The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) organised a conference on "Women in Leadership: Empowering Women in a Changing World" on 5 March 2025, to celebrate International Women's Day and to support its 'More women in politics' initiative.
While participants argued that increasing women’s participation in politics and business would boost Europe’s competitiveness, cohesion and democracy, the conference heard that indicators such as the Gender Equality Index 2024 of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) show women are still deeply underrepresented at many levels of political and business life.
Sari Rautio, President of the EPP Group in the CoR and member of the Hämeenlinna City Council highlighted that "Gender equality is not luxury! If we, the EU, want to be trustworthy we have to act. I am fed up with people talking about family values and then, the same people telling me that I, as a woman, I have to stay home. Gender equality brings happiness, competitiveness and a better quality of life for all of us. It is about both women and men."
Other speakers, including local and regional political leaders from EU cities and regions, called on all levels of government – European, national, regional and local – to accelerate efforts to close the gender gap in politics and increase the number of women in politics. Despite progress on gender equality, women are still significantly underrepresented in politics. In the EU, only about a third of political leaders are women. Leaders presented their experiences related to the challenges and opportunities faced by women in leadership positions.
Tanya Hristova, Mayor of Gabrovo, 1st Vice-President of the CoR's Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) said: "In recent years, the EU has implemented binding measures to reinforce equal pay, gender balance in company boards, work-life balance and combating violence against women, in line with the EU Gender Equality Strategy. Empowering women and consolidating their rights is key. Maintaining political will in this new term is essential to continuing the fight for gender equality, especially as women's rights are increasingly being challenged."
The conference highlighted the need to empower the next generation by focusing on the specific obstacles that young women face when trying to take up leadership positions in different sectors, including politics, business and civil society. While general youth-empowerment initiatives aim to provide opportunities for all young people, young women often face additional and specifically gender-related challenges.
Breaking the glass ceiling remains very difficult: although open discrimination is becoming rarer, there are often invisible barriers that prevent women from being promoted to top management positions, despite having the right skills and qualifications.
Europe's regions and cities, as the closest link to citizens, can offer invaluable experience when it comes to promoting gender equality. The conference aimed to promote a fresh perspective on women's empowerment and social progress, also in light of a pending action plan to be presented by the European Commission that will feed into the EU Strategy for Gender Equality post-2025.