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Press release
02-03-2026
FEMM
International Women’s Day: women’s rights and democracy in the digital age [3]
To mark International Women’s Day, national and European parliamentarians will meet on Thursday to discuss stereotypes, disinformation and online gender-based violence.
When:* Thursday 5 March 2026, 9:00 – 12:30 CET
Where:* European Parliament in Brussels, ANTALL building, room 6Q2 and via streaming [4] .
On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), chaired by Lina Galvez [5] (S&D, ES), will host an interparliamentary meeting [6] with national and European MPs on “Women’s rights and democracy: combating stereotypes, disinformation and violence in the digital age”.
The event will be opened by Lina Gálvez, followed by a video message from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola [7] . Opening remarks will be given by Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, and Florence Raes, Director of the UN Women Brussels Liaison Office.
The debate will feature contributions from journalists, policymakers and digital safety specialists, followed by a Q&A session with members of national parliaments and of the European Parliament.
The guest speakers are: Natalia Waloch, journalist and columnist at Gazeta Wyborcza/ and Wysokie Obcasy/; Ana Natsvlishvili, member of the 10th convocation of the Parliament of Georgia and award-winning human rights expert; Dr. Silvia Semenzin, Adjunct Professor at the Open University of Catalonia; Julie Guichard, Digital Safety and Government Affairs Manager at Microsoft; and Carlien Scheele, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
The session will conclude with remarks by Josie Christodoulou, Commissioner for Gender Equality of the Cyprus Presidency.
See the full programme [8] .
Seminar for journalists*
Here is the full programme of the event. [10] You can also follow this event via streaming [11] .
Background*
A new EU gender equality strategy is scheduled to be adopted by the European Commission this week. The European Parliament adopted a resolution in November 2025 [12] to provide its input to the strategy.
Further information
[13] scribo-webmail-arrow [28]
ICM on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 – 5 March
None [14] scribo-webmail-arrow [29] EP research: Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation
None [15] scribo-webmail-arrow [30] EP research: Information manipulation in the age of generative artificial intelligence
None [16] scribo-webmail-arrow [31] EP research: Cyberviolence against women in the EU
None [17] scribo-webmail-arrow [32] EP research: EU action against harmful gender stereotypes
None [18] scribo-webmail-arrow [33] EU action against harmful gender stereotypes
None [19] scribo-webmail-arrow [34] Gender based disinformation 101: Theory, examples, and need for regulation
Polona TEDESKO
Press Officer
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