The Congress calls on local and regional authorities and governments to take steps to achieve equal gender representation in politics

193.03.2010 - During a debate on "Achieving sustainable gender equality in local and regional political life" held on 19 March 2010 on the occasion of its 18th session, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe noted that there are still many barriers to equal representation of women and men in local and regional politics.

The Congress members adopted a resolution and a recommendation underlining that equality between men and women is an integral part of human rights. The Congress, whose delegations already include 30% of women, committed itself to attain, as far as possible, the level of 40% set by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and to apply it to both its full and its substitute members. “Women, as much as men, are supposed to be full members not just substitute members,” underlined Britt-Marie Lövgren, Rapporteur and Vice-President of the Committee on Social Cohesion, introducing the debate.

To enhance women's participation in politics it called on local and regional authorities to take action aimed at encouraging women to stand for election and political parties to apply a gender balance when assigning executive roles. The Congress considers that this necessarily entails taking tangible steps to facilitate reconciliation of private and working life.

Referring to Spain's gender equality law, Ana Barcelo Chico, mayor of Sax (Spain) and Chair of the Equality Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), stated "although the law has permitted balanced participation in electoral lists, that is still not enough since equal representation comes up against the barrier of the assignment of roles, some of which continue to be regarded as traditionally male." Fabienne Keller, Senator for the Bas-Rhin and former Mayor of Strasbourg (France), deemed it essential to break the "glass ceiling" which even today prevents many women from progressing to more senior levels. "Although there are the same number of male and female candidates, men outnumber women among elected representatives. That is why it is necessary to maintain the measures designed to facilitate women's participation in politics, and to go even further."

At government level, the Congress recommendation invites member states to adopt legislation requiring the authorities to take the gender dimension into account in their activities at all levels. It also recommends that the impact of such measures be assessed and the assessment published on the basis of equality indices. In addition, the Congress calls on governments to devise measures to help women stand for election, such as quota systems.

Luxembourg MP Lydie Err stated "Equal representation is not an end in itself, but a means of ensuring that politics reflects the equality required by law. In this respect, the Congress is ahead of other bodies, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of which I am a member." She added "Lack of equal representation must be considered to jeopardise the legitimacy of our democracies; while they contribute to improving the situation for women, quotas help to conceal our democracy's limping gait."