EU Panel Watch Takeover Edition | MeTooEP Brings the European Movement to Parliament In Brussels
EU Panel Watch is a Brussels-based organisation that advocates for more diverse debate in a city that regularly hosts male, pale and stale conferences. Much like GenderAvenger, they call out events (like this, this, this and this) that include manels and rely on supporters in Brussels and beyond to send photos of EU conferences that highlight the problem of women’s under-representation. Looking at 150 events last year, they found that only one-third of speakers were women, while women of colour represented only 3 percent of panelists, and they want to see that change.
EU Panel Watch has been one of GenderAvenger’s biggest allies for years, so we asked them to share their community actions with us this week. Today, we bring you the EU Panel Watch Action Alert: Takeover Edition. Share these important alerts and make sure to follow EU Panel Watch to keep up with the great work they’re doing, too.
The MeToo movement as we know it started in the US, but the ripples have been felt here in Europe. Last year, activist group MeTooEP was launched to collect testimonies of sexual harassment and abuse within the European Parliament. Their goal is to “end the culture of silence, actively protect workers and fight for the creation of structures to report sexual harassment and sexism”.
As a new wave of Members of the European Parliament (MEP) join the Parliament in Brussels following elections in May, MeTooEP is pushing for all new members to attend training on psychological & sexual harassment. They’re also calling for new MEPs to sign a pledge to combat sexual harassment in the parliament.
If you’re in Europe, please encourage your new representatives to sign the pledge here. Everyone else can show their support by following MeTooEP on Twitter.
As new Members of the @Europarl_EN take office in Brussels, @MeTooEP wants them to take tangible steps toward combating sexual harassment in the parliament. Give them a follow and show your support. #MeTooEP #MeToo @EUPanelWatch #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/action-alert-metooep-european-parliament-brussels