Gender equality in the functioning of the Assembly

Progress report | Doc. 15685 Add. 1 | 18 January 2023

Committee

Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur :

Mr George KATROUGALOS, Greece, UEL

Origin

The figures provided represent the situation on 6 December 2022. 2023 - First part-session

1. Since 2012, following a Bureau decision, statistics on the gender breakdown of Assembly positions are prepared every year and included in the Progress report on the activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee presented during the January part-session. They provide a picture of the situation as of December of any given year. The publication of this information aims at enhancing transparency and raising awareness.

2. In September 2021, the Assembly adopted Resolution 2394 (2021) on gender representation in the Parliamentary Assembly, which aimed to introduce more balanced representation of women and men in all its structures. Its provisions will apply as from the opening of the January 2023 part-session. They require delegations to include at least the same percentage of women as their national parliament, or, if this is more favourable to the representation of women, to respect the minimum “one in three” principle for the representation of women in national delegations and to include a minimum number of women as full members.

3. In order to encourage the effective role of women in the decision-making process and in parliamentary work, the resolution introduces another important new feature which states that delegations will only be authorised to propose vice-presidents of the Assembly who are men if the delegation is composed of at least 40% women. Rapporteurs in committees and ad hoc committees will henceforth comprise at least one-third of women, and the Bureau will ensure the principle is applied for institutional representation. Political groups are also invited to follow the same principle, in particular when appointing committee bureaux, members of ad hoc committees, spokespersons, group leadership and ad hoc election observation committees, and are required to do the same when appointing members to the Monitoring Committee, the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs and the Committee for the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights.

4. Therefore, all national delegations appointed as of 2023 must reflect the minimum “one in three” principle for gender balance set out in this text, and, as regards encouraging women’s effective participation in decision-making roles and in parliamentary work in the Assembly, it will be interesting to examine the results of the implementation of Resolution 2394 (2021) over 2023. The text also includes a formal undertaking by the Assembly to require a minimum of 40% of women in all delegations as from the opening of the 2026 session.

5. In 2022, the total number of women members of the Assembly represented 40%, an increase compared to 37% in 2021. According to data collected by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, [(1) https://data.ipu.org/women-averages.] the total share of women members of parliament in the national parliaments of Council of Europe member States dropped slightly during the last year, from 31.1% in January to 30.9% in November 2022 (against 30.5% and 31.2% in January and November 2021). The provisions laid down in Rule 6.2 a. of the Assembly’s Rules of procedure, namely that “national delegations should include members of the under-represented sex at least in the same percentage as in their national parliaments” and the adoption of Resolution 2394 (2021) which introduced amendments to Rules 6.2 a. and 6.2 b. seem therefore to have had a positive effect on nominations to the Assembly, since in many cases the national delegations to the Assembly have a higher representation rate of women than national parliaments.

6. In 2022, the Assembly’s presidency was held by Mr Tiny Kox. Three of the last ten Assembly presidents have been women (Anne Brasseur, Stella Kyriakides and Liliane Maury Pasquier). The percentage of women as Vice-Presidents of the Assembly rose significantly in 2022, from 32% to 42%, one point above the previous highest level of 41% in 2019. The low number of women Bureau members also rose, from 26% in 2021 to 35% in 2022 (lower than the 42% achieved in 2019). The number of women chairpersons of committees rose from 2 out of 9 in 2021 to 3 in 2022. One woman was a member of the Presidential Committee in 2022 alongside 6 men, after two years without any women members in 2020 and 2021. One of the objectives of Resolution 2394 (2021) is to encourage the appointment of women in the more prominent echelons of the Assembly, where levels have decreased in recent years (see paragraph 3 above).

7. As regards the composition of committees, an overall 41% of full members in 2022 were women, up four percentage points from 37% in 2021; likewise, women alternates counted for 42% in 2022, up from 38% in 2021. The rise in the percentage of women full members was observed in all committees except the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy (stable at 35%) and the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs (a decrease from 36% to 29%). The proportion of women full members of the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights rose to 32%, just above its 2020 level of 30%, after having dropped to 19% in 2021.

8. The consistent drop observed in the representation of women as rapporteurs for the reports debated in plenary in the previous three years was reversed in 2022, returning to the 2019 level of 36%. The number of women rapporteurs was spread more evenly among committees, and those from which women were absent as rapporteurs in 2021 (Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and Monitoring Committee) now register women rapporteurs. The representation of women as rapporteurs for the opinions debated in plenary dropped from 82% in 2021 to 60% in 2022 (the representation of rapporteurs for opinion is very unbalanced, moving from 100% women to 0% from one year to the other and the other way around – statistics lose significance because of the small and variable number of opinions prepared each year).

OVERVIEW ASSEMBLY
Position	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
President	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Presidents	11		8		19		68%			58%			32%				42%
Presidential Committee	6		1		7		100%			86%			0%				14%
Assembly Bureau	24		13		37		74%			65%			26%				35%
COMMITTEES	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy [(2) Figures for the bureau of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy reflect the situation on 24 November 2022. Following changes to the composition of the Lithuanian delegation, the position of 2nd Vice-Chairperson became vacant on 25 November 2022.]
Full Members	52		28		80		65%			65%			35%				35%
Alternates	57		19		76		80%			75%			20%				25%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	1		2		3		100%			33%			0%				67%
Rapporteurs for report	8		4		12		100%			67%			0%				33%
Rapporteurs for opinion	1		1		2		0%			50%			100%				50%
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Full Members	50		31		81		65%			62%			35%				38%
Alternates	47		29		76		67%			62%			33%				38%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	2		1		3		100%			67%			0%				33%
Rapporteurs for report	10		3		13		75%			77%			25%				33%
Rapporteurs for opinion	2		0		2		100%			100%			0%				0%
Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights
Full Members	13		6		19		81%			68%			19%				32%
Alternates	12		8		20		73%			60%			27%				40%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	2		1		3		50%			67%			50%				33%
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Full Members	42		37		79		57%			53%			43%				47%
Alternates	34		42		76		58%			45%			42%				55%
Chairperson	0		1		1		100%			0%			0%				100%
Vice-Chairpersons	1		2		3		67%			33%			33%				67%
Rapporteurs for report	4		6		10		33%			40%			67%				60%
Rapporteurs for opinion	0		2		2		0%			0%			100%				100%
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Full Members	49		28		77		70%			63%			30%				37%
Alternates	45		31		76		60%			59%			40%				41%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	3		0		3		67%			100%			33%				0%
Rapporteurs for report	3		3		6		89%			50%			11%				50%
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
Full Members	48		27		75		70%			64%			30%				36%
Alternates	38		36		74		53%			51%			47%				49%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	1		2		3		33%			33%			67%				67%
Rapporteurs for report	4		1		5		80%			80%			20%				20%
Rapporteurs for opinion	1		0		1		-			100%			-				0%
COMMITTEES	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination [(3) Figures for the bureau of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination reflect the situation on 24 November 2022. Following changes to the composition of the Swedish delegation, the positions of Chairperson and 2nd Vice-Chairperson became vacant on 25 November 2022.]
Full Members	27		50		77		39%			35%			61%				65%
Alternates	40		35		75		48%			51%			52%				49%
Chairperson	0		1		1		0%			0%			100%				100%
Vice-Chairpersons	2		1		3		0%			67%			100%				33%
Rapporteurs for report	4		5		9		44%			44%			56%				56%
Rapporteurs for opinion	0		2		2		25%			0%			75%				100%
Committee on Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States (Monitoring Committee)
Members	52		27		79		75%			68%			25%				32%
Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons	3		0		3		33%			100%			67%				0%
Rapporteurs for report	11		3		14		100%			79%			0%				21%
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
Members	17		7		24		64%			71%			36%				29%
Chairperson	0		1		1		0%			0%			100%				100%
Vice-Chairpersons	1		2		3		100%			33%			0%				67%
Rapporteurs for report	0		0		0		67%			-			33%				-
Rapporteurs for opinion	0		1		1		0%			0%			100%				100%
OVERVIEW COMMITTEES [(4) Figures for rapporteurs for report and for opinion relate to the reports debated by the Assembly and the Standing Committee in 2022.]
Position	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
Full Members / Members	350		241		591		63%			59%			37%				41%
Alternates	273		200		473		62%			58%			38%				42%
Committee Chairpersons	6		3		9		78%			67%			22%				33%
Committee Vice‑Chairpersons	16		11		27		62%			59%			38%				41%
Rapporteurs for report	44		25		69		71%			64%			29%				36%
Rapporteurs for opinion	4		6		10		18%			40%			82%				60%
GENERAL RAPPORTEURS						2021						2022
						Men			Women			Men				Women
General Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders						0			1			0				1
General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty						1			0			1				0
General Rapporteur on local and regional authorities						0			1			1				0
General Rapporteur on science and technology assessment						1			0			1				0
General Rapporteur on media freedom and safety of journalists						1			0			1				0
General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance						1			0			0				1
General Rapporteur on violence against women						0			1			0				1
General Rapporteur on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people						1			0			1				0
General Rapporteur on the budget and intergovernmental programme						1			0			-				-
Total						6			3			5				3
Percentage						67%			33%			62%				38%
GENDER BREAKDOWN, BUREAUX OF SUB-COMMITTEES
Committees	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	3		0		3		50%			100%			50%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		0		1		0%			100%			100%				0%
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	1		2		3		100%			33%			0%				67%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		1		2		50%			50%			50%				50%
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	1		2		3		25%			33%			75%				67%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	2		2		4		33%			50%			67%				50%
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	2		1		3		50%			67%			50%				33%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		1		2		100%			50%			0%				50%
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	1		1		2		67%			50%			33%				50%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		1		2		0%			50%			100%				50%
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	1		2		3		50%			33%			50%				67%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		0		1		0%			100%			100%				0%
GENDER BREAKDOWN, BUREAUX OF SUB-COMMITTEES
Committees	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
Committee on Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States (Monitoring Committee)
Sub-Committee Chairperson	1		0		1		100%			100%			0%				0%
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	1		0		1		-			100%			-				0%
Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
Sub-Committee Chairperson	0		0		0		-			-			-				-
Vice-Chairpersons of Sub-Committees	0		0		0		-			-			-				-
OVERVIEW – SUB-COMMITTEES
Position	Men		Women		Total		Percentage of men						Percentage of women
							2021			2022			2021				2022
Sub-Committee Chairpersons	10		8		18		59%			56%			41%				44%
Sub-Committee Vice-Chairpersons	8		5		13		30%			62%			70%				38%
GENDER BREAKDOWN – NATIONAL DELEGATIONS
National Delegations (Representatives and Substitutes)		Total		Men				Women			Percentage of men				Percentage of women
Albania		8		3				5			38%				62%
Andorra		4		2				2			50%				50%
Armenia		8		6				2			75%				25%
Austria		12		7				5			58%				42%
Azerbaijan		12		8				4			67%				33%
Belgium		14		8				6			57%				43%
Bosnia and Herzegovina		10		4				6			40%				60%
Bulgaria		12		8				4			67%				33%
Croatia		10		5				5			50%				50%
Cyprus		4		3				1			75%				25%
Czech Republic		14		10				4			71%				29%
Denmark		10		8				2			80%				20%
Estonia		6		4				2			67%				33%
Finland		10		3				7			30%				70%
France		36		21				15			58%				42%
Georgia		9		7				2			78%				22%
Germany		36		21				15			58%				42%
Greece		14		10				4			71%				29%
Hungary		14		9				5			64%				36%
Iceland		6		3				3			50%				50%
Ireland		8		4				4			50%				50%
Italy		36		23				13			64%				36%
Latvia		6		4				2			67%				33%
Liechtenstein		4		3				1			75%				25%
Lithuania		7		5				2			71%				29%
Luxembourg		6		3				3			50%				50%
Malta		6		3				3			50%				50%
Republic of Moldova		10		5				5			50%				50%
Monaco		4		2				2			50%				50%
Montenegro		5		4				1			80%				20%
Netherlands		14		7				7			50%				50%
North Macedonia		6		3				3			50%				50%
Norway		10		4				6			40%				60%
Poland		24		17				7			71%				29%
Portugal		14		6				8			43%				57%
Romania		20		15				5			75%				25%
San Marino		4		2				2			50%				50%
Serbia		14		6				8			43%				57%
Slovak Republic		7		4				3			57%				43%
Slovenia		6		2				4			33%				67%
Spain		24		12				12			50%				50%
Sweden		12		6				6			50%				50%
Switzerland		12		8				4			67%				33%
Türkiye		36		27				9			75%				25%
Ukraine		24		11				13			46%				54%
United Kingdom		36		26				10			72%				28%
Total		604		362				242			60%				40%
GENDER BREAKDOWN – NATIONAL DELEGATIONS (REPRESENTATIVES ONLY)
National Delegations (representatives)		Total		Men				Women			Percentage of men				Percentage of women
Albania		4		1				3			25%				75%
Andorra		2		1				1			50%				50%
Armenia		4		3				1			75%				25%
Austria		6		4				2			67%				33%
Azerbaijan		6		5				1			83%				17%
Belgium		7		6				1			86%				14%
Bosnia and Herzegovina		5		1				4			20%				80%
Bulgaria		6		3				3			50%				50%
Croatia		5		2				3			40%				60%
Cyprus		2		1				1			50%				50%
Czech Republic		7		4				3			57%				43%
Denmark		5		4				1			80%				20%
Estonia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Finland		5		1				4			20%				80%
France		18		11				7			61%				39%
Georgia		4		3				1			75%				25%
Germany		18		12				6			67%				33%
Greece		7		5				2			71%				29%
Hungary		7		4				3			57%				43%
Iceland		3		2				1			67%				33%
Ireland		4		3				1			75%				25%
Italy		18		10				8			56%				44%
Latvia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Liechtenstein		2		1				1			50%				50%
Lithuania		3		2				1			67%				33%
Luxembourg		3		1				2			33%				67%
Malta		3		2				1			67%				33%
Republic of Moldova		5		3				2			60%				40%
Monaco		2		1				1			50%				50%
Montenegro		3		2				1			67%				33%
Netherlands		7		3				4			43%				57%
North Macedonia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Norway		5		2				3			40%				60%
Poland		12		10				2			83%				17%
Portugal		7		3				4			43%				57%
Romania		10		8				2			80%				20%
San Marino		2		1				1			50%				50%
Serbia		7		3				4			43%				57%
Slovak Republic		4		2				2			50%				50%
Slovenia		3		0				3			0%				100%
Spain		12		6				6			50%				50%
Sweden		6		3				3			50%				50%
Switzerland		6		3				3			50%				50%
Türkiye		18		13				5			72%				28%
Ukraine		12		4				8			33%				67%
United Kingdom		18		14				4			78%				22%
Total		302		179				123			59%				41%
GENDER BREAKDOWN – NATIONAL DELEGATIONS (SUBSTITUTES ONLY)
National Delegations (substitutes)		Total		Men				Women			Percentage of men				Percentage of women
Albania		4		2				2			50%				50%
Andorra		2		1				1			50%				50%
Armenia		4		3				1			75%				25%
Austria		6		3				3			50%				50%
Azerbaijan		6		3				3			50%				50%
Belgium		7		2				5			29%				71%
Bosnia and Herzegovina		5		3				2			60%				40%
Bulgaria		6		5				1			83%				17%
Croatia		5		3				2			60%				40%
Cyprus		2		2				0			100%				0%
Czech Republic		7		6				1			86%				14%
Denmark		5		4				1			80%				20%
Estonia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Finland		5		2				3			40%				60%
France		18		10				8			56%				44%
Georgia		5		4				1			80%				20%
Germany		18		9				9			50%				50%
Greece		7		5				2			71%				29%
Hungary		7		5				2			71%				29%
Iceland		3		1				2			33%				67%
Ireland		4		1				3			25%				75%
Italy		18		13				5			72%				28%
Latvia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Liechtenstein		2		2				0			100%				0%
Lithuania		4		3				1			75%				25%
Luxembourg		3		2				1			67%				33%
Malta		3		1				2			33%				67%
Republic of Moldova		5		2				3			40%				60%
Monaco		2		1				1			50%				50%
Montenegro		2		2				0			100%				0%
Netherlands		7		4				3			57%				43%
North Macedonia		3		1				2			33%				67%
Norway		5		2				3			40%				60%
Poland		12		7				5			58%				42%
Portugal		7		3				4			43%				57%
Romania		10		7				3			70%				30%
San Marino		2		1				1			50%				50%
Serbia		7		3				4			43%				57%
Slovak Republic		3		2				1			67%				33%
Slovenia		3		2				1			67%				33%
Spain		12		6				6			50%				50%
Sweden		6		3				3			50%				50%
Switzerland		6		5				1			83%				17%
Türkiye		18		14				4			78%				22%
Ukraine		12		7				5			58%				42%
United Kingdom		18		12				6			67%				33%
Total		302		183				119			61%				39%
OVERVIEW – NATIONAL DELEGATIONS
National Delegations		Total		Men				Women			Percentage of men				Percentage of women
											2021			2022	2021			2022
Total		604		362				242			63%			60%	37%			40%
Representatives		302		179				123			62%			59%	38%			41%
Substitutes		302		183				119			63%			61%	37%			39%