May Editorial by Aurore Mayer: Gender Parity, a European Vision

At a time of political instability—which, in many parts of the world, threatens women’s rights and equality—Europe is increasingly seen as a potential guarantor of gender parity.

And rightly so, because at the heart of the European project—conceived after World War II and implemented ever since—lies a clear ambition to improve the status of women and promote gender diversity.

The 1957 Treaty of Rome enshrined it among its fundamental values and, at the same time, established the principle of equal pay, effectively encouraging its member states to implement it within their territories. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty established gender equality as a key objective of the Union. The principle of the “Most-Favored European Woman Clause,” championed by Frenchwoman Gisèle Halimi during the 1994 campaign, encourages lawmakers to expand women’s rights in their respective countries. This is, in fact, what led Europe to draw inspiration from our Copé-Zimmermann law to draft the directive on gender balance on boards of directors, which will take effect at the end of 2024 for all EU countries. Europe is once again leading the way with the Pay Transparency Directive, which will take effect in the coming months.

So, without hesitation, your Parity UN UNE Network—which brings together employees from all over the world—is celebrating Europe Month. As part of the PostEurop network, which works to build an inclusive and sustainable business model, the network promotes an approach to gender parity that champions a new vision capable of redefining the standards of economic performance and social value. This is the vision we also share with our partner networks, including 2GAP (Gender and Governance Action Plateform), to make concrete progress toward gender parity in all European decision-making forums.

To all of you who keep our UN Un Une network alive every day across all regions, countries, and professions, I wish you a wonderful European Month—a time that also celebrates all the initiatives that help us think bigger.

Aurore Mayer, Director of the Parity UN UNE Network