“It’s about who they are, not what they stand for”: the long road to gender equality in EU politics

While women represent about 51% of the EU population, they hold only 38.5% of seats in the European Parliament following the 2024 elections, marking the first decline in female representation in 45 years. Studio Europa Maastricht spoke with Julia van Zijl, researcher of gender and politics at Maastricht University and the University of Birmingham on the project TWICEASGOOD, about female representation in European politics and the struggles women candidates face during election campaigns.

Van Zijl led a pilot study exploring the everyday experiences of women candidates during the campaign for the 2023 Dutch Provincial Elections, as part of the European Commission–funded TWICEASGOOD project. Reflecting on her research, she underlines the resilience and persistence of many women candidates despite facing hostility and threats:

“I’m amazed by the commitment that many women have to continue running and by their conviction that they don’t want to be stalled by situations like this, whether that’s physical threats on the streets or hate on social media. Sometimes it’s also things they receive in their personal emails or even at their homes. The moment it becomes more personal and really invades your private space, that’s when people start doubting and begin to reconsider their political career and especially find this worrying for future generations of representatives. This is a worry especially among women politicians because of the type of threats. The attacks are often very personal and invasive, targeting their identity. It’s really about who they are, not what they stand for.” 

 Read the entire article on Studio Europa's website.
 Find out more about Studio Europa's event on representation in European politics, called Talk EU to me.