The information on this page was last updated in October 2025. The information was gathered during EIGE’s 2024 data collection on Institutional Mechanisms for the Promotion of Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming, under Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action. Data was collected using the same methodological framework as the previous data collection in 2021. Data is available in the Gender Statistics Database.
Governmental gender equality bodies
The purpose of a governmental gender equality body is to design, coordinate and implement government policies for gender equality. It is normally located in the government hierarchy. The existence and permanence of such a structure is a major indicator of governmental responsibility in promoting gender equality. The governmental gender equality body should be located at the highest possible level of government, and the responsibility for promoting gender equality policies should also be vested at the highest possible level (e.g. cabinet minister).
The hierarchical position of governmental gender equality bodies (within central/federal government) has a direct impact on the strength and visibility of their actions and their power to promote gender equality within government. Their position varies between Member States. These include:
- Governmental bodies located at the highest level of the government hierarchy, functioning as an entire ministry (ES, FR, LU);
- Governmental bodies overseen by a central department of the government, such as the Council of Ministers, the Office of the Government or the Prime Minister’s Office (CZ, IT, MT, AT, PL, PT), or set up in the form of a department or division within a ministry and led by a minister/federal minister (BG, DK, DE, IE, EL, CY, LV, LT, HU, NL, SI, SK, FI, SE); and
- Four Member States (BE, HR, PT, RO) in which responsibility for gender equality issues has been devolved to an autonomous body designated as a government agency. These bodies sit outside of ministerial structures.
Hierarchical location of governmental gender equality bodies in 2023
Responsibility for promoting and advancing gender equality generally lies with national/ federal governments across the Member States. According to the Beijing Platform for Action, the responsibility for promoting gender equality policies should be vested at the highest possible level of government. This is the case in twenty-two Member States (BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, NL, AT, PL, RO, SI, FI, SE), where a senior minister (i.e. holding a seat in the cabinet) is responsible for promoting gender equality, while the remaining five (BE, EL, MT, PT, SK) place that responsibility at the level of a junior minister.
Ministers responsible for gender equality
Legal framework for gender equality at national level
Equality and non-discrimination between women and men are founding values of the European Union (EU), as expressed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. EU legislation on gender equality is legally binding in all Member States.
Almost all Member States have legislation to foster gender equality, whether a comprehensive law focusing exclusively on gender equality, or a set of laws integrating the issue of gender equality and non-discrimination between women and men into different sectors.
| Country | National gender equality legislation |
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| Ireland |
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| Greece |
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| Croatia |
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| Italy |
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| Cyprus |
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| Latvia |
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| Luxemburg |
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| Hungary |
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| Malta |
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| Netherlands |
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| Austria |
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| Poland |
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| Romania |
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| Slovenia |
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| Finland |
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Legal and policy framework for gender mainstreaming at the national level
Successful implementation of a gender mainstreaming strategy requires well-formulated objectives and targets, embedded in a supportive legal and political framework, as well as a clear implementation strategy/plan.
Gender statistics inform on differences and inequalities between women and men in all areas of life. The Beijing Platform for Action recommends that gender statistics are regularly collected, compiled and analysed to monitor progress and shed light on issues and gaps where further policy action might be needed. Gender statistics are an indispensable tool to inform and support gender mainstreaming activities.
In many Member States, national governments are committed to the production of gender statistics. Twenty-two Member States have some form of obligation or agreement in place on the collection of sex-disaggregated data.
Of these, nine Member States (BE, BG, ES, FR, HR, IT, MT, RO, SE) have enacted legal obligations requiring their national statistical offices to collect data disaggregated by sex – this is in addition to obligations imposed by EU regulations. The most common arrangement involves legal obligations placed on other public institutions, such as ministries or public bodies, to collect data disaggregated by sex where relevant. This applies in fifteen Member States (BE, BG, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, NL, PT, RO, SI, SK, SE). In some cases, these legal obligations are further supported by other regular policy commitments (EL, IT, PT, SE). By contrast, two Member States (HU, PL) have adopted only regular policy commitments, without any accompanying legal obligations, representing a comparatively weaker approach. Additionally, three Member States have adopted ad hoc policy commitments (LU, AT, FI).
Five Member States (CZ, DK, CY, LV, LT) have no obligation/commitment to the collection/production of sex-disaggregated data.
Structures for gender mainstreaming at the ministerial level
Effective implementation of gender mainstreaming requires dedicated governmental structures to oversee and coordinate human resources and processes to generate change. Such structures might be units/departments/working groups dedicated to gender mainstreaming within each ministry, gender focal points in ministries (i.e. contact points for gender mainstreaming), and/or an inter‑ministerial group (i.e. a coordinating body or a network of contact points).
The existence of a governmental structure dedicated to gender mainstreaming is crucial to ensuring its effective coordination across government.
Twenty-one Member States have some form of structure in place (BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LT, LU, MT, AT, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE). Seven of those (BE, CZ, ES, FR, AT, PT, FI) have a unit of group dedicated to gender mainstreaming within each ministry while 11 (BE, BG, DK, ES, LT, LU, MT, AT, RO, FI, SE) have interministerial groups for gender mainstreaming to ensure that gender equality concerns are integrated into laws and policies across all areas. In 10 Member States (BE, BG, CZ, DK, FR, HR, CY, MT, SI, SE), there are gender focal points in ministries. Those are designated individuals within each ministry or government department who are responsible for integrating gender perspectives within their specific ministry. Some Member States focus on federal-level planning and guidance (e.g., AT), while others adopt a multilevel approach that allows them to deliver work nationally, regionally and locally (e.g., BG, IT, PT). The structure is typically led by a ministry (e.g., AT), or a governmental body (e.g. BE, RO).
Seven Member States (DE, EE, ES, IT, LT, MT, SK) have less stringent structures in place, without strong central coordination (in DE, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth is responsible for gender mainstreaming and is involved in legislative or consultative processes on gender mainstreaming on an ad hoc basis). Six Member States (IE, EL, LV, HU, NL, PL) do not have a structure to coordinate gender mainstreaming efforts across government.
Read more about these countries
Other structures
Addressing discrimination based on sex and promoting equal treatment between women and men are tasks assigned to specific bodies in all 27 Member States. These independent bodies complement the work of governmental gender equality bodies by virtue of their mandate to prevent the violation of rights and to offer legal protection.
In line with the requirements of EU Directives, Member States have established equality structures for the promotion, analysis, monitoring and support of equal treatment of all persons without discrimination. Some of these bodies focus solely on discrimination on the ground of sex, while others handle equal treatment of women and men in the same independent body that focuses on discrimination on other grounds. In the past two decades, Member States have shown a tendency to merge all grounds of discrimination, including discrimination based on sex, into the tasks of one independent body for promotion of equal treatment. The Council of the European Union’s 2006 report noted that [re]placing the independent bodies for protection against discrimination on the ground of sex with bodies for protection against multiple discrimination seems to be a trend among Member States.
Recent developments show that equal treatment of women and men or discrimination on the ground of sex has been merged into the broader spectrum of different forms of discrimination. This trend can have both positive and negative consequences and should be investigated and monitored.
Additionally, equality bodies often face challenges related to independence, accessibility, resourcing and effectiveness (European Parliament, 2023). The recent adoption of the directives on standards for equality bodies (Directives (EU) 2024/1499 and 2024/1500) aims to address these challenges by setting out standards for equality bodies to ensure their effectiveness and independence. These directives call for equality bodies to have the necessary resources and mechanisms to cooperate with other equality bodies and relevant entities at various levels. Member States must also ensure that those bodies are consulted on legislation, policy, procedures and programmes.
All Member States indicated the existence of an independent body with a mandate for gender equality. However, only five (BE, ES, IT, PT, FI) have an independent body exclusively focused on gender equality, with the majority (BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, FR, HR, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, RO, SI, SK, SE) combining independent bodies’ mandates on gender equality and other equality-related functions.
The responsibilities entrusted to independent bodies vary. Independent bodies in 20 Member States (DK, EE, IE, EL, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE) perform all key functions, either fully or partly: (1) prevention, promotion and awareness raising; (2) providing assistance to victims of discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender; (3) conducting formal investigations of complaints and participating in related litigation; (4) routine cooperation in a formalised and structured manner with other equality bodies at EU, international or national level and civil society; (5) regularly reviewing gender equality issues in legislation and policy for government and other public institutions and publishing recommendations; and (6) collecting and publishing data and researching gender equality issues [6].
Providing consultations and recommendations is the most common function, carried out by all independent bodies except one in Cyprus, which does so partially. This is followed by providing assistance to victims (24 independent bodies fully carried this out while three carried it out partly), carrying out prevention, promotion and awareness-raising activities (23 fully; four partly) and conducting data collection and research (23 fully, three partly, while Bulgaria does not perform this function and Belgium was unsure).
All Member States but Luxembourg reported that their independent gender equality bodies cooperated at the international/EU level (in Austria, only partly). Similarly, cooperation at the national/subnational level is widely reported, with 22 countries reporting fulfilling these functions (BE, BG, DK, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IE, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, FI, SE) and 4 Member States reporting fulfilling them partly (CZ, CY, AT, SK). Luxembourg is the only country where the independent body does not report carrying out this function. Similarly, 22 Member States report that their independent gender equality bodies collaborate with civil society (BE, BG, HR, DK, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, IE, IT, LV, LT, HU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE), and three others that they collaborate partly (CY, MT, AT). Only Czechia’s independent body reports not performing this function.
The least commonly fulfilled function is investigating complaints and participating in related litigation, with only independent bodies in 17 Member States reporting full implementation (BE, BG, DK, EL, FR, HR, IE, IT, LV, LT, HU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SE), five reporting partial implementation (EE, CY, MT, SK, FI) and five not fulfilling this function at all (CZ, DE, ES, LU, AT).
| Country | Relevant independent equality body |
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| Belgium | Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (Institut pour l’égalité entre des femmes et des hommes) |
| Bulgaria | Commission for Protection against Discrimination (Комисията за защита от дискриминация) |
| Czechia | Public Defender of Rights (Veřejný ochránce práv) |
| Denmark | Danish Institute for Human Rights (Institut for Menneskerettigheder) |
| Germany | Federal AntiDiscrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes) |
| Estonia | Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner (Soolise võrdõiguslikkuse ja võrdse kohtlemise volinik) |
| Ireland | Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Coimisiún na hÉireann um Chearta an Duine agus Comhionannas) |
| Greece | Greek Ombudsman (Συνήγορος του Πολίτη) |
| Spain | Institute of Women (Instituto de las Mujeres) |
| France | Defender of Rights (Défenseur des Droits) |
| Croatia | Ombudsperson for Gender Equality (Pravobranitelj/ica za ravnopravnost spolova) |
| Italy | National Equality Counsellor (Consigliera nazionale di parità) |
| Cyprus | Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Φορέας Ισότητας και Καταπολέμησης των Διακρίσεων) |
| Latvia | Ombudsman’s Office of Latvia (Latvijas RepublikasTiesībsargs) |
| Lithuania | Office of the Ombudsperson for Equal Opportunities (Lygių galimybių kontrolieriaus tarnyba) |
| Luxemburg | Centre for Equal Treatment (Centre l’égalité de Traitement) |
| Hungary | Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Alapvető Jogok Biztosának Hivatala) |
| Malta | National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (Il-Kummissjoni Nazzjonali għall-Promozzjoni tal-Ugwaljanza) |
| Netherlands | The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College van de Rechten van de Mens) |
| Austria | Ombudsperson for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft) |
| Poland | Task Force of Equal Treatment in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Zespół ds. Równego Traktowania w Biurze Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) |
| Portugal | Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment (Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego) |
| Romania | National Council for Combating Discrimination (Consiliul National pentru Combaterea Discriminarii) |
| Slovenia | Advocate of the Principle of Equality (Zagovornik načela enakosti) |
| Slovakia | Slovak National Centre for Human Rights (Slovenské národné stredisko pre ľudské práva) |
| Finland | Ombudsman for Gender Equality and the Council for Gender Equality (Tasa-arvovaltuutettu & Tasa-arvoasiain neuvottelukunta) |
| Sweden | Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen) |
[6] The functions are in line with the BPfA, Directive (EU) 2024/1500 and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommendations.
Regional structures
The advancement of gender equality is not undertaken solely at national level. Fifteen Member States (BE, BG, DK, DE, EL, ES, HR, IT, LT, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SE) have regional structures to facilitate the promotion of gender equality at regional or local level.
In some countries (AT, DE), provincial/regional parliaments engage in developing and implementing regional policy on gender equality.
Legal obligations in certain Member States (BG, DK, EL, HR, IT, PT) mandate the participation of regional/local authorities in advancing the gender equality agenda:
- In Bulgaria, the Law on Equality between Women and Men involves both the central and territorial bodies of the executive power in coordinating and implementing measures related to equality between women and men.
- In Denmark, municipalities/regions are required to report the state of play on gender equality among municipal and regional employees, at least every two years, to the Minister for Gender Equality.
- In Greece, Law 4604/2019 provides for the establishment of an Equality Office of the Association of Greek Regions and Regional Committees for Gender Equality in all 13 regions. Article 8 of Law 4604 mandates that independent offices for gender equality are to be established in the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece.
- In Italy, according to Law No 53/2000, local authorities are responsible for their citizens’ quality of life and have a specific mandate to design positive action plans to reduce gender inequality, through the role of the regional adviser.
- In Belgium and Spain, communities and regions enjoy the same level of competence for gender equality policy as federal/national authorities. They are thus able to develop their own laws/strategies/policies on gender equality. They may also set up their own gender equality bodies, as well as other structures, such as administrative bodies and specific departments/offices.
- In Portugal and Slovenia, local advisors or coordinators are appointed within each municipality. In Portugal, the responsibilities conferred on local advisors include monitoring local equality strategies and policy measures, submitting proposals, conducting gender impact assessments (on request), and ensuring that the municipality cooperates with the national governmental gender equality body (the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG)). In Slovenia, the appointment of a local advisor/coordinator is not mandatory, but about 20 % of all municipalities across the country have done so. There are visible signs of this trend persisting, given increasing and strengthened local engagement in matters relating to gender equality.
Regional structures in Lithuania and Poland are different to those in other Member States, with an oversight body in place. In Lithuania, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour provides support and guidance to municipalities to integrate gender equality aspects into their regional programmes. In Poland, Plenipotentiaries for Equal Treatment have been appointed to improve the implementation of the principle of equal treatment in all 16 voivodeships (i.e. regions or provinces). These appointees work closely with the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment and NGOs on equal treatment and anti-discrimination-related matters.