During a debate on “Strengthening Women’s Rights in the EU: A Local and Regional Perspective”, members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) underlined the vital role of cities and regions in promoting gender equality and ensuring women’s rights are fully respected in all areas of life.
Sari Rautio, President of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions, highlighted that women’s rights must be at the heart of all policies and everyday life across Europe. “Women’s rights are human rights. Women’s rights belong to all sectors of politics and to everyday lives everywhere in Europe,” she said.
Rautio underlined that achieving equality is not only a matter of rights but also a key to Europe’s competitiveness and democratic vitality. “When we talk about competitiveness, we need all actors along—women and men, everywhere. I want to give an example of my hometown Hämeenlinna in Finland. At the moment, our city council has a majority of women, and the quotas have even worked in the benefit of men there. This shows that when we develop Europe as a whole, we need everybody involved. Everyone has the right to choose the direction their lives are taking.”
Jesús Ángel Garrido Martínez, Director General for Funds and Relations with the European Union of the Government of La Rioja, stressed the close link between gender equality and regional progress. “It is very clear that there is a correlation between gender equality and regional development. In fact, this can be seen in the recent report on the cities and regions of Europe, where higher levels of equality are linked to higher levels of development,” he explained.
“In La Rioja, this is an essential issue for us—not only to achieve development but also as a duty of care. Let me give you some data: 42% of millennial men recognize that they participate actively in household chores, but this drops to 17% when it comes to caring for elderly people or children with disabilities.
Garrido Martínez emphasized that promoting gender equality must begin with education and shared responsibility, as part of a cultural shift towards fairness and mutual care. “To reduce this gap, we must focus on education—educating our men to take a more active role in care and support.”