Our recommendations for the EU Gender Action Plan III
As the working period of the EU Gender Action Plan II (2016-2020) comes to an end this year the EU, with help from civil society, developed a concept for the GAP III (2021-2025). We submitted recommendations to the EU Commission focusing on strengthening the current GAP, stressing the importance of holistically including emerging trends such as our climate emergency in the next phase.
The initiative reaffirms gender equality and women’s rights as a key strand for EU foreign policy and development cooperation. The new concept is build on the commission’s two previous gender action plans. The ambition and strong commitment of the EU to gender equality and women’s rights in external action is great. But the fact that the GAP II was incompletely implemented, is a reason to build on and expand on its existing structure, objectives and indicators.
Our main areas of recommendations
- Engage women’s rights and feminist organisations should be engaged throughout the process and in the development of a roadmap. We also suggest a stand alone target on engagement.
- Take an ecofeminist and intersectional approach and identify structural barriers impacting human rights, the environment and natural resources. E.g. subsidies should not be given to extractive industries and fiscal havens.
- Cultural shift and policy coherence includes engaging men as actors of change of their own gender roles.
Photo credit: Unsplash, Priscilla du Preez