The news does not seem very encouraging regarding gender equality in Greece, especially in relation to the European Union of which it is one of its old members. Although Greece is a European country and has been a member of the EU for 40 years, it is still quite behind in key issues of equality, especially in the area of work and eliminating stereotypes at work.
Although some steps have been taken by governments, organizations and businesses to alleviate gender inequalities, there is still, in the years 2021, no key development. Especially after the outbreak of the pandemic, phenomena such as femicides and sexual harassment against women emerged, which testify that Greece is in great need of a change of mentality, with fragmented education playing a decisive role.
The data on gender equality
Speaking in numbers, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) rated the EU as a whole at 68 out of 100, which is a relatively positive score, although it seems there is still some way to go. However, the results for Greece continue to be worrying as it barely passes the baseline with 52.5, placing our country, for another year, in the last place of the ranking. The fact that it lags behind the EU average by 15.7 points, even after a decade of reform efforts, shows that the problem is deeper, with social implications.
As it seems, it is not only the EIGE Index that highlighted the road that Greece still has to travel. And on a global level and specifically in the recently published Women, Peace, and Security Index by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO), Greece ranks 45th among the 170 countries participating in the survey and last in the group of developed countries. Our country shows the worst performance in the field of employment and economic inclusion. Finally, it should be noted that both at the European level and at the Greek level, women who are alone with children are the weakest link as the chances of being below the poverty line reach 33%, compared to the corresponding 19% of fathers.
The only positive point is health, where Greece scores its best performance. However, -and there-, Greece ranks 20th in the EU and is 3rd in the list of women suffering from mental disorders, after Spain and Portugal. Therefore, after a hard decade, Greece is still largely stagnant in terms of gender equality in the areas of time, money, health, power, education and employment.
What is Rise Club’s Contribution?
At this juncture for gender equality, Rise Club is helping mothers struggling to enter the workforce. In addition to developing a complete work profile, learning foreign languages and digital skills are designed in order for women to meet the new conditions of the labor market, Rise Club connects mothers with large companies and stands by their side until they are hired. At the same time, beyond work, the organization provides group and individual sessions of mental empowerment for unemployed mothers, as well as connecting with other mothers so that they never feel alone in this struggle.
See the EIGE report in detail here
