Gender equality has been achieved in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the first time in its 77-year history. Indeed, in January 2026 – taking into account both representatives and substitutes –, women in the Assembly made up just under 50% of the total membership. PACE President Petra Bayr, herself the fifth woman leading the institution, said she was proud of this achievement, which she called a “historic milestone”. “Politics which reflects the experience and needs of both women and men is better politics”, she added, thanking national parliaments for appointing greater numbers of women to the Assembly in Strasbourg, even though only around a third of Europe’s national MPs are women. The President’s hope is that this may serve as an inspiration to other parliamentary bodies. As of January 2021, women accounted for only 37% of PACE members; in subsequent years, a number of changes to the rules were introduced, and from 2027, delegations must have a minimum representation of 40% of each sex. Specific measures have also been introduced regarding the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights by the PACE.