Stitching Equality

We go to work.

We run households.

We bring life into the world.

We care for children.

We lead.

We act as psychologists, teachers, motivators, and coaches.

We hold up entire communities.

“Who are we?” “We are women.” And while our contribution is everywhere, equality still isn’t stitched evenly into the fabric of our lives.

Often, we are portrayed as delicate flowers, so fragile that we need to be handled with gentleness. A damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by a prince on a white horse. Or at least, so the story goes.

Reality, however, hits differently. We don’t need saving. We have already been there: holding families together, driving economies forward, shaping futures in classrooms, boardrooms, and parliaments. And we still are. What we need is to be supported, valued, and given the same space to thrive.

There is still space that needs mending.

Luxembourg’s Progress

Luxembourg has made strides worth noticing. In 2023, the country reported a negative gender pay gap of –0.9%, meaning women, on average, earned slightly more than men according to UNRIC.

Back in 2006, men earned over 10% more. Closing such a gap in less than two decades is proof that change is possible when policy, culture, and commitment align.

But is it enough?

In politics, women now hold 33.3% of seats in Parliament. Progress? Yes, but still not half the room, according to UN Women Data.

In research and academia, only 1 in 4 researchers in Luxembourg is a woman, and fewer than 2 in 10 hold top academic roles, according to Research Luxembourg. Knowledge is still being shaped without enough women’s voices at the table.

Equality isn’t only measured in salaries or titles. At home, women in Luxembourg still dedicate twice as much time as men to unpaid domestic and care work, 14.4% compared with 7.1%, according to UN Women. These invisible hours don’t appear in annual reports, yet they are contributing to keeping households and communities together.

Looking ahead

We stumble, we rise, and still we keep stitching the world together.

The future isn’t only about wages. It is about time, leadership, and visibility.

Equality isn’t a garment we can buy once and wear forever. It is fabric, woven, mended, strengthened over time. Luxembourg has changed the pattern before, and it can continue to do so.

The challenge now is to ensure that the weave is not only beautiful on the surface, but strong enough to hold for every woman, in every season of life.

And maybe equality isn’t about weaving a perfect fabric at all. Maybe it’s about asking who holds the needle, and whether we’re finally ready to create a story where women don’t just appear in the pattern, but define it.