The archetypal EU backstage wheeling and dealing has again come to the forefront as the leaders of the bloc’s member states struggled in Brussels to agree on the nominees for key European posts. Five of the most powerful European positions were up for grabs: The head of the European Council, the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament and the high representative for foreign policy, besides the head of the European Central Bank (ECB). After weeks of wrangling, the outcome was rather surprising, as none of the favorites seemed to make it to the final list that was released on Tuesday after a near-72-hour negotiation to end the deadlock. Almost all the nominees have to be approved by the European Parliament and the initial feedback from MEPs was anything but positive. The nominations raised hackles aplenty, as European leaders were again charged with a lack of transparency and accountability, indulging in backroom dealings that have led to the rise of anti-EU sentiment in many parts of the union. However, there was a positive element even in this outcome: The nomination of female candidates for two of the five key jobs. This will be the first time ever, provided they get approved by the Parliament, that women will be the presidents of the European Commission and the ECB, after 61 years and 21 years of history, respectively. It is heartening to see, at last, women occupying such key positions in the EU, but it also exposes the severity of the gender gap that remains in perhaps the most progressive bloc in the entire developed world. The EU has been progressive in several key aspects — social security, climate change, human rights and in raising the issue of gender balance. If the EU succeeds in bridging the gender gap, it would definitely be very good for the bloc’s 262 million women. Ranvir S. Nayar However, in the last of this list, the EU also seems to have been a serious laggard, especially when it comes to giving women the keys to the top political and economic positions. Several leading EU member states, with the exception of Germany and the UK, have never had a female leader. And women remain underrepresented in national parliaments, as a recent report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showed. Iceland topped the list, with about 40 percent of its MPs being women, while most of the big EU states remained in the 25 to 35 percent range, even though there are more women than men in most of these countries. Women do slightly better as members of governments, France and Spain leading the way with almost half the ministers being women, but several other EU countries remain way behind. The situation is definitely far more acute in company boardrooms, where women remain remarkable by their absence. A May report encapsulated the situation: It found women occupied less than 30 percent of managerial positions and in no EU member state did women managers make up more than 50 percent of the total. In company boardrooms, the contrast is starker. Only 6 percent of CEOs of large companies in the EU are women, while the share increases to 15 percent on the executive committees of companies that take key decisions. Women also make less money than men, even in similar jobs. A report from earlier this year showed a high pay gap of 16 percent across the EU. The progress of women in the corporate hierarchy remains stagnant despite several pieces of legislation, both by the European Commission and national parliaments, to make at least the large companies do more to remove this inequality. This is largely due to slow and low implementation of the norms. The EU needs to do more to create greater awareness, as well as try to tackle the social and religious hurdles that may be blocking the rise of women in the business world. These hurdles remain despite the fact that the EU has definitely been the leader in several social and economic measures to promote gender equality, such as extended maternity leave and almost mandatory paternity leave to encourage fathers to take more parental responsibility and allow women to get back to work earlier. In many countries, laws protect the position and other benefits of women who have gone on maternity leave. Yet all these measures seem to have been rather ineffective in helping a fair number of women rise in company hierarchies. As a new European Parliament, as well as new EU officials, take charge, the time is right for swift and widespread action to tackle the issue. They must ensure that action is taken not just by the large firms, but also small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for almost 80 percent of the economy in most EU nations and which employ far more workers than the larger companies. In this age of startups, the EU could also do with encouraging more women entrepreneurs through some positive discrimination measures. The politicians also need to play ball. For too long, the European Commission, and its 27 commissioners, has been a predominantly male bastion. The EU leaders could show the way by appointing at least 13, if not 14, women commissioners to show their seriousness. If the EU succeeds in bridging the gender gap, it would definitely be very good for the bloc’s 262 million women. More importantly, as with social security and maternity and paternity leaves, the EU often shows the way for other countries to adopt the best practices. Hence, these steps should perhaps be taken for all of the 3.8 billion women across the globe.