EU chief aims for gender parity but commissioner roles remain male-heavy

At first glance, the European Union may seem like a paragon of gender equality what with Ursula von der Leyen heading the all-important executive branch. Still, all the talk this week is about an excess of men poised for top positions at the EU headquarters.

Not that von der Leyen, the first woman to hold the position as European Commission president, would want anything other than full gender parity in the body that runs the day-to-day business of the world's biggest trading bloc of 450 million people.

One of its key objectives is achieving gender balance in decision-making, the strategy of von der Leyen's outgoing European Commission boldly proclaimed. Her office was committed to lead by example, with the first female Commission president selected in 2019, and the first gender-balanced College of Commissioners during this time.

When it comes to gender issues, the 27-nation EU is often seen as perhaps the most progressive grouping of countries in the world, leaving other nations a