House President stresses need for equal participation of women in decisions

President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, has stressed the need for solidarity, as well as raising awareness of the civil society in issues related to the equal participation of women in decision-making centers. Demetriou was speaking at the Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliaments of EU member states that took place within the framework of the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of the European Union member countries in Palma de Mallorca. A press release by the House of Representatives says that in her intervention in a round table discussion on the issue of women's leadership, the President of the Parliament pointed out the need for solidarity, but also the need to raise the awareness of civil society on the issues of equal participation of women in decision-making centers, especially given the politically difficult times. This is the only way to protect democracies and democratic societies, she underlined. Other Presidents underlined in their interventions their commitment to sup port the efforts made to include gender issues at all levels. The meeting was concluded with the adoption of Conclusions, which stress the role of parliaments in women's empowerment issues and gender equality and the adoption of legislation regarding the equal participation of women in decision-making centers. The Conclusions also condemn all forms of hate speech and violence and highlight the importance of adopting quotas in terms of parliamentary representation, the press release concludes. Source: Cyprus News Agency