EWL CALLS ON POLITICAL LEADERS AND DECISION-MAKERS AT ALL LEVELS TO ACT FOR FULL PARITY IN ALL SPHERES OF SOCIETY
Brussels, 27 January 2026
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) today launches PARITY NOW!, a new campaign calling for the institutionalisation of fifty–fifty parity between women and men in all spheres of decisionmaking, at national, European and international levels.
Women and girls represent half of the population, yet they remain systematically underrepresented in political, economic, social and sporting decision-making bodies. Despite progress in recent decades, parity is still far from being achieved.
In the European Union in 2024, women represented only 35% of Ministers, 33% of Members of National Parliaments, 32% of members of regional and local assemblies, 35% of board members in the largest listed companies, and just 23% of members of the highest decision-making bodies in the ten most popular national Olympic sports organisations (Gender Equality Index, European Institute for Gender Equality, 2025).
The launch of PARITY NOW! comes at a pivotal moment. In October 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted General Recommendation No. 40, which calls on States parties to institutionalise equal and inclusive representation of women and men in all decision-making systems. This landmark recommendation confirms that parity is not optional, but a binding democratic requirement grounded in international human rights law.
Evidence shows that parity measures and strong political commitment deliver results. In 2024, France achieved parity in regional assemblies and local municipalities; women made up 62% of ministers in Finland; and Sweden exceeded parity in sport decision-making bodies, with 51% of board members being women. Malta has introduced a “gender corrective” mechanism in national elections to ensure a minimum threshold of representation.
However, profound gender gaps persist, particularly in private-sector leadership, science and artificial intelligence, as well as in associations, trade unions and civil society organisations. Women’s exclusion from decision-making is further exacerbated in contexts affected by war and serious threats to civilians, highlighting the continued failure to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
“Putting women’s and girls’ rights at the core of European policies is a prerequisite to achieving European goals: peace, democracy, inclusion, equality and solidarity, and to a life free from all forms of violence” Anne Negre, EWL Vice-President.
Through the PARITY NOW! campaign, the European Women’s Lobby calls on States and decision-makers to:
- Respect and fully implement international human rights obligations, in particular CEDAW General Recommendation No. 40;
- Amend constitutional and legislative frameworks to institutionalise fifty–fifty parity in all decision-making bodies;
- Allocate adequate and sustainable budgets to support parity measures across all policy areas;
- Ensure parity in political, economic, social, cultural and sporting institutions, at all levels.
As part of the campaign, EWL is addressing a formal call to action to political leaders and decision-makers at national, European and international levels, urging them to take concrete steps towards achieving parity. EWL has invited recipients to inform the organisation of the measures they are taking to achieve PARITY NOW! by the first week of March 2026. Responses, or the absence of responses, will be made public around International Women’s Day, 8 March 2026.
“We cannot wait for another 60 years to achieve true equality. Therefore 50-50 parity is a necessary step to accelerating progress” said Dina Loghin, EWL President.
For more information, please contact:
Mary Collins, EWL Secretary General: collins@womenlobby.org
Anne Negre, EWL Vice-President: anne.negre@orange.fr
Sabrina Terentjew, EWL Lead Policy & Campaigns Officer: terentjew@womenlobby.org
Gaïa Dufour, EWL Communications Officer: dufour@womenlobby.org
Download our press release here
