Answer given by Mr Hahn on behalf of the European Commission

19.9.2022

The Commission is fully committed to the principle of non-discrimination based on gender and any other ground, as set out in Article 1d of the Staff Regulations and in line with Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.

The Commission is on track to achieve its objective of gender balance at all management levels by the end of the current mandate. At the beginning of the mandate, the share of women in management functions stood at 40.5%.

By mid-mandate, in June 2022, this share increased to 45.2%. This already puts the Commission well ahead of some other EU institutions, where the respective share is 37.5% in the European Parliament, 36.1% at the Court of Auditors, 40.5% at the Court of Justice, and 42% in middle and 36% in senior management at the General Secretariat of the Council.

The remarkable progress achieved in just over two years is the result of a strong political commitment at the very top of the Commission, together with a concerted drive to translate political goals into specific targets, concrete actions and binding measures to support women, while providing ample opportunities for men[1].

The current Commission’s policy shows that non-legislative measures are an effective tool for significantly improving gender balance, in view of ultimately reaching full gender equality. The Commission’s policy can serve as a good example to other EU institutions in their respective efforts.

Therefore, in line with the principles of proportionality and administrative autonomy that the Commission enjoys under the Treaties, the Commission is not envisaging proposing to introduce legislative measures, including sanctions or punitive measures.

• [1] c.f. the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and the new Human Resources Strategy.