The issue of gender equality and the “gap” between them that persists even in 2023 is rarely the subject of serious discussion in the public sphere. Stereotypes, behaviors, and laws seem “natural” either because “we grew up that way” or because we don’t care because we think they don’t affect us personally. But inequality is hidden, though not always in the same way.

Last in Europe

According to him European Institute for Gender Equality, which publishes annually (two years before) an index comparing different European countries in several areas of interest in gender equality, Greece has been in last place in the overall index since 2013. The Greek case is of course a bit tricky as we are not the last on individual scores, but the overall bad score “accumulates” and brings us so low.

In particular, in the labor, economics, education and health sectors, our difference with the European average is not particularly large, while the biggest difference is found in the energy sector, where Greece scores almost half the European average. inequalities on average across the EU. The Greek case is not a gradual worsening of inequality, but rather a case where progress is rather slow compared to other countries.

The question of representation and power

Although women make up slightly more than half of the Greek population, their representation and power in the political arena is clearly less than that of men. The justification for this problem Areti Georgilisco-founder of a Greek non-profit organization Dive into Hellaslies in patriarchal ideas that remain in society and prevent women from entering the political arena.

“There are very few women in Greece who run for politics. There are many combinations of candidates who still claim that “I need to think about which woman to put in the party.” They don’t run spontaneously, and even if they did, they wouldn’t run without a quota,” Ms. Georgili explains, adding, “They’re afraid. They are hindered by stereotypes that they want their home. They have the idea that they can’t succeed in politics, it’s a man’s business. There is also no access to male networks and knowledge.”

Although the number of women in parliament has increased compared to previous periods, there is still a long way to go before we reach higher levels of equality and reach the Western European average.

But besides representation in parliament, winning ministerial positions in the government is even more problematic. In Greece, historically, there was a serious problem in this area: only a few women took on the ministry compared to men.

Women in Education

In the field of education, it is a fact that more women than men enter higher education institutions, which is not a Greek peculiarity, but an international phenomenon.

In addition, the stereotype that women should be in the humanities and men in the positive/technological sciences is still strong. According to statistics, 40% of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates are women.

“I separate technology from other sciences. Yes, in other sciences we have more women, the percentage of which is increasing, but in particular in technology, i.e. in such qualities as developers, IT engineers, etc., we are still far behind,” says Ms. Georgili.

In terms of the startup community, "we don't have many women who have started their own company or sit on the boards of startup companies, but there are more than in previous years."

Our situation is problematic, but improved

Giving an overall assessment of equity performance, Ms Georgili emphasizes that “it cannot be that our performance is worse, close to that of countries where there is no corresponding policy”, and notes that some elements are not measured equally in all countries, and some data go back to 2015.. For the president of the organization Dive into Hellas “it is clear that the situation in our country is problematic, but I can only say with certainty from my own experience that our situation has improved significantly.”

Greek women after the pandemic

According to Ms. Georgilis, a recent study by Dive into Hellas show me how civil society is more active, there are more politicians than two years ago, and in business there is relative political equality, although it has not reached the desired level. In a survey conducted two years ago, the participation rate of women on boards of directors in our country was only 7%. Since then, she said, some companies are now required to have a certain quota on their boards of directors, and so that percentage is expected to increase in the coming years. However, wage differentials (the pay gap) were quite high (14-15%), which is also consistent with surveys of other organizations.

It also follows from our own research that one in four women are thinking about leaving work after the pandemic, a situation that has so far largely undone progress on equality- adds Ms. Georgili, pointing out that this fact also applies to the world community, as pointed out by the UN.

Finally, the president of Lean In Hellas addresses the issue of working time, not just work. “We are referring to the time that men and women spend during the week on responsibilities such as raising children and caring for children. According to our research, women work 20 hours more per week than men".