[PIO] The President of the House of Representatives participated in the Meeting of Women Presidents of the Parliaments of the Member States of the

The President of the House of Representatives, Mrs Anita Demetriou, participated yesterday in the Meeting of Women Presidents of the Parliaments of the Member States of the European Union (EU), which took place in the framework of the Conference of Presidents of the Parliaments of the Member States of the European Union in Palma de Mallorca.

In her intervention in a round table discussion on the issue of women's leadership, the President of the Parliament stressed the need for solidarity and the need to raise the awareness of civil society on the issues of equal participation of women in decision-making centres, especially in these difficult political times. This is the only way to protect democracies and democratic societies, she stressed.

Noting that women's empowerment, gender mainstreaming in legislation and balanced gender representation in decision-making structures and leadership should be priorities for all parliaments, the President of the Parliament stressed that providing equal opportunities between men and women shields and strengthens democracy, as the inclusion of all views and concerns guarantees democratic legitimacy and representativeness. We need, he said, implementation of the relevant laws and adoption where they do not exist.

Referring to the reasons for not achieving equal representation of women in decision-making centres and leadership positions, the President of the Parliament stressed that entrenched stereotypes and social prejudices must be broken down if we wish to achieve substantive equality in the field of gender equality and noted the negative role of social media in spreading false news and developing hate speech against women.

In their interventions, the Women Presidents underlined their commitment to support efforts to mainstream gender issues at all levels and concluded their meeting with the adoption of Conclusions highlighting the role of parliaments in the areas of women's empowerment and gender equality and the adoption of legislation on equal participation of women in decision-making. The text of the conclusions also condemns all forms of hate speech and violence and stresses the importance of adopting quotas in terms of parliamentary representation.

(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)

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