Inclusion and inequality
The EAU is committed to make sure health science and research includes everyone. We strongly encourage greater initiatives to understand how gender intersects with social, economic, environmental, political and cultural determinants of health, which influence exposure to risk factors and interactions with health systems.
Initiatives or workstreams
Addressing how all genders intersect with other social determinants of health is essential for evidence-based strategies that serve all communities (men, women, and LGBTQI+).
Explicit actions and commitments to encourage engagement from civil society where there is underrepresentation are necessary. There are currently gaps on men’s health and the role of men more broadly in the gender equality agenda. The goal should be active engagement from all communities - men, women, and LGBTQI+.
To do so, we are active in different initiatives or workstreams intended to achieve such goals:
ECO Men and Cancer Workstream: The EAU and its partners work hard to understand inequities in cancer through a gender-inclusive lens. The EAU works closely with the Global Alliance on Men’s Health to highlight issues related to men and cancer, in line with the Strategy on the health and well-being of men of the World Health Organisation of the European Region. Recognising that the burden of cancer falls disproportionally on men, ensuring the HPV vaccination is available for boys helps to protect the population in general against the virus, but also protects some boys and men from male cancers, such as penile cancer.
The EAU is closely following the development of the Own-initiative procedure from the FEMM and SANT Committee on Gender inequalities in health, specifically as regards gender-specific conditions (Procedure File: 2025/2074(INI) | Legislative Observatory | European Parliament ).
Women’s health: The EAU is actively involved in all the initiatives related to Women’s Health and gender-based research.
The EAU is a sponsor of the European Policy Centre (EPC) policy paper on Women’s Health which is currently drafted (July 2025).
The EAU is closely following the work of the FEMM and SANT Committees, particularly the report on Women’s Health Research and Access to Treatment and the development of the Own-initiative procedure on Gender inequalities in health, as regards gender-specific conditions (Procedure File: 2025/2074(INI) | Legislative Observatory | European Parliament ).
European Commission’s Women’s Rights Roadmap sets a strategic vision for gender equality, emphasising access to high health standards, including sexual and reproductive health, which encompasses continence care.