EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Anna KARAMANOU Member of the European Parliament Chairperson of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities
EQUALITY IN EUROPEAN TOWNS	Brussels, 11.12.2003
"Engender Europe, the bottom up approach"

 

 

·         I am happy to take part in the launching session of your project on the participation of women in the local decision making process

·         When 10 years ago I participated (together with Françoise Gaspard) in the European network for women in decision-making, the main focus of our work was on the national and the European levels where the largest deficit of women was to be found. Meanwhile, the most significant progress was obtained at local level, probably because it was thought of as carrying less power in the traditional sense of the term.

·         Today, not only the largest number of elected women are in local politics but also the largest potential for innovation and "political reengineering" in Europe is lying in the management of cities. For instance, when in the women's rights committee we tackled the very crucial issue of gender budgeting, we discovered that the most significant experiences were taking place at local and regional level; as well when dealing with the participation of women in information society, it clearly comes out that "digital cities" offer the most practical and creative involvement of women into using the internet for civic participation as well as personal development.

·         So there is no doubt that there is a huge potential for cities to show the way towards a more women friendly, more equal and more humane manner to anticipate and address issues of public concern in Europe, but there is an equally huge possibility that this potential should be wasted. I see 2 dangers and consequently will suggest ways to avoid them.

·         The first danger is with elected women themselves: Political life is structured in such a way that it is generally easier (and often seen as more efficient) when you are the only (or one of the very few) woman in an assembly to go along with the mainstream (which Betty Friedan rightly called the MENstream; the stream of men). My personal receipt against this natural tendency is the WITH /FOR/BY rule for women in decision making. Let me explain:

1.      If political decision making is to be democratic, it has to be made WITH women ....was a sufficient number of women involved in making this decision

2.       If political decision making is to be just, it has to be made FOR women.... too often only men's perspectives and needs are taken into account (i.e. build a football pitch rather than a gym/dancing hall or school or sport facilities for girls, etc..

3.      If political decision making is to be efficient, it has to be made BY women...Have I used my practical and innovatory potential as a woman to take part in this decision (for me it would be to give priority to solidarity over competition, to favour peace and the preservation of live and the environment, etc.)

So my first message to ourselves, women in elected positions is: "check all public decisions against the WITH/FOR/BY rule", it will give you strength to stand against the tide of the "menstream"

·         The second danger I see that this potential is not put to good use is what I will call distance. Distance between cities, women and Europe is geographic, institutional and political

 

1.        Geographically, as we enlarge Europe, we should compensate for the increased physical distance (and cultural diversity) between places by developing innovative communication tools to exchange experiences, know more about different political cultures, cross cultural barriers and reinforce our collective potential. Women should be at the forefront of intercity innovations

 

2.        Institutionally, regions are likely to be given a slightly enhanced status in the new constitution, but cities as such are not institutionally recognised in the multilevel governance architecture of Europe. Do women who are political actresses in cities have an interest in developing participatory structures in European decision making? I would be very interested in seeing this issue addressed in your project. In the women's rights committee, we have (may be not often enough) invited local representatives to our public hearings and subsequently taken the local view into account when drawing up a resolution (ex: gender budgeting). If it is useful, should we imagine new ways to co-operate more systematically?

 

3.        Politically, this point is directly linked to the preceeding: the political distance I want to refer to is between women and Europe. I will not go into the reasons for this distance (i.e. substance of European policies) but in the ways to fill this gap which is revealed regularly by eurobarometer surveys. If the local level is where women are more likely to participate politically, then the links between the local and European levels must be strengthen as a 2 ways avenue to make women's voices heard and taken into account in the way the European Union is being built.

 

Conclusion: these are a few thoughts, suggestions for the fruitful debates you will have over the next three days. My very presence here confirms the interest we have in the women's rights committee of the European parliament to engender the local/European link in an enlarged Europe and help you to engender europe in a bottom up approach. I am looking forward to soon visit the "virtual city for equality" which should result from your project.