At the initiative of the FEMM Committee, the European Parliament held its first ever European Gender Equality Week during the week of October 2020, which gave much-needed input to the long-lasting battle for women's empowerment and gender equality as well as more visibility and recognition to gender mainstreaming in all policy areas. The fourth edition is taking place from 23 to 27 October 2023. Several parliamentary committees, delegations and institutions will organise sessions addressing gender equality issues in their policy areas.

The PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions is organising an event on "combatting violence against women in cities and regions" on Wednesday 25th October from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. which will provide a unique local and regional perspective on gender equality and the fight against gender violence to the week. The event is a great opportunity to showcase the work done by the PES Group with the #SafePlace4Women campaign and best practices from regions and cities.

As Socialist and Democrats, we aim at fulfilling our promises for better working conditions and higher salaries for women and combatting gender-based violence. But we cannot do this alone. Initiatives like the Gender Equality Week show that achieving gender equality is a task we can only fulfil together.