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Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Gender differences in decision making at regional level in EU
Hedvig Norlén
Introduction
One of the European Union’s principle values is the equality between women and men. It goes back to
1957 when the principle of equal pay for equal work became part of the Treaty of Rome. Though
Important progress in reducing gender inequalities have been made in the last decades women are
still over-represented in lower paid sectors and under-represented in decision-making positions. The
Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019 set out the EU framework for promoting gender
equality with a focus on the following five priority areas:
1. Increasing female labour market participation and equal economic independence;
2. Reducing the gender pay, earnings and pension gaps and thus fighting poverty among
women;
3. Promoting equality between women and men in decision-making;
4. Combating gender-based violence and protecting and supporting victims;
5. Promoting gender equality and women's rights across the world.
As part of its commitment to promoting gender equality in decision-making (third priority area), the
European Commission established in 2003 a database1 monitoring the numbers of men and women in
key decision-making positions (later referred to as the WMDM database). This database provides
reliable statistics that can be used for cross-country comparisons and more broadly for monitoring
progress over time.
The WMDM database includes information on the numbers of women and men in decision-making
positions in seven domains: (I) Politics, (II) Public administration, (III) Judiciary, (IV) Business and
finance, (V) Social partners and NGOs, (VI) Environment and (VII) Media. In the politics domain the
gender balance amongst politicians at European, national and regional levels are listed.
The purpose of this note is to examine gender differences in decision making at regional level.
Data and methods
1 The database was managed and hosted by DG Justice until January 2017 when the activity was taken over by the
European Institute of Gender Equality (EIGE) . http://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs/browse/wmidm
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
The WMDM database includes information on (1) regional assemblies and (2) regional executives. A
regional assembly is the representative assembly of a region (i.e. regional authority) which is either
directly or indirectly elected by and composed of elected representatives of elected representatives of
constituent local self-government authorities. Regional authorities are territorial authorities in
between the central government and local authorities. A regional executive is a person or a body
exercising executive functions on the behalf of a region (regional authority). Regional authorities and
executives are not present in all Members States (MS). In Figures 1 and 2, a breakdown of regional
assemblies and executives’ data are illustrated. Regional assemblies exist in 20 out of 28 MS. The
regional assemblies are present at NUTS level 2 and level 3 for 16 MS2 (8 MS at each NUTS level), at
NUTS level 1 for 2 MS3 and for 2 MS4 there is mixture of different levels. Regional Executives with a
board of members exist in 14 MS5 but in another 5 MS6 there is also the position of a president of a
regional executive. The regional executives (when present) are available at the same NUTS level as the
regional assemblies. Data was collected between September and November 2016.
Figure 1. Data availability in the WMDM database for regional assemblies and executives.
2 NUTS level 2: AT, DK, EL, ES, IT, NL,PL and PT. MS at NUTS level 3:CZ, FI, HR, HU, LV, RO, SE and SK.
3 DE and UK
4 In BE the regions are five; Bruxelles-Capitale, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft. Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Vlaanderen
and Wallonie. The regions are based on the constitutional linguistic and federal communities. In France the regions are 18, where seven of these are composed of two NUTS level 2 regions and the rest 11 NUTS level 2 regions. 5 These are the MS where regional assemblies exist except from: DK, FR (one region actually has a regional executive (Corse,
FR83) but was dropped from the analysis since equivalent information from the other 17 regions is not available), HU, LV, RO and SK. 6 DK, FR, HU, RO and SK.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure 2. Breakdown of regional assemblies and executives.
We must be very careful in the interpretation of the figures that will be presented below. This is
because the number and the size of regional assemblies and regional executives vary substantially
across countries. Please consult the Annex for additional information on this.
Results Regional assemblies
Figure 3 shows the share of women sitting in regional assemblies. For the four MS (ES, LV, PT and UK),
where regional assemblies are not present in all regions country averages were imputed for the
missing regions. Belgium, France, Finland, Spain and Sweden are the MS where women are the best
represented in the regional assemblies. In Czech Republic, Greece Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovakia
women are the least represented.
In the Swedish, French and Finnish regions women are represented evenly. In the Swedish regions
women have a share of 42-56% in the assemblies and in the French regions a share of 44-51%. In the
Finnish regions women are represented in the range of 40-49% (except for two regions7 with smaller
shares). The shares of women in the Danish, Latvian (the only represented Baltic MS), Polish and
Spanish regions are more variable. In Denmark a clear gradient from the north to the south may be
detected, with more women represented in the northern regions. In the northern Italian regions
women are also better represented but still only to a maximum of 30%.
7 In the smallest Finnish region Åland (FI200) and the region Keski-Pohjanmaa (FI1D5).
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure 3. Share of women in regional assemblies (%).
The corresponding national average figures are reported in Figures 4. In the Swedish, French and
Finnish regions women have an average share of around 45%. In Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Italy and
Czech Republic, women only constitute between 11% and 20% of the persons sitting in the regional
assemblies.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure 4. Country averages of the share of women as members in regional assemblies (%).
Figure 5 reports the the share of assemblies whose president is a woman. Again, there are substantial
country differences across Europe. Whilst in Spain 65% of presidents of regional assemblies are
women, in Belgium, Slovakia and Hungary none of the regional assemblies are presided by a woman.
Given the heterogeneity in the number of regional assemblies across EU MS these figures must be
taken with a pinch of salt.
Figure 5. Country averages of the share of women (orange) and men (blue) as presidents in regional
assemblies (%).
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Results Regional Executives
The share of women in regional assemblies is reported in Figures 6 and 7. There is more heterogeneity
in the share of women in regional executives8 within and between MS than what was observed for the
regional assemblies.
The share of women in regional executives is on average over 40% in Sweden, Finland, Spain and the
UK9 and under 10% in Greece and Croatia. Extensive regional variations may be seen in Belgium Italy,
Poland and Germany.
Figure 6. Share of women in regional executives (%).
8 The size of a regional executive varies extensively between the MS, with some executive groups being made of just two
members whilst others count more than 20 members. The diversity in size of the executive groups within and between MS is therefore an important factor. 9 An imputed country average has been used for the NUTS level 2 regions UKC, UKD, UKE, UKF, UKG, UKH, UKJ, UKK and
UKI.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure 7. Country averages of the share of women (orange) and men (blue) as members in regional
executives (%).
Figure 8 shows the share of regional executives held men and women. In all countries but Denmark,
most of presidents of regional executives are men. In Spain and Finland, only 20% of those presidents
are women. This figure drops to less than 10% in Italy or Czech Republic. In Hungary, Slovakia,
Belgium Austria and Portugal10 all executive presidents are men.
Figure 8. Country averages of the share of women (orange) and men (blue) as presidents in regional
executives (%).
10
Only two NUTS level 2 regions are available.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Conclusion
1) Men are still overrepresented in regional assemblies and regional executives.
2) Cross country comparison show that women are better represented in the Nordic countries,
France and Spain than in Eastern countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) and
South Eastern Mediterranean countries (Greece and Italy).
3) In some countries such as Denmark, Latvia, Poland and Spain we have substantial regional
variations in the share of women sitting in regional assemblies.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Results Regional assemblies 2003-2017
Figure 9 shows the share of women in regional assemblies in 2017.
For the eight MS (BG, EE, IE, CY, LT, LU, MT, SI) without regional assemblies, the share of women in
national parliaments/assemblies has been used. The figure for the second quarter has been used (q2)
to be consistent with the last available figure for 2017, the second quarter figures. If the q2 was
missing the corresponding figure for the third quarter (q3) has been used.
Results 2017
For the four MS (ES, LV, PT and UK), where regional assemblies are not present in all regions country
averages were imputed for the missing regions. Belgium, France, Finland, Spain and Sweden are the
MS where women are the best represented in the regional assemblies. In Czech Republic, Greece
Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovakia women are the least represented.
In the Swedish, French and Finnish regions women are represented evenly. In the Swedish regions
women have a share of 42-56% in the assemblies and in the French regions a share of 44-51%. In the
Finnish regions women are represented in the range of 40-49% (except for two regions with smaller
shares In the smallest Finnish region Åland (FI200) and the region Keski-Pohjanmaa (FI1D5).). The
shares of women in the Danish, Latvian (the only represented Baltic MS), Polish and Spanish regions
are more variable. In Denmark a clear gradient from the north to the south may be detected, with
more women represented in the northern regions. In the northern Italian regions women are also
better represented but still only to a maximum of 30%.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure 9. Share of women in regional assemblies in 2017 (%).
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Results 2003-2008
2003
2004 2005
2006
2007
2008
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Results 2009-2014
Results 2015-2017
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
2015
2016
2017
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Clarifications and country explanations
The WMDM database for regional assemblies is poorly recorded. No information of NUTS level of the
regions is recorded and in a few cases the names of the regions are not complete.
The MS are illustrated in the maps as of year of entry into the EU. 10 MS11 entered 01/05/2004, 2 MS12
entered 01/01/2007 and one MS13 entered 01/07/2013.
DE – For 2003, figures for 12 (out of 16) NUTS 1 regions are missing and an average of the remaining
regions has been used.
DK – No regional assemblies during the years 2003-2006, so the figures from National
Parliaments/Assemblies have been used.
EL – No regional assembly data for year 2003, the National Parliament/Assembly figure has been used.
For the years 2004-2010, regional assemblies are at NUTS level 3 and for year 2011 and onwards the
assemblies are at NUTS level 2. For the NUTS level 3 regions an average (corresponding to the NUTS
level 2 region) has been calculated for the years 2004-2010. Missing data for two NUTS level 3 regions
(EL421 and EL422) so an average of the available NUTS 3 regions has been used for the corresponding
NUTS level 2 region (EL42).
ES – Two regions ES63 and ES64 (Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta and Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla) do not
have regional assemblies and an average of the remaining regions has been used (national average).
Missing data for year 2003 for 6 (out of 17) NUTS level 2 regions and an average of the remaining
regions has been used.
FR – Missing data for year 2003 for 6 (out of 27) NUTS level 2 regions and an average of the remaining
regions has been used. No regional assembly for the region FRA5 (Mayotte) for the years 2003-2014
and the national average has been used. Because of the regional elections in France held on the 6 and
13 December 2015, the 27 regions of France were amalgamated into 18, this went into effect on 1
January 2016. So from 2016 there are 18 regional assemblies (some which are a combination of several
NUTS 2 regions).
11
CY, CZ, EE, HU, LV, LT, MA, PL, SK, SI 12
BG, RO 13
HR
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
LV – Missing data for the years 2004-2006, figures from National Parliaments/Assemblies have been
used. Missing data for the years 2007-2008 for 4 out of 5 NUTS level 3 regions, the figure from the
remaining region LV006 (Riga) has been used. Missing data for region LV007 (Pierīga) for the whole
time period, the average of the remaining regions has been used.
NL – Missing data for year 2003 for 9 (out of 12) NUTS level 2 regions and an average of the remaining
regions has been used.
PT – Regional assemblies are missing in PT1 (Continente) and an average of the remaining regions (PT2
and PT3) has been used.
FI – Missing data for year 2003 for 6 (out of 19) NUTS level 3 regions and an average of the remaining
regions has been used. Missing data for the years 2003-2006 for the region FI1D1 (Etelä-Savo) and an
average of the remaining regions has been used.
SE – Missing data for year 2003 for 8 (out of 21) NUTS level 3 regions and an average of the remaining
regions has been used. Missing data for the years 2003-2011 for the region SE214 (Gotlands län) and
average of the remaining regions has been used.
UK – No regional assemblies in England (UKC, UKD, UKE, UKF, UKG, UKH, UKF and UKK) apart from
London (UKI) and an average of the remaining regions has been used. For the years 2003-2005 8 other
regions with assemblies were present.
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Annex to Gender differences in decision making at regional level in EU
Data on the number of Regional Assemblies and Executives
Regional Assemblies
The number of regional assemblies varies extensively across the 20 Member States. In Portugal14,
United Kingdom15, Latvia, Denmark and Belgium there are five or less assemblies in each country. In
Romania, on the other hand, there are as many as 42 assemblies.
Additionally, the size of the assemblies varies to a large extent within and between the countries. In
Hungary, on average there are 21 members in an assembly and in Germany there are on average 115
members. In France the number of members varies significantly between the regions, from 26
members in the region Mayotte (NUTS level 2 code FRA5) to 209 members in the region Ile-de-France
(FR10). In Denmark the size of the assembly is fixed with 41 members in all five regions (DK01-DK05).
Table A1 and Figure A1 illustrate the numbers of the regional assemblies.
Table A1 Regional Assemblies
14
In Portugal regional assemblies are present in two NUTS level 2 regions. 15
In the UK regional assemblies are present in four NUTS level 1 regions.
MS
Number of
Regional
Assemblies
Average
number of
members
Median
number of
members
Standard
DeviationCV%
HU 20 21 19 7 34
LV 5 25 22 6 25
RO 42 34 33 5 14
PL 16 35 33 6 18
DK 5 41 41 0 0
HR 21 43 42 5 13
IT 21 44 41 18 41
NL 12 49 49 6 13
AT 9 49 40 21 42
PT 2 52 52 7 14
SK 8 52 53 8 15
CZ 14 53 50 9 17
EL 13 54 51 16 30
FI 19 55 56 19 35
ES 17 71 65 31 43
UK 4 81 84 47 58
BE 5 82 89 37 45
SE 21 83 71 30 36
FR 18 108 97 60 56
DE 16 115 105 47 41
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Figure A1. Distribution of the number of members in the regional assemblies.
Regional Executives
The size of the regional executives varies significantly as well, within and between the 14 countries,
illustrated in Table A2 and Figure A2. In general there are fewer members in a regional executive than
in a regional assembly.
In Croatia, on average there are only three members in an executive and in Sweden there are 15
members. In Poland the size is of an executive is five members in all the 16 NUTS level 2 regions. In
Italy this figure differs from four members in the NUTS level 2 region Molise (ITF2) to 16 members in
Lombardia (ITC4).
Gender differences in decision making at regional level May 2017
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate I - Competences Unit I.1 - Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN)
Table A2 Regional Executives
Figure A2. Distribution of the number of members in the regional executives.
MS
Number of
Regional
Executives
Average
number of
members
Median
number of
members
Standard
DeviationCV%
HR 21 3 3 1 22
PL 16 5 5 0 0
NL 12 6 6 1 17
BE 5 7 8 2 27
AT 9 8 8 2 23
PT 2 9 9 0 0
IT 22 9 9 3 31
CZ 14 10 10 1 11
ES 17 10 10 2 18
DE 16 10 10 2 17
EL 13 12 11 3 22
FI 19 13 13 2 20
UK 3 14 12 7 52
SE 21 15 15 2 12
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