Wallström backs plans to get women in top jobs by 2009

European commission vice president Margot Wallström has thrown her weight behind a new campaign to get more women into top EU jobs.

The campaign, called the ‘50/50 campaign for democracy’, will be launched by the European Women’s Lobby on 16 September, and also aims to encourage women to cast their votes in next year’s European elections.

Wallström said of the move, “A representative democracy without gender equality is a contradiction in terms.

“Women and men need to be equally represented in European politics, in order to have a say on decisions that affect their lives. It is a question of listening and attending to the needs of all persons living in Europe. It is a question of democracy.”

Spearheading support for the campaign are MEPs Catherine Stihler and Karin Riis-Jørgensen, who have - with a group of other MEPs - drawn up a list of 25 women to fill the EU's highest level positions.

Jørgensen says that figures on gender equality offer a “bleak” picture, with men making up 70 per cent of MEPs and 67 per cent of commissioners.

She says the 50/50 campaign urges voters, civil society organisations, trade unions, national political parties and EU decision-makers to act in order to achieve a more gender-balanced family picture of Europe in 2009.

Support has also come from a number of well-known personalities from across Europe, such as Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme, Slovenian president Danilo Turk, former Irish president Mary Robinson, Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk and former European parliament president Simone Veil.

Kirsti Kolthoff, president of the European Women’s Lobby, said, “The EU has the power to improve the lives of millions of people, but this requires the active involvement of all women and men with politics at European level.

“We invite people to get involved in the decision-making process, and to speak up for more gender equality, justice and democracy. We want to mobilise voters to vote for women and for parties that put equality.”

Decision-makers and political parties at national level are being urged to pay attention to the equal representation of women and men when lists for the European elections are drawn up and new commissioners proposed.

In the long term, the campaign seeks to introduce binding measures to ensure that all European and national decision-making bodies are equally composed of both sexes.

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