In the year 2020, Europe boasted the top four countries for gender equality in the world; Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Despite this title, 33% of women in Europe reported experiencing either gender-based violence or discrimination based on gender.
Let's take a look into Europe's long and rich history to see if we can find the answers as to why this is!
Treatment of European Women
The treatment of European women today varies greatly by geographical and cultural area, for example, fewer women in the North of Europe report gender-based discrimination or violence than in the South or East of the continent. As previously stated, four of Europe's countries, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden have held the top placeholders in gender equality across the globe. According to the "Eurostat", these countries were awarded their places due to factors such as workplace equality, work-life balance, education, maternity leave, and more.
The European Institute for Gender Equality also works closely with bodies such as the European Women's Lobby to gather this information.
The Eurostat is a system that compares, processes, and publishes statistical surveys from across 15 member states of the European Union (EU), specifically focussing on aspects of labor.
Italy
Unfortunately, Europe also comes with countries that fall into the bottom placeholders for gender equality and/or gender-based violence. In 2021, Italy ranked 63rd out of the 156 surveyed for gender equality, while the majority of Europe held the top places on the list according to the World Economic Forum.
Fig. 1 World Economic Forum Logo
According to multiple news sources, such as The Irish Times in 2011, much of the worst treatment of women comes from Italy, where men openly insist on the right to view women as strictly sexual objects. This comes along with many reports of women being underpaid or being forced to become strictly housebound to care for men full-time. Despite living under the same governing documents as other EU countries, women in Italy are approximately 15% less employed than men.
It is important to note that despite Italy's low-ranking number (by European standards) on the World Economic Forum, the country has moved up 9 places over the past decade!
Rights of Women in Europe
One of the founding principles of the European Union is equality between the men and women of the member states. In 2014, the Commissioner for Human Rights made it clear to all member states that any sort of violence against women will not be tolerated in democratic and modern society.
Fig. 2 Women's Rights convention text
To understand the current rights of women in Europe, let's look at a timeline of events!
1975 - The Council of the European Committees adopted the rule of equal pay between men and women.
1979 - The European Parliament set out to place a president via direct elections; they elected a woman by the name of Simone Veil with a total of 192 votes.
1984 - The European Parliament established its Committee on Women's Rights.
2000 - The EU put forth its Charter of Fundamental Rights, which expressed that equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas.
2014 - Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a directive to combat violence against women and human trafficking.
2019 - MEPs set out to improve work-life balances with new rules regarding parental leave, flexible working arrangements, and time off for carers.
Also in 2019, women won 40% of the seats during the European elections!
2021 - International Women's Day in Europe (March 8th) focussed on women during the pandemic and what countries could do better to protect women's rights during the lockdowns, as there were higher rates of women reporting domestic violence during and after isolation periods.
Role of Women in Europe
From the 1860s and onwards, organized women's movements have been on the rise. Whether they were demanding better economic, social, or political standing, European women often did not want to switch (or change) gender roles; but wanted to be liberated from subordination and have the freedom to express themselves in whatever way they saw fit.
Influential women who inspired the movements...
Marie Olympe de Gouges (1748 - 1793) was a French playwright who aimed to start a political movement for women. In her "Declaration of the Rights of Women and of the Female Citizen", she demanded that women be given the same rights as men.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 - 1797), a British feminist, wrote the extremely influential "Vindication of the Rights of Women" in 1792 to defend the rights of the women around her, as well as criticize society's oppression and denial of the potential of women.
Fig. 1 Marie Olympe de Gouges
Fig. 4 Mary Wollstonecraft
The Women's Suffrage Movement of Europe sought to create a balance between the ideas of women having equal rights while still emphasizing the special virtues and traditional aspects of being a woman.
This could play a large role in why (some) modern European women expect equal rights, but still, continue to hold the traditional role of being a mainly housebound mother. However, this of course does not apply to all European women, as since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution many of them have been working outside of the household, having later marriages, and creating smaller families.
Status of Women in Europe
From the 1750s to the 1900s, the status of European women did not drastically change; from the very beginning, European women have been bound to the home.
During the Renaissance period, lower-class women were expected to both take care of the family and home while still working outside. Upper-class women were also generally excluded from the public in order to supervise the maid or nannies of the house.
Fig. 5 1900s European woman illustration
Did you know?
Swiss women did not earn the right to vote until 1971!
According to a survey done in 2019, around half of the participating people in each European country said that they would prefer both the husband and wife to work and take care of the home equally. Splitting the work and childcare was often referred to as a more "satisfying" way of life than that of a traditional one, though this varies greatly by country.
Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Greece all shared this preference for equal marriage and parenting, while countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland were more in favor of traditional dynamics.
The Evolving Role and Rights of European Women
Though progress has been made in multiple areas throughout Europe's history, there's still work to be done in regards to breaking away from the traditional standards that remain very influential. At the Council of Europe's Convention (held in 2018) on preventing and combating violence against women in EU member states, the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023 was put forth. The Commissioner for Human Rights had therefore put the rights of women and the fight against gender discrimination as one of the top priorities on the agenda.
Despite the progress Europe has made in recent decades, they are not projected by the Gender Equality Index to reach full gender equality until 2-3 generations from now (with the COVID-19 pandemic massively slowing down progress).
Women in Europe - Key takeaways
- Although four European countries held the top spots for gender equality in 2020, 33% of European women reported facing some level of gender-based violence or discrimination.
- Fewer women from Northern Europe report gender-based violence and discrimination than women from Southern or Eastern Europe.
- Women's Suffrage Movements in Europe aimed to create a balance between equal rights and the traditional aspects of being a woman.
- Women's roles and status vary by European country, but their rights remain the same under governing documents of the EU.
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