CEDAW/C/GC/40 (d) Commission gender audits of parliaments, government offices and local and regional councils assessing gender-responsiveness and parity in division of responsibilities, and accordingly mandate and tailor reforms to reach parity across all areas and levels of decision-making; (e) Adopt legislation on paid parental leave for parliamentarians, government officials, local and regional council representatives and the staff of those office holders; (f) Provide training on preventing and addressing implicit bias and stereotypes for parliamentarians, government officials, regional and local council representatives and the staff of those office holders; (g) Establish gender equality mechanisms within decision-making bodies and provide training on gender analysis and integration for law makers and staff to ensure the formulation of gender-responsive legislation, public policies and budgeting. (d) Right to hold public office and to perform all public functions 48. Article 7 (b) stipulates women’s rights to hold public office and perform all government functions, another area in which women remain underrepresented in leadership positions. 49. The Committee recommends that States parties: (a) Adopt laws and other measures to ensure parity in decision-making positions at all levels in public administration and the judiciary, including local, customary and informal justice systems, and include the capacity to eliminate gender stereotypes and conduct gender analysis and integration in training and exams for such appointments; (b) Commission gender audits to assess gender-responsiveness and mandate gender equality reforms, including care-friendly working hours and flexible working arrangements, in public administration and the judiciary at all levels; (c) Systematically integrate women’s human rights, gender equality and the capacity to interpret the law from a gender perspective in initial training and recurrent capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, law professors and students, police and other law enforcement, and civil servants, in order to address gender bias and stereotyping and ensure gender-responsiveness in judicial and administrative decision-making. (e) Right to participate in non-governmental and public and political organizations 50. Under article 7 (c), women have the right to participate in non -governmental organizations and associations concerned with public and political life. Further guidance in this regard is provided in general recommendations No. 23 (1997), No. 33 (2015) and No. 39 (2022). At present, provisions requiring that political parties, trade unions and professional associations ensure parity in their decision -making bodies are lacking or their implementation is limited. Representatives of civil society organizations and women human rights defenders are also frequently subjected to legal restrictions and to threats, attacks and reprisals. 51. The Committee recommends that States parties: (a) Create an institutionalized and enabling environment and regulatory framework for the free and independent establishment and operation of civil society organizations, including women’s rights organizations; 24-20036 21/29