Gendering the inner life of the European Parliament: Policies, practices, and equality norms of the political groups

Abstract

The powers of the European Parliament (EP) in EU policy-making have increased considerably since the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby also affecting the role of its institutions, actors, and procedures. The aim of this panel is to look at the inner life of the European Parliament, specifically from the point of view of its political groups. There is surprisingly little qualitative research into the workings of the political groups and the norms and practices which govern this work. The ways in which gender and other differences such as race and ethnicity, age, class, and sexuality shape the norms and practices is an even less studied field – an acute shortcoming addressed by the papers presented in this panel. The panel explores a range of political group policies and practices that continue to place gender in the struggle within the European Parliament and asks related empirical, methodological, and theoretical questions including: (1) what are the spaces and locations of feminist politics in the parliament when the role of political groups is taken seriously; (2) what are the tensions around doing feminist research in and on the political groups of the European Parliament; (3) how do MEPs and staff construct the role and importance of different national political cultures to advancing gender equality in the parliament; (4) how do conflicts around gender influence policy outcomes and with what effects on the possibilities for the EP to advance gender equality. Together the papers in the panel present persisting gendered inequalities in the EP and its political groups. Rather than being obstacles to overcome, we argue that the political groups are key actors for achieving a more gender equal representative institution.

Title	Details
Theorizing democratic practices and the European Parliament’s political groups	View Paper Details
Puppets, heavy lifting, and stereotypes: National Party Delegations in the European Parliament	View Paper Details
Coalitions, conflicts, and internal tensions: Gendered policies of the political groups in the European Parliament	View Paper Details
Constructing expertise in the European Parliament: Democratic legitimacy, political actors and the role of gender	View Paper Details