2012 - Conference - Women and the European Union (2009-2012)

With the June 2014 European elections on the horizon, and to coincide with the EP/national parliaments conference which took place on the 3 October 2012 on gender equality in the European Union, it seemed timely to revisit this question. This study analyses the issues of concern to women in the EU since the 2009 European elections. The majority of Eurobarometer surveys conducted since this date have been analysed. The first part is devoted to changes over time: what issues were at stake for women in the European elections of 2009? Against a background of an even deeper crisis than previously, what do European women now see as the priority policies to be defended in the EU? The second part turns to the practical measures which could be implemented to bridge the gender gap, first in political institutions and in positions of responsibility in the public services, and then in every other sector of society.