IN LONDON: Ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March), the European Commission presented its gender equality strategy for 2026-2030, embedding gender equality into every aspect of life.
The new strategy turns the objectives of the commission’s Roadmap for Women’s Rights that was endorsed in 2025 by all EU countries, into concrete actions to empower women and girls, engage men and boys, vigorously oppose any backtracking on fundamental rights, and accelerate progress towards a truly gender-equal Europe.
One of the key areas of focus involves tackling the gender pay and pensions gap, including by supporting EU countries to fully implement the Pay Transparency Directive, as well as work with the European Investment Bank to improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs and boost female representation in the financial sector.
Another key area of focus includes attracting more women into research, innovation, startups, and to STEM careers, as well as encouraging men to study and work in health, education, administration and literacy.
In Africa and Australia, most companies had at least one woman in their nominating committees, with Africa ahead of other regions at 88%, as reported by International Women in Mining organisation. However, when looking at other regions, there are much lower representations, with only 13% in North America and 18% in Europe.
According to the commission, mining ranked the second lowest industry for women employment, representing around 13% of workers in 2021.
International Women’s Day 2026 theme ‘Give to Gain’ signifies a simple truth about processing being an exchange. The more invested in people, in opportunities and in inclusion, the greater the returns for industry and society alike.
In 2025, nine out of 10 CEOs were men according to data from Chief Executive Women (CEW) while one in four new CEO appointments were women. CEW data also reveals that 27 CEOs were women in the ASX 300, up two from 2024.
However, Deloitte Insights research into gender equity in leadership roles in financial services institutions globally shows that Oceania is leading in regard to the proportion of women in financial services leadership roles, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Forecasting reveals that the current 25.2% share of women in C-suite roles is projected to grow to 34% by 2030 – higher than any other region. Similarly, women in next generation roles is expected to reach almost 37% by 2030, indicating an increased pipeline of women in financial services.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: European Commission
