Members News

Members News
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

A statement by Soroptimist International of Europe

Posted on 9 February 2021 |

Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, 1997 Joint Statement).
Nearly 200 million women and girls around the world have been harmed with FGM, mostly aged 15 or up to 49, mostly in the 30 countries of Africa, Middle East and Asia where it is prevalent.
In the majority of cases, it is perpetrated to young girls, without (...) Read more
Members News
Young Feminist Weekend 2020

Reflections from young feminists

Posted on 9 February 2021 |

The Young Feminist Weekend brings young feminists in the Netherlands together for a 3-day event with the goal to research, understand and apply the concept of intersectionality within the Dutch feminist movement in order to achieve positive change.
Read the reflections from two young feminists and watch some of the highlights in the video below!
Young Feminist Weekend 2020 in COVID times
by Denise Sarfo
2020 was an intense year for many of us. We were faced with a global pandemic and (...) Read more
Members News
Civil society praises Portugal’s focus on the equality agenda

Posted on 25 January 2021 |

Civil society organizations praise the focus of the Portuguese presidency of the European Union (EU) on the equality agenda, but expect concrete advances in the directives on quotas in company administrations and wage transparency.
This article was originally published in Notícias ao Minuto.
In an interview with Lusa, Ana Sofia Fernandes, vice-president of the European Women’s Lobby, recalls that this European Commission, when it took office, committed itself to a directive on wage (...) Read more
Members News
International Day of Education 2021 – Supporting COVID-19 Generation

Posted on 25 January 2021 |

The third International Day of Education (January 24) was marked on Monday 25 January 2021 under the UNESCO theme ‘Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation’.
Our member Soroptimist International of Europe Education is the key to personal development and the future of sustainable societies. It is the bedrock of social cohesion, well-being and opportunity.
As the new year is just beginning, humanity steps in, weakened by a challenge without precedent: school systems are (...) Read more
Members News
Civil society praises Portugal’s focus on the equality agenda

Posted on 25 January 2021 |

Civil society organizations praise the focus of the Portuguese presidency of the European Union (EU) on the equality agenda, but expect concrete advances in the directives on quotas in company administrations and wage transparency.
This article was originally published in Notícias ao Minuto.
In an interview with Lusa, Ana Sofia Fernandes, vice-president of the European Women’s Lobby, recalls that this European Commission, when it took office, committed itself to a directive on wage (...) Read more
Members News
4 November: Marking the EU’s Equal Pay Day - Time for Action to Close the Gender Pay Gap

Posted on 4 November 2020 |

[Brussels, 4 November 2020] In the EU, women are paid on average 16% less than men. This equals two months’ salary less than men per year. This is enough. We need action now! 4 November marks the EU’s Equal Pay Day that aims ‘to raise awareness that female workers in Europe still earn on average less than their male colleagues.’
The EWL supports the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) action to put pressure on the European Commission to come forward with the promised legal framework on (...) Read more
Members News
Women’s organizations in Turkey say “no” to amnesty for perpetrators of sexual abuse of children and to child marriage

Posted on 15 July 2020 |

[Istanbul, 6 July 2020] (Press release by the Women’s Platform Against Amnesty for Child Sexual Abusers. Avrupa Kadın Lobisi Türkiye Koordinasyonu (EWL Coordination for Turkey is part of this Platform.)) Women’s organizations in Turkey are resisting a draft amendment that would let perpetrators of child sexual abuse walk free if they marry their victims.*
The amendment to Article 103 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) is expected to come before the Turkish Parliament by July 15. In 2016, a (...) Read more
Members News
Implementing the Erasmus+ Go Digital project across Europe

Lithuanian Women’s Lobby

Posted on 15 July 2020 |

[Brussels, 15 July 2020] The Lithuanian Women’s Lobby which seeks to improve the competencies of adult educators in order to increase women’s employment in the digital sector.
The growth of the digital labour market and increased use of digital technologies within the world of work in Europe is clear; the ongoing global health crisis only further emphasised how vital the process of the digital transformation has become. However, women remain significantly under-represented in the digital (...) Read more
Members News
Romania gender equality under attack

Posted on 2 July 2020 |

[Brussels, 2 July 2020] On June 3, a group of Romanian MPs and senators known as the Parliamentary Prayer Group, which includes prominent supporters of the Family Coalition, succeeded in amending a law – proposed by the Save Romania Union (USR), the one genuinely progressive party in Romania’s parliament – that would have made a modicum of sex education mandatory in Romania’s schools. As a result of the amendment, a much watered-down form of sex education will now only be taught to pupils if (...) Read more
Members News
Statement of the Deutscher Frauenrat on the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 - EU Presidencies

Posted on 2 July 2020 |

[Brussels, 2 July 2020] On July 1, Germany will take over the EU Council Presidency for six months. Its focus will be on the Corona crisis and how to overcome it. In doing so, the Federal Government must make a special effort to promote cohesion in Europe. Gender equality is one of the main topics on the agenda.
Mona Küppers, president of the National Council of German Women’s Organizations (Deutscher Frauenrat - DF): "Equality is more important than ever in Corona times. Because the crisis (...) Read more