In Europe, there is a broad agreement that women’s representation should be increased in democratic institutions, including in Parliament,23 and the Venice Commission has stated on several occasions that the small number of women in politics remains a critical issue which undermines the full functioning of the democratic process. The Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2003)3 on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making25 recommends that member States, including Georgia, use the necessary mechanisms for equal access to political, economic, social and cultural resources between women and men to eliminate gender inequality that still exists in member States. For the purpose of the Recommendation, balanced participation of women and men is taken to mean that the representation of either women or men in any decision-making body in political or public life should not fall below 40%.