Anders Knape, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, took part in the session on “The European Charter for equality of women and men in local life after 10 years: results and ways forward”, organised in the framework of the 2016 Congress of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), on 22 April in Nicosia. He presented the Congress’ action in this regard, including its quota requirement for women’s representation in its 47 national delegations, introduced in 2008. “Today, women account for 43% of delegates to the Congress and this has contributed to improving the quality of our work and our legitimacy” he underlined. He called for strengthening gender equality, not only in politics, but in all sectors and fields. “In our cities and regions, implementing equality requires dedicated leadership on the part of both politicians and officers”, he stated. During this session, Carmen Kiefer (Austria, EPP/CCE), member of the Congress, took the floor and said that while the Charter for equality of women and men in local life has a positive impact there is still a need for gender quota everywhere in order to oblige decision making bodies to choose candidates for public positions from the whole spectrum of society.