Brussels, 08/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Women are underrepresented in the political field, although they have an indispensable role to play in resolving crises and conflicts. During International Women's Day on Thursday 8 March, high profile women internationally pointed out that it was absolutely imperative that women were included in global policies.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, said: “While we can be proud of the significant progress already made, this day reminds us that much work lies ahead to achieve true gender equality”. European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström used her Twitter account to say that there was still a long road ahead, while she counted the number of men and women who sit next to her at the college of European commissioners (18 men and only nine women).
The under-representation of women in politics was also picked up by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay who pointed out that “UN statistics show that, as of last year, women held only 19.3% of seats in single or lower houses of parliament worldwide” and that many women contenders for political office suffer from a shortage of both media coverage and public appearances. “With too few women leaders in politics, and woefully insufficient numbers of women leaders in industry, women are not taking part in decisive discussions on how to respond to global crises”, she regretted. Women are often the first affected by crises but they can also make a difference, she went on: “What is acknowledged far less is that women can be, and are, powerful agents for change. Women can be counted on to face seemingly insurmountable challenges with great strength of spirit, creativity and intelligence.” Similar views were expressed by Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women: “No enduring solution to the major changes of our day - from climate change to political and economic instability - can be solved without the full empowerment and participation of the world's women.”
Catherine Ashton, too, stated: “While women are still underrepresented politically, the European Union has been encouraged by the leading role they played in the Arab Spring. We hope that women will maintain a central role as these countries continue their political transition. The EU will continue to provide support to women's groups in the southern Mediterranean, as it does across the world, through projects such as the one which allowed Libyan women to observe the elections in Tunisia.” (MD/transl.fl/rt)