Equal City - Evidence Base
Women remain under-represented in public and political decision-making across the EU. According to Eurostat, in 2025 women held 33.6% of seats in national parliaments and 31.9% of positions in national governments across the EU. Cyprus is among the weakest cases. It recorded the lowest share of women in national parliament in the EU, at 14.3%, and remained well below the EU average in national government, at 17.0%.
This under-representation is not only a national-level issue. It also appears at local level, where decisions are often closer to citizens’ daily lives and where future political participation can begin. Municipalities shape everyday life through decisions on local services, public spaces, community priorities, consultation processes and civic participation opportunities. Yet women remain strongly under-represented in local political leadership. According to the 2025 EPRS briefing on women in local and regional government, women account for only 18.2% of mayors or leaders of municipal councils across the EU. In Cyprus, only 3 out of 29 elected mayors in the 2024 municipal elections were women.
This matters because local government is often the first point where people meet public decision-making in practice. The Council of Europe has recognised the local and regional levels as an important first step towards women’s full participation in public life. For this reason, municipalities are a relevant and realistic space for action. They are close to people’s daily lives, but they also shape wider habits of participation, consultation and representation.
The issue is not only whether women are present in local politics. It is also whether they have equal access to the full range of roles, policy areas and decision-making spaces. The EPRS briefing notes that women in local politics are still more often present in areas traditionally seen as “soft”, such as social affairs, education and community issues, while areas such as transport, security and civil protection remain more often dominated by men. This shows that representation is not only about numbers. It is also about influence, visibility and access to real decision-making power.
Women’s participation in local decision-making is not blocked by one single factor. It is shaped by a mix of personal, social and institutional conditions that can make participation harder before a woman even enters the room.
Some barriers are linked to access to knowledge and support. Many women do not have enough practical information on how local decision-making works, how to join consultation processes, how committees operate, or how to move from interest to active participation. Mentoring, civic education and leadership support are not equally available, especially for women who are new to public life or who do not already have political or professional networks.
Other barriers are linked to visibility and opportunity. Local participation often depends on informal networks, invitations, contacts and being known in the community. When women are less visible in these spaces, they may have fewer chances to join committees, consultations, public discussions or leadership pathways. This can create a cycle where the same voices remain present, while others stay outside decision-making.
There are also barriers linked to trust, safety and legitimacy. Women may be discouraged from participating if they feel they will not be taken seriously, if they believe their contribution will not lead to real change, or if they expect dismissive, hostile or sexist behaviour. Research on violence against women in politics shows that harassment, intimidation and online abuse can directly discourage women from entering or staying in public life.
At the same time, institutions themselves can make participation easier or harder. Meeting times, unclear procedures, lack of feedback, inaccessible formats, limited care-friendly arrangements and closed decision-making cultures can all affect who is able to participate. These are not small technical details. They shape whether participation is open in practice, not only on paper.
These barriers do not affect all women in the same way. Age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, care responsibilities, income, migration background and rural isolation can create additional layers of disadvantage. This means that improving women’s participation also requires attention to which women are being reached, heard and supported.
Recent European developments make this work even more urgent. The European Commission’s Roadmap for Women’s Rights was presented partly in response to growing political contestation of EU gender equality policies. The Council of Europe has also identified the rise of anti-gender movements in Europe as a direct challenge to gender equality standards and progress. This wider context affects the environment in which women participate in public and political life and makes local democratic resilience more important.
For Lead Forward, this evidence points to a clear need for practical work at local level: helping women understand and access participation pathways, strengthening confidence and readiness, and supporting local institutions to make participation more inclusive, accessible and meaningful.
References
CEMR. (2024). Women in politics: European trends. Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
Council of Europe. (2001). Genderware: Council of Europe information centre on gender mainstreaming.
Council of Europe. (2022). Study Identifying Barriers to Women’s Political Participation in Georgia.
Council of Europe. (2024). Working Group on developing positive narratives in the context of anti-gender movements.
EPRS. (2024). Violence against women active in politics in the EU. European Parliamentary Research Service.
EPRS. (2025a). Women in local and regional government: Trends, challenges and best practices. European Parliamentary Research Service.
EPRS. (2025b). Roadmap for women’s rights: Next steps for EU action on gender equality. European Parliamentary Research Service.
Eurostat. (2026). One-third of parliamentarians across the EU are women. News release, 5 March 2026.
Kathimerini. (2024). Municipal elections in Cyprus: women elected mayors.
