A competitive Europe needs to be a gender equal Europe, as the untapped potential that lies in Europe’s female workforce is immense. In order to boost Europe’s GDP growth, enhance the employment level and productivity and respond to challenges related to the ageing population, the European Year of Skills has to place special focus on equipping women with the right skills.

The numbers are impressive. A recent study by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has proven that gender equality policies have a much stronger impact on GDP than labour market and education policies. According to the study, improving gender equality in the EU by 2050 would increase the EU GDP per capita between by 6.1 to 9.6%, which equals €1.95 to €3.15 trillion.

Especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) there is currently a low proportion of female students, despite excellent career opportunities. The lack of women in STEM is also due to stereotyping in education, gender differences in educational and training choices and a lack of female role models, EIGE states.

However, closing the gender gap in STEM would contribute to an increase in EU GDP per capita by 2.2 to 3.0% in 2050, according to EIGE. In monetary terms, closing the STEM gap leads to an improvement in GDP by €610 – €820 billion in 2050, total EU employment would rise by 850,000 to 1,200,000 by 2050. The new jobs filled by women would furthermore be highly productive, as EIGE states that women with a background in STEM often work in high-added-value positions. 

A main factor holding back girls from going into STEM or other «untypical» female professions is that in education sexist stereotypes are still passed on to students. School staff often reproduce these gender stereotypes, as sufficient training on gender-related topics is missing and as educational support material is outdated, confirms EIGE.

However, a positive trend on tackling gender stereotypes in school education can be seen in many EU countries. To give two examples: Gender roles, stereotypes and equality are discussed in social studies or history subjects in the Danish Folkeskole and in Croatia, the standards for textbooks prescribe that “textbooks must prepare both sexes for effective and equal participation in all areas of life” and “promote gender equality”.

While Europe seems to be more and more aware of the problems caused by gender inequality, it is still part of our all reality. Europe needs to empower its women and equip them with the right skills – not only during the European Year of Skills but always. Everyone, no matter if male or female, will profit from gender equality, and so will our economy.

All data and findings on gender equality in this article are from the EIGE studies: «Economic benefits of Gender Equality in the European Union» and «Gender in Education and Training».

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Published on: The Employers’ Group Newsletrer