Brussels, 07/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - In the lead-up to International Women's Day on 8 March , a call for parity in the European institutions ahead of the European elections in 2014 has been made. A joint multi-party hearing was held at the European Parliament on 5 March, together with an awareness-raising event outside the European Parliament building, organised by the European women's lobby and 50/50 campaign coalition.
The call takes on its full significance in light of the figures on women's representation in the institutions: one out of every three MEPs is a woman, and over at the European Commission, just 15% of senior positions are held by women. MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland) stood alongside representatives of the institutions and NGOs to call for parity in the European institutions following the 2014 elections. She argues that “a good start for this would be for the national political parties to compose their 2014 electoral lists in a way that will ensure gender parity in the election results”. She states that “the more diverse the group of decision-makers, the more diverse and better are the outcomes of the elections. This is particularly true in times of crisis. Parity in decision-making is not only a question of equality but also of quality”. Amongst other things, the 50/50 campaign is calling for a male and a female candidate to be put forward for posts within the College of Commissioners and the Presidency of the European Parliament, and for parity to be promoted on the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank. (MD/transl.fl)