The European Commission has warned that campaigns against gender equality are financed by strong political interests, a point detailed in its official strategy on the issue. According to Vienna.at, Schilling described a coordinated international backlash against women's self-determination, fueled by authoritarian, right-wing, and far-right forces such as US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in March 2025 of a surge in misogyny threatening to reverse gender equality progress. Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnès Callamard stated that women's rights are facing active regression and a mounting assault globally, exacerbated by actions from leaders like President Trump. UN Women's report shows nearly a quarter of governments worldwide reported a backlash on women's rights, and research indicates a global effort to roll back legislation on sexual and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and gender education.
The EU Commission's strategy highlights that political financing is driving anti-gender campaigns. This warning comes as part of a broader assessment of threats to gender equality in Europe and beyond.
There is a backlash noticeable when talking about abortion or women's sexual and reproductive health.
According to Vienna.at, Schilling described attacks primarily targeting the right to abortion, violence protection structures, and feminist movements. Schilling further argued that attacking women's rights attacks democracy itself, and women's bodies are being used as a political battlefield. Concrete examples include U.S. President Donald Trump issuing an executive order on January 20, 2025, directing government agencies to remove materials promoting gender ideology. Argentina's President Javier Milei aims to remove femicide from the penal code, calling anti-femicide laws products of radical feminism and woke culture. Hungary passed a law banning Budapest Pride and allowing facial recognition to track attendees.
According to Vienna.at, Elisabeth Grossmann described a dangerous global backlash against women's rights and a concerning rise in anti-gender movements, particularly evident in the digital space where violence against women is noticeably increasing. Grossmann noted that women are increasingly targeted, intimidated, or pushed out of public debate online. Digital violence against women is a growing threat, including image-based abuse, cyberbullying, deepfakes, and doxxing, often leading to offline violence.
There is a coordinated international backlash against women's self-determination, fueled by authoritarian, right-wing, and far-right forces such as US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Afghanistan under the Taliban has seen severe rollbacks, including a decree permitting wife-beating if no bones are broken, bans on education and employment for women, and requirements for male guardians. According to Vienna.at, Manizha Bakhtari, the Afghan ambassador to Austria, opposes legitimizing Taliban rule, even indirectly through technical talks, as it strengthens the regime and sends the wrong message to Afghan women risking their lives for their rights. The Austrian federal government, like Germany and other EU countries, is increasingly pursuing deportations of Afghans to their homeland, with contacts to Taliban regime officials.
In the United Kingdom, a majority of women still experience sex discrimination in the workplace. Most women have fears about personal safety and harassment at offices and factories across the UK, and more than two-thirds of women said they still experience gender-based discrimination. Specifically, 70% of women said they did not feel safe in the workplace, with reasons including personal security, lone working, lack of protection from bullying and harassment, and physical safety. According to Daily Express - UK News, Gayle Parker described workplace equality as not just about pay but about safety, inclusion, and ensuring women feel safe when going to, attending, and coming back from work. Parker urged firms to take action to turn around the worrying trend of women not feeling safe at work. Additionally, 62% of women have been expected to wear men's fit or unisex fit items in the workplace at some point in their career, described as a shocking indictment of existing sexism.
Attacks are primarily targeting the right to abortion, violence protection structures, and feminist movements.
Economic inequalities persist, with women earning on average 16% less than men and being underrepresented in many technology areas. Almost three-quarters of mothers work part-time, often not voluntarily, and the issue is not a lack of ability but often framework conditions that force women to step back. In a UK survey, respondents ranked equal pay for equal work as the most important factor for feeling like an equal team member, followed by opportunities for training and career progression. In Norway, only 14% of top leaders in largest companies are women, and women earn 8% less than men with identical qualifications, rising to 19% at the top wage scale.
According to Vienna.at, Karin Prien described Germany as doing quite well in global comparison on gender equality, but noted there is still room for improvement. Prien emphasized that the implementation of gender equality is not a nice concession to committed women's rights activists but a constitutional mandate, and that the situation with board members and especially leadership positions is still expandable. She also argued that the equal participation of women is not only a question of justice but also of economic future viability. The German Ministry of Labor promotes professional further training, including specifically for women with migration experience. Equality is a matter of respect and a future issue for the country.
Attacking women's rights attacks democracy itself, and women's bodies are being used as a political battlefield.
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating women's achievements and a call to action for accelerating gender parity. It originated from labor movements in North America and Europe in the early 20th century, with women demanding better working conditions, voting rights, and an end to gender discrimination. The first official observance was in 1911, with over a million women and men attending rallies across Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1917, Russian women initiated a strike for bread and peace on the last Sunday of February (8 March Gregorian), catalyzing the Russian Revolution and leading to women's suffrage in Russia. Today, International Women's Day is recognized by the United Nations and celebrated globally with unique customs.
UN Women warned ahead of International Women's Day 2026 that at current pace, it will take 286 years to close legal protection gaps for gender equality. The European Commission released a Roadmap for Women's Rights in 2025 with eight key principles including freedom from gender-based violence, equal pay, and political participation. The EU directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence was adopted in 2024, with transposition required by all 27 member states by June 2027. The EU pay transparency directive was adopted in June 2023, with several member states beginning national implementation in 2025, though none have fully transposed it yet.
There is a dangerous global backlash against women's rights and a concerning rise in anti-gender movements, particularly evident in the digital space where violence against women is noticeably increasing.
Legal systems are struggling to eliminate discriminatory laws, with policies becoming less inclusive and structural barriers taking new forms. A UN report from March 4, 2026, indicates that nearly 70% of countries maintain discriminatory legal frameworks preventing women from accessing justice equally. Worldwide, women possess only 64% of the legal rights enjoyed by men.
Nearly one in three women worldwide have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence, with an estimated 840 million women affected globally.
Women are increasingly targeted, intimidated, or pushed out of public debate online.
Norway scores 87.9% on gender equality, ranking second globally behind Iceland. However, 83.5% of minimum pensioners in Norway are women, linked to wages, career choices, and part-time work.
Norway remains committed to increasing funding for reproductive health and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The Afghan ambassador to Austria, Manizha Bakhtari, opposes legitimizing Taliban rule, even indirectly through 'technical talks,' as it strengthens the regime and sends the wrong message to Afghan women risking their lives for their rights.
The survey of 101 business titans was commissioned by UK personalised workwear provider MyWorkwear to mark International Women's Day.
Germany is doing quite well in global comparison on gender equality, but there is still room for improvement.
The implementation of gender equality is not a nice concession to committed women's rights activists but a constitutional mandate.
The situation with board members and especially leadership positions is still expandable.
The equal participation of women is not only a question of justice but also of economic future viability.
Workplace equality isn't just about pay; it's about safety, inclusion, and ensuring women feel safe when going to, attending, and coming back from work.
Firms need to take action to turn around the worrying trend of women not feeling safe at work.
Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnès Callamard stated that women's rights are facing active regression and a mounting assault globally, exacerbated by actions from leaders like President Trump.