The European Parliament adopted by 469 votes to 104, with 55 abstentions, a resolution on the EU priorities for the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

189 countries across the world, including the European Union and its Member States, committed to working towards gender equality and empowering all women and girls at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The 67 th UN Commission on the Status of Women focuses on innovation and technological change and on education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

The gender dimension of the digital transformation is acknowledged in the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025 and the Gender Action Plan III. Promoting women’s equal access to the untapped potential of digital technologies is central to the EU’s digital strategy and to sustainable growth.

The resolution stressed that women still face structural and cultural barriers when participating in all aspects of the digital transition, which can have a detrimental effect on their access to and position in the labour market. According to Parliament, only a gender-responsive digital transformation can provide the necessary opportunities for changing negative gendered patterns of employment.

Among the main recommendations addressed to the Council, Parliament highlighted the need to:

- ensure the full involvement of Parliament and its Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the decision-making process on the EU’s position at the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and to ensure that Parliament has adequate information and access to the EU position document ahead of the negotiations;

- condemn in the strongest terms the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war in armed conflicts, specifically their ongoing use in the unjustified attack on Ukraine by Russia, as well as other conflicts such as in the Tigray region in Ethiopia;

- condemn all forms of gender-based violence, including cyberviolence , as well as all forms of gender-based discrimination;

- pledge its strong support for the work of UN Women and call on all UN member states, together with the EU, to ensure adequate funding for UN Women;

- underline the importance of ensuring gender mainstreaming in digital education at all levels and the need to abolish the digital gender divide together with any gender-related discrimination in access to education at all levels, from early childhood to higher education, in formal, non-formal and informal settings and from planning infrastructure to training teachers;

- advocate for improved access of girls, women and people with diverse gender identities to universally accessible, safe and secure digital connectivity, reaching out to the rural and remote areas;

- highlight the need to ensure the universal and full access to online information on sexual and reproductive health and rights , including the right to safe and legal abortion, and to ensure robust processes that prevent any personal data from being used against persons seeking abortion;

- reiterate the need for effective policies and measures to prevent, combat and criminalise all forms of gender-based violence, including online;

- promote awareness-raising campaigns, training and educational programmes, including on digital education, literacy and skills, which should also target the younger generation, to combat gender-based cyberviolence;

- advocate for stronger regulation of online platforms, with particular focus on the protection of women’s rights and elimination of gender-based violence online.