October 26, 2023

The following is a press release:

Democracy in Europe requires a rapid increase in the number of women in politics, say local leaders of the European Committee of the Regions in a debate with MEPs, NGOs and experts

Regional and local leaders across the European Union, non-governmental organisations and researchers attending the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) conference "Local and regional strategies for closing the gender gap in politics: Roads taken and what´s next?" call on decision-makers to introduce concrete solutions like quotas or parity requirements to achieve gender equality in political representation. The introduction of such instruments should be seen not only as respect for women's rights, but also to ensure equal opportunities for democratic participation in political life at all levels. The conference cited positive examples from Finland, France and other countries that have helped close the gender gap in politics, and highlighted the need to apply gender mainstreaming for better policymaking.

The conference was held on 25 October 2023 as part of the European Parliament Gender Equality Week 2023, which highlighted how women still remain under-represented in governance structures. The situation in local and regional government is not different: the proportion of women members and presidents of regional assemblies in the EU averages at one-third (35.3%), and at the local level, women mayors or other leaders and members of local and municipal councils in the EU also only account for a third of the elected (34,5%), according to European Institute of Gender Equality, which published this week its EU Gender Equality Index. According to its 2023 edition, only about 2% of the EU population is close to living in a gender-equal society.

The CoR is committed to improving gender balance. Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions, said: "Gender equality is fundamental not only to address the challenges people face in our communities, but also to build a better future. There cannot be a just green and digital transition without a gender perspective, there cannot be any fair social and economic policies without addressing gender inequalities. We need to put gender equality at the very heart of our Union, starting from local and regional governments, where still too few women are represented. The European Committee of the Regions is committed to fight for equal representation and to promote gender equality across all policies, because we believe there cannot be any other way forward to build a fairer and stronger Europe."

Representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission also took the floor at the conference: Evelyn Regner, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and Helena Dalli, European Commissioner for Equality, stressed the importance of equal representation of women and men in political life.

Tanya Hristova, Mayor of Gabrovo, Chair of the European Committee of the Regions Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture, said: "We must be ambitious and united in our efforts to implement a comprehensive gender balance strategy which will ensure closing the gender gap and enabling women to get their well-deserved role, including leading positions in politics at all levels. I am convinced that with more diverse leadership and policy-shaping teams we can have more impact and build more success that we can share at local, regional, national and European level."

Other speakers, including local and regional political leaders and representatives of European Women's lobby pointed to the Directive on gender balance on boards approved last year as an example of how the gender gap can be diminished. While the number of women on boards has tripled in 10 years, in national parliaments it is only 8%, indicating that looking at developments on corporate boards there is a need for targeted action in the political sphere.

Conference participants also included members of the Young Elected Politicians Programme (YEPs) created by the CoR to enable more local politicians to learn in practice about the European Union and how it works. The programme is gender-balanced.

The Gender Equality Index 2023 – which measures gender equality in the EU within dimensions such as health, work, knowledge, power, money and time - published this week by the European Institute for Gender Equality, indicates that progress on gender equality in the EU is the best since the establishment of the Index 10 years ago. However, progress is uneven across different areas of life and across Member States, and only Sweden scores above 80 points in the Index.

Background:

European Gender Equality Week: an initiative of the European Parliament, now in its fourth year to highlight its ongoing efforts to put women at the heart of legislation. Since the last edition of European Gender Equality Week, important pieces of legislation have been adopted: Women on Boards, Equal Pay, and the EU's accession to the Istanbul Convention.

The CoR is committed to promoting gender equality and women's participation in political life. As part of the For more women in politics initiative of the CoR, the overarching theme of the conference is tackling the "what's next?" when it comes to gender balance and equality in politics, by looking at what has been achieved while also discussing what more needs to be done to achieve gender equality.

The European Committee of the Regions, as the political assembly for local and regional politicians in the EU, has a consultative role in the EU's legislative process. Its recommendations on actions that could be taken to achieving a gender balance in political representation and participation as a matter of equality and democracy can be found in its opinion on "A Union of equality: gender equality strategy 2020-2025".

More background can be found in the following publications:

Gender Equality Index | European Institute for Gender Equality (europa.eu), 2023

The EU’s new Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Relations 2020–2025 (GAP III)

CoR Opinion: A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025

CoR Opinion: Gender equality and Climate change: towards mainstreaming the gender perspective in the European Green Deal

Strategy for a gender balance in Members' participation in the CoR

CoR Initiative "For more women in politics"

The proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence

Combating violence against women and domestic violence – brefieng

Study - The legislative frameworks for victims of gender-based violence (including children) in the 27 Member States

Video Women in Politics

Statement by the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, for International Women's Day

Videos: Regions and cities take action to make gender equality a reality :

Multidisciplinary assistance to victims of gender-based violence, Valencia, Spain

Innovation centre for a technology company enabling women to find a work-life balance, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Childcare and childbirth policies, Umbria, Italy

Tackling menstrual poverty, Catalonia, Spain

Counselling for men on gender equality, Lörrach, Germany

Watch the event on the COR channel

Contact:

Wioletta Wojewodzka

Tel. +32 (0)2 282 2289

Mobile: +32 (0)473 843 986

wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu