The

Council of European Municipalities and Regions The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe. Its members are 60 national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 41 countries that are part of th ...

launched in May 2006 a European charter for equality of women and men in local life. This charter is addressed to the local and regional governments of Europe, who are invited to sign it, to make a formal public commitment to the principle of equality of women and men, and to implement, within their territory, the commitments set out within the Charter.

The six fundamental principles

* Equality of women and men is a fundamental right * In order to ensure the equality of women and men, multiple discriminations based on ethnic origin,

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, religion, socio economic status... must also be addressed * The balanced participation of women and men in decision-making is necessary for a democratic society *

Gender stereotypes A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

and the attitudes and assumptions that arise from them must be eliminated * A gender perspective must be taken into account in all activities of local and regional government * Properly resourced action plans need to be drawn up and implemented.

Background to the charter

CEMR has always worked to eliminate all types of discriminations, including on men/women equality issues. Throughout 2005, CEMR, with the financial support of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, led a project on The town for equality. That project aimed mainly at collecting best practice cases of gender equality in European local governments as well as at setting up a methodology to help local representatives achieve true gender equality in their municipalities. At the end of the project, CEMR, still with the support of the European Commission, started a new project to draft a European charter for equality of women and men in local life. Its aim was to encourage local politicians to sign it, thus committing themselves publicly to implement the measures in the charter in their municipalities.

External links

The European charter for equality of women and men in local life

Observatory of the European charter for equality of women and men in local life
Politics of Europe Gender equality {{Europe-stub