Why so few women participate in political life at local level in Greece?

To answer this question, the Greek Ministry of Interior asked the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance to conduct a “Preliminary Study on Participation of Women in Political Life at Local Level in Greece”. The results of this study, conducted under the project "Delivering Good Governance in Greece", were presented on 9 November under the auspices of the Greek Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, during the online event on “Women in Local Governments: Equal Participation for Stronger Democracy”.

As underlined by Snežana Samardžic-Markovic, Director General of DG Democracy of the Council of Europe, “A more diverse representation in positions of responsibility increases the legitimacy and efficiency of policy-making processes and, in general, leads to better, more democratic and representative governance”. Other speakers at the event included Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Panagiotis Theodorikakos, Minister of Interior, and Anne Brasseur, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Interventions were also made by Maria Kakali, Mayor of Aghios Efstratios, Maria Androutsou, Mayor of Aghios Dimitrios and Despina Chatzivassiliou, Head of the Secretariat of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. All participants emphasised the importance of ensuring a balanced participation in political life at all levels.

A recording of the event is available on YouTube.