PES Women: European politics is still a man’s world

  • loading...
  • Rating: 5.0000
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Rating: 5/5 with 6 votes

Published Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 13:19
by Editor in European democracy & diversity (1241 views and 2 comments)

Why are there so few women in power at European level?

Half of Europe’s citizens are women, but only 30 percent of the members of the European Parliament are female. The other European institutions are not much better: only 8 out of 27 European Commissioners are female and the vast majority are men when Europe’s leaders gather in the European Council.

If we look at national parliaments the numbers are just as discouraging – in average no more than 21 percent of the seats are taken by women.

One way to improve the representation of women is by introducing quotas. In Spain, for example, party electoral lists are required to have a minimum of 40 percent and a maximum of 60 percent of either sex. The law was introduced last year and will be put to its first test during the Spanish national elections in March. Is quota the way forward?

What do you think the PES manifesto suggest to get more women in European politics?

The illustration is a montage of a photo from the latest European Council meeting in December 2007.

Tags: diversity, EU, women

Comments

1. Les éfforts du parti socialiste espagnol (PSOE) by thanos on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 21:07

L'Espagne a fait des efforts considérables durant ces quatres dernières années en ce qui concerne l'égalité entre hommes et femmes. Je crois que le parti socialiste espagnol devrait fonctionner en tant que paradigme pour d'autres partis socialistes en Europe qui cherchent a se renouveler. Pour moi, le PSOE (partido socialista obrero espanol) reflete la modernité et l'efficacité.

2. Comment from the Secretary General of PES by editor on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 16:32

Quotas are currently debated in another online community: http://www.eurotrib.com/story/2008/1/9/93653/58471

Here's a comment from Philip Cordery, Secretary General of the PES:

"The PES is committed to 40 per cent representation of each gender, and this is clearly stated in our statutes. The Socialist Group in the European Parliament already has over 42 per cent of women MEPs – compared to the conservative group which has less than 23 per cent and the liberals who have under 34 per cent. Several of our member parties have voluntary quotas (40 or 50 per cent) such as Germany, Netherlands, Austria and Sweden. The PES will continue to work with our member parties to achieve equal representation for women and men."

  

To be able to post comments you need to be logged in. No account yet? Register here! Lost your password?