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 In the run-up to the 2009 European Parliamentary elections and the appointment of a new Commission, EC Vice President Margot Wallström has urged that greater efforts be made to elect and appoint women to leading positions in the EU institutions.
Wallström argues: "In a Europe where 52% - a majority - of the population are women, it is a matter of democracy to ensure that women are equally represented in the bodies where the decisions are taken. There is no lack of good female candidates, but the reality and the historical experience in the EU member states is that men tend to choose men." She endorses the 50-50 campaign, which aims to draw attention to the under-representation of women in the European institutions and to persuade parties, institutions, voters and civil society to work together to achieve full gender equality in the EU institutions. Prominent supporters of the campaign include EC President José Manuel Barroso, EC Vice President Margot Wallström, former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, Slovenian President Danilo Türk, former Irish President Mary Robinson, Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and former President of the European Parliament Simone Veil. You can visit the campaign website at http://www.5050democracy.eu and sign the petition at http://www.womenlobby.org/site/form_3.asp Source: |
