15.04.2024

Departmental Seminar "Gender equality in the European Parliament"

Johanna Kantola on Wednesday, 24 April, 16:15-17:45, Room 124 or via Zoom

The European Parliament (EP) has often been characterized as supranational gender equality forerunner and progressive actor compared to other EU institutions. Yet, this positioning is dependent on the engagement of the parliament's gender equality bodies and political groups, particularly from the GAL (Green-Alternative-Liberal) spectrum. Thus, the composition of the legislature and more precisely the share of TAN (Traditional-Authoritarian-Nationalist) political groups plays a crucial role in shaping the EP positions in this policy field. In this talk, I examine how gender equality as a topic and a policy issue is debated and discussed in the EP 2024 elections. The focus is on the political campaigns and dynamics of the Europarties and political groups and their potential impact on gender policies in the EU level. The analysis delves into Europarties' manifestos and Spitzenkandidatur positions on gender equality, providing a comparative perspective of the political group positions.

Prof Johanna Kantola, PhD is Professor of Gender Studies at the University of Helsinki and Distinguished Visiting Professor in Gender and EU Studies at the University of Tübingen (2021-2024). Her research centres on gender, power and politics: political parties and institutions, European Parliament and its political groups, gender equality policies in Finland and in the EU, and theoretical questions about the state, representation and intersectionality. From 2018-2023 she was leading the project “Gender, Party Politics and Democracy in Europe” (EUGenDem) funded by the European Research Council (ERC). She has published widely in journals such as APSR, EJPR, EJPG, JCMS, IPSR,and Social Politics, amongst others. Her most recent (co-edited) books include Handbook of Feminist Governance (2023), European Parliament’s Political Groups in Turbulent Times (2022); Social Partners and Gender Equality (2021).

Wednesday, 24 April, 16:15-17:45, Room 124 at the Institute of Political Science (or online via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/93089750663 Meeting ID: 930 8975 0663, Passcode: 142311).