Working towards Parity Democracy in Europe

Women who make up more than half of the population and electorate in the European Union continue to be under-represented in all public and political decision-making bodies at all levels. Moreover, some women, for example young, disabled, lesbian and Black, migrant and ethnic minority women face multiple discrimination in the area of political decision-making.

For EWL, this under-representation of women constitutes a serious democratic deficit, which undermines the legitimacy of the contemporary democratic ideal. Parity democracy and the promotion of women in decision-making positions are therefore important areas of action for EWL. EWL has been actively promoting the implementation of parity democracy within the European institutions. Parity democracy implies the equal representation of women and men in decision-making positions. It goes a step further than quotas as it is based on the idea that women are not a minority: they represent more than half of the humanity –(a quantitative dimension)- and one of its two components – a qualitative dimension.

Despite strong action by the European Women’s Lobby and others to introduce parity democracy at the level of the European Union, there is no binding measure for the equal representation of women and men in the EU institutions as such and strong action is still needed in order to move toward parity democracy in Europe.

1. Provisions on gender  equality in decision making at international and European level

The equal participation of women and men in power and decision-making is strongly promoted at international level: articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 and ratified by most European Countries commits States Parties to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life and its Article 4 allows for the adoption of “temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women”.

“Women in power and decision-making” is also one of the 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995. The 10-year implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action will be reviewed in 2005.

The Council of Europe has done some very interesting work on women in decision-making, and a recommendation on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making has been adopted on 12.03.2003.
At European Union level, there are strong gender equality provisions in the Treaty of Amsterdam (art. 2; 3.2; 13 and 141), but there is no binding provision for the realisation of gender equality in the institutions. However, the EU institution have adopted different texts relative to gender equality in decision-making for example:

• Council Recommendation 96/694 of 2.12. 1996 on the balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making process
  
• Commission Decision relating to Gender Balance within the Committees and Expert Groups established by it of 19/06/00.
  
• European Parliament resolution on women in decision-making of 02/03/2000.

2. Statistics

European level:

• Women represent 30% of members of the European Parliament but only 15% of chairpersons of Parliamentary committees.
  
• European Commission: Eight of the 25 commissioners (32%) are women.

National level:
There are 22.1 % women in national parliaments in the enlarged European Union
National governments: around 27.5%.


>>> Contact person in the EWL Secretariat: Cécile Gréboval