Presiding Officer chairs pan-European conference on gender equality in democracy

Published 23/06/2015   |   Last Updated 27/07/2015

​The National Assembly for Wales' Presiding Officer, Dame Rosemary Butler AM, will welcome parliamentarians from across Europe to the Senedd on 26 June.

They are all members of CALRE - the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies - the umbrella body representing the chairs of the legislative federal state parliaments of Europe.

The conference will include delegates from the Åland Islands, Galicia, Lombardy,the Flemish and Walloon parliaments and the Wallonie-Bruxelles Federation from Belgium.

Dame Rosemary will chair the working group titled: 'GENDER EQUALITY: Enhancing the Participation of Women in Democracy'.

Since becoming Presiding Officer of the Assembly in 2011, she has made it one of her key priorities to highlight this important issue.

Wales became the first country in the world to gain gender parity within its national legislature in 2003, and in 2006 Wales became the world's first country to achieve more women than men in parliament.

"I believe that the National Assembly for Wales has a good story to tell when it comes to the representation of women in democracy," the Presiding Officer said.

"But there is still a great deal of work to be done to increase the number of women entering public life and, in particular, frontline politics.

"Sessions like the one we are hosting at the Senedd provide an important opportunity for parliamentarians from across Europe to share ideas about how to tackle an issue that faces most countries in the world."

During the conference Dame Rosemary will chair a session focusing on her #POWiPL - Women in Public Life campaign.

This campaign has looked at ways to increase the participation of Women in Public Life.

Both the campaign and this conference will form a major part of her legacy when the Presiding Officer leaves her position next year.

The conference will also feature presentations from delegates from the parliaments of the Åland Islands and Galicia, which will highlight the work these parliaments have carried out on gender equality.

The outcome and conclusions brought out by this conference will be recorded in CALRE's activity report for 2015.

This conference, and Wales' participation in it, highlights the benefit of positive parliamentary networks across Europe – sharing success and innovation.