THE IMPACT OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON POLICY-MAKING IN EUROPE: DO WOMEN IN POLITICS REALLY ADVOCATE FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY?

The topic of representation is a central point in today democratic and political debates. The under-representation of women inside the political sphere is increasingly recognized as a problem of justice, effectiveness, responsiveness and legitimacy. Over the past century, the world has seen a significant change in the political representation of women, that are still underrepresented, even if they are half of the population. On average, today women holding a seat in parliaments are 27%. Through gender quotas and sanctions, there is a clear effort to increase female’s participation inside political institutions, but beyond numbers, it is essential to analyse what these much-desired and long-awaited women do once they are elected. The aim of this research is to investigate actions and efforts of women inside the political sphere to understand if the 30-40-50% set by gender quotas can really make a change on women’s lives and conditions, advocating for gender equality. To be able to answer my research questions I will observe on one hand policies designed and adopted by women to advance gender equality in Europe; and on the other hand i will analyse the policies promoted by some women holding high-level positions in the European political context. The hypothesis is that women in power do not lead to structural changes or improvements in women’s living conditions.