Gender Equality Week: the way forward for women’s political participation – The European Sting

Report on Women’s Political Leadership and Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: European Parliament Hearing on Gender Equality

A public hearing titled “Women’s Leadership in Politics” was organized by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality during Gender Equality Week 2025. The session, addressed by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and other experts, highlighted the critical need for stronger support systems to make political representation more inclusive across Europe, directly aligning with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality

The core discussion of the hearing directly addressed the objectives of SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The proceedings emphasized the urgency of meeting Target 5.5: to ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of political decision-making.

• President Metsola stated, “Europe needs more women to enter politics and run for office. Because to make our Union work for everyone, we need equality of opportunity and more female voices in leadership.”
• The historical context, noting that the current President is only the third woman to hold this position since 1978, was presented as evidence of the slow progress toward achieving gender parity in high-level political roles.

Contribution to SDG 10 and SDG 16

The imperative for increased female political participation also supports other key Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): By addressing the systemic barriers that exclude women from power, the EU can advance Target 10.2, which calls for the political inclusion of all, irrespective of sex.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): Ensuring gender-balanced representation is fundamental to building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels, as mandated by Target 16.7.

Identified Barriers and Proposed Solutions for SDG Advancement

The hearing identified significant obstacles preventing women from entering and remaining in politics. To overcome these challenges and accelerate progress on the SDGs, participants proposed several key actions.

Barriers to Women’s Political Participation

• Systemic exclusion from high-level decision-making processes.
• Inadequate support services to enable the reconciliation of a political career with family life.
• The persistence of a significant gender gap in both professional and domestic spheres.

Recommended Actions

1. Provide adequate support services to close the gender gap and facilitate the combination of political and family responsibilities.
2. Promote policies that ensure a fair balance between care and work for all individuals, contributing to both SDG 5 and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
3. Implement institutional reforms, such as introducing proxy voting for MEPs on maternity leave, to ensure continuous and equal participation.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is the primary SDG addressed. The article focuses entirely on the underrepresentation of women in politics and the need for gender equality in leadership roles. It discusses the “barriers that women continue to face in political life,” the goal to “close the gender gap,” and the need for “more female voices in leadership.”

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article addresses the inequality of opportunity in political representation. The call to make “political representation more inclusive” and ensure women are not “excluded from the big decisions and locked out of power” directly relates to reducing inequalities in political participation based on gender.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The discussion about making political institutions like the European Parliament more representative and inclusive connects to the goal of building effective and accountable institutions. A key theme is strengthening democratic institutions by ensuring they reflect the diversity of the population they serve, as highlighted by the need for “more women to enter politics and run for office.”

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

   This target is the central focus of the article. The entire discussion revolves around “Women’s Leadership in Politics” and the statement by Roberta Metsola that “Europe needs more women to enter politics and run for office.” The article explicitly points out the lack of female leadership by noting that the current President of the European Parliament is “only the third woman to hold this position since 1978.”

2. Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family.

   The article directly connects to this target by identifying a key barrier to women’s political participation. It stresses the “need to provide adequate support services to enable women to combine a political career with family life” and to “promote a fair balance between care and work for everyone.” The specific proposal of “introducing proxy voting for MEPs on maternity leave” is a social protection policy aimed at addressing this issue.

3. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

   The article’s call for “stronger support systems to make political representation more inclusive across Europe” is a direct reflection of this target. The goal is to make the decision-making process within the European Parliament more representative of the entire population by increasing the number of women in leadership roles, thereby making the institution more inclusive and participatory.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. Proportion of seats held by women in public institutions (Implied by SDG 5.5 & 16.7).

   The article implies this indicator by highlighting the low number of women in top political positions. The statement that Roberta Metsola is “only the third woman to hold this position [President of the European Parliament] since 1978” serves as a qualitative measure of the proportion of women in high-level leadership, indicating a significant gap.

2. Existence of policies and support systems to balance work and family life (Implied by SDG 5.4).

   The article suggests this as a crucial measure of progress. It doesn’t provide data but points to the need for “adequate support services” and a “fair balance between care and work.” The proposal to introduce “proxy voting for MEPs on maternity leave” is a specific, measurable policy indicator that could be tracked to gauge progress towards supporting women in politics.

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: europeansting.com