Print
See related documents
Recommendation 1413 (1999) Final version
Equal representation in political life
1. The Assembly affirms that the realisation
of equal opportunities for women and men is a necessary condition
for the functioning of a democratic society.
2. Examination of the present political landscape in the different
Council of Europe member states reveals that women are very much
under-represented in the political institutions: parliaments, governments,
local and regional authorities. Such under-representation is all
the more serious given that women pay particular attention to the
specific needs of the community.
3. Many factors work against the better representation of women
in public life. Cultural practices that perpetuate stereotypes and
prejudices, biased political and civic education, and the traditional
responsibilities of the private sphere constitute so many obstacles
to the entry of more women into political life.
4. In certain member states it has turned out that a level of
30% of women in political bodies constitutes a "critical mass".
Beyond this threshold clear qualitative progress can be seen and
women can free themselves of the male model of exercising power,
to bring their own vision.
5. However, there is nothing inherent in the "first past the
post" system of elections to parliaments that prevents women from
gaining 30% or more of the constituency seats, and the use of a
list system must not be allowed to be an excuse for failure to elect
women to "first past the post" seats. To avoid this, targets should be
set and it is necessary to examine how women have succeeded in being
elected in systems that were either wholly or largely "first past
the post".
6. The Council of Europe has been working for some years for
greater equality of women and men in political life.
7. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted on 18 December
1979 and entered into force on 3 September 1981, provides for the
elimination of discrimination based on sex through ensuring for
women the right to vote and the right of eligibility and the right
to participate in the formulation and implementation of government
policy.
8. The Parliamentary Assembly, in Recommendation 1008 (1985)
on women in politics, recommended that the Committee of Ministers
invite the governments of the member states to promote equality
for women through a national institution endowed with the necessary
powers and resources to facilitate women’s participation in political
life on an equal footing with men.
9. The Platform for Action of the Beijing United Nations Conference
(4-15 September 1995) recommended governments to take all necessary
measures to ensure equality of access for women and full participation
in power structures and decision making.
10. The European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women
and Men as a Fundamental Criterion of Democracy (Istanbul, 13 and
14 November 1997) recalled that it is incumbent upon governments
and political parties to take action to promote the role of women
in politics.
11. The Parliamentary Assembly nevertheless notes that despite
all this, little progress has been made in the member states of
the Council of Europe.
12. The Assembly therefore invites its national delegations to
urge their parliaments to introduce specific measures to correct
the under-representation of women in political life, and in particular:
i. to set up parliamentary committees or delegations for women’s rights and equal opportunities;
ii. to institute equal representation in political parties and to make their funding conditional upon the achievement of this objective;
iii. to adopt dispositions aiming to reconcile family and public life;
iv. to introduce legislation to create a system of equality education, beginning in elementary schooling, so as to ensure the same chances of access to all levels of training.
13. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. prepare a recommendation to the member states on equal representation in political and public life by means of specific instruments;
ii. institute a European ombudsman for the re-balancing of representation in order to promote the consolidation of "empowerment" and "mainstreaming", as defined in the Beijing Platform for Action, and their follow-up, and for co-ordinating all national equality organisations in the various member states;
iii. instruct the relevant steering committees to introduce an education programme in the field of equality
14. Furthermore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of
Ministers invite member states:
i. to implement the principle of equality and adopt special measures such as provided for by the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
ii. to implement the Platform for Action of the Beijing Conference;
iii. to set up a public structure to be responsible for equal opportunities, and a statistical system for monitoring the progress of equality policies in member states;
iv. to promote information campaigns aimed at changing attitudes regarding the importance for true democracy of women’s participation in political life, and at the same time, to promote the sharing of responsibilities between both partners within the home.