—

having regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which lay down the principle of gender equality as a core value of the Union,

—

having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 8 and 19 thereof,

—

having regard to Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which contains specific provisions on the horizontal principle of gender equality, and Article 6 TEU, which recognises that the Charter has the same legal value as the Treaties,

—

having regard to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) of 11 May 2011,

—

having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2016 on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women (1),

—

having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, to the subsequent outcome documents adopted at the United Nations Beijing + 5 (2000), Beijing + 10 (2005) and Beijing + 15 (2010) special sessions and the outcome document of the Beijing + 20 review conference,

—

having regard to its resolutions of 10 February 2010 on equality between women and men in the European Union — 2009 (2), of 8 March 2011 on equality between women and men in the European Union — 2010 (3), of 13 March 2012 on equality between women and men in the European Union — 2011 (4), of 10 March 2015 on progress on equality between women and men in the European Union in 2013 (5), and of 14 March 2017 on equality between women and men in the European Union in 2014-2015 (6),

—

having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2003 on gender mainstreaming in the European Parliament (7),

—

having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2007 on gender mainstreaming in the work of the committees (8),

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having regard to its resolution of 22 April 2009 on gender mainstreaming in the work of its committees and delegations (9),

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having regard to its resolution of 7 May 2009 on gender mainstreaming in EU external relations and peace-building/nation-building (10),

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having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2012 on women in political decision-making (11),

—

having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2015 on the EU Strategy for equality between women and men post-2015 (12),

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having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2016 on the new Strategy for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Europe post-2015 (13),

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having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2016 on Gender Mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament (14),

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having regard to its resolution of 26 October 2017 on combating sexual harassment and abuse in the EU (15),

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having regard to its resolution of 11 September 2018 on measures to prevent and combat mobbing and sexual harassment at the workplace, in public spaces, and in political life in the EU (16),

—

having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (17), and in particular Articles 1(c) and (d) thereof,

—

having regard to the Women in the European Parliament brochure of 2018,

—

having regard to the European Parliament Human Resources Annual Report 2017, published in August 2018,

—

having regard to the guidelines on gender-neutral language in the European Parliament,

—

having regard to the report of Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-President of the European Parliament and Chair of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity, to the Bureau of the European Parliament entitled ‘Gender Equality in the European Parliament Secretariat — state of play and the way forward 2017-2019’, adopted at the Bureau meeting of 16 January 2017,

—

having regard to the 2017-2019 roadmap for the implementation of the report entitled ‘Gender Equality in the European Parliament Secretariat — state of play and the way forward 2017-2019’,

—

having regard to the Action plan for the promotion of gender equality and diversity in the European Parliament Secretariat for the period 2014-2019,

—

having regard to the mandate of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity,

—

having regard to its guidelines on equality for members/recruiters of selection panels,

—

having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 19 July 2017 entitled ‘A better workplace for all: from equal opportunities towards diversity and inclusion’ (C(2017)5300) (18) and its Diversity and Inclusion Charter (19),

—

having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 3 December 2015 entitled ‘Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019’ (SWD(2015)0278) (20),

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023 (21),

—

having regard to the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 19 November 2013 on gender mainstreaming, annexed to the European Parliament's legislative resolution on the draft Council regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014–2020 attached to the multiannual financial framework (MFF) (22),

—

having regard to the Inter-Parliamentary Union report of 2011 entitled ‘Gender-sensitive Parliaments: A Global Review for Good Practice’ published in 2011,

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having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0429/2018),

A.

whereas the principle of gender equality is a core value of the EU and is enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas Article 8 TFEU states that the European Union shall, through all its activities, aim at eliminating inequalities, promote gender equality and combat discrimination when defining and implementing its policies and activities;

B.

whereas gender equality, in general, is central to the protection of human rights, the functioning of democracy, respect for the rule of law, economic growth, social inclusion and sustainability and the integration of a gender dimension is relevant to all policy areas of EU competence;

C.

whereas the right to equality and the guarantee of non-discrimination are bedrock principles underpinning gender mainstreaming; whereas gender mainstreaming means addressing the rights, perspectives and well-being of women, girls, LGBTIQ people and people of all gender identities;

D.

whereas progress in achieving gender equality in the EU is not only stagnating across the whole of the Union, but is also suffering significant setbacks in some Member States;

E.

whereas the Istanbul Convention stresses the importance of changing mentalities and attitudes in order to break out of the continuum of all forms of gender-based violence; whereas education at all levels and for persons of all ages on equality between women and men, on non-stereotype gender roles and on respect for personal integrity, is therefore required in this regard;

F.

whereas insufficient funds and human resources are being allocated to ensure real progress in gender mainstreaming of the EU’s policies, programmes, initiatives and actions;

G.

whereas the population of the European Union consists half of women and half of men, but the composition of the European Parliament reflects a severe female under-representation as only 36,1 % of MEPs are female; whereas this gap is further emphasised by the composition of Parliament’s Bureau, which is made up of 7 women and 13 men; whereas gender-balanced representation and diversity in Parliament’s bodies contribute to breaking down stereotypes, reduce discrimination and increase the level of democratic representation of EU citizens and the legitimacy of Parliament’s decisions;

H.

whereas of Parliament’s senior management appointments (Directors-General and Directors), only 11 % were women in 2016 and 33 % were women in 2017;

I.

whereas Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 aspires to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ by 2030 and is a cross-cutting objective of all 17 SDGs; whereas gender mainstreaming is a tool for effective, long-lasting and sustainable equitable development with a positive impact in terms of meeting poverty reduction goals; whereas, however, there is only very slow progress on gender equality and minimal change in many countries worldwide (23), including in Europe; whereas implementation of SDG 5 has had mixed results within and across the EU Member States and whereas the proportion of women in national parliaments and in decision-making positions is still far from equal to that of men (24);

J.

whereas gender impact assessments are necessary to evaluate and identify the likelihood of any given decision having negative consequences for the state of gender equality; whereas it is consequently essential to analyse budgets from a gender perspective in order to provide information on the different effects any budget allocation and distribution may have on gender equality and to increase transparency and accountability;

K.

whereas gender mainstreaming is considered to be an effective and globally accepted strategy aimed at achieving gender equality and combating discrimination by reorganising, improving, developing and evaluating policy processes so that the gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies, regulatory measures and spending programmes, and at all levels and stages by the actors involved in policy making; whereas gender mainstreaming provides key tools for the systematic consideration of the differences between the conditions, situations and needs of all in policies and actions, and the advancement of gender equality and promotion of equal rights and a gender-balanced representation at different administrative, political, social and economic levels and in decision-making;

L.

whereas greater interinstitutional cooperation on gender mainstreaming between Parliament, the Council and the Commission is needed in order to ensure that gender perspectives can be introduced in all phases of the Union’s budget, policies, programmes and initiatives, which would facilitate Parliament’s own gender mainstreaming work;

M.

whereas the gender mainstreaming amendments adopted by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and tabled for adoption in other committees are an effective tool for ensuring that gender equality is given due consideration in Parliament’s reports and resolutions;

N.

whereas gender budgeting in the form of planning and programming contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfilment of women’s rights and is one of the key tools used by policy makers to promote gender equality, but nevertheless is still not systematically applied by any of the EU institutions;

O.

whereas according to the latest available data (25),women constitute 59 % of Parliament staff but are still under-represented in all ranks of management; whereas the number of women in senior management has even decreased since June 2017 and the number of women in middle management roles has increased only slightly;

P.

whereas the 2017 report on gender equality by Parliament Vice-President Dimitrios Papadimoulis established three targets for women’s representation in middle and senior management, to be achieved by 2019: 30 % at Director-General level, 35 % at Director level and 40 % at Head of Unit level, and whereas the subsequent roadmap outlines how to achieve these targets;

Q.

whereas in order to promote gender mainstreaming in the work of Parliament’s committees and delegations, a Member responsible for gender mainstreaming is appointed in each committee and in the Conference of Delegation Chairs, who shares experiences and best practice in the Gender Mainstreaming Network;

R.

whereas ensuring coherence between their internal human resources policies and their external actions in the field of promotion of gender equality and LGBTIQ rights is essential to the credibility of Parliament and the other EU institutions;

S.

whereas, since 2014, Parliament’s Rules of Procedure have stipulated that the diversity of Parliament must be reflected in the composition of the bureau of each parliamentary committee and that it shall not be permissible to have an all-male or all-female bureau;

T.

whereas senior management posts in Parliament are attributed solely by the Bureau of the European Parliament;

U.

whereas gender mainstreaming of the European Parliament must pay due attention to the rights, perspectives and well-being of LGBTIQ people and people of all gender identities; whereas although Parliament attaches increased importance to LGBTIQ issues, LGBTIQ activists have relatively low visibility and a weak voice;

V.

whereas there is a need to recognise the social and political value of women’s organisations and women’s spaces, of their history and their work, and of their key role in preventing gender-based violence and promoting gender equality, women’s self-determination and intercultural dialogue; whereas there is no conscious gender mainstreaming without places able to produce women’s self-determination and authority and to fight against violence against women;

W.

whereas the legitimacy of women in the political sphere is still sometimes challenged, and whereas women are victims of stereotypes which discourage them from engaging in politics, a phenomenon that is particularly conspicuous wherever women in politics are less represented;

X.

whereas women in the EU have the same political and civil rights as men, but nevertheless frequently face social, societal or economic inequalities;

Y.

whereas gender equality contributes to more comprehensive debate and better decision-making as it can bring to the table all-inclusive points of view;

Z.

whereas institutions must be responsible for avoiding vertical and horizontal gender segregation;

AA.

whereas Parliament has long years of commitment to promoting gender equality and whereas the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality has the responsibility to implement and further develop gender mainstreaming in all policy sectors;

AB.

whereas Parliament must continue to combat sexual harassment and implement agreed measures;

AC.

whereas Parliament has a number of different bodies in charge of developing and implementing gender mainstreaming and promoting gender equality and diversity both at the political and administrative levels such as the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, the Gender Mainstreaming Network, the Equality and Diversity Unit, the Committee on Equal Opportunities and Diversity (COPEC), égalité, the association of LGBTI+ staff of the EU institutions, the Advisory Committee for prevention and protection at work and the Group of Equality and Diversity Coordinators; whereas, however, there is no clear coordination or coherence between these bodies;

AD.

whereas gender mainstreaming is a process that requires specific skills and knowledge, as well as commitment, and as such it is effective only if accompanied by awareness raising and capacity building activities in the institutions and among staff;

AE.

whereas Parliament already committed itself in 2003 to adopting and implementing a policy plan for gender mainstreaming with the priority of integrating the gender perspective in the work of the committees and delegations, with concrete tools for the promotion, increased awareness and implementation of the gender mainstreaming principle in their daily work;

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