Facing the evidence in 2026

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Good afternoon Madam Chair and Members of the FEMM Committee,

It’s great to mark the beginning of the year – as I always do – with you all, presenting my Agency’s core activities for 2026.

Gender equality is under immense pressure - I know I say this every year but unfortunately not only does it remain true – and the state of affairs is also more alarming than ever.

We face many overlapping and overwhelming challenges, like rapid technological change and the nefarious impact it’s having on women and girls – with each new tech update, we see yet another way for women and girls to experience digital violence. 

Economic insecurity is growing and deepening existing inequalities.

And for all those hard-fought gains for gender equality, they are on wafer-thin ice because of legislative backsliding and political polarisation.

What a world we are confronted with. And what a bumpy road we have ahead of us.

Because of this, our 2026 work program is, by design, responsive to everything I have mentioned and more. In ambition and pragmatism.

It is focused on three priorities:

• strengthening the EU’s gender equality evidence base, with a particular focus on care;
• supporting the implementation of EU commitments, particularly on gender-based violence; and
• equipping institutions to mainstream gender equality effectively across all policy areas.

Before I go further, let me start with something that is very fresh. I am pleased to announce that our cooperation with the Western Balkans and Türkiye has resumed.

We have a long and strong history supporting candidate and potential candidate countries to strengthen their progress in gender equality.

At least until 2029, we will continue to provide technical support on collecting robust gender equality data and reinforcing alignment with EU standards and supporting enlargement as a gender-equal process. We have always had very positive feedback from our stakeholders involved in this project, so once again, we are so pleased with this comeback!

I just mentioned the importance of data, and I will reiterate it again - data is one of EIGE’s strongest tools for action. And by extension, it is the EU’s strongest tool for accountability.

As usual, we will deliver our flagship Gender Equality Index towards the end of the year, once again providing a clear and comparable picture of progress across the EU and Member States.

This year, the Index will take on an important political role with the results being unveiled at EIGE’s third Gender Equality Forum.

The Forum is a strategic moment for asking potent questions and engaging in deep listening, reflection and exchange.

Evidence – as usual – is crucial a backbone to the discussions. Because it helps us track progress. Which brings me to my next point.

Throughout the year, we will release new evidence from our latest EU-wide CARE survey.

We will examine how care responsibilities, access to care services and unmet care needs shape labour market participation and time use across the EU. But in 2026, we will also look more closely at how these dynamics intersect with the EU’s broader economic ambitions.

The EU is framing its priorities and policies around productivity, competitiveness and resilience, but how does this interact or interfere with the care economy? With our CARE evidence, we are going to be examining how the state of care can be transformed in such a way that supports sustainable participation in both paid work and care.

Importantly, these findings will not stand alone. The Thematic Focus of the Gender Equality Index will place a specific focus on parental leave policy design and on policies aimed at engaging more men in care.

Within the legislative framework, this evidence will provide support to the implementation and monitoring of the EU Work–Life Balance Directive across Member States.

Together, the CARE data and the Index thematic focus will allow us to examine not only who provides care, but how policy choices either reinforce or help rebalance care responsibilities between women and men. This combined evidence offers a concrete basis for discussions on work–life balance, social investment and gender equality in the labour market.

In the context of the Beijing Platform for Action, for which we continue our monitoring role, we will publish a report on cyberviolence against girls, under the Cyprus Presidency, in which we go straight to the source. We spoke directly to girls and boys, aged 13-18, about their experiences of online violence. The testimonies we heard on image-based abuse, deepfakes, harassment and intimidation were sharp reminders that digital spaces are not separate from everyday life in the physical world, but deeply embedded within it. These testimonies highlight how digital environments have become sites where harm occurs, often without clear boundaries or accountability.

This makes the evidence particularly critical at a time when online abuse, harassment and exploitation are increasingly shaping girls’ participation, safety and mental health.  The report will directly support Council discussions and broader EU policy debates on digital regulation and protection.

And since I have raised digital violence, let me broaden the lens to gender-based violence more generally.

It’s a big year for us on this front.

Gender-based violence remains one of the most entrenched and harmful inequalities in the EU and sadly, I think we will be confronted with this stark reality when the analysis of the final EU GBV survey results is released in early March, together with the Fundamental Rights Agency.

These findings will not make for easy reading, but they will be necessary to face.

Our responsibility is to ensure that this evidence does not stop at awareness, but translates into concrete policy action to prevent violence and protect victims.

In 2026, EIGE’s analytical work will continue to support the implementation of the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence to ensure we will have robust EU data on violence against women

A particularly significant development this year is the advancement of comparable indicators on national specialised support services, namely shelters and helplines. These services are vital for safety and support, yet they are still measured unevenly across the EU. Strengthening this evidence base will enable more consistent monitoring, better resourcing, and clearer accountability as Member States progress with transposition and implementation.

Our work on harmful practices will also deepen. In 2026, we will work on refining the methodologies for estimating girls at risk of female genital mutilation, and for reporting on femicide, based also on existing good practices in the Member States. This work addresses persistent data gaps that have constrained effective policy and prevention.

We will further produce practical guidance to support the early identification of sexual and gender-based violence in crisis contexts - settings where risks are heightened and protection systems are strained. This guidance will be particularly relevant for policymakers and practitioners operating in contexts shaped by migration, conflict and institutional stress.

Turning to gender mainstreaming, EIGE’s mandate is not only to measure inequality, but to support its integration into policymaking and implementation. In 2026, our work in this area focuses on three core strands: the provision of gender statistics, policy support on gender mainstreaming, and technical assistance to EU institutions and Member States.

First, EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database will remain the EU’s one-stop centre for comparable and harmonised gender statistics and indicators, supporting evidence-based policymaking across policy areas. EIGE will also support the Commission and Member States in developing a centralised data collection with a common methodology to track progress under the Directive on improving gender balance on corporate boards.

Second, on policy support, EIGE will continue exploring gender inequalities to inform gender analysis, identify entry points and share good practices across 21 policy areas, from agriculture to tourism. Support to the Commission on gender mainstreaming in the EU budget and national reforms remains a cornerstone of our work this year.

Third, on technical support, a major milestone in 2026 is the launch of EIGE’s Gender Mainstreaming Helpdesk. This service will provide tailored assistance to institutions and stakeholders, helping bridge the gap between policy ambition and implementation.

In March, we will publish a practical toolkit on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems, updating the EU-wide guidelines first issued in 2013 under the Pay Transparency Directive.

I also invite you to follow the launch webinar at the end of March, which will provide practical insight into how these tools can be applied across organisations of all sizes and sectors.

Evidence and tools only have impact when they are used. That is why, in 2026, EIGE will continue to invest in structured engagement with Member States, EU institutions and civil society through the Gender Equality Forum, expert meetings, consultations and targeted country visits. Our communication work will focus on thematic campaigns, accessible data storytelling and sustained digital outreach - ensuring that evidence reaches both decision-makers and the wider public.

Evidence alone does not drive change. Evidence needs a pathway.

That pathway requires institutional capacity and funding, political will and sustained commitment.

Give the gender equality portfolio the space, the trust and the resources it needs, and it will deliver.

I hope after all that, I leave you today not only informed about EIGE’s work for 2026 but also re-energised to continue strengthening our collective gender equality literacy, and the shared values that guide our efforts to advance equality.

I really value this annual exchange – not just to tell you about EIGE’s focus for the year, but to take this moment to reflect together on where we stand, and where we need to go next. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and questions.