Gender Equality Week: the way forward for women’s political participation

The need for stronger support systems to make political representation more inclusive across Europe was highlighted by MEPs and experts in a public hearing on Wednesday.

In the framework of Gender Equality Week 2025, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality organised a public hearing on "Women's Leadership in Politics" with guest speakers.

The opening speech was delivered by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who highlighted that: "Europe is built by people who decide to get involved in politics and make their voices heard. But all too often, women feel excluded from the big decisions and locked out of power. That's why Europe needs more women to enter politics and run for office. Because to make our Union work for everyone, we need equality of opportunity and more female voices in leadership."

The discussion focused on the barriers that women continue to face in political life across Europe. It was noted that the current President of the European Parliament is only the third woman to hold this position since 1978. Participants stressed the need to provide adequate support services to enable women to combine a political career with family life, to close the gender gap, and to promote a fair balance between care and work for everyone, for example by introducing proxy voting for MEPs on maternity leave.

You can rewatch the debate here.

• Polona TEDESKO

  Press Officer (SI)

  Coordonnées:

  • Numéro de téléphone: (+32) 2 28 40731 (BXL)
  • Numéro de téléphone portable: (+32) 495 535 457
  • E-mail: [email protected]
  • E-mail: [email protected]
  • Compte X: @EP_GenderEqual