Where are the women?

How is the EU addressing the concerns of women voters, asks Catherine Stihler

Women’s votes matter and as we move towards the 2009 European Parliament elections more and more people are thinking about how the EU can communicate better with a group that amounts to just over half of the electorate.

Given that the majority of women voters in Ireland recently voted to reject the Lisbon Treaty, how will the EU address the issue of connecting with women voters?

Addressing the lack of women in senior positions in the EU is a starting point. Look at any summit photo of European leaders - apart for Angela Merkel, where are the women? The European leader “family photographs” taken at summits are all too often manly.

No wonder many women feel that the EU does not speak for them. Women’s names scarcely featured in discussions about the top EU positions before the Irish referendum let alone the principle that at least one of these positions should be filled by a woman.

There is now some movement on the subject thanks to campaigns mounted by women MEPs such as the women2stand and femalesinfront. There is growing acceptance that at least one of the top EU positions should be filled by a female. There should also be more female commissioners than we have at present and there should be more women MEPs after the 2009 elections.

But why did it take so long for this principle to be acknowledged? The EU has been integral in forcing many reluctant member states to put equality legislation and the rights of women higher up the political agenda. There is more work ahead to ensure success.

During the first Strasbourg session in September 2008, all women MEPs and female commissioners will be invited to meet to discuss how to take the issue forward on a cross-party basis. In September the European Women’s lobby is launching its 50-50 campaign with the slogan, “No modern European democracy without gender equality” calling for the equal inclusion of women at the highest levels of European politics.

All MEPs, male and female, are being asked to sign up to this. This call to action is important. Women’s voices deserve to be heard and politicians must reconnect with women voters.