At 37.4%, the percentage of women MEPs is very slightly higher than in 2016 and 1.6 points up on 2014 before the elections (when it was 35.8%). Greater representation of women in the European Parliament increases the level of democratic representation of EU citizens and helps Parliament to achieve gender mainstreaming more effectively, whether in the context of EU-wide legislation and policies or within its own internal structures and bodies, including its Secretariat.