The outcome of the next EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2026-2030 will shape the framework in which cities work, and it will interact closely with what many city administrations see every day: structural discrimination against women persists, but local initiatives for change are multiplying. In this context, women’s rights and gender equality are not treated as side projects, but as part of building inclusive, rights-based democracies.
European cities already act as key guarantors of women’s rights in practice. They run shelters, 24/7 helplines and counselling centres. They work with civil society to support women and children who experience domestic violence, sexual harassment and cyber-violence. They help ensure access to reproductive and sexual health care, and they invest in education and awareness. When gender equality is integrated into local policies on health, safety, housing and services, legal principles begin to translate into everyday experience.
Yet, across Europe, women’s rights and gender equality have, in general, seen an ambivalent development in recent years; with a severe backlash in some fields, while cities have stayed constant in proactively demanding a strong, bold and ambitious equality agenda with binding targets on the local, national and EU levels.
When cities become feminist cities
The places where people live, work, travel and spend time in public space play a quiet but powerful role in gender equality; and there are many ways in which this can be improved at the legislative level.
Adapting the EU’s Urban Agenda for instance, to mainstream the topics in all related actions, could bring greater focus on how those places can work better for women and girls.
One practical avenue would be to dedicate a future call under the Urban Innovative Actions to feminist cities. This would allow interested cities to show how they are experimenting with gender-sensitive planning and housing, and what happens when gender is taken seriously in the design of streets, neighbourhoods and services.
Naming stereotypes, addressing violence
Gender stereotypes still shape expectations about who studies what, who is promoted, who receives funding and who is seen as a legitimate voice in public life. In offline and online media, advertisements and video games, women and girls are often portrayed in ways that limit them or invite ridicule. In the worst cases, this spills over into calls for violence and even rape on social media.
Cities are well placed to address this climate. Through education systems, public communication and municipal or publicly linked media outlets, they can question sexist narratives and encourage more diverse and respectful images of women and men. Local campaigns, school programmes and gender-sensitive communication strategies offer ways to shift norms in concrete settings.
At the same time, gender-based violence remains a central concern. Cities cooperate with civil society to offer shelters, helplines and specialised services for survivors. They train social and health workers, police, firefighters, legal professionals and others to recognise signs of abuse, respond appropriately and support victims and survivors. Prevention and awareness campaigns are also part of the picture, including those that engage boys and men, and those that aim to strengthen girls’ and women’s self-determination.
For these efforts to be sustainable, a supportive European framework is important. The upcoming revision of the Directive on gender-based violence should, for example, criminalise rape on a consent-based definition, sexual harassment, forced sterilisation and femicide.
Work, care, health and economic autonomy
Women’s position in the labour market is closely linked to both autonomy and broader economic resilience. EU legislation on work-life balance, women on corporate boards and pay transparency provides important tools to boost equal participation and equal pay. At the same time, the digital transition and the growth of platform work are changing employment structures in ways that can undermine labour rights, including maternity protection, equal pay and predictable working hours. This is particularly relevant in sectors such as care and cleaning, where many workers are women.
The energy and cost-of-living crisis also affects women disproportionately, because of existing pay and pension gaps and because many women work in low-paid and precarious jobs in sectors like retail, care and hospitality. Demographic trends add further pressure on care systems, making investment in care infrastructure more urgent.
Cities are significant employers and contractors, and this position can be used to promote fair conditions. Municipal administrations can adopt clear feminist and women-empowerment commitments internally, support women’s careers through binding and measurable equality targets and affirmative action, and ensure women’s internal and external visibility. Through public procurement, they can favour companies that fully implement the Pay Transparency Directive and apply strict rules on sexual harassment and violence at work. Local schemes for women entrepreneurs can encourage equal treatment when women apply for business loans. City-backed research initiatives can promote gender-sensitive research, for example in medicine.
In this sense, cities are partners in EU ambitions.
Health is another key area where city-level action and EU frameworks intersect. There are still large gaps in research and knowledge on women’s health and gender medicine. Improving diagnosis and treatment that take gender into account is vital. Ensuring women’s access to healthcare includes sexual and reproductive rights and free or affordable period products.
Education, politics and the promise of the next strategy
Change also depends on what people learn and who feels able to participate in politics. Cities, through schools and community networks, can promote gender-sensitive education programmes that underline that talent, curiosity and empathy have no gender, and that all individuals deserve respect, autonomy and safety. Cultural, political and educational efforts can help embed a culture of respect for dignity, physical integrity and inclusiveness.
A proposal for mandatory, comprehensive and inclusive affective and sex education in national or regional school curricula, including teaching on consent and healthy relationships, would help tackle gender-based violence at its roots. Initiatives such as ‘Girls Day’ and measures to encourage boys and young men into social, care and health professions are already used in many cities to challenge traditional gender roles.
For the 2026-2030 period, the EU Gender Equality Strategy has the potential to bring these strands together. Expectations in cities focus on firm commitments and clear timelines, backed by adequate resources; on an intersectional approach that recognises how different forms of discrimination intersect with gender; and on strong data collection to monitor progress and reveal gaps. Targeted action on issues such as online violence, the rise in gender-based hate speech, and stronger support for local authorities, civil society organisations and grassroots movements, would further boost this.
Above all, the debate around the next EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2026-2030 rests on a simple conviction: ensuring and enhancing women’s rights is essential to democratic societies, and those rights are not negotiable.
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Find out more about the EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2026-2030.
