Round table on gender equality, EU Committee of the Regions

Brussels, 8 February 2012

Speech by Antonella Cagnolati, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe has always put a strong emphasis on gender equality as a fundamental requirement of democracy and good governance. Equality is at the heart of the issue of fundamental human rights. Work on gender equality has focused on mainstreaming the issue into policy-making as well as on specific aspects of women’s access to rights and public services (in particular education and employment) and their participation in society.

Within the intergovernmental sector of the Council of Europe, this work has been spearheaded by a Steering Committee on Equality. Even after the restructuring as a result of the Council of Europe reform process, a Gender Equality Commission has been retained as part of the overall work on human rights.

All main bodies of the Council of Europe, in particular its Parliamentary Assembly and its Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, have dedicated an important part of its work to gender equality. Our elected representatives have always maintained that equality between women and men is not only a basic human right and a fundamental requirement of democracy – it also makes sense economically, socially and politically.

It is a fundamental requirement because a society cannot be free and democratic if the liberty and dignity of half of its members are not guaranteed and upheld. The role of women in the political, economic and social life of society must be fully recognised, and their participation encouraged. Not doing so is indeed to a great extent an economic and social absurdity. Women represent more than half of any society, and tapping into this vast “reserve”, releasing women’s economic and creative potential can in fact double the society’s output.

This process must begin and become embedded at the grassroots level, in local and regional communities. No national policy and measures will be successful without their genuine implementation in every-day life, in the daily practice of our cities and regions.

Indeed, today there is no lack of political good will or legislative measures concerning gender equality. However, the problem is their implementation, to a large extent due to deeply-rooted cultural prejudice towards women and their role in society. In fact, the only reason for the persistent unequal treatment is our mental constructs, stereotypes and prejudice built over centuries of inequality – prejudice that has become part of our culture and our thinking. This is the reason why today, we have more demagoguery and lip service to equality than genuine realisation. To change this, positive examples must be set at all levels of governance, but it is at the level closest to the citizens where the results are the most tangible.

These stereotypes are especially visible in assigning to women a secondary role compared to men, that of a decision executor and care-taker rather than decision-maker and policy setter. For example, in many cases in politics and administration – including in international organisations – we find women in a No 2 position: Vice-Minister, Deputy Secretary General, Deputy Mayor. Inequality also persists in the distribution of “political weight” – at the local level in politics, for example, we often find women mayors in smaller communities rather than big cities. Women who are deputy mayors are also often assigned responsibilities seen as traditionally feminine: schools, children, young people, health care, social assistance – a kind of extension of what they might be doing at home. We need a political will and policy change to give voluntarily more real power to women.

As far as women in politics are concerned, a 2009 report published by the Council of Europe analysed the statistics from 42 European countries on the representation of women in national and regional parliaments, national, regional and local governments, supreme and constitutional courts, the diplomatic service and the Council of Europe’s bodies. This analysis shows that while there has been a significant progress since the previous report in 2005, figures are still far from the 40% minimum in public decision-making bodies for both men and women, recommended by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2003 – let alone 50 per cent. The average representation of women in national parliaments has been stagnating at some 22%, and at the local level, only 10 % of mayors, 24 % of municipal councillors and 21 % of members of regional parliaments are women.

The report also shows, for example, that the average number of women ministers grew from 20 % in 2005 to almost 29 % in 2008 and that two countries – Finland and Spain – exceed 50 % participation of women in the composition of their national governments. The report tells us that some 28 % of judges in supreme courts and 20 % in constitutional courts are women, that 24 % of municipal councillors and 21 % of members of regional parliaments are women, and that six countries have reached or are close to reaching the 40 % benchmark of women in their national parliament. (These are Sweden with 46%, Finland and the Netherlands with 41%, Denmark and Norway with 38% and Belgium with 37%.)

Mindful of this situation, the Congress has recommended measures to encourage the participation of women in local and regional political life. We are convinced that women bring their own angle of vision to the situations, problems and challenges facing us, offering often a different opinion from their own unique experience. Politics cannot simply be a clash of individual ambitions, but must focus on responding to the citizens’ demands. Women contribute a different outlook on these issues, addressing them in a more pragmatic way, not in an overly politicised way of “politicans”. Women become more easily than men active advocates of a cause, and are much less inclined to play “political games”. In fact, women change the way politics are done, and we need this change.

Women’s participation in decision-making bodies is very important as these bodies create a framework for democratic action through laws and regulations. The grassroots level especially offers better chances for women to become members of municipal or regional councils, mayors or presidents of regions. This is also a level where women can become directly involved in a day-to-day administration of communities. This is why in March 2010, the Congress adopted a resolution and a recommendation on “Achieving sustainable gender equality in local and regional political life” (Resolution 303 (2010) and Recommendation 288 (2010)).

In these texts, the Congress has put forward a number of proposals for boosting women’s participation in local and regional politics. Among other things, the Congress encouraged women to run as candidates and stand for elections, called for the appropriate training of elected representatives and their staff, and proposed a new approach to political parties, including in selecting candidates. Political parties in particular must give priority to the ability of its members to represent the concerns and experiences of the communities rather than long past experience as elected representatives, as a form of positive action in order to increase the number of women candidates. The Congress also encouraged the setting up of women’s networks, which is of crucial importance for multiplying political efforts of women.

I am pleased to say that we in the Congress practice what we preach. The Congress itself has set the requirement that women must represent at least 30% in each of its 47 national delegations – a requirement with which all countries must comply since 2008. However, the enforceable quota in itself is not enough. Filling seats in the delegation is one thing; giving women real power as chairs of committees and Presidents of Congress Chambers is another, an objective that needs to be pursued.

A few words about the Congress. The Congress is a political assembly of local and regional politicians from 47 member states of the Council of Europe, representing more than 200,000 territorial communities of our continent.

The Congress has been working on equality issues for many years. Apart from the focus on mainstreaming and on women’s participation in politics, which I have already mentioned, in its earlier texts, the Congress has also addressed the issues of: equal access to local and regional elections; cultural integration of Muslim women; the situation of women migrants and their access to social rights; as well as related questions relevant to action for equality, such as diversity in local employment, policies to reconcile family and professional life, measures to build family-oriented and child-friendly communities, trafficking in human beings, and violence against women, including domestic violence.

Tremendous changes in North Africa offer great opportunities for democratic transformations in the countries of the southern Mediterranean, for building fair and prosperous societies based on shared human values and the democratic principles of pluralism and equality. These opportunities must not be missed, and we, European politicians, must act as good neighbours and give friendly advice, and share our positive experiences in making these principles work.

The events in North Africa have shown a great role and engagement of women in bringing about political change. It is crucially important, then, that this engagement and commitment of women continue and be recognised, leading to their further role in decision-making bodies that will be put in place. We strongly hope that the change in the southern Mediterranean will bring about the political advancement of women on a large scale, that will begin locally. This opportunity, too, must not be missed, and women must play a much greater role that they had in the past in the new political systems being built in those countries.

What is important now is to make sure that women are fully included in the future political, economic and social systems of these countries, to recognise and ensure their role thereafter. The participation of women in political life cannot be limited to a one-time revolt but must remain constant, on a par with men, in a society based on equality and equal treatment.

The grassroots level is the level where the political, economic and social changes brought about by the Arab Spring are the most tangible, and where our democratic action has the most impact on our citizens. This is why the Congress is currently preparing a report on how European local and regional authorities can contribute to developing local and regional democracy in the southern Mediterranean. Action for women’s participation will be specifically addressed in this report.