Irish women's rights and equality in the EU

Gender Equality in Ireland

Irish gender equality legislation was introduced in the 1970s after Ireland became a member of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC).

One of the first benefits was that more women were able to access the labour market thanks to the abolition of an outdated marriage bar for women in public service jobs.

Ireland started gender mainstreaming as a principle during the late 1990s and early 2000s and a European Commission requirement means that Irish projects supported by EU funds have to promote equal opportunities. The Irish government has extended this requirement to cover all its State funded projects.

Gender equality across the EU is measured by the Gender Equality Index, a tool published by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).

The Index uses a points system, where 100 means full equality, and it measures progress in various themes or ‘domains’. In 2024, the EU scored 71 out of 100, an increase of 7.9 points since 2010. 

Ireland’s 2024 index score is above the EU average at 73.4 points, ranking the country 9th overall. Ireland excels in the health domain, ranking 1st among EU countries with a score of 94.6, despite a slight dip since 2021. It also leads in health status with 96.5 points.

The country’s biggest challenge is in the ‘time’ domain, which measures gender gaps in unpaid care work and social activities.

Ireland ranks 23rd in time, dropping 17 places since 2015. A sharp 30-point fall in social activities contributed to this decline, despite a minor recovery since 2021.

Gender Equality Index Ireland 

European Institute for Gender Equality 

Employment and education

The European Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy aims to boost employment for women by promoting equal economic independence, closing the gender pay gap, and getting more women into decision-making roles.

Across the EU, more men are employed than women. In 2023, 80.4% of working-age men were employed, compared to 70.2% of women.

Despite more women graduating from universities than men, they aren’t getting the same job opportunities and women’s work-life balance is often poorer than men’s.

The burden of responsibilities outside of employment also still rests largely on the backs of women, who disproportionally carry out most of the unpaid domestic and caregiving work.

The EU Work-Life Balance Directive, which came into effect in August 2022, is helping to make it easier for families by setting out legal minimum standards for paternity, parental and carers' leave.

The directive also establishes additional rights, such as the right to request flexible working arrangements, which will help people manage their careers and family life without having to sacrifice either.

More Irish women now go on to third-level education according to figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO). In 2024, 66% of Irish adults aged 30-34 had participated in third-level education, with 69% of them being women. Females aged 18-24 were also less likely to be early school leavers (2%) compared to males (4%). 

However, it’s a different story for women when they finish their education. The average gender pay gap in the EU stood at 12.7% in 2022 while in Ireland the figure was 9.6%.

Key actions

• The Gender Equality Strategy sets out policy goals and actions that are helping make significant progress towards a gender-equal Europe.
• EU law obliges Member States to eliminate discrimination based on sex in all aspects of pay for the same work or work of equal value. 
• The European Commission's directive on adequate minimum wages for workers helps gender equality as more women than men earn minimum wages in Europe.
• The European Commission's directive on pay transparency to ensure that women and men in the EU get equal pay for equal work has been adopted and Member States have until June, 2026 to transpose it into law. Ireland introduced legislation in 2022 that requires companies to report regularly on gender pay gaps.
• In September 2022, the European Commission adopted the European Care Strategy to ensure affordable and accessible quality care services across the EU. This will enable more women caregivers to continue with their careers.
• Gender equality progress in Member States is monitored through the European Semester, particularly when it comes to the labour market, social inclusion and education.
• Women investors and entrepreneurs are supported through Horizon Europe's European Innovation Council and through the InvestEU programme.

EU Action on equal pay

Work-Life Balance 

Gender equality in research and innovation

European Care Strategy 

Gender-based violence

Women in Ireland, across the EU and indeed the world continue to be targets of gender-based violence, stereotyping and hate speech.

In recent years more and more women have also become victims of cyberstalking, online harassment and threats, as well as the sharing of private data and intimate images.

Women are also disproportionately affected by harassment at work, where unequal power relations, low pay, precarious working conditions and stereotyping often leave them vulnerable to abuse.

Spikes in domestic violence and abuse reports during Covid-19 lockdowns, when victims were trapped at home with their abusers, were a sad reminder that women frequently face the most danger from people they know.

Data published in 2024 by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that violence against women is systematically under-reported and often involves coercive control and sexual attacks. The data reveals that in the EU-27, 30.7% of women have experienced violence or threats of violence, including sexual violence, during their lifetime.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) estimates the cost of gender-based violence across the EU to be €366 billion per year, with the costs of violence against women amounting to €289 billion (79%). The cost of domestic and intimate partner violence - of which 87% is carried out against women - is estimated to be €175 billion.

Findings from EIGE show that in Ireland, women comprised 88% of victims of intimate partner violence and 78% of victims of domestic violence as recorded by An Garda Síochána in 2022.

Research also reveals a concerning increase in cyber violence against women and girls. Despite being a relatively new phenomenon it is estimated that one in ten women have already experienced a form of cyber violence since the age of 15.

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is another form of gender-based violence and it is often rooted in poverty and inequality. Over 70% of all human trafficking victims in the EU and 92% of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation are women and girls.

Women are also victims of femicide, forced marriages, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It’s estimated that there are at least 600,000 women living in the EU who have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Key Actions:

• The EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence establishes comprehensive measures to prevent and combat various forms of violence, including physical, psychological, economic, and sexual, both offline and online.
• The Directive makes serious cyber violence, such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyber-stalking, and cyber-harassment criminal acts. Femicide, forced marriages, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are also criminalised. Member States must incorporate these standards into national laws by June 2027.
• The European Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy is tackling gender-based violence with measures aimed at supporting and protecting victims, and holding perpetrators accountable.
• The EU has improved its legal framework for dealing with human trafficking for sexual exploitation through the revised Anti-Trafficking Directive, which entered into force in July 2024. Rules for investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses have been strengthened and there’s now better support for victims. 
• In 2023, the EU officially acceded to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, which recognises violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination. Ireland acceded to the Convention in 2019.
• The EU collects and collates data on gender-based violence through various agencies to better understand and address the issue. Data sources include Eurostat’s EU Survey on Gender-Based Violence and collaboration work between EIGE and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to develop methodologies that can help inform policy decisions. 
• The European Commission supports awareness raising on workplace harassment and gender bias through the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work.
• The EU Strategy on victims’ rights aims to ensure that all victims of all crime, including gender-based violence, can fully rely on their rights.
• The European Commission finances projects to prevent and combat gender-based violence through the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme.

Gender based violence 

Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence