In the framework of our https://womenlobby.org/get-involved/ewl-campaigns-actions/50-50-campaign-for-democracy/50-50-campaign-2012-2014/, the manifestos of the main European parties are assessed, in order to find out which commit themselves to gender equality and women’s rights. We particularly looked at their accordance with the demands of [our manifesto->https://womenlobby.org/get-involved/ewl-campaigns-actions/elections-european-parliament-2014/manifesto-act-now-for-her-future/?lang=en”>50/50 Campaign, No modern European Democracy without Gender Equality for the coming European Parliament and for the European Union in general.
The European Greens stand for the idea of a social Europe with equal pay that aims at reducing inequalities which are further deepened through the effects of the crisis and austerity policies. They see gender equality as a fundamental principle of the EU, and do also see a gap between existing legislation and its implementation. This is why the Greens propose to deepen the dual approach of gender mainstreaming in all European policies and binding legislation to reaffirm the importance of this value. They want to push for a directive on violence against women and the extension of anti-discrimination directives into an equality directive. In addition to this, they address in their manifesto 18 grounds of discrimination, not only gender, sexual orientation and ethnic origin, but also disability, age or genetic features. Top candidate Ska Keller supported the EWL with a video message. The EWLwelcomes that the European Greens implement the concept of gender mainstreaming in their manifesto and their actions. They address a lot of issues of the EWL manifesto and see gender equality and women’s rights as an important priority ahead of the EU elections. In order to underline their commitment, we would like to ask for some more concrete actions. To raise further awareness on violence against women, we need an EU Year to end violence against women, as well as an intergroup inside the European Parliament on this theme. We would like to the Greens, with regards to women’s economic independence, a key element to equality between women and men, to also push for individual rights to social protection and taxation and to protect the rights of women as workers, also when pregnant. The European Greens, are the only party having nominated one man and one woman as a top candidate for the EU elections, which the EWL would have liked to see other European parties doing so, too. However, we ask the Greens to ensure gender parity in decision-making positions and non-gender biased portfolios inside the next European Parliament. How does the European Green Party’s manifesto compare to the EWL’s demands?
