Gender balance in decision-making positions
Across the EU, women are still largely outnumbered by men in positions of responsibility in all fields. The reasons for the under-representation of women in power and decision-making are multifaceted and complex.
Particularly at the highest levels, women are still largely outnumbered by men in positions of responsibility in politics and business, as well as in other fields. In national parliaments, less than one in four members is a woman (with major differences across the EU). In the European Parliament, three in ten members are women (2009-2014).
The situation is worst in business with, on average, one out of ten women members of boards in Europe's largest publicly quoted companies and only 3% of board chairpersons.
EU action
Although ensuring gender balance in decision making positions is mainly the responsibility of individual EU countries, the European Commission has long recognised the need to promote gender balance in decision-making processes and positions and the European Commission is encouraging the process by various means.
The Women's Charter
adopted by the European Commission in March 2010 and the EU Strategy for Equality between Women (2010-2015) reaffirmed the European Commission's commitment to working to increase the percentage of women in positions of responsibility.
The Gender Balance in Business Leadership
The Commission Staff Working Document "The Gender Balance in Business Leadership" addresses the under-representation of women in management positions in companies.
On 1 March 2011, Vice-President Reding encouraged publicly listed companies to sign the "Women on the Board Pledge for Europe" and to develop self-regulatory initiatives to get more women into top jobs, with a view of reaching the target of 30% of women on boardrooms of listed companies by 2015 and 40% by 2020.
On 5 March 2012, Vice President Reding presented a Progress report on women in economic decision-making in the EU 
[385 KB] . In parallel, the Commission launched a public consultation that will contribute to assessing the impact of possible EU measures, including legislative ones, to redress the situation.
The database on women and men in decision-making
The European Commission is taking stock and monitoring the progress achieved, in particular by collecting and disseminating comparable data at EU level through its database on women and men in decision-making and regular reporting.
Network to promote Women in Decision-making in Politics and the Economy
The European Commission's Network to promote Women in Decision-making in Politics and the Economy provides a platform at EU level for discussion of successful strategies and best practice to improve gender balance in decision-making positions. During its meetings, the Network discussed:
- the importance of mentoring, networking and role models for women's career advancement;
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quotas as an instrument [299 KB] to gender balance in politics and corporate boardrooms;
- the gender pay gap in management.
The network is composed of chairs of European network interested in the promotion of gender equality in decision-making position.
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List of members of the European network of women in decision-making in politics and the economy [9 KB]
Please find here all the documents related to the gender balance in decision-making.