Midwives Highlighted In European Parliament’s Gender Equality Strategy 2025

The European Parliament adopts a resolution tackling the persistent health gaps women are facing across Europe and recognises midwives as essential to the solution. 

Midwives Recognised as Essential to Women’s Health 

The resolution explicitly names midwifery as essential to gender-responsive health systems, being the first time midwifery is recognised explicitly by the European Parliament. This resolution acknowledges that quality midwifery care:  

• Improves outcomes for mothers and newborns 

• Reduces unnecessary medical interventions 

• Enhances women’s experiences of pregnancy and childbirth 

The inclusion of midwives in this resolution is significant since European Parliament’s resolutions are formal political statements expressing the Parliament’s position on a particular issue. The resolution is not legally binding, but it influences the work of the EU Commission on shaping the Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 and draws attention on the importance of women’s health. 

The resolution included debates in the Parliament, and consultations with Member States and different organizations.  

As part of their community engagement process, the European Parliament opened a public consultation for members of the community to submit recommendations to the EU gender strategy. ICM participated in this public consultation in 2025 offering evidence-based recommendations for why midwives are a critical catalyst towards advancing gender equality. ICM mobilized its European Region partners, including civil society partners through the PUSH campaign, to contribute to the public consultation advocating for the integration of midwives in the EU Gender Equality Strategy. ICM shared its submission as a template with the European Region Midwifery Associations as a template with 5 countries from the EU submitted recommendations accordingly. The this inclusion reflects those multi-pronged advocacy efforts.  

Calls on The EU Commission  

The Parliament calls on the European Commission to take concrete steps, including: 

• Take concrete measures on gender-based violence, such as making this type of violence a crime at EU level, and recognising femicide as a distinct crime  

• Address persisting pay inequalities, as well as the unfair distribution of care work 

• Ensure universal access to gender-responsive healthcare and to address the gender health gap 

• Develop common EU-wide standards for antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal midwifery care. 

• Update the EU Directive on Midwifery to align with global standards, enabling midwives to share best practices across borders. 

• Address specific health challenges like maternal healthcare, endometriosis, and mental health. 

• Establish an EU framework for safe medicine use during pregnancy and lactation.

A Gender-Sensitive Approach to Healthcare 

The Parliament makes it clear: gender equality cannot be achieved without addressing health inequalities. That is why it is calling on the Commission to develop a gender-sensitive approach to healthcare. The resolution tackles areas where inequalities continue, like maternal healthcare, mental health, cancer, and endometriosis. 

The Work Ahead 

The resolution sends a strong political signal and creates political pressure. It also marks an important moment for midwifery recognition at the EU level. Political recognition must lead to policy change. In the months ahead, ICM and our Member Associations from Europe will continue pushing for an updated Directive on Professional Qualification that reflects ICM’s Global Standards.