Gender equality in different forms has been the core of feminism from its beginning. First, it was focused on equal political rights: equal work and prohibition of discrimination, right to education, right to vote and repeal of anti-abortion laws. After, the focus changed to the assertion of difference and recognizing women specific needs while fighting for equality of opportunity. Now, the key objectives are to achieve equality of political representation and access to power, equality within the household, and understanding of intersectionality; that is taking into account other factors such as race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation… that interact with gender and affect the objectives of equality.

In the eighteenth century, during the French Revolution, the idea of universal suffrage and citizen rights became widespread, but only for men. As a response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, French author Olympe de Gouges published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, in which she calls the attention to the lack of attention to women in the revolutionary demands, and asserts the gap between women’s and men’s rights should be fixed following the law of nature and reason.

During the revolutions of the “People’s Spring” in 1848, women in Austria and Vienna called for voting rights and created democratic clubs for women, but after the restoration, they were prohibited to participate in any political activity. From the end of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th century, nonetheless, feminist movements started to grow in Europe with demands of gender equality before the law, access to university education and access to jobs. The struggle for the right to vote was the most widespread and widely known (e.g. the suffragette movement in the UK). The first European country to achieve real universal suffrage, with women being able to vote and be elected for parliament, was Finland, in 1906. This is only the most known and visible fights for gender equality:  marital and parental rights, rights to access equal education and university education, right to take on civil roles… continued to be protested and achieved over time. The First World War prompted women’s introduction to the job market due to the absence of men, introducing new demands such as equality of treatment and salary within employment, maternity leaves and work-life conciliation measures.

After the Second World War, advocacy for equality gained international attention inside the framework of Human Rights and became consolidated inside the objectives of international organizations. On the 8^th of March 1975, the UN celebrated the International Women’s Day for the first time. In 2007, the EU created the European Institute of Gender Equality. Today, the UN and the EU, along with other international bodies, have a compromise to continue advancing towards effective equality between men and women, facing new challenges that come from the technological era.

Its last report, EIGE points out that it is necessary to improve equality in the realm of access to power, especially decision-making, due to low representation of women in these areas. They also point out that it is necessary to improve gender equality in education, attending to the gender division in tertiary education between arts and humanities degrees and STEM degrees. Many forms of violence against women, such as sexual harassment and abuse, obstetric violence and intimate partner violence are still prevalent in our societies. In some countries, women’s rights are facing backlash and opposition, (i.e. the right of abortion).

Nonetheless, advancements continue to be made. Spain recently approved a new law of consent which modifies previous national law on sexual abuse and aggression and improves the prosecution of such acts. Plus, this new law advocates for integral sexual education in order to teach clearly about consent and prevent sexual violence against any potential victim. The EU and national governments continue to promote initiatives towards gender equality.

The European Agency for Fundamental Rights also collects data and works with local stakeholders in order to carry out surveys and research and produce reports on equality at all levels. Plus, its yearly Fundamental Rights Report deals with the state of  gender equality in European countries as well as the advancements in matter of discrimination due to race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, etc.

At the national level, Spain founded the Ministry of Equality in 2008. This ministry funds research on gender equality, provides grants and subsidies, creates gender equality campaigns, informs of instances of violence against women, proposes laws and policy on equality in all forms. An example is the “Companies for gender-based violence-free society” initiative to raise awareness and foster employability of women victim of domestic violence.

European Projects on Gender Equality: https://genderaction.eu/resources/sister-projects/

Spanish Ministry of  Equality “Companies for gender-based violence-free society” Initiative video https://violenciagenero.igualdad.gob.es/sensibilizacionConcienciacion/inicitativaEmpresas/home.htm

Spanish Ministry of Equality Campaign example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qdjfj6VqCQ&feature=emb_title

FRA campaign on violence against women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUp2oQ4cMtc&feature=emb_title