European Interest

Every day is Women’s Day for Socialists and Democrats!

Flickr/European Parliament/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The S&D Group is fighting every day of the year for progressive steps forward for women’s rights and gender equality.

Today, on the International Women’s Day, the Group will also speak out loudly on the streets for the direction it wants to go: equal pay, equal rights on every level and no tolerance of violence. #All4Equality

“It is necessary to move forward on gender equality and to put an end to the gender pay and pension gap. We cannot allow any tolerance of violence against woman. We represent half of the European population and for that reason we also want to participate in a fair and equal way on every level in Europe,” said Iratxe García-Pérez, S&D spokesperson on women’s rights and gender equality.

“We Socialists and Democrats are the progressive force in Europe which is fighting for the best way forward. In the 21st century, we cannot allow any reverse turn to a right-wing nationalism and populism. The future is about equality for all and we will not allow any step back. We must not tolerate that our daughters have less rights than our mothers!” she added.

“As a father and husband, it pains me to see that Europe is experiencing a serious backlash against women’s rights: in Poland as well as in Bulgaria, and in Spain where an extreme right-wing party in Andalusia is trying to turn back the clock on women’s rights to the Franco era. These are only some of too many examples. But the truth is that no European country is even close to achieving full gender equality. This is not the Europe I want,” stated Udo Bullmann, president of the S&D Group.

“I fight for a different Europe. A Europe where my daughters enjoy the same rights as my son does. Equal pay and pension. Equal access to the labour market and career opportunities. And a life free of fear, sexual harassment and violence. This is the Europe I want for all girls and women,” Bullmann said.

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