European Union gender policy development after 2010

Introduction. One of the most relevant and at the same time debatable issues in the modern world is that of gender equality of men and women that implies the legal principle and the person’s legal status in relations with the state void of any discrimination by gender. Gender equality therefore reflects political and social changes in society. Aims. To analyze the institutional and regulatory aspect of the EU gender policy formation and to identify the main trends in the development of the European gender balance policy after 2010. Methods. Gender approach provides for the analysis of the political component in the EU society and outlining such basic concepts as “gender policy”, “gender equality” and “gender egalitarianism”. Based on these basic concepts, it becomes possible to analyze the political participation of men and women, to compare their roles and opportunities under the framework of European legislation. Results. The study of the EU gender policy development indicates the presence of political initiatives within the European legislation framework aimed at achieving gender equality and gender egalitarianism. It is concluded that the EU gender policy is a complex set of various measures, political initiatives and institutions, ultimately leading to women gaining equal political rights to participate in governance. However, the statistical reports analyzed do not make it possible to assess the expected effectiveness of the adopted strategies due to the existing economic and migration crises. Conclusions. The EU is halfway towards achieving gender equality. At present, a comprehensive mechanism has been launched to ensure gender balance, which includes both various institutes dealing with this issue, as well as constitutional and legal mechanisms embodied in strategies, conventions, treaties and various other legal initiatives aimed at ensuring continuous work to overcome gender discrimination in European society.