The European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life

This publication details the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life, which formally commits Europe’s local and regional governments to the principle of equality of women and men. Each Charter signatory undertakes to draw up an Equality Action Plan that sets out its priorities, actions and resources allocated to implement their commitments.

The Charter was drawn in 2006 by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), as part of an European Commission project. It reconciles different visions of equality in Europe and summarises proposals from hundreds of local and regional representatives.

Part I of the Charter introduces its six fundamental principles:

1. Equality of women and men is a fundamental right
2. To ensure the equality of women and men, multiple discriminations and disadvantages must be addressed
3. The balanced participation of women and men in decision-making is a pre-requisite of a democratic society
4. Eliminating gender stereotypes is fundamental to achieving equality of women and men
5. Integrating the gender perspective into all activities of local and regional government is necessary to advance equality of women and men
6. Properly resourced action plans and programmes are necessary tools to advance equality of women and men

Part II describes the specific steps signatories should carry out to implement the Charter’s provisions. Part III presents the Charter’s 30 articles by areas of competences. A signatory form is available on the last page of the Charter.