6. Although the number of women with higher education qualifications has risen, young women remainless likely than young men to choose Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) as fields ofstudy at graduate level. The existence of gender gaps in fields of tertiary study indicates that young womenoften do not build on good school performances to enter higher education in fields with better employmentprospects, such as STEM and artificial intelligence (AI)-related studies. The OECD explains this in part by thelack of self-confidence girls have in their mathematics and science abilities during school, and the lack of rolemodels for girls in STEM and AI fields, which means that young girls have little evidence to disprove the notionthat mathematics and science are somehow more “masculine” disciplines.

7. The Assembly calls on European leaders to respond to one of the greatest challenges in establishingwomen’s place in the economy, which is changing mindsets. There must be a willingness on all sides to breakthe glass ceilings and mend the “broken rung” – the first step up into managerial positions for women. Thosewho have succeeded must act as champions and role models, showing that their achievements are attainableby many other girls and women.

8. Equality must be championed in all aspects of daily life, with particular attention to ensuring thattraditions, identities, and gender-specific cultural differences are not used to perpetuate existing inequalities.There is a need to address the negative impacts of the intersectionality of gender and other grounds ofdiscrimination and to combat racism and all forms of intolerance that disproportionately affect women,especially those from diverse groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, inclusive approaches todiversity must be prioritised and concerted efforts should be made to challenge and dismantle pervasivestereotypes.

9. The Assembly also calls for gender to be mainstreamed in all policies and budgets and all areas ofgovernment and governance and for adequate funding to be earmarked for equality. Cross-cutting policiesmust ensure continuity in support for women’s equal participation in all areas. More disaggregated data isneeded to identify root causes of inequality and clarify the orientations that should be taken, enablingevidence-based policy analysis that can more accurately address specific disparities and inform targetedinterventions for achieving gender equality.

10. In light of the above considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member States as well asobserver States and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with theAssembly to improve their law and policy with respect to gender-responsive budgeting. In particular,governments should:

10.1. ensure that gender-responsive budgeting is mandated in the budget law and budget documents and clearly defined within public finance management systems at the national, regional and local levels, and that gender-responsive budgeting tools are embedded at all stages of the budget cycle;

10.2. develop and introduce clear guidance and tools coupled with capacity building of public officials at all levels, to identify gender gaps through gender analysis and take specific action to address and close these gaps;

10.3. strengthen the accountability of budget execution with respect to gender equality and monitor results using gender impact assessment;

10.4. build the capacity of supreme audit institutions to audit expenditure through a gender lens and to evaluate whether intended gender outcomes have been achieved;

10.5. ensure that budgets are grounded in evidence-based policy analysis, and publish regular, real-time expenditure reports that are publicly accessible, enabling parliament, civil society, and the general public to see how resources are allocated to gender equality;

10.6. take steps to ensure that women can participate in budget discussions and have their voices heard.

11. With regard to employment, the Assembly calls on member States to make more efforts to:

11.1. impose pay transparency to expose gender pay gaps, and carry out effective reviews of thesegaps in all public services and private business, accompanied by sanctions where differentiationpersists;

11.2. develop and implement laws and policies to identify, eliminate, and sanction racism and allforms of intolerance and discrimination including intersectional discrimination against women fromdiverse groups in the labour market, which hinder their economic empowerment, and address thespecific needs of disadvantaged groups;

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