Women and men in decision-making: highlights

Selected developments in terms of the gender balance include:

• The new college of Commissioners, which was approved by the European Parliament on 9 February 2010, includes nine women – one third of the twenty-seven members.
• On 10 February 2010, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) elected Ms Mercedes Bresso as its first ever woman president. The current membership of the CoR is made up of 20% women and 80% men.
• A number of government reshuffles have occurred across Europe since autumn 2009 and several had a positive impact on the gender balance:
  • In Norway, a reorganisation of the government at the end of October 2009 resulted in a parity cabinet with equal numbers of men and women.
  • In the Netherlands a caretaker government is in place following the collapse of the coalition government in mid-February and the interim cabinet includes 25% women ministers – slightly more than before.
  • In Denmark, the government reshuffle at the end of February 2010 resulted in one additional female member of the cabinet so that there are now nine women amongst the nineteen members (47% compared to 42% previously)
  • The governments of Belgium, Cyprus and Austria also each have one more woman in the cabinet than before.
• On the other hand, other government changes resulted in a decline in the representation of women:
  • In Germany, the sixteen member cabinet appointed at the end of October 2009 includes six women (38%), one fewer than the previous one.
  • In Romania, the cabinet appointed towards the end of December 2009 following a spell of political turmoil includes just one woman so that the male predominance has risen from 82% to 94%.
• At regional level, elections have taken place in Denmark and Slovakia.
  • In Denmark, the gender balance amongst elected members of regional assemblies improved in three of the five regions, with the region of Hovedstaden effectively achieving parity representation (49% women, 51% men). However, nationwide the share of women members rose by just one percentage point to 35%.
  • oIn Slovakia there were mixed results across the country and the overall share of women on regional assemblies was unchanged at 15%. The best results were in the regions of Bratislavski and Trenciansky where 24% women were elected, but in both cases the share is down from that in the previous assembly (25% and 33% respectively).