Earlier this year, and after having represented Greece’s youth in numerous conferences, I realized how often women’s rights are discussed in polished conference rooms, but rarely felt on the streets of our cities. Yes, policies are changing, the European Union’s directive for gender balance on corporate boards is a victory. But how much does that matter to the young woman in the subs, juggling university classes, part-time jobs, and unpaid care work?
When the European Parliament passed the Commission’s landmark directive mandating gender balance on corporate boards by 2026, it was hailed as a historic win for women’s empowerment. The legislation, requiring at least 40% of non-executive director seats to be occupied by women, is the kind of top-down structural reform feminists have demanded for decades. But amidst the celebrations, a quieter, more complex debate is brewing, one that speaks to the heart of NextGen feminism: Are we ready to rethink what “empowerment” really means for the next generation of women?
For Gen Z, feminism is not just about representation in boardrooms or pay equality (though these battles are far from over). It’s about interrogating the systems of power themselves, questioning the capitalist metrics of success, and redefining leadership in more inclusive, holistic ways. Yet, policies like the EU gender quota, while necessary, expose a fundamental tension: Is inclusion in existing power structures enough, or is it time to dismantle and rebuild those structures altogether?
As Chairwoman of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality at the Hellenic National Youth Council, I’ve seen firsthand how representation can be both a triumph and a trap. We celebrate when women “break the glass ceiling” but we hardly ever stop to ask: what happens when they are asked to sweep up the shards themselves?
Greece has always been a land of contrasts. We pride ourselves on the legacies of democracy, yet struggle with deeply rooted patriarchal structures in our everyday culture. According to a recent Eurostat survey, Greece remains below the EU average in gender equality, particularly in labor participation and leadership positions. Even though we see more women in politics and public debate, their presence is often symbolic rather than transformative.
It’s easy to champion women in leadership as the ultimate goal. The corporate world loves to showcase glossy ads with female CEOs, often from privileged backgrounds, as evidence of “progress”. But this optics-driven approach risks reducing feminism to a diversity statistic, detached from the lived realities of most women. Same and equal shallow optics is to place women into high-ranking positions but demand they conform to the same patriarchal, profit-at-all-costs models that marginalized them in the first place. The message this sends is clear: representation without transformation is performative.
During my time as Vice President of the European Youth Parliament Greece, I worked with countless young women who are brilliant, passionate, and ready to lead, yet they face systemic barriers that policies alone can’t overcome. They are told to “lean in,” but how can they, when there’s no support system for unpaid youth work, or when misogynistic comments are normalized in their workplaces?
Nowadays, Instagram, TikTok, and X have become battlegrounds where Gen Z feminists challenge outdated norms, call out gender stereotypes, expose workplace harassment, advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and create viral campaigns that force real-world change. However, digital activism must evolve into tangible policy changes demanding accountability because likes and retweets alone won’t tear down patriarchy.
The EU directive sparked another important conversation: Who are the women we’re empowering, and whose voices are still ignored? True empowerment must address the systemic barriers faced by women at all socioeconomic levels. The single mother struggling with two jobs, the migrant woman navigating xenophobia and labor exploitation, the young girl in STEM battling imposter syndrome (okay guilty), their struggles are often sidelined in mainstream feminist narratives.
This is evident in debates around corporate feminism, the commercialization of International Women’s Day, and the rise of “girlboss” culture, concepts that, while initially empowering, have been co-opted by capitalist structures to sell empowerment as a product rather than a movement. Only 1 in 3 entrepreneurs worldwide is a woman and that speaks volumes. It certainly does not reflect a lack of ambition, but the persistence of invisible thresholds.
The tension between incremental reform and radical transformation is the defining dilemma of NextGen feminism. While older generations fight for a seat at the table, many Gen Z feminists are questioning whether that table should exist at all. And the whisper is constant. “Should I create my own new table?”. As representative of the Hellenic National Youth Council, I don’t just want to count how many women are at the table. I want to know who built the table, who’s invited, and whose voice matters when decisions are made.
Empowerment, in this new era, is not about individual ascension but collective liberation. It’s about creating systems where success is not a zero-sum game, where leadership is empathetic and inclusive, and where the metrics of progress are measured not just in profits or positions, but in lived experiences and communal well-being.
In Greece, though abortion is a legal right, discussions around bodily autonomy suddenly feel more urgent and fragile. Policies can be reversed. Rights can be questioned. This is why we must build a feminist culture that goes beyond legal frameworks, one that educates, mobilizes, and sustains vigilance.
Empowerment is not an Instagram-friendly slogan. It’s policies for affordable childcare. It’s mental health support for survivors of gender-based violence. It’s education programs in schools that teach consent and respect. During the Council of Europe’s 75th Anniversary, these were the priorities voiced by young delegates from across the continent, including Greece.
The feminist future is not handed to us by policies. It’s built, piece by piece, by young people who refuse to settle for performative victories. As we celebrate the milestones of today, we must ask ourselves: Are we building a future where all women can thrive, or are we just repainting the walls of old power structures?
NextGen feminism demands we aim higher. The future is female, yes, but it’s also multidimensional, transformative, and unapologetically disruptive.
Elvira Mentzelioti is Chairwoman of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality at the Hellenic National Youth Council. She is a Food Science and Technology student at the University of Peloponnese and an active member of the European Youth Parliament Network and the EU Youth Hub, advocating for youth participation in policy-making across Greece and Europe.
This opinion piece was selected to be published within the framework of To BHMA International Edition’s NextGen Corner, a platform for upcoming voices to share their views on the defining issues of our time.
