Written by Ionel Zamfir.
In June 2024, European voters are called to the polls to elect a new European Parliament. This is one of the biggest democratic exercises in what has been named a ‘super-election year‘. Roughly half the world’s population is expected to vote this year – but not all these elections will be free and fair. Decisive elections will take place in some of the world’s largest democratic regimes, including the European Union and the United States. The stakes are high for democracies, also considering women continue to be under-represented in EU countries at all levels of political decision-making, as well as in political parties, and that violence against women active in politics discourages many from entering the political arena. The Union has made steady and significant progress and the European Parliament is today one of the world’s most gender-balanced representative assemblies. Nevertheless, there are still significant divergences between EU countries. Electoral quotas are considered one of the most straightforward tools to fill the gender gap in representative assemblies.
Gender equality and women’s rights are a hot topic for political debates, with mainstream parties pushing for further progress, while more radical political forces wish to refocus on specific social roles for men and women. Where the race is tight, gender equality issues may even determine the outcome. In the United States, some commentators have noted that reproductive rights could decide the result of the upcoming presidential election, with polls indicating a significant gender gap in support for the two likely candidates. In Europe, a spring 2023 Eurobarometer survey shows that most EU citizens, both women and men, are informed about and interested in European politics, are aware of the importance of upcoming elections and likely to vote.
These European elections will follow what would have been one of the most ambitious and successful European Commissions in terms of adopting important gender equality legislation. With strong support from the European Parliament, the last five years have seen important legislation initiated and adopted. The Gender Balance on Boards directive wasadopted in 2022, a decade after the Commission made the initial proposal, paving the way for a more balanced representation of men and women among non-executive director positions in large listed companies. The directive on Binding Pay Transparency Measuresadopted in 2023 obliges companies to be more transparent about the salaries they pay, to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work. Another directive to be adopted by the end of the legislative term strengthens national equality bodies so hey can provide better support to women who fight discrimination in the workplace, particularly the most vulnerable. The EU is also taking decisive action to combat gender-based violence. It ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2023 and is set to adopt a EU directive that will criminalise several types of off- and on-line violence against women, as well as improve prevention and protection of victims.
In politics, despite continuous progress, women continue to remain under-represented at all levels in parliaments and governments. The European Union has moved to close the gap faster than other levels of government. The share of women Members in the European Parliament was 39.9 % in February 2024 – above the European average for national parliaments (31.6 %) – but with big differences between Member States in terms of their representation in Parliament. The share of women in national parliaments also varies greatly among countries. The current European Commission has been the most gender balanced in history. The College is now made up of 13 women (48.1 %) and 14 men and is chaired by a woman president. However, at local and regional level, women continue to be under-represented in all EU Member States.
It is now widely recognised that structural and societal barriers continue to hinder women from seeking office and from fulfilling their mandates or accessing leadership positions once they are elected. Numerous obstacles block women from entering politics. These include individual women’s perceptions of their own abilities and of the costs and risks of running for office, together with broader factors, such as: unequal access to key resources (time, money, and political networks); unequal family responsibilities; male-dominated political cultures in parties and parliaments; gender roles and stereotypes in wider society; and an absence of female role models.
The level of abuse andviolence directed at women in politics and public life because they are women, and because of their increased presence, is one major obstacle. Violence against women in politics can take multiple forms. Psychological violence, including attacks on women’s private life, physical appearance or marital status, as well as symbolic violence seeking to marginalise women and make them feel incompetent are part of everyday politics in Europe. The digital world provides an environment where such violence thrives. Economic violence (preventing women from accessing adequate resources) and physical violence remain rarer, but their impact can be severe. Several European Parliament resolutions highlight the need to tackle harassment, as well online hate speech and cyber violence directed at female public figures, politicians and activists.
Party cultures and institutional structures can also act as barriers. Electoral systems can promote gender equality – or not. Thus, large multiple seats electoral constituencies are more favourable to increased female representation than single seat constituencies. One electoral mechanism is particularly effective in bringing about change in the most straightforward way: electoral quotas. It is true that some European countries have performed well in terms of increasing women’s presence in representative assemblies without quotas, by shifting towards a more gender egalitarian political and party culture overall. However, in other countries, where progress was slow, quotas have significantly accelerated progress towards gender equality in political representation. However, these need to be accompanied by other measures such as ‘zipped lists’ and a more favourable political environment for women in general. Eleven Member States (Belgium, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia) have binding gender quotas for the European elections. The European Parliament has initiated a reform of the European electoral legislation that would oblige Member States to achieve gender equality making use of the model that best fits their electoral system for European elections, but the initiative has stalled in the Council.
Related EPRS publications on women in politics
- EPRS briefing, Women in politics in the EU: State of play in 2024, March 2024
- EPRS Briefing, Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation, February 2024
- EPRS Briefing, Towards gender balance in the European elections: Electoral quotas – What can they achieve?, September 2023
- For more EPRS publications related to women rights and gender equality, see Topical Digest Gender equality across policy areas, March 2024
Be the first to write a comment.