In its 17th electoral term, the Bundestag set up 22 Permanent Committees, including the Committee on Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It shares its opinion on all bills, motions, reports, resolutions and European Union issues that concern families, senior citizens, women and youth. It focuses on support for children and families, measures to help parents balance their work and family lives, promoting equal treatment of men and women, helping senior citizens to lead independent lives and involving youth in communities. Advisory and consultative councils, particularly widespread in Latin America, also are useful in maintaining relationships between national gender institutions and civil society actors and women’s organisations, such councils can exert “soft” pressure on governments to help hold them accountable for gender equality commitments.