Deadline Date: April 28, 2026
The European Union has launched a call for proposals under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme to advance gender equality and support women’s full enjoyment of rights.
The focus areas of this programme include supporting work-life balance, ensuring an equal share of care responsibilities, promoting family-friendly policies among employers, enhancing the value of care sector jobs, implementing the Pay Transparency Directive to ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, supporting equal participation and representation of women and men in economic and political decision-making, and tackling gender stereotypes in media and advertising.
This initiative aims to foster comprehensive policies that promote women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, and equality between men and women. Projects under this call are expected to address priorities such as encouraging family-friendly practices, facilitating uptake of parental and flexible working arrangements, preventing discrimination related to pregnancy or family leave, promoting men’s participation in informal and formal care work, and highlighting the value of care jobs. The estimated budget for this call is EUR 23 million, distributed across the priorities, with specific allocations ranging from EUR 5 million to EUR 7 million per focus area.
The programme also emphasizes compliance with pay transparency obligations, supporting employers and social partners in implementing measures that guarantee equal pay, reporting on gender pay gaps, and enhancing social dialogue to reinforce pay equality. Additionally, the programme seeks to increase women’s representation in decision-making roles across politics and the corporate sector, addressing societal and structural obstacles, strengthening women’s leadership, and ensuring inclusivity of women in all their diversity. Another critical component involves challenging gender stereotypes and biases in media and advertising, targeting societal expectations and promoting fair representation of both women and men.
Eligible applicants include legal entities, public or private bodies, established in EU Member States or associated non-EU countries. Profit-oriented organisations may participate only in partnership with public or non-profit entities. Projects can be national or transnational, and activities must take place in eligible countries. Participants must register in the EU Participant Register and be validated before submitting proposals.
For more information, visit EC.
