By Sarah Collins - 17th October 2008
The problem, unfortunately, is that women often have to do more to climb the career ladder and sometimes they do not even try or dare to do it. They still have to break through the glass ceiling
Commissioner for external relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Clearly, the male cartel is alive and well – not only in national governments but at EU level
Commission vice president Margot Wallström on the need for fewer "suits and ties" in EU family photos
EU communications chief Margot Wallström has accused the world’s political leaders – “most of them men” – of failing to tackle the problem of gender inequality.
In a speech to the women’s forum global meeting in Deauville, France, on Thursday, she said, "Most European governments are largely made up of men. Every family photo of the European council is predominantly a picture of suits and ties.
"Clearly, the male cartel is alive and well – not only in national governments but at EU level."
For the Swedish commissioner, the three main global challenges facing world populations – climate change, security and democracy – affect women in particular.
“Political leaders world-wide – the vast majority of them men – are failing to tackle these issues. The cost of food is soaring, threatening the lives of the world's poorest people. Access to clean fresh water is still denied to millions of people world wide,” she said.
According to Wallström, 85 per cent of people who die from climate-induced disasters are women. Seventy per cent of the people who live on less than one dollar a day are women, and 340 million women worldwide are not expected to live past 40 because of violence and poverty-related illness.
Quoting a recent UN study, she added that although the proportion of females in world parliaments has risen by seven per cent in the last decade, this is still not enough.
“Women make up half the electorate: logically, they should account for half the elected politicians and half the top-level policymakers too. But currently less than one in three MEPs is a woman.”
Wallström also reiterated her support for a European women’s lobby campaign to get a female in one of the EU’s top four jobs: commission president, high representative for foreign policy, president of parliament or the post of EU president to be created under the Lisbon treaty.
“I believe it’s high time to give women their turn,” she concluded. “I want to see 50/50 democracy in Europe.”
In a piece to be published in the next issue of the Parliament Magazine, Wallström's colleague Benita Ferrero-Waldner announces that the commission is shortly due to release a joint communication with the council on gender equality, and says she and 40 other world leaders have urged the UN to schedule a ministerial meeting on women’s issues for 2010.
The Austrian external relations chief writes, “Personally, I have always tried to ensure that women account for at least half of my cabinet, or private staff.
“The problem, unfortunately, is that women often have to do more to climb the career ladder and sometimes they do not even try or dare to do it. They still have to break through the glass ceiling.”
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