed and strengthened during the preparations for the 2028-2034 MFF, with the meaningful involvement of local and regional authorities, to ensure that EU funds are used effectively to deliver results in the area of gender equality;












6.


reaffirms that cohesion and recovery funds must be anchored in clear and measurable gender-responsive objectives, to ensure that regional development actively contributes to closing gender gaps and advancing social justice, rather than reinforcing existing inequalities; gender mainstreaming and equality impact assessments should be systematically applied throughout the programming, implementation and evaluation phases;












7.


underlines the crucial role of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in promoting gender equality, social inclusion, and equal opportunities in the labour market. While welcoming the proposed EUR 100 billion allocation for 2028-2034, the CoR stresses that this earmarking must be safeguarded to directly benefit people – for example women, single parents and those facing multiple discrimination – rather than being diluted into infrastructure or investment measures. The ESF+ should continue to provide targeted funding for training, skills, employment and social innovation initiatives that strengthen women’s economic independence and contribute to closing persistent gender gaps. Local and regional authorities, as managers and beneficiaries of ESF+ programmes, must remain central in ensuring that funds are used effectively to address people’s needs on the ground;












8.


underlines that women’s rights and opportunities are intrinsically linked to the socioeconomic development of regions, with women in less developed areas facing systemic barriers to employment, education, healthcare and political participation; the EU must ensure that gender equality is fully mainstreamed in local and regional governance, by supporting Member States in the effective implementation of cohesion policy, social investment, and inclusive regional development strategies. This includes, but is not limited to, less developed regions, where women – especially in rural and remote areas – face multiple, intersecting barriers. Stresses the need to generate and make visible resources to prevent, continuously address and combat sexual violence, especially in rural areas. It recommends continuing to focus on reinforcing the network of resources for equal opportunities and preventing this gender-based violence in rural areas, along with the institutional solution bringing services closer to the population and combating depopulation and isolation in rural areas. Their leadership and participation in regional and rural development, biodiversity protection, sustainable agriculture, and rural economy must be supported through targeted gender-responsive programmes;












9.


stresses the need to do something about the gender gap in rural areas, where women often face more difficulties than in urban areas, with the result that the considerable contribution that women could make to rural development is not being fully exploited. To this end, calls for European proximity policies and initiatives in the area of farming and rural development to focus more on the role of women in rural areas and include tangible measures to increase the visibility, training, entrepreneurship and employability of women in these areas, without neglecting issues such as work-life balance, access to essential services and, of course, gender violence. In this connection, stresses the importance of making progress on the matter of joint ownership by men and women of farms, which are still largely run by men, and increasing the number of women in the management bodies of agricultural boards, associations and cooperatives;












10.


welcomes the EU’s continued commitment to the dual approach of systematically mainstreaming gender equality across all policies while also supporting targeted, concrete actions at local and regional level;












11.


reaffirms that intersectionality must remain at the core of the EU’s gender equality efforts; women in situations of vulnerability and marginalisation, such as single mothers and women living in rural and remote areas, face compounded discrimination and are disproportionately affected by structural inequalities; this equally applies to all women in the union including homeless women, migrant women, women from ethnic minorities and those with disabilities; the upcoming EU strategy must explicitly address these realities, ensuring their visibility and support for those most at risk, and promoting sustained cooperation between local authorities and civil society to reach these communities effectively. Recognises also the critical importance of integrating a gender balance perspective in the context of rural agriculture and biodiversity. Empowering women in these fields is not only a matter of equity but a prerequisite for sustainable rural development and environmental conservation. Gender equality is a fundamental EU value;












12.


stresses that dismantling harmful gender norms, combating discriminatory language and promoting jointly responsible positive masculinities benefits the whole of society; rigid gender roles perpetuate inequality, violence and social exclusion; to advance gender equality, action is needed on all fronts, including comprehensive gender equality education, including the importance of joint responsibility and caregiving in certain areas of life, engaging boys and men as allies, key agents and recipients, supporting men who seek to break cycles of violence and promoting gender-equal family models and parenting; local and regional authorities are uniquely placed to lead these cultural and behavioural shifts by working closely with schools, community organisations, and social services;












13.


underlines that insufficient resources, institutional capacity and gender expertise remain key barriers to effective gender equality work at local and regional level; therefore, calls for continuous well-resourced training of public officials and staff across all sectors with a focus on integrating gender equality into the planning, delivery and evaluation of all public services. In parallel, highlights the need to strengthen the capacities of – and support for – women in economically disadvantaged and rural areas – including those in agricultural communities – through targeted programmes focusing on agroecological techniques, digital tools, entrepreneurship, access to finance, social innovation and the acquisition of digital and other skills. These initiatives, often delivered in cooperation with civil society organisations and local stakeholders, should aim to foster both economic independence and ecological stewardship;












14.


reaffirms that adequate financial and human resources must be guaranteed to ensure that local and regional authorities can deliver on gender equality commitments in practice;












15.


recommends the systemic use of gender-responsive budgeting at all levels of governance; budgets are political tools that reveal how resources are distributed – between activities, women and men, girls and boys. To prevent the unintentional reinforcement of gender inequalities, the gender perspective must be integrated from the outset in both the objectives and allocation of expenditure;





From words to action – The principles of gender equality and the important role of local and regional authorities


Freedom from gender-based violence









16.


welcomes the adoption of the EU Directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence, which incorporates an intersectional perspective; regrets, however, the absence of a consent-based definition of rape, as outlined in the Istanbul Convention; calls on the Commission and Member States to address this gap and ensure full implementation of the directive’s protections; its proper and timely implementation by Member States is essential to providing robust protection for women and ensuring access to justice and support services, and represents a milestone in the EU’s commitment to ending gender-based violence;












17.


affirms that all individuals, regardless of sex assigned at birth, gender identity or gender expression, must be protected from gender-based violence. It stresses the need for public policies and services to explicitly include trans and gender-diverse people, who are disproportionately affected by discrimination and violence. Recognising womanhood as a social identity is essential to ensuring inclusive, rights-based approaches to gender equality and protection from violence;












18.


recommends that the European Commission integrate the CoR opinion (COR 2023/02488) (2) in its upcoming Gender Equality Strategy and recognise the key role of cities and regions in delivering concrete measures to combat gender-based violence;












19.


stresses that effective violence prevention requires tackling gender stereotypes, harmful masculinity norms and patriarchal structures through an intersectional lens, and understanding women’s lived experiences; it is also crucial to engage men in violence prevention, as they are the demographic that mainly inflicts gender-based violence; engaging men and boys is essential, and local and regional authorities must be equipped with the resources and capacity to lead this work on the ground;












20.


calls for LRAs to increase investment in safe and accessible spaces for survivors of gender-based violence. It is essential to integrate this perspective into urban planning, local development strategies, and the overall design of cities and towns. Gender-sensitive local and regional planning is crucial. Further stresses the urgent need to enhance local and regional services, including shelters and counselling centres, to provide comprehensive support and protection for all women survivors, regardless of gender identity or their background. It should also be ensured that these services are designed and managed with a focus on not re-victimising women who are survivors of gender-based violence, avoiding institutional practices that replicate trauma, blame or unnecessary exposure of their experience;












21.


calls on local and regional authorities to integrate a gender perspective in urban and transport planning, including through structured cooperation with civil society organisations, such as feminist and community-led initiatives, to create safer public spaces and reduce the risk of gender-based violence in streets, public transport, schools, workplaces, parks and everyday environments; urges the European Commission to reflect this priority in the forthcoming Gender Equality Strategy and to support local efforts through funding, guidance, and the exchange of good practices;












22.


stresses the urgent need to prioritise early prevention in schools, by promoting inclusive education based on gender equality, respect and non-violence; calls for the integration of this work into the daily fabric of school beyond one-off awareness campaigns, through the provision of tools and training for both pupils and staff to recognise, prevent, and address all forms of violence, including gender-based violence, and highlights the critical role of schools in challenging gender stereotypes and promoting positive social norms also related to joint responsibility and caregiving from a young age;












23.


in order to examine the multi-level governance models of the Istanbul Convention, proposes to launch a systematic mapping exercise of local anti-violence networks, to be carried out jointly with regional administrations and local authorities, by mapping local protocols, agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs). The objective is to analyse in depth the characteristics of these local networks and identify the factors that determine their scope, effectiveness and added value in protecting, supporting and fostering the autonomy of victims of violence, including with a view to strengthening the operation of these networks, with particular attention to women with disabilities. These victims often go undetected and unreported, both because of a lack of adequate communication channels for reporting violence and because of difficulties in recognising themselves as victims;












24.


encourages the European Commission to support cooperation and structured exchange of evidence-based practices between Member States, and to ensure that education on gender equality and violence prevention is a core component of the upcoming Gender Equality Strategy;












25.


regrets that the Roadmap fails to adequately address the specific needs of women in vulnerable situations, including women with disabilities, migrants, asylum seekers, and those whose residence status depends on a partner; these groups face heightened risks of violence and exclusion and must be made visible in EU policymaking; calls for stronger action to safeguard their rights and highlights the role of local and regional authorities, working in partnership with civil society, in delivering protection and support on the ground; and, with regard to migrant and refugee women and their children on EU territory, calls for the principle of family reunification to be catered for;












26.


highlights the growing threat of digital violence, including online misogyny, cyberstalking and doxing, which disproportionately target women – especially those in politics and public life; calls for local and regional strategies to promote digital safety, awareness and support for survivors, and urges stronger accountability from tech platforms to combat gender-based violence online;





The highest health standards









27.


welcomes the Commission’s recognition of the need to support Member States in ensuring women’s access to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHRs), and in promoting gender-responsive medical research and care; stresses that SRHRs are fundamental human rights and essential for achieving gender equality; moreover, stresses the importance of reinforcing local and regional authorities’ powers in the area of prevention and promoting health, as they are key players in early detection and addressing the effects of gender inequalities on the physical, mental and emotional health of women, especially in contexts of social vulnerability;












28.


highlights persistent gaps in women’s healthcare, including mental health and reproductive and maternal care; underlines the vital role of local and regional authorities in ensuring accessible, equitable, and rights-based health services, including planned parenthood centres, for all women and girls;












29.


notes that recent rollbacks in some Member States underscore the urgency of protecting these rights across all levels of governance; calls for all women in the EU to have access to legal, safe, and affordable abortion care in line with international human rights standards; emphasises the importance of ensuring that such care is available without discrimination and highlights the need to address regional disparities in access; encourages local and regional authorities to work towards guaranteeing equitable access to reproductive healthcare services across all territories; stresses that all women have the right to bodily autonomy and to make informed decisions about their health and lives, free from exploitation;












30.


calls for the development of common European standards for maternal and reproductive healthcare, including access to affordable and de-stigmatised contraception for women and men, as well as counselling; emphasises the need to reduce regional disparities and supports HPV vaccination as a key step towards eradicating cervical cancer;












31.


encourages LRAs to lead efforts in providing free menstrual hygiene products (MHPs) in public spaces under their competence, including schools, social care institutions, youth centres and municipal facilities. Ensuring access to menstrual hygiene is essential to safeguarding human dignity, promoting gender equality and addressing health disparities at the local level. Also encourages local and regional authorities to lead efforts to raise awareness of and depathologise the menopause;












32.


calls for the elimination of the so-called ‘pink tax’ – the application of VAT or higher pricing on MHPs – which contributes to gender-based economic inequality. Removing VAT on MHPs, using the flexibility allowed under Council Directive 2006/112/EC (3), would be a concrete step toward fiscal justice and gender equality;












33.


stresses that gender stereotypes and insufficient understanding of sex-based differences can result in misdiagnoses and unequal care; calls for increased awareness, gender-disaggregated data, and the exchange of best practices in gender-sensitive healthcare;












34.


calls on the Commission to designate femicide as such, i.e. the murder of women based on their gender, and condemn it in its strategy for combating gender-based violence; underlines the need for early identification and support of survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, including sexual violence, honour-related violence and genital mutilation and harmful practices; local and regional authorities must be equipped with the knowledge, resources, and legal frameworks to respond effectively;





Equal pay and economic empowerment









35.


stresses the need to close gender pay and pension gaps, tackle gender segregation in the labour market, and promote women’s economic empowerment; highlights the potential of public procurement to advance gender equality through targeted clauses and training for procurers;












36.


calls for the promotion of gender-sensitive rural and urban development policies that actively encourage women’s entrepreneurship, including through improved access to land, credit, technology, as well as knowledge and targeted funding in agriculture and green sectors. This includes financing women-led initiatives, supporting them in navigating administrative processes, reviewing potential barriers to accessing funding schemes, and providing agricultural advice and training. In less developed regions, inclusive local strategies must prioritise support for women-led initiatives that contribute to, amongst other goals, biodiversity protection and sustainable land use;












37.


notes that women remain disproportionately at risk of poverty and social exclusion, and underlines the key role of local and regional authorities in addressing these challenges; calls for adequate legal frameworks and funding to enable them to act effectively (4);












38.


calls for an intersectional approach to be mainstreamed into EU and national policies, in particular labour market policies in close consultation with social partners, to better protect and strengthen the rights of women facing multiple forms of discrimination, including migrant women, asylum seekers, women with disabilities and women from ethnic minorities; warns that digitalisation risks deepening existing inequalities and urges action to ensure it promotes inclusion rather than exclusion;





Work-life balance and joint caring responsibilities









39.


welcomes the Roadmap’s focus on a fairer sharing of care responsibilities and stronger investment in the care sector; highlights the key role of local and regional authorities in providing quality care infrastructure that enables women’s reintegration and active participation in the labour market, which helps close pay and pension gaps; notes that women continue to shoulder the majority of care work, both unpaid within the private sphere and paid within the care sector, with millions excluded from the labour market as a result; 90 % of the formal care workforce are women and 7,7 million women are outside the labour market due to care responsibilities (5);












40.


stresses the importance of the EU Care Strategy (6) in ensuring access to affordable and quality care services and improving conditions for both caregivers and recipients; underscores that women are disproportionately affected by care gaps, as they continue to be responsible for the bulk of informal care responsibilities; points out that the ageing of the population in rural areas gives rise to specific needs for women aged 60 and over, and calls for formulas to be devised to enable work-life balance and respite solutions for caregivers, along with programmes to improve the health of this specific group; highlights the importance of quality care services and the role that local and regional authorities play in providing such services; emphasises how important the Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers (7) and the Barcelona targets are in making care work gender-equal;












41.


underlines the need to decouple womanhood from traditional roles tied exclusively to childbearing and caregiving, in line with the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (Action 4) and as such calls for family-friendly policies to explicitly recognise and support diverse family forms – including single-parent and LGBTQ+ families – as equally valid and deserving of protection. This approach promotes shared family responsibilities and social inclusion, addressing the unequal burden historically placed on women;





Equal opportunities for employment and good working conditions









42.


stresses the need for the EU, in partnership with social partners, to promote equal opportunities in the labour market and address gender segregation and discrimination, by elevating the status of female-dominated professions, while encouraging women to engage in more male-dominated occupations; highlights the strategic role of municipalities and regions as employers in leading by example;












43.


emphasises the importance of systematically integrating a gender perspective into climate and environmental policies, in line with the European Green Deal. It recognises that women, particularly those in vulnerable communities, are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation; calls for targeted measures to ensure women’s full participation in climate decision-making, green jobs and resilience-building efforts to achieve both climate justice and gender equality;





Quality and inclusive education









44.


stresses that integrating gender equality education into all levels of the education system is essential to building a more equal society; highlights that girls often feel less safe in school settings, and that safety and inclusion efforts are more effective when combined with systematic gender-responsive approaches, supportive leadership and inclusive curricula; an educational approach to joint responsibility and care helps to overcome male stereotypes in that it helps to release boys and men from the pressure exerted by social expectations;












45.


calls for programmes to fight, highlight and act against harassment at work and sexual harassment in rural areas;












46.


highlights the importance of formal and informal lifelong learning through feminist, anti-racist and inclusive pedagogical content and practices, and by encouraging women to acquire knowledge and skills in sciences such as those connected with the environment and digital technologies;





Political participation and equal representation









47.


underlines the continued under-representation of women in local politics, and stresses the need for gender balance in decision-making bodies and working groups; calls on the European Commission to support Member States in promoting women’s political participation and leadership, including initiatives that address structural barriers, stereotypes, and discriminatory norms; emphasises that unequal conditions still limit many women’s ability to fully participate and engage in political life at the local level;












48.


stresses the importance of integrating a gender perspective into all stages of the political process and calls on parties and political groups to adopt proactive measures, including, where appropriate, quotas and parity-based approaches to increase women’s representation, particularly in elected and leadership positions. Notes that gender-balanced candidate lists can enhance overall competence (8) and accelerate progress toward equal representation. Expresses concern over increasing threats and harassment targeting local and regional elected officials, particularly women, young women from minority backgrounds and those in leadership roles. Calls on cities and regions to ensure a safe political environment and urges all institutions to adopt gender-sensitive codes of conduct and mandatory anti-harassment training, with clear enforcement mechanisms;












49.


calls for a shift from mere participation to genuine power redistribution, ensuring equal access to leadership and decision-making roles, and valuing the knowledge and leadership of women from marginal and socially excluded backgrounds;












50.


stresses the importance of promoting women’s leadership in environmental and rural governance, including agricultural cooperatives, biodiversity councils and rural development boards. Gender balance in these structures is essential to ensure inclusive decision-making in line with EU democratic principles;





Institutional mechanisms ensuring women’s rights









51.


stresses that gender equality must be embedded in everyday governance – from decision-making and budgeting to norm-setting – and not treated as a one-off project; calls on the European Commission to support local and regional authorities in mainstreaming gender equality across their systems; encourages experienced cities and regions to share good practices, in order to promote structured and systematic work at local, regional and national level; underlines the importance of sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics for evidence-based policymaking; local and regional authorities must play a key role in collecting and using this data, which should also be reflected in the future EU Gender Equality Strategy;












52.


reminds (9) members of the CoR, its Young Elected Politicians and the EU Local Councillors Network to take a step further and join the ‘European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life’ (10) that has already gathered a diverse pool of more than 2 000 LRAs across Europe;












53.


calls for the establishment of clear accountability mechanisms, including independent gender equality observatories, regular gender audits, and civil society oversight, to ensure that commitments translate into measurable progress at all levels of governance.






Brussels, 14 October 2025.


The President


of the European Committee of the Regions

Kata TÜTTŐ
               





(1)  
            https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0097&qid=1747317895809.

(2)  Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Stopping gender-based violence – cities and regions leading the way (OJ C, C/2024/1042, 9.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1042/oj).

(3)  Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1).

(4)  
            Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Women and Poverty in the European Union (
OJ C 81, 4.4.2006, p. 37).

(5)  
            https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5169.

(6)  
            Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on the European care strategy (
OJ C 157, 3.5.2023, p. 28).

(7)  Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (
OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, p. 79).

(8)  
            https://jamstalldhetsmyndigheten.se/media/buhj543w/slutredovisning-lokal-demokrati.pdf, English summary, p. 45.

(9)  The call has already been launched in the CoR opinion SEDEC-VII/039 on Stopping Gender-Based violence.

(10)  The text of the Charter - Observatory of the European Charter (charter-equality.eu).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/6319/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)