In 2010, the European Union adopted its first Gender Action Plan — an operational framework aimed at boosting and guiding the bloc’s commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment and respect for women’s and girls’ rights.
Five years into the strategy, however, observers note that EU efforts to mainstream gender into its development activities remain slow and patchy. But mounting criticism has only increased the Juncker Commission’s determination to live up to expectations.
“In all aspects of the global development agenda … the gender equality angle should always be taken into account to make this agenda implementable on the ground,” Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, told Devex in an exclusive interview.