On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I - European Parliament
FEMM-AD-779773
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality · Rapporteur: Raquel García HermidaVan Der Walle
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The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the lead committee to include its suggestions in the discharge resolution for Parliament’s 2024 budget, focusing on gender equality in Parliament’s activities, staff, and Members.¶ It calls for public implementation of the 2025 Gender Action Plan, gender budgeting, audits, and measures to increase women’s representation and combat harassment and disinformation.¶¶¶ It also requests better gender balance in leadership, proxy voting for all new parents, parental leave for Members, and improved accessibility and working conditions.¶¶¶
Key points
- Calls for the 2025 Gender Action Plan to be made public, implemented via a roadmap, and assessed with regular reports; regrets measures lack clear targets and obligations.¶
- Urges consistent gender budgeting and a gender mainstreaming guide; welcomes the Gender Mainstreaming Network and calls for strengthened gender mainstreaming across committees.
- Requests an audit mapping gender equality in Parliament, covering all areas of the European Institute for Gender Equality’s toolkit, to inform a gender equality roadmap.¶
- Calls on the President to evaluate the drop in female Members in 2024 and fund campaigns; urges national parties to adopt gender-balanced measures like zipping or quotas until parity.¶
- Calls for stricter rules against gender hate speech and disinformation; demands zero-tolerance harassment policies, independent mechanisms, and external audits.¶
- Stresses that women Members who are racialised, young, feminist, LGBTIQ+ or from minority backgrounds face disproportionate violence and need targeted protection.¶
- Calls for better gender balance in committees, delegations, and plenary proceedings, including leadership and speaking time; encourages more men in FEMM Committee.¶
- Requests steps for a women-friendly working environment by changing androcentric practices and combating harassment.¶
- Welcomes proxy voting for female Members after childbirth; calls for extending proxy voting to all new parents and establishing equal maternity, paternity, and parental leave for Members.¶
- Calls for better work-life balance for staff and measures to implement the right to disconnect.¶
- Calls for gender-disaggregated data on staffing and management, with time-bound targets for gender balance at all management levels.¶
- Calls for improved accessibility for disabled Members, staff, and visitors, and availability of menstrual products.¶
Who is affected
- Parliament’s administration and staff, including accredited parliamentary assistants and trainees, face calls for anti-harassment measures and gender equality.¶¶¶
- Members of Parliament are urged to adopt gender-balanced measures and face calls for parental leave and proxy voting extensions.¶¶
- National parties are urged to adopt gender-balanced measures such as zipping or quotas.
- The Commission is called on to strengthen rules for gender balance in political leadership roles.
- Disabled Members, staff, and visitors, particularly women and girls, are targeted for improved accessibility.¶
Figures and deadlines
- Women hold 39 % of seats in Parliament, compared to 27 % in national parliaments worldwide.¶
- 278 women were elected in 2024, slightly less than in 2019, the first decrease since 1979.
- Women chair seven of the 24 standing committees and subcommittees; only 11 of 48 delegations are chaired by women.¶
- Since 1979 there have been 31 Presidents of Parliament, only three of whom have been women.
- Seven of Parliament’s 14 Vice-Presidents are women, representing 50 % of these senior leadership positions.