At a conference organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Wednesday 25 October, EU regional and local leaders called for greater political participation by women, including at local level.
Echoing the position expressed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in its 2023 Gender Equality Index (see EUROPE 13278/20), they supported the introduction of “concrete solutions like quotas or parity requirements to achieve equality”. They also called for more gender mainstreaming in policy-making (see EUROPE 13199/4).
“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”, argued CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro.
The under-representation of women in governance structures does not spare the regions. According to EIGE, the proportion of women members or presidents of regional assemblies in the EU is on average 35%. At local level, only 34% of mayors or heads of municipal councils are women.
The conference was held as part of the European Parliament’s Gender Equality Week. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)