Sexism and misogyny are rooted in ancient Athens where women were once viewed as possessions of men and did not enjoy citizenship rights because of their gender.

Despite being the cradle of philosophy, Greek women of antiquity – apart from rare exceptions – were unable to partake in political debate or be scholars. Historian Don Nardo said “throughout antiquity most Greek women had few or no civil rights and many enjoyed little freedom of choice or mobility. During the Hellenistic period in Athens, the famous philosopher Aristotle thought that women would bring disorder, evil, and were “utterly useless and caused more confusion than the enemy.”

Women were kept separate in a gynaeceum and looked after their homes. They had little knowledge of money, let alone control of it.

Women’s liberation may have brought about some changes, however achieving gender equality has been a slow process in the country where women only got voting rights in 1952 and the legal obligations of dowry were abolished in the ’80s.

Despite the gender inequalities that still exist today, women’s representation is still scant in Greek Parliament where men continue to dominate. Overall, women account for less than 20 per cent of parliamentarians in Greece, and men control the boards of large corporations and central banks.

When the current Greek government came to power, conservative Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented a cabinet of 22 with just two women representatives. Mr Mitsotakis said that this was due to women’s lack of “interest in stepping into politics these days.” He told the BBC he had asked a lot of women to join the cabinet, but they were “more hesitant than men to do so”.

There are many reasons ‘why’ women hold back from positions of power, including the obstacles placed in their way such as lack of childcare support which makes motherhood a barrier to climbing the career ladder.

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The obvious practical issues can be fixed, however attitudes are harder to change.

From a young age, little girls and women enlisted to serve guests at family gatherings while the sons ride their bicycles or relax with other male relatives.

It’s a country where men are still viewed as ‘studs’ for having extramarital affairs, and women of power are judged for their ability to coordinate their outfits as much as their skills. The local media hones in on ‘sexy women’ of Greek parliament and tears to shred women like former Greek president of Greek Parliament, lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou, for not conforming to feminine norms.

In the streets, objectification of women is rampant with no policing to monitor whether laws of public decency are adhered to. All one needs to do is drive down Syngrou Avenue, one of the main roads of Greece, dotted with posters of women in lascivious poses advertising some club or strip joint or the like. Nobody bats an eyelid, as they are viewed as normal by  commuters and their young observers who grow up in a society where gender inequality and the objectification for women are the norm.

Everyday sexism is difficult to recognise when perceptions have been formulated over time and are taken for granted. But just because Greece is a place where women can keep their own surnames after marriage, wear what they want and go to work, does not mean that gender inequalities are not deeply engrained.

Women still do most of the household chores and child-raising, and men still dominate when it comes to the serious decision-making of the household, including finances. For better or for worse, it is the EU country with the least children born out of wedlock and the one with the lowest levels of divorce.

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Bearing in mind the attitudes and structures of Greek society, it came as little surprise when the Gender Equality Index 2019 put Greece last in its efforts to bridge the gender equality gap.

While the gender gap is closing “at a snail’s pace”, Greece is at the bottom of the ranking with 51.2 per cent, coming behind Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. Sweden stays firmly on top – boasting 83.6 points – followed by Denmark’s 77.5 points, well above the EU average of 67.4 per cent. Other countries, like Cyprus, Estonia and Italy showed considerable improvement in the scores that covered six core domains: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.

 

 

 

 

On basically every aspect of everyday life – from work-life balance to childcare, from political decision-making to how much money you’ve got in your pocket – much remains to be done before gender equality is reached, as sexist stereotypes and preconceptions still shape attitudes and behaviours.