International Women’s Day: Promoting gender equality through the CERV programme

Do you know what we celebrate on 8 March?

International Women’s Day is more than a date on the calendar, it is a call to act. In 2026, under the theme Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls, we confront the structural barriers that continue to deny women and girls equal justice: discriminatory laws, harmful practices, weak legal protections, gender-based violence, and biased systems that limit women’s freedom to work, lead, and participate fully in society.

Progress has been made, but it remains far too slow. The EU Gender Equality Index 2025 scores 63.4 out of 100, with wide disparities across Member States (from 47.6 in Cyprus to 73.7 in Sweden). At this pace, full gender equality is still at least 50 years away. We cannot - and must not - wait half a century.

The European Commission’s 2025 Roadmap for Women’s Rights sets a clear direction. It lays out principles for a gender-equal society and objectives to uphold and advance these principles, forming a compass for upcoming policies, including the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030.

Action is already underway through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, the EU’s largest-ever fund dedicated to advancing and protecting fundamental rights. Since its launch in 2021, CERV has been turning commitments into tangible change by funding grassroots initiatives, strengthening civil society, building capacity, and advancing advocacy that makes women’s rights a lived reality.

CERV focuses promoting rights, equality, and non-discrimination, including gender equality. It supports gender-sensitive and intersectional approaches to tackle inequalities, ensures that justice systems, labour laws, and healthcare protections are free from bias, and works to prevent and address gender-based violence.

Some of the projects supporting women’s rights and gender equality are the following:

• EMPOWER-WOMEN: Empowering Mobile EU Women Citizenship
• BIRDS in BG: Building Inclusive Resilient Democratic Society in Bulgaria
• MOTERIS: Protecting the Civic Space of Women and Girls