Report on Equal Representation of Men and Women
SESSION OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2001
Balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making process.
Karamanou (PSE), Rapporteur. – Mr. President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, it is a fact that the recognition of women’s human rights and their fundamental freedoms is a very recent matter.
Only in the 20th century did women gain the right to access education, sciences, arts, and paid work, and they were finally recognized as entities with political rights. The 20th century began with women’s struggle for the right to vote.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the demands of half the world’s population focus on achieving a fair distribution of all responsibilities and obligations between the two genders in all areas of economic, social, family, and political life.
The need to promote women in decision-making processes and to ensure balanced participation of women and men in democratic institutions, reflecting the gender balance envisioned by nature, is a prerequisite for achieving democracy and peace, as well as for the cohesion and competitiveness of the European Union.
In response to this need and based on the evidence-based proposals from the European network of experts established by the Commission in 1992, the Council adopted a significant recommendation to member states in December 1996 to promote balanced participation of women and men in decision-making processes. According to the data provided by the member states, we found little progress over the past three years, as well as significant disparities among member states. The best results are seen in countries with a long tradition of promoting gender equality, such as Sweden and Finland, where the percentages of women in parliament and government exceed 40%. Sweden, as is well known, has a government that includes 10 women and 10 male ministers. On the opposite end, countries like Greece and Italy have participation rates for women that are lower or around 10%.
The problem, of course, concerns not so much the lower levels of administration, but the high positions where the real decision-making powers, authority, planning, and organization for the future of the European Union reside. Bold measures are certainly required to find solutions to the problems and contradictions arising from an outdated gender contract. We need a new institutional and social framework that fully reflects the changes that have occurred to date. This framework should ensure equal opportunities that fairly and equitably distribute all responsibilities between the two genders, so that decisions reflect the desires, values, priorities, interests, and capabilities of both genders of humankind.
Today, as women fully participate in the production process and their enrollment in European universities surpasses that of men, their exclusion from centers of political power and decision-making is unjustifiable. It is also unfair for women to bear the entire burden of family obligations and domestic work alone. Collaboration and co-decision between the two genders, as well as a balance of the feminine and masculine, can lead to a more balanced and just world, according to studies and research. This balance, of course, should not be lower than 40% for either gender, a threshold that has been accepted, particularly by Scandinavian countries, and has been implemented for many years.
It is certain that a critical mass of women in decision-making centers would prioritize issues related to quality of life on the political agenda, such as environmental protection, social policy and welfare, healthcare, education, combating drug use and trafficking, and resolving conflicts peacefully. To achieve balanced participation of the genders, specific initiatives and measures need to be taken, such as revising party structures and candidate selection processes. Legislation on public funding of parties should allocate additional funds to parties that ensure gender balance in their lists, with penalties for those with low numbers of women, as recently decided by France. Governments, especially in countries where women’s participation is below 30%, should consider adjusting or reforming their electoral systems. Additionally, to make quotas effective, they should be accompanied by other measures related to parties and electoral system adjustments. Stereotypes must also be addressed through education and gender roles from a young age, and the capacity of women to participate in leadership positions should be fostered. Social support infrastructures for the elderly need to be strengthened, and finally, member states should include amendments to the Treaty in the next intergovernmental conference to establish a strong legal basis ensuring balanced participation of both genders in the institutions of the European Union. This would ensure that the natural gender balance is reflected in centers of power, so that decisions about the future of Europe are not made without the voices of women.