Cyprus received just 42 points out of 100 as regards gender equality in the European Union, while the only areas in which women fared better than men were life expectancy and health.
In other areas, such as women’s participation in politics and decision-making centres, Cyprus literally doesn’t pass the test and is considerably below the EU 27 average of 54 points out of 100.
As the latest European research on gender equality and equal opportunities showed, the situation in Cyprus surrounding gender equality, in categories such as power, politics and economy can be characterised as dramatic, seen as the scores attained in these categories are rather degrading for women.
Specifically on a 1-100 scale, Cyprus got 12.2 points in the power category, 31.9 points in gender equality in politics and scraped only 4.7 points for gender equality.
Cyprus did however do better among the EU 27 as regards health issues where it got a 91.1 grade. In relation to living conditions, Cyprus also got a grade in the 90s as it did in with accessibility issues (91.4 points).
Inequality between the sexes is evident in Cyprus regarding issues concerning women’s participation in politics, administration and key positions in the public, semi-public and private sector.
Women’s participation in government stood at only 17%, while they hold only 13% of parliamentary seats. Their participation in key positions in the Central Bank is zero while the average in the European Union is 18% for women. Women only account for 4% in the boards of organisations and companies and general managerial positions.
Although the overall points collected by Cyprus with regard to gender equality and equal opportunities are below the EU 27 average of 54 points, there are some areas where Cyprus’ ratings generally vary.
Analytically: Gender equality in the work force takes 68.7 points. In economic areas it is at 74.1 points, 52.7 in knowledge, health 91.1, in, 91.6 points in education and lifelong learning 38 points (maximum points 100).
As a whole one could say that Cyprus got very good points health and education where it recorded the highest points among the 27 Member States. However, scores in other areas, such as labour and women’s participation in decision-making, bring the general average of the island below the European average.
Cyprus Weekly