A man braids his daughter’s hair. Policewoman awarded. For a month, starting from the weekend of March 11 and 12, these images will be seen by citizens using the Athens Metro and at bus stops in Athens, Thessaloniki and Komotini as part of the European Commission’s campaign. “The end of gender stereotypes”calling on the world to eliminate gender stereotypes, and is “passing” in 27 EU member states.

On the occasion of the campaign and today’s Women’s Day, Niobe Rigawho took over as the Delegation of the European Commission to Greece in May 2021, speaks “K”.

Ms. Rigau is not the first woman to receive this title. The first was Maria Savvaidou in 1994, and in 1981, when the representative office was opened in Greece, Anna Haritu was the deputy representative. However, she is the first woman to hold the post in over two decades.

– Definitely will change. For the first time, we have a female President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Also the fact that the presence of a woman in the delegation, especially in Athens, was of particular importance, because for many years everyone was men, and not only the heads, but also their deputies, and now we also have a woman deputy. There are 23 of us in the delegation, 14 of them are women. Involving women in leadership positions on committees was a strategy initiated by the previous committee. This takes time, but already from 2021 to 2022 we are seeing an increase in the number of women in key positions by 5.2%. The goal is to reach 50-50 by 2024. In the College of Commissioners, seats are divided 50/50 between men and women. The Committee sets a good example, it does not just propose laws, it puts them into practice.

– Two years ago Commissioner for Equality Elena Daly presented the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. This is an intervention covering a wide range of actions and policies with the aim of creating an “Union for Equality” in which gender-based violence, gender-based discrimination and structural inequalities between women and men will be a thing of the past. . Although there is a legislative base, unfortunately, we still have stereotypes. The campaign aims to bring them down. In Greece, the two keywords featured on campaign posters are rare and distinct from each other. It will make people think. In addition to Athens and Thessaloniki, we also chose Komotini because, to celebrate Women’s Day, we will have a discussion there, for the fifth consecutive visit that we organize in the regions together with the European Parliament office here. In each region we have a theme – for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace we have chosen the theme of gender equality, because there are problems there too. This is the beginning, if we have the opportunity, we will expand the campaign to other cities.

Yes, I’m convinced. The steps are slow, many times the society moves the legislation, in others it happens the other way around. Now there is a legislative framework and on its basis we are already seeing progress, but this is not enough. The way you treat floors should change from school to family. It’s something I’ve worked very hard for since my studies to get rights and equal pay. It’s getting smaller. Europe leads the way in regards to women, but this is also the policy of each Member State, some going a little further, others less. In Greece, we need to continue the conversation, because what we see – violence, feminicide – cannot continue. Our way of life is the European way of life, women should be equal. If we look at the EU Treaty, we can see that equality is a basic value, a fundamental right, a core principle of the European framework for social rights and a prerequisite for the inclusion of a member state.

– This is the power of the image when you see how a father braids his daughter’s pigtails. There are still many fathers in Greece who believe that raising children is a woman’s job. There are still stereotypes that a man brings money into the house, and the role of a woman is to look after the children or the household. At least the dowry has been abolished and you don’t have to pay for someone to marry you.

The more we speak, the more we awaken our conscience, the more our example convinces everyone, the greater will be the benefit.

– There is a need for such a campaign, because we have a very low index. Traditionally Greek society was patriarchal. I believe that inequality is a matter of regions and professions. It is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. Because it’s important to have legislation in place, but there’s still a way to understand how they end up being implemented and what impact they have on women’s working lives.

“We have a woman president of the republic. We have a woman chairman of the State Council, successful ministers. All this needs to be mentioned. We didn’t think we would have a woman with PT, it shows something is changing. But I don’t know if women in the private sector are guaranteed access to high positions on the board of directors. In the public sector it is more controlled, in the private sector, especially in leadership positions, I don’t think women are adequately represented. However, before 1956, women did not have the right to vote, and now we have a female PTO. It takes time, but if we look at the previous centuries, then this is by leaps and bounds.

– No! The campaign wants to promote the issue of gender stereotyping. We emphasize that this campaign is not Greek, it is central.

– Now gender equality permeates all legislation, even the Recovery Fund has a condition of existence. Gender equality should be included in the programs as a factor contributing to the achievement of the sustainable and balanced development goals of the cohesion policy. It is a combination of a legal framework, political will and a change in mindset. And the change in mentality starts from infancy, from the way children grow up. The more we speak, the more we awaken our conscience, the more our example convinces everyone, the greater will be the benefit.

– No country in the Union has such a big problem. Of the 20 countries with the highest gender equality scores in the world, 14 are EU member states. So the standards are very high, they raise the bar very high.

– Stimulate interest, influence young girls, boys and older people, make them think differently.