ANE has submitted evidence to the European Commission’s forthcoming EU Action Plan for Women in Research, Innovation and Start‑ups. The Action Plan aims to make Europe the world’s most attractive place for women to build careers in science, engineering and innovation by 2030.
Why did ANE respond?
Even with decades of progress, gender imbalance remains one of Europe’s biggest structural challenges. Women are still underrepresented in research careers, patenting, start‑ups and leadership roles. This is not only a question of fairness; it directly affects Europe’s innovation capacity, the pace of the green and digital transitions, and the continent’s long‑term competitiveness.
As the voice of 500,000 engineers and STEM professionals across the Nordic region, ANE chose to respond because the Nordic countries offer strong, well‑documented evidence of what works — and what doesn’t — in building more inclusive STEM pathways.
What our submission covers
We focus on the areas where Nordic evidence can offer the most useful insights to EU‑level policymaking:
- The structural and cultural barriers women face in STEM
- Why girls often opt out of STEM pathways before university
- How underrepresentation harms innovation and competitiveness
- What EU‑level actions can help drive meaningful progress
You can read our full submission here
Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash